Top Rated Documentary Movies - Page 397

The Darkness of Day

2009

The Darkness of Day

2009
6.7
The Darkness of Day is a haunting meditation on suicide. It is comprised entirely of found 16mm footage that had been discarded. The sadness, the isolation, and the desire to escape are recorded on film in various contexts. Voice-over readings from the journal kept by a brother of the filmmaker’s friend who committed suicide in 1990 intermix with a range of compelling stories, from the poignant double suicide of an elderly American couple to a Japanese teenager who jumped into a volcano, spawning over a thousand imitations. While this is a serious exploration of a cultural taboo, its lyrical qualities invite the viewer to approach the subject with understanding and compassion.
Mónica del Raval

2009

Mónica del Raval

2009
5.6
Self-portrait of Mónica Coronado, who for twenty years has worked as a street prostitute in Barcelona's Raval neighborhood.
Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich

1958

Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich

1958
6.2
Windjammer, the first presentation in CINEMIRACLE, is the record of a training cruise of the full-rigged S/S Christian Radich from Oslo across the Atlantic, through the Caribbean, to New York and back home again.
The Dotted Line

2011

The Dotted Line

2011
6.1
The Dotted Line is an in-depth look at what it takes to be a big-time agent in the fiercely competitive world of major league sports. Agents Peter Greenberg and Eugene Lee are profiled along with their clients New York Mets' pitcher Johan Santana (Greenberg's) and NFL hopefuls Jacquian Williams and Robert Hughes (Lee's).
Smile Pinki

2008

Smile Pinki

2008
6.7
Pinki is a five-year-old girl from a village in the Mirzapur District, India, born into a desperately poor family, and with a cleft lip. Pinki never realized that this condition required just one simple operation until she met Pankaj, a social worker traveling from village to village gathering patients to go to hospital in Varanasi that provides free surgery to thousands each year. This real-world fairy tale follows its protagonist journey to a dream smile from isolation and shame.
Can Tunis

2006

Can Tunis

2006
7.9
Year 2002. In a neighborhood of Barcelona, residents demonstrate against the expropriation of their homes. Since the 80s, this neighborhood in ruins is the main drug market in the city. Juan lives there with his father, eight brothers and about twenty nephews. Surrounded by addicts, Juan output grows hoping his mother from prison. The neighborhood will be demolished, and the family will have to find another home.
New York, N.Y.

1986

New York, N.Y.

1986
6.4
It is slow, succinct and absolutely riveting. With his photojournalist's eye, and simple but inspired camera work, Depardon plunges us into both the sounds and silences of a day and a night in the city.
A Visit to the Louvre

2004

A Visit to the Louvre

2004
6.2
A visit to the Louvre in Paris commentated by an actor reading Cézanne.
Lumumba: Death of a Prophet

1991

Lumumba: Death of a Prophet

1991
6.8
Documentary about African political leader Patrice Lumumba, who was Prime Minister of Zaire (now Congo) when he was assassinated in 1961.
Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember

1997

Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember

1997
7.6
In 1996, Marcello Mastroianni talks about life as an actor. It's an anecdotal and philosophical memoir, moving from topic to topic, fully conscious of a man "of a certain age" looking back. He tells stories about Fellini and De Sica's direction, of using irony in performances, of constantly working (an actor tries to find himself in characters). He's diffident about prizes, celebrates Rome and Paris, salutes Naples and its people. He answers the question, why make bad films; recalls his father and grandfather, carpenters, his mother, deaf in her old age, and his brother, a film editor; he's modest about his looks. In repose, time's swift passage holds Mastroianni inward gaze.
Tying the Knot

2004

Tying the Knot

2004
6.4
A look at the debate over same sex marriage in the USA. The reasons behind it are illustrated with real life couples that have run afoul of current laws despite varying levels of planning. Also, the reasons against it are debunked by proponents.
The Back of Beyond

1954

The Back of Beyond

1954
6.1
This 1954 classic follows an outback mailman as he travels along the Birdsville Track.
Vibration of Granada

1935

Vibration of Granada

1935
6.3
This is a short film that, although a documentary in appearance, has very little to do with the generic conventions of that form. It would seem, then, that what we have here is the embryo of what he was subsequently to call the "elementary": an abstract or lyrical modality in the perception and exposition of the real.
Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis

2011

Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis

2011
6
It will surprise few to discover that star of stage and screen Jerry Lewis has sought to amuse others since he was five years old. Since that early age, audiences split their sides watching his wacky antics, whilst wannabe comics aspired to his prolific career, from his solo work to his double act with Dean Martin. Indeed, many of his famous fans share stories of affection and admiration for the now 86-year-old performer and filmmaker in Gregg Barson’s documentary. Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Eddie Murphy and Jerry Seinfeld are among those waxing lyrical about Lewis’ particular brand of genius, and his place in the annals of history. Including a cavalcade of hilarious clips from eight decades in the spotlight, Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis examines the icon and his influence, and is essential viewing for aficionados of the man and his legacy.
Film Is. a Girl & a Gun

2009

Film Is. a Girl & a Gun

2009
6.7
Fragments of several (mostly) silent films are shown. They're guided by quotes from, among others, Plato and Sappho and a soundtrack.
A Great Day in Harlem

1994

A Great Day in Harlem

1994
6.2
Art Kane, now deceased, coordinated a group photograph of all the top jazz musicians in NYC in the year 1958, for a piece in Esquire magazine. Just about every jazz musician at the time showed up for the photo shoot which took place in front of a brownstone near the 125th street station. The documentary compiles interviews of many of the musicians in the photograph to talk about the day of the photograph, and it shows film footage taken that day by Milt Hinton and his wife.
Shepard & Dark

2012

Shepard & Dark

2012
5.9
An indelible portrait of the complex relationship between playwright and actor Sam Shepard and his close friend Johnny Dark as they prepare forty years of their correspondence for publication, stirring up old memories both good and bad.
Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance vs. Judas Priest

1992

Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance vs. Judas Priest

1992
7.9
A chilling post mortem on the tragic case of two teenagers who decided to shoot themselves in the head with a shotgun, and the ensuing court case staged to place the blame on the heavy metal band Judas Priest.
A World Not Ours

2014

A World Not Ours

2014
8
An intimate, and often humorous, portrait of three generations of exile in the refugee camp of Ein el-Helweh, in southern Lebanon. Based on a wealth of personal recordings, family archives, and historical footage, the film is a sensitive, and illuminating study of belonging, friendship, and family in the lives of those for whom dispossession is the norm, and yearning their daily lives.
Ebbe - The Movie: Mannen, Myten, Affären

2009

Ebbe - The Movie: Mannen, Myten, Affären

2009
7.8
A documentary dealing with the publisher Ebbe Carlsson's decision to start his own investigation on the murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme

Top Rated Documentary Movies - Page 397

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1958

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1986

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1997

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2004

1954

1954

1935

1935

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2011

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2012

2012

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1992

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2014

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