Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 108

Radio Unnameable

2012

Radio Unnameable

2012
7.6
The story of legendary New York City disc jockey Bob Fass who pioneered free expression on the airwaves with his long running FM program 'Radio Unnameable'.
Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man

2006

Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man

2006
8.4
Thomas Sankara, former president of Burkina Faso, was known as "the African Che", and became famous in Africa due to his innovative ideas, his devastating humor, his spirit and his altruism. More than a classic biography, this film sheds light on the impact that this man and his politic made on Burkina Faso and Africa in general.
The World Without US

2008

The World Without US

2008
5.3
What would happen should the United States leave the international scene, and become again a "normal nation", a republic, and not an empire? To find an answer to this question, director and producer Mitch Anderson embarked on an investigative trip on four continents. "The World Without US" is an in-depth investigation of how US foreign policy affects the lives of millions of people around the world.
Licensed to Kill

1997

Licensed to Kill

1997
3.4
A riveting journey into the minds of men whose contempt for homosexuals led them to murder. Attacked in 1977 by gay bashers on the streets of San Francisco, filmmaker Arthur Dong confronts murderers of gay men face-to-face in his film. He asks them directly: “Why did you do it?”
The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story

1996

The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story

1996
7
The childhood, adolescence, and incredible adult years of Al Hirschfeld, celebrated creator of thousands of line drawings of famous people - many in the entertainment industry - over a span of more than sixty years. He is still drawing in his nineties. His interesting domestic life, political, and cultural views are highlights. In addition, he talks about himself a bit - seriously and lightly.(At one point he he claims that his only form of exercise has been to live in his Manhattan townhouse: stairs). He drives his car around Manhattan - an adventure in itself. Brief interviews with, and reminiscences of many friends and associates.
Small Wonders

1996

Small Wonders

1996
7.4
A dedicated music teacher in East Harlem instructs a gaggle of underprivileged children in the art of the violin. In the climax, they play Carnegie Hall with some of the world's foremost fiddlers.
State Legislature

2007

State Legislature

2007
7.6
STATE LEGISLATURE shows the day-to-day activities of the Idaho Legislature during an entire session. Lobbyists, lawmakers and their constituents are seen debating and discussing the concerns of the electorate, on issues that range from violence in schools, mad cow disease and video voyeurism to illegal immigration, secondhand smoke and the deregulation of telephone rates. The film is an example of the achievements, values, constraints and limitations of the democratic process.
Portrait of Wally

2012

Portrait of Wally

2012
6
“Portrait of Wally”, Egon Schiele’s tender picture of his mistress, Walburga (“Wally”) Neuzil, is the pride of the Leopold Museum in Vienna. But for 13 years the painting was locked up in New York, caught in a legal battle between the Austrian museum and the Jewish family from whom the Nazis seized the painting in 1939.
Meanwhile in Mamelodi

2011

Meanwhile in Mamelodi

2011
5.1
Set against the raucous backdrop of the 2010 World Cup, MEANWHILE IN MAMELODI is a beautifully crafted portrait of a place and one family’s daily life inside it. The Mtsweni family lives in the Pretoria Township of the title, in the district known as Extension 11. Their world is a ramshackle collection of corrugated tin dwellings and makeshift shops, open sewers littered with debris and red-earth rectangles filled with soccer-playing children and teens. Seventeen-year-old Mosquito is one of those kids. As she studies for math tests, flirts with boys and shops with her best friend, her father Steven prepares his "tuck shop" for the promise of cash-flush tourists. Meanwhile, his wife struggles with mental illness. The Mtswenis' lives unfold as the Cup brings new hope to the ravaged town. Despite the poverty around her, Mosquito insists this is not her parents' country. She is the face of South Africa's future - part of "a new generation free to do all things."
Live Nude Girls Unite!

2000

Live Nude Girls Unite!

2000
3.8
Documentary look at the 1996-97 effort of the dancers and support staff at a San Francisco peep show, The Lusty Lady, to unionize. Angered by arbitrary and race-based wage policies, customers' surreptitious video cameras, and no paid sick days or holidays, the dancers get help from the Service Employees International local and enter protracted bargaining with the union-busting law firm that management hires. We see the women work, sort out their demands, and go through the difficulties of bargaining. The narrator is Julia Query, a dancer and stand-up comedian who is reluctant to tell her mother, a physician who works with prostitutes, that she strips.
Food Fight

2008

Food Fight

2008
8
A fascinating look at how American agricultural policy and food culture developed in the 20th century, and how the California food movement rebelled against big agribusiness to launch the local organic food movement.
Television Under the Swastika

1999

Television Under the Swastika

1999
6.8
A history of Nazi television programming and technology, from 1935 to 1944.
Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon

1982

Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon

1982
6.2
Musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti recorded more than 60 albums to promote the magic of Afrobeat but never lost his political voice as an outspoken critic against widespread government corruption in Nigeria. This documentary examines the role that Fela, dubbed "Black President," played in shedding light on atrocities in his homeland and in promoting the ascent of African music worldwide.
Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press

2008

Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press

2008
4.4
A look at the life and work of American publisher Barney Rosset, who struggled to bring controversial works like "Tropic of Cancer" and "Naked Lunch" to publication.
An African Election

2011

An African Election

2011
7.4
Filmmaker Jarreth Merz directs this eye-opening documentary about the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, chronicling the start-to-finish drama of campaigning in a nation that's long served as a measure of the continent's political stability.
Long Night's Journey Into Day

2000

Long Night's Journey Into Day

2000
6.2
This documentary tells four stories of Apartheid in South Africa, as seen through the eyes of the Truth and Reconciliation commission
Cunnamulla

2000

Cunnamulla

2000
5.6
Cunnamulla, 800 kilometres west of Brisbane, is the end of the railway line. In the months leading up to a scorching Christmas in the bush, there's a lot more going on than the annual lizard race. Here, Aboriginal and white Australians live together but apart. Creativity struggles against indifference, eccentricity against conformity.
The Philosopher Kings

2009

The Philosopher Kings

2009
6.2
An exploration of wisdom in the heart of America's most prestigious universities.
Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry

2004

Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry

2004
7.4
A documentary on Senator John Kerry's Navy tour of duty in Vietnam, his contributions to the peace movement that followed, and the ultimate shape of his future political career.
Black Harvest

1992

Black Harvest

1992
6.6
Joe Leahy is the half-caste son of one of the first explorers of the Papua New Guinean interior. The documentary explores his relationship with the tribes that work his coffee plantation and explores what happens when the coffee market situation becomes more difficult.