Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 106

Divorce: A Journey Through the Kid's Eyes

2014

Divorce: A Journey Through the Kid's Eyes

2014
5.4
A powerful examination of the effects of divorce told by kids for kids that the whole family will benefit from. Witness testimonies as kids face the trauma, work through the pain, and learn to heal.
Lincoln@Gettysburg

2013

Lincoln@Gettysburg

2013
7.4
An examination of how President Abraham Lincoln used contemporary telecommunications to his maximum advantage in the American Civil War.
Leona's Sister Gerri

1995

Leona's Sister Gerri

1995
6.4
Millions have seen the photograph, and no one who has seen it will ever forget it. A naked woman, dead from a botched illegal abortion, lying on a motel room floor. The picture appeared in Ms. Magazine in April 1973, and quickly became a symbol for the abortion rights movement. LEONA'S SISTER GERRI tells the dramatic story of Gerri Santoro, a mother of two and the "real person" in the now famous photo. Should the media have used this image? What circumstances led to Gerri's tragic death? Powerfully addressing issues of reproductive rights and domestic violence, this video is a moving portrait of Gerri Santoro's life and society's response to her death.
Asylum

1972

Asylum

1972
5.8
A documentary crew lives with the schizophrenic residents of a group home based upon radical psychiatrist R. D. Laing's controversial approach to healing through compassion and freedom.
Escape to Life: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story

2001

Escape to Life: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story

2001
4.2
This documentary contains dramatized episodes about the lives of Erika and Klaus Mann, the brilliant children of German writer Thomas Mann.
I Remember Me

2000

I Remember Me

2000
5.6
In 1984-85, people at Lake Tahoe fell ill with flu symptoms, but they didn't get better. Medical literature documents similar outbreaks: in 1934 at LA county hospital, in 1948-49 in Iceland, in 1956 in Punta Gorda, Florida. The malady now has a name, chronic fatigue syndrome, and filmmaker Kim Snyder, who suffered from the disease for several years, tells her story and talks to victims and their families, and to physicians and researchers: is it viral, it is psychosomatic, is it one disease or several (a syndrome) ; what's the CDC doing about it; what's it like to have a disease that's not yet understood? Her inquiry takes her to Punta Gorda and to a high-school graduation.
Man without Pigs

1990

Man without Pigs

1990
6.4
John Waiko is the first Papua New Guinea man to graduate with a PhD and be appointed a professor. He returns to the Binandere clan and his small village of Tabara in the Northern Province of PNG. Once there, he has to organise a celebration for his achievements with his family’s help. Since he has been away for most of his life, he has no recognised wealth in the village (the pigs used for gift giving), nor a network of supporters or knowledge of the preparation and rituals for having such a celebration. He wants the event to happen quickly but that’s not the way it works in Tabara. Man without pigs focuses on the antagonism aroused by the clash between traditional customs and Western values in this remote PNG community.
Drops of Joy

2014

Drops of Joy

2014
8.3
Pointing out the importance of maintaining a playful spirit, which we all have when we are kids and society forces us to abandon in our adult lives, Drops of Joy is a documentary that speaks widely about the idea that playing is something very serious and urgent.
Kristina Talking Pictures

1976

Kristina Talking Pictures

1976
3.4
Kristina, a self-named Hungarian female lion tamer, arrives in New York to become a dance choreographer. Kristina, now a middle-class NYC artist concerned about the environment, has a sailor lover named Raoul. The film, a collage work, an essay film, a fictional narrative and a documentary all rolled into one, is one of the most important independent American feminists films made during the 1970's.
Gulpilil: One Red Blood

2002

Gulpilil: One Red Blood

2002
6.6
An hour-long documentary on the life and career of actor David Gulpilil.
Imagine the Sound

1981

Imagine the Sound

1981
6.6
An examination, shown through both interviews and performances, of the avant-garde free jazz movement which reigned during the 1960s.
Mad As Hell

2014

Mad As Hell

2014
5.7
MAD AS HELL follows Cenk Uygur's transformation from unknown talk show host on local Public Access TV to an internet sensation with his online news show "The Young Turks," which has amassed over one billion views on YouTube. Once Cenk ventures from the internet into national television and lands the 6 PM time slot on MSNBC, his uncensored brand of journalism is compromised and Cenk becomes the nexus in the battle between new and old media.
Why Knot

2014

Why Knot

2014
3.2
Why do human beings get married in almost every society in the world? Why do we cheat? Why is monogamy so important to a relationship and why does infidelity cause so much grief? These are some of the questions acclaimed documentary filmmaker Dhruv Dhawan confronts in his next feature length documentary which explores why human beings evolved cultures of marriage and monogamy that are rife with infidelity. As he attends various lavish weddings occurring within his family, Dhruv is pestered to follow suit but is haunted by his family’s history of infidelity, as well as his own and embarks on a personal quest to discover the origins of marriage, the reasons for monogamy and the pain of infidelity as he tries to mediate an open relationship with the woman he loves. Dhruv’s search takes us on a journey into the biology of sex, the history of patriarchy and the politics of monogamy told through the lives of scientists, swingers, adulterers and Dhruv’s own family.
Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel

1978

Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel

1978
7.4
Documentary examining the life and career of producer/director Roger Corman. Clips from his films and interviews with actors and crew members who have worked with him are featured.
Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story

2014

Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story

2014
4.9
A former U.S. Navy Seal seeks life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness living life as a transgender woman.
American Courtesans

2013

American Courtesans

2013
4.2
American Courtesans is a feature documentary that takes you into the lives of American Sex Workers. These women candidly discuss what brought them to the doors of the sex trade, what they found when they got there and why they stayed. Follow eleven Sex Workers through the streets, massage parlors, brothels and strip clubs to New York high rises and the bell captains in Vegas. This is a story, a different kind of American Story, that will leave you speechless.
After Winter Comes Spring

1989

After Winter Comes Spring

1989
7.6
A locomotive journey traversing the North to the South of the German Democratic Republic on the eve of its dissolution. Labourers, punks, mothers, intellectuals, young and old are implored to reflect on their life choices, the sacrifices they've made, and their place in the world. Despite everything, hope persists.
Tongpan

1977

Tongpan

1977
7.4
Tongpan is a 1977 Thai 16 mm black-and-white docudrama that re-creates a seminar that took place in Northeast Thailand in 1975 to discuss the proposed Pa-Mong Dam on the Mekong. Interwoven are sequences depicting a poor farmer, Tongpan, who had lost his land to another dam some years before, and his struggles to make ends meet.
JFK: A President Betrayed

2013

JFK: A President Betrayed

2013
7.4
Narrated by Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, "JFK: A President Betrayed" uncovers new evidence that reveals how JFK embarked on secret back channel peace efforts with Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro and was determined to get out of Vietnam despite intense opposition inside his own government.
The Edge of Dreaming

2010

The Edge of Dreaming

2010
4.8
This is the story of a rational, skeptical woman, a mother and wife, who does not remember her dreams. Except once, when she dreamed her horse was dying. She woke so scared she went outside in the night. She found him dead. The next dream told her she would die herself, when she was 48.