Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 160

Many Beautiful Things

2015

Many Beautiful Things

2015
6
In an age when women were incapable of joining the artistic dialogue, Lilias Trotter managed to win the favour of celebrated critics.
95 and 6 to Go

2016

95 and 6 to Go

2016
6
Filmmaker Kimi Takesue captures the cadence of daily life for Grandpa Tom, a retired postal worker born to Japanese immigrants to Hawai’i in the 1910s. Amidst the solitude of his home routines — coupon clipping, rigging an improvised barbecue, lighting firecrackers on the New Year — we glimpse an unexpectedly rich inner life.
The Last Happy Day

2009

The Last Happy Day

2009
5
THE LAST HAPPY DAY is an experimental documentary portrait of Sandor (Alexander) Lenard, a Hungarian medical doctor and a distant cousin of filmmaker Lynne Sachs. In 1938 Lenard, a writer with a Jewish background, fled the Nazis to a safe haven in Rome. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service hired Lenard to reconstruct the bones, small and large, of dead American soldiers. Eventually he found himself in remotest Brazil where he embarked on the translation of “Winnie the Pooh” into Latin, an eccentric task that catapulted him to brief world-wide fame. Sachs’ essay film uses personal letters, abstracted war imagery, home movies, interviews and a children’s performance to create an intimate meditation on the destructive power of war.
Führer Cult and Megalomania

2011

Führer Cult and Megalomania

2011
6
By early in the twentieth century, Nuremberg was regarded as the most anti-Semitic city in Europe. By 1929, Hitler had decided to make Nuremberg the "City of the Party Rallies" and a symbol representing the greatness of the German Empire. Even today, it is possible to see signs in Nuremberg of the megalomaniac proportions that the system was to assume.
True New York

2016

True New York

2016
10
True New York is a feature-length anthology documentary film featuring five award-winning short documentaries set in New York City.
July '64

2004

July '64

2004
7
A historic three-day race riot erupted in two African American neighborhoods in the northern, mid-sized city of Rochester, New York. On the night of July 24, 1964, frustration and resentment brought on by institutional racism, overcrowding, lack of job opportunity and police dog attacks exploded in racial violence that brought Rochester to its knees. Combines historic archival footage, news reports, and interviews with witnesses and participants to dig deeply into the causes and effects of the historic disturbance.
An American in Sophiatown

2007

An American in Sophiatown

2007
7
Interwoven with clips from the original film "Come Back Africa", the late Lionel Rogosin tells the story of how he penetrated Sophiatown, Johannesburg during the iron rule of the apartheid regime. In what develops like a political thriller, An American in Sophiatown is one of the most damning portrayals of this police state.
Queens At Heart

1967

Queens At Heart

1967
1
A rare archival short, Queens at Heart follows four shockingly courageous pre-Stonewall trans women, Misty, Vicky, Sonja, and Simone. They go out as women at night, but live as men during the day, take hormones, and dream of “going for a change.” Subjected to a six-month psychological project, and cross-examined by dubious “experts” all four women are incredibly captivating subjects—whether being interrogated or partying at the ball.
Echoes 'Cross the Tracks

2012

Echoes 'Cross the Tracks

2012
6
A powerful documentary starring Morgan Freeman about the genesis of The Blues in the South and the music spreading around the world. Morgan Freeman shares his story of his experience of growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi and his love for the Blues.
Donald Trump: The Apprentice President?

2016

Donald Trump: The Apprentice President?

2016
1
Since announcing his candidacy, Donald Trump is everywhere. To him, it seems that nothing is taboo and no policy too outlandish to embrace. Somehow, this billionaire candidate has become the champion of ordinary America, with supporters travelling hundreds of miles just to see him.
Frogs: The Thin Green Line

2009

Frogs: The Thin Green Line

2009
6
An examination of the extinction threat faced by frogs, which have hopped on Earth for some 250 million years and are a crucial cog in the ecosystem. Scientists believe they've pinpointed a cause for the loss of many of the amphibians: the chytrid fungus, which flourishes in high altitudes. Unfortunately, they don't know how to combat it. Included: an isolated forest in Panama that has yet to be touched by the fungus, thus enabling frogs to live and thrive as they have for eons.
They Are We

2014

They Are We

2014
10
The story of an Afro-Cuban group who kept alive songs and dances their ancestor had brought aboard the slave ship from Africa. They were so specific that around 200 years later, a village of Africans watched them, joined in singing, and said simply, joyously: "They Are We". This film tells the story of how they found each other and how they work to be able to reunite.
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star

1991

Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star

1991
7
A retrospective on the career of Robert Mitchum through interviews with friends and co-workers, scenes from his films and the actor himself.
The Rise of ISIS

2014

The Rise of ISIS

2014
7
Women Behind the Camera

2007

Women Behind the Camera

2007
7
Reveals the courageous lives of pioneer camerawomen from Hollywood to Bollywood, from war zones to children’s laughter, in a way that has never been seen before. Based on a book by Alexis Krasilovsky, the film tells the stories of camerawomen surviving the odds in Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Mexico, the U.S. and other countries, as well as exploring their individual visions.
First Lady of the Revolution

2016

First Lady of the Revolution

2016
0.5
While visiting an aunt and uncle in the exotic countryside of Costa Rica, a young southern belle from Alabama accepted a ride on the back of a motorcycle belonging to a local charismatic farmer — a ride that would propel her down narrow mountain roads and into history. First Lady of the Revolution is the remarkable story of Henrietta Boggs, who fell in love with a foreign land and the man destined to transform its identity. Her marriage to Jose ‘Don Pepe’ Figueres in 1941 led to a decade-long journey through activism, exile and political upheaval and, ultimately, lasting progressive reforms. First Lady of the Revolution is not only a depiction of the momentous struggle to shape Costa Rica’s democratic identity; it’s also a portrayal of how a courageous woman escaped the confines of a traditional, sheltered existence to expand her horizons into a new world, and live a life she never imagined.
An Art That Nature Makes: The Work of Rosamond Purcell

2016

An Art That Nature Makes: The Work of Rosamond Purcell

2016
5
Finding unexpected beauty in the discarded and decayed, photographer Rosamond Purcell has developed an oeuvre of work that has garnered international acclaim, graced the pages of National Geographic and over 20 published books, and has enlisted admirers such as Jonathan Safran Foer, Errol Morris and Stephen Jay Gould. AN ART THAT NATURE MAKES details Purcell’s fascination with the natural world—from a mastodon tooth to a hydrocephalic skull—offering insight into her unique way of recontextualizing objects both ordinary and strange into sometimes disturbing but always breathtaking imagery.
When I Came Home

2006

When I Came Home

2006
7
Iraq War veteran Herold Noel suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and lives out of his car in Brooklyn. Using Noel's story as a fulcrum, this doc examines the wider issue of homeless U.S. military veterans-from Vietnam to Iraq-who have to fight tooth-and-nail to receive the benefits promised to them by their government.
Von Werra

2002

Von Werra

2002
7.5
Irwin & Fran

2013

Irwin & Fran

2013
8
Professor Irwin Corey is now 101 years old and he is a well known comedian, entertainer and political satirist. Fran is 95 and his wife of 71 years. Dick Gregory shares Irwin's contribution and family friend Susan Sarandon narrates.