Top Rated Documentary Movies on Apple iTunes - Page 155

Lightning in a Bottle

2004

Lightning in a Bottle

2004
7.3
On February 7th, 2003, renowned artists across multiple music genres and generations commandeered the stage at New York City's Radio City Music Hall to pay tribute to their common heritage and passion - the blues. Shared with thousands of fans in attendance, legendary performers from roots, rock, jazz and rap joined forces for a once-in-a-lifetime "Salute To The Blues" benefit concert whose proceeds went to musical education.
Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll

1991

Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll

1991
6.2
A filmed record of Eric Bogosian's acclaimed one-man show.
Say Amen, Somebody

1983

Say Amen, Somebody

1983
6.8
Documentary on modern black gospel music, focusing on the pioneering Rev. Thomas Dorsey and Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith
Wagner's Dream

2012

Wagner's Dream

2012
6.3
The stakes could not be higher as visionary director Robert Lepage, the world's greatest singers, and the Metropolitan Opera tackle Wagner's Ring cycle. An intimate look at the enormous theatrical and musical challenges of staging opera's most monumental work, the film chronicles the quest to fulfill Wagner's dream of a perfect Ring.
The Olympics in Mexico

1969

The Olympics in Mexico

1969
5.7
Documentary about the XIX Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1999.
In the Shadow of the Stars

1991

In the Shadow of the Stars

1991
5.8
A hilarious and affectionate look at the path to stardom inside the competitive world of opera. Filmmakers Allie Light and Irving Saraf relegate the divas to the background and focus on a limelight-craving group of "choristers" -- the seldom-noticed singers who stand behind the soloists portraying peasants, soldiers and slaves.
Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got

1985

Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got

1985
7.8
This in-depth examination of the life and career of clarinetist and bandleader Artie Shaw cuts between archival footage, location shots, and an interview with Shaw himself. Berman illustrates the tumultuous, complicated, and remarkable legacy of a man who brought numerous innovations to jazz and swing music during the big-band era.
Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate

1986

Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate

1986
4
A documentary following a sex surrogate and two of her clients.
Strange Culture

2007

Strange Culture

2007
4.7
The film examines the case of artist and professor Steve Kurtz, a member of the Critical Art Ensemble (CAE). The work of Kurtz and other CAE members dealt with genetically modified food and other issues of science and public policy. After his wife, Hope, died of heart failure, paramedics arrived and became suspicious when they noticed petri dishes and other scientific equipment related to Kurtz's art in his home. They summoned the FBI, who detained Kurtz within hours on suspicion of bioterrorism.
Give Me the Banjo

2011

Give Me the Banjo

2011
7.2
The Banjo Project is a cross-media cultural odyssey: a major television documentary, a live stage/multi-media performance, and a website that chronicle the journey of America’s quintessential instrument—the banjo—from its African roots to the 21st century. It’s a collaboration between Emmy-winning writer-producer Marc Fields and banjo virtuoso Tony Trischka (the Project’s Music Director), one of the most acclaimed acoustic musicians of his generation.
Every Second Counts

2009

Every Second Counts

2009
6.1
Every Second Counts takes an inside look at the CrossFit culture and community, where time on a stopwatch reigns as the supreme measure of performance. Those who reach the elite ranks in the burgeoning sport of CrossFit push themselves beyond limitations imposed by the mind and flirt with the limits of physical capacity. Human perseverance has never voluntarily gone this far. The film chronicles the dramatic journey of five athletes as they prepare for and compete in the most comprehensive test of fitness on the planet, the CrossFit Games. The road to this grueling two-day program of extreme challenges reveals what it takes to be the best in the world. The climactic finish, with its surprising turn of events, shows beyond any doubt that the winner of the CrossFit Games is the fittest person on earth.
Tchoupitoulas

2012

Tchoupitoulas

2012
7.3
A lyrical documentary that follows three adolescent brothers as they journey through one night in New Orleans, encountering a vibrant kaleidoscope of dancers, musicians, hustlers, and revelers parading through the lamplit streets. The filmmakers fully immerse us into the New Orleans night, passing through many lively and luminous locations and introducing us to the people who make the city their home.
Eminem AKA

2004

Eminem AKA

2004
6.6
Go Tigers!

2001

Go Tigers!

2001
5
"Go Tigers!" is a rare behind-the-scenes chronicling of a remarkable season for the Massillon Tigers high school football team, played out in a small rustbelt town that draws its identity from football. During the course of the season, THREE YOUNG STARS emerge who are forced to carry the burden of the town and their teammates as they confront their uncertain future.
Trash Dance

2012

Trash Dance

2012
5.9
A year spent with choreographer Allison Orr as she rides out with and tries to persuade employees of the Austin Dept. of Solid Waste Services to collaborate in a public dance performance. The performance eventually takes place, in the rain, on the tarmac of an abandoned airport, with over two thousand people watching--16 trucks, 24 people-- and sweeps local art and performance awards.
The Desert of Forbidden Art

2011

The Desert of Forbidden Art

2011
4.7
How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags. Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky. He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist's works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian Avant-Garde art. But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917, encountering a unique Islamic culture, as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin. They develop a startlingly original style, fusing European modernism with centuries-old Eastern traditions.
General Orders No. 9

2011

General Orders No. 9

2011
6.8
One last trip down the rabbit hole before it gets paved over. A deep geography. What is above and what is below. What came before and what will come after. Agrarian fantasies, sacrificial rites, and excavations. A story told with maps, dreams, and prayers. A map lesson in three parts. A history of the State of Georgia - or Anywhere.
Echoes of Home

2007

Echoes of Home

2007
6.7
What does a baby's cry have in common with the echo of a mountain yodler, and what connects the head tone of a Tuvin nomad with the stage show of a vocal artist? The answer is: THE VOICE. Against a background of powerful alpine vistas and modern city landscapes, "heimatklänge" enters the wondrous sonic world of three exceptional Swiss vocal artists. Their universe of sound extends far beyond what we would describe as singing. In their engagement with local and foreign traditions, the powerful mountain landscape becomes a stage as do the landscapes and sonic backdrops of modern life.
Semper Fi: Always Faithful

2011

Semper Fi: Always Faithful

2011
6.8
Marine Corps Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger was a devoted Marine for nearly twenty-five years. As a drill instructor he lived and breathed the "Corps" and was responsible for indoctrinating thousands of new recruits with its motto Semper Fidelis or "Always Faithful". When Jerry's nine-year old daughter Janey died of a rare type of leukemia, his world collapsed. As a grief-stricken father, he struggled for years to make sense of what happened. His search for answers led to the shocking discovery of a Marine Corps cover-up of one of the largest water contamination incidents in U.S. history. Semper Fi: Always Faithful follows Jerry's mission to expose the Marine Corps and force them to live up to their motto to the thousands of soldiers and their families exposed to toxic chemicals. His fight reveals a grave injustice at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune and a looming environmental crisis at military sites across the country.
Slavery by Another Name

2012

Slavery by Another Name

2012
7.2
A documentary that recounts the many ways in which American slavery persisted as a practice many decades after its supposed abolition.