Popular Documentary Movies on The Roku Channel - Page 8

Best of Enemies

2015

Best of Enemies

2015
7.2
A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. Best of Enemies delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers, and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, "What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?"
What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

2018

What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

2018
7
A documentary exploring the legacy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the reasons it went from the black sheep of Star Trek to a beloved mainstay of the franchise, and a brainstorm with the original writers on what a theoretical eighth season of the show could look like.
When We Were Kings

1996

When We Were Kings

1996
7.6
It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
COIN

2022

COIN

2022
3.8
COIN chronicles the rise of a visionary founder in crypto who harnesses the power of this emerging technology to promote a mission of global economic freedom.
The Road Forward

2017

The Road Forward

2017
9
The Road Forward is an electrifying musical documentary that connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Interviews and musical sequences describe how a tiny movement, the Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, grew to become a successful voice for change across the country. Visually stunning, The Road Forward seamlessly connects past and present through superbly produced story-songs with soaring vocals, blues, rock, and traditional beats.
Shut Up and Play the Piano

2018

Shut Up and Play the Piano

2018
7.2
The documentary follows Chilly Gonzales from his native Canada to late '90s underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world's great philharmonic halls. Diving deep into the dichotomy of Gonzales' stage persona, where self-doubt and megalomania are just two sides of the same coin.
Wolfman's Got Nards

2018

Wolfman's Got Nards

2018
7.7
A documentary that explores the power of cult film told through the lens of the Monster Squad and the impact it has on fans, cast and crew and the industry.
Fahrenheit 9/11

2004

Fahrenheit 9/11

2004
7.1
Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

2019

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

2019
7.6
With one of the most memorably stunning voices that has ever hit the airwaves, Linda Ronstadt burst onto the 1960s folk rock music scene in her early twenties.
Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth

2020

Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth

2020
7.5
An illuminating portrait of Jay Sebring — the long-forgotten artist, designer, and entrepreneur who created a billion-dollar hair & beauty industry and defined iconic Hollywood styles for men.
The Fog of War

2003

The Fog of War

2003
7.7
Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company's president, to managing the Vietnam War as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
The China Hustle

2018

The China Hustle

2018
7.2
An unsettling and eye-opening Wall Street horror story about Chinese companies, the American stock market, and the opportunistic greed behind the biggest heist you've never heard of.
Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy

2021

Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy

2021
7.7
A joyful, cinematic celebration of this singular musical artist, who remains as vital and relevant today as when he exploded on the scene with his group, Brasil '66. With a rich, multi-layered approach to storytelling, the film digs deep to reveal the forces that shaped his incredible journey.
Moments Like This Never Last

2021

Moments Like This Never Last

2021
6.1
Dash Snow rejected a life of privilege to make his own way as an artist on the streets of downtown New York City in the late 1990s. Developing from a notorious graffiti tagger into an international art star, he documented his drug- and alcohol-fueled nights with the surrogate family he formed with friends and fellow artists Ryan McGinley and Dan Colen before his death by heroin overdose in 2009. Drawing from Snow’s unforgettable body of work and involving archival footage, Cheryl Dunn’s exceptional portrait captures his all-too-brief life of reckless excess and creativity.
Butch Jamie

2008

Butch Jamie

2008
3.4
The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.
George Carlin: Again!

1978

George Carlin: Again!

1978
7.4
Performing at the Celebrity Star Theater in Phoenix on July 23, 1978, Carlin mesmerizes his audience in the second of his 12 HBO specials. The show was originally planned as part of a concert/sketch movie, The Illustrated George Carlin, that never came to fruition.The routines include: Death, Kids & Parents, Newscast #2, Time and Al Sleet, the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman. -- From Amazon.com
Alive and Kicking

2017

Alive and Kicking

2017
6.9
Alive and Kicking gives the audience an intimate, insider’s view into the culture of the current swing dance world while shedding light on issues facing modern American society.
One Day in September

1999

One Day in September

1999
7.3
The full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli revenge operation 'Wrath of God.' The 1972 Munich Olympics were interrupted by Palestinian terrorists taking Israeli athletes hostage. Besides footage taken at the time, we see interviews with the surviving terrorist, Jamal Al Gashey, and various officials detailing exactly how the police, lacking an anti-terrorist squad and turning down help from the Israelis, botched the operation.
To the Moon and Back

2018

To the Moon and Back

2018
5.3
The political murder of a Moscow lawyer and the cancellation of 259 pending American adoptions of Russian orphans are seemingly disparate events found to have a deep and insidious connection. Connecting the dots from Russia’s warehousing of abandoned and special needs children to the cross-borders dealings of a billionaire investment banker to one American family’s tragedy, the film explores how Russian political corruption is linked to a single adopted child, whose accidental death becomes the declared reason behind Putin’s Russian Adoption Ban.
The Tinderbox

2020

The Tinderbox

2020
Israel and Palestine: time to call time on the conflict? This Doc Feature is an extraordinary, balanced and heart-wrenching examination of the Isreali-Palestinian conflict - never before presented. Ancient and recent history, geopolitical issues, psychology and a deeply personal journey challenge what we think we know.