Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy

Super Size Me

2004

Super Size Me

2004
6.7
Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a diet based only on McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days without exercising to try to prove why so many Americans are fat or obese. He submits himself to a complete check-up by three doctors, comparing his weight along the way, resulting in a scary conclusion.
Bowling for Columbine

2002

Bowling for Columbine

2002
7.5
This is not a film about gun control. It is a film about the fearful heart and soul of the United States, and the 280 million Americans lucky enough to have the right to a constitutionally protected Uzi. From a look at the Columbine High School security camera tapes to the home of Oscar-winning NRA President Charlton Heston, from a young man who makes homemade napalm with The Anarchist's Cookbook to the murder of a six-year-old girl by another six-year-old. Bowling for Columbine is a journey through the US, through our past, hoping to discover why our pursuit of happiness is so riddled with violence.
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.
Amy

2015

Amy

2015
7.6
A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.
Blackfish

2013

Blackfish

2013
7.8
Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
An Inconvenient Truth

2006

An Inconvenient Truth

2006
7
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
Man on Wire

2008

Man on Wire

2008
7.4
On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit's "highest" achievement.
Grizzly Man

2005

Grizzly Man

2005
7.5
Werner Herzog's documentary film about the "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one man's attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

2015

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

2015
7.6
GOING CLEAR intimately profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, shining a light on how they attract true believers and the things they do in the name of religion.
Man with a Movie Camera

1929

Man with a Movie Camera

1929
7.8
A cameraman wanders around with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling inventiveness.
The Imposter

2012

The Imposter

2012
7.3
In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later he is found alive thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.
Three Identical Strangers

2018

Three Identical Strangers

2018
7.3
New York, 1980. Three complete strangers accidentally discover that they're identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds' joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi

2011

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

2011
7.8
Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.
The Cove

2009

The Cove

2009
7.9
The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.
Food, Inc.

2008

Food, Inc.

2008
7.3
Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and supermarkets where it's sold. Narrated by author and activist Eric Schlosser, the film features interviews with average Americans about their dietary habits, commentary from food experts like Michael Pollan and unsettling footage shot inside large-scale animal processing plants.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

2008

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

2008
8.1
In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.
Capitalism: A Love Story

2009

Capitalism: A Love Story

2009
7.1
Michael Moore comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).
I Am Not Your Negro

2017

I Am Not Your Negro

2017
7.7
Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the United States.
Pumping Iron

1977

Pumping Iron

1977
7.1
Amateur and professional bodybuilders prepare for the 1975 Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe contests as five-time champion Arnold Schwarzenegger defends his Mr. Olympia title against Serge Nubret and the shy young Lou Ferrigno.
Taxi

2015

Taxi

2015
7
A yellow cab is driving through the vibrant and colourful streets of Tehran. Very diverse passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being interviewed by the driver who is no one else but the director Jafar Panahi himself. His camera placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio captures the spirit of Iranian society through this comedic and dramatic drive…

Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy

2004

2004

2002

2002

2004

2004

2015

2015

2013

2013

2006

2006

2008

2008

2005

2005

2015

2015

1929

1929

2012

2012

2018

2018

2011

2011

2009

2009

2008

2008

2008

2008

2009

2009

2017

2017

1977

1977

2015

2015