Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 138

From the Back of the Room

2011

From the Back of the Room

2011
4
Although it is often credited with spurring the "third wave" of feminism, Riot Grrrl seemed to many to be a blip in the media. Riot Grrrl paved the way for the more mainstream "girl power" phenomenon, but was ultimately forgotten until recently. This film tackles the past thirty years of female involvement in Do It Yourself music, and aims to give a more complete picture of how women have participated in the D.I.Y. community, and how it affects their daily lives.
Back to the Garden, Flower Power Comes Full Circle

2009

Back to the Garden, Flower Power Comes Full Circle

2009
3.3
In 1988, filmmaker Kevin Tomlinson filmed & interviewed a group of back-to-the- land "hippies"--living off-grid, insulated from mainstream culture. In 2006 he tracked down his subjects again to find out what had become of their families' utopian plans and dreams.
In Spring One Plants Alone

1980

In Spring One Plants Alone

1980
6
This is the story of Puhi, an aged Maori woman and Niki, her fully grown but wholly dependent son. The world they occupy is not a world of large events but the rituals of everyday life, traditions and interdependence. “In Spring One Plants Alone” documents the minutiae of their very enclosed existence. Filmed over a period of one and a half years, it emerges as a rare, haunting and powerful portrayal of their life together. This is the story of their rituals and of their survival. The small and disconnected instances that we encounter form a lone vision of the rifts and the bond between an old woman and her disturbed son.
The First Emperor of China

1989

The First Emperor of China

1989
4.3
This historical drama tells the story of Qin Shihuang, who unified China's vast territory and declared himself emperor in 221 B.C. During his reign, he introduced sweeping reforms, built a vast network of roads and connected the Great Wall of China. From the grandiose inner sanctum of Emperor Qin's royal palace, to fierce battles with feudal kings, this film re-creates the glory and the terror of the Qin Dynasty, including footage of Qin's life-sized terra cotta army, constructed 2,200 years ago for his tomb.
Coast Modern

2012

Coast Modern

2012
8
A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors.
Britney Spears: Workin' It

2014

Britney Spears: Workin' It

2014
8.3
With the release of her eighth studio album, Britney is back and she's workin' it! This documentary chronicles the career of international superstar from her more innocent years with the release of "Baby One more Time" to being the highest paid judge on US X Factor and collaborating with Will.i.am on her latest album. She is worldwide a pop icon, who continues to grow and deliver to her fans. This is her inside story.
The 1964 World's Fair

1996

The 1964 World's Fair

1996
6.7
Relive the dazzle, wonder and fun of The 1964 World's Fair, an extraordinary documentary that takes a fresh look at the sights and sounds of this once-in-a-lifetime event. So jump in that old station wagon and take a ride back to the 1964 New York World's Fair!
Alice Neel

2007

Alice Neel

2007
4.3
The life and work of Alice Neel (1900-1984), American portrait painter. Part of the narration is chronological, part consists of interviews with friends, other artists, scholars, and family members, particularly two sons, Richard and Hartley, who are none too sanguine about their childhood and their mother's Bohemian life, and the filmmaker himself, a grandson whose querulous voice is heard from time to time. The film also includes footage of Neel, later in life, painting, talking, appearing on television, and giving lectures. Throughout, we see her paintings, bold, frank, and direct. After years of poverty and obscurity, fame comes as she nears 70.
My Life as a Turkey

2011

My Life as a Turkey

2011
7
Naturalist Joe Hutto's remarkable experience of being imprinted on by group of wild turkey hatchlings, and raising them to adulthood and beyond, in the remote wilderness of northern Florida.
Doctors of the Dark Side

2011

Doctors of the Dark Side

2011
6.8
Doctors of the Dark Side is the first feature length documentary about the pivotal role of physicians and psychologists in detainee torture. The stories of four detainees and the doctors involved in their abuse demonstrate how US Army and CIA doctors implemented the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and covered up signs of torture at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Interviews with medical, legal and intelligence experts and evidence from declassified government memos document what has been called the greatest scandal in American medical ethics. Based on four years of research by Producer/Director Martha Davis, written by Oscar winning Mark Jonathan Harris, and filmed in HD by Emmy winning DP Lisa Rinzler, the film shows how the torture of detainees could not continue without the assistance of the doctors.
One Cut, One Life

2014

One Cut, One Life

2014
5
When seminal documentarian Ed Pincus is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he and collaborator Lucia Small team up to make one last film, much to the chagrin of Jane, Ed’s wife of 50 years. Told from two points of view with vulnerability, intimacy and humor, ONE CUT, ONE LIFE challenges the form of first person documentary while offering a complex story of love, loss, legacy, and the delicacy of capturing the preciousness of life while time is fleeting.
A Boy Named Sue

2000

A Boy Named Sue

2000
2.3
A Boy Named Sue chronicles the transformation of a transsexual named Theo from a woman to a man over the course of six years. Following Theo's physiological and psychological changes during the process, as well as their effects on his lesbian lover and community of close friends, A Boy Named Sue tells a story about gender identity, relationships, and how even things that seem permanent can change.
The Devil Never Sleeps

1994

The Devil Never Sleeps

1994
5
The Devil Never Sleeps is a “whodunit” documentary about family secrets. Filmmaker Lourdes Portillo received a phone call informing her of the mysterious death of her wealthy Mexican uncle Oscar. Officially ruled a suicide, Portillo’s relatives claimed murder, offering several possible suspects including a business partner, a ranch hand, and Oscar’s young widow who stood to inherit everything. Traveling to Mexico, Portillo attempts to learn the truth about her powerful uncle. Using interviews, old snapshots and home movies, she finds a complicated web of family secrets, intrigue, rumor and betrayal that makes her enigmatic uncle’s murder seem ever more likely, yet ever more obscure. As the Mexican saying goes, “When evil is lurking, the devil never sleeps.”
The Starfish Throwers

2013

The Starfish Throwers

2013
4.8
Powerful, direct and heartrending, The Starfish Throwers explores how three of the world's most fiercely compassionate individuals struggle to restore hope to the hopeless in unexpected and sometimes dangerous ways. Continents apart, a sixth grader, a top chef and retired school teacher fight what seems an unwinnable war until they discover their impact may reach further than their action
Advance Australian Film

2014

Advance Australian Film

2014
5.7
It's been 20 years since an Australian film has reached number one at the yearly Box Office and our films have consistently grossed under 5% for the years. So what can we do to make a change?
Eye on the Guy: Alan B. Stone & the Age of Beefcake

2006

Eye on the Guy: Alan B. Stone & the Age of Beefcake

2006
3.7
Alan B. Stone: astute businessman, quiet suburbanite - and master of the homoerotic pin-up. Eye on the Guy: Alan B. Stone & the Age of Beefcake explores the little-known world of Montreal's physique photography scene - a distinct gay subculture that emerged in the '50s and '60s - through the life and work of one of its most creative figures. Before the first wave of gay liberation, and long before Calvin Klein's poster boys marched into public view, Stone was taking hundreds of erotic photos of men and running an international mail-order business from his Montreal basement.
Sex(ed): The Movie

2014

Sex(ed): The Movie

2014
7.3
A documentary on the history of sex education
An American Journey: In Robert Frank's Footsteps

2009

An American Journey: In Robert Frank's Footsteps

2009
5.7
Paying tribute to Swiss photographer Robert Frank's groundbreaking 1958 book The Americans, French filmmaker Philippe Seclier retraces Frank's footsteps across America with camera in hand, capturing images of contemporary America 50 years later.
The Pink Room

2011

The Pink Room

2011
6.3
After selling herself at fourteen to a brothel inside her home town of Svay Pak, Mien takes an undesired path all over Cambodia for the remainder of her teenage life. At twenty, her path crosses with a group of people fighting to make a difference, bringing her long and onerous journey back to face where it all began. The Pink Room is an intertwined story of the heart-rending, epic battle to end sex slavery, from rescue to prevention, and experiencing first hand, the need to change not just individuals, but the communities they come from. Most documentaries on trafficking only bring awareness to the problem. This film bring awareness to the solutions.
A Life without Words

2011

A Life without Words

2011
5.5
In rural Nicaragua, Dulce Maria and her brother Francisco are Deaf adults who know no language at all--spoken, written or signed--until Tomasa, a Deaf sign-language teacher, arrives determined to teach them their first words.