Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 168

Grounded

2013

Grounded

2013
7
Grounded is the high flying adventure of Pittsburgh marijuana smuggling brothers Terry and Jimmy Dougherty. Jimmy worked the ground crew and Terry was the pilot whose skills helped expand the smuggling operation beyond their wildest expectations. Their adventures stretched from the farmers fields of rural Alabama and Florida to the dirt runways of Colombia and back again. The film is packed with hair-raising tales of smuggling aviation keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. Getting the marijuana was easy, delivering it was the adventure.
The Teachers of the Republic

2013

The Teachers of the Republic

2013
6
Republican Teachers were some women who participated in the conquest of the rights of women and the modernization of education, based on the principles of democratic public school. This documentary through the recreation of a teacher at the time, and unpublished archival images, we discover the legacy that we have left the teachers Republican and has survived to this day.
Charlie Chaplin: His Life & Work

2003

Charlie Chaplin: His Life & Work

2003
5
Charlie Chaplin's rise to fame in the pioneering days of the film industry is one of the most dramatic rags to riches stories ever told. Follow his success in detail with clips from his movies providing a backdrop to this ‚'Intimate Biography'.
I Am Secretly An Important Man

2010

I Am Secretly An Important Man

2010
8
A portrait of the writer and poet Steven J. Bernstein (aka Jesse Bernstein), one of Seattle's most celebrated and troubled voices. His angry, surprisingly fresh, lyrical writings are about sensitive souls, drifters and drug addicts, people alienated by a society that refuses to understand them. Bernstein was an integral part of the legendary Seattle rock scene of the late 80's and early 90s, and in 1991 was dubbed the 'Godfather of Grunge.'
Where Are We? Our Trip Through America

1993

Where Are We? Our Trip Through America

1993
1
Accomplished documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeff Friedman take a trip across the American South and Southwest, asking people about their hopes and fears.
The Matter of Angels & Demons

2009

The Matter of Angels & Demons

2009
8
This probing analysis of the popular Dan Brown novel Angels and Demons explores the many contentious issues raised by the book - like the politics of the Catholic church, and the perceived conflict between science and religion.
London Orbital

2002

London Orbital

2002
6
A filmmaker sets out to make a voyage of discovery on London's orbital motorway, the M25. He enlists the help of several others to film the motorway from several points, drive endlessly around it and dig up stories and potential beauty behind the motorway.
Something to Do with the Wall

1991

Something to Do with the Wall

1991
7
In 1986, Ross McElwee (Sherman's March) and Marilyn Levine were making a film about the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall, when the imposing structure was still very much intact as the world’s most visible symbol of hardline Communism and Cold War lore. They thought they were making a documentary on the community of tourists, soldiers, and West Berliners who lived in the seemingly eternal presence of the graffiti emblazoned eyesore. But in 1989, as the original film neared completion, the Wall came down, and McElwee and Levine returned to Berlin, this time to capture the radically different atmosphere of the reunified city.
The Restaurateur

2010

The Restaurateur

2010
6
Documentary about the grueling construction of not one but two world class restaurants. In this food-driven documentary, director Roger M. Sherman shadows restaurateur Danny Meyer, the culinary brains behind Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern in an attempt to find out what fuels his business cravings.
Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire

2013

Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire

2013
8.5
With the original intention of empowering a citizenry's ability to defend themselves against a corrupt or tyrannical government, the concept today may seem farfetched or the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. However, it has happened throughout U.S. history. And long before gun control was positioned as a "common sense measure" to combat violence, it was used as a means to oppress certain minority groups. Presently, the growing trend in gun control favors the wealthy and privileged, who leverage their connections to ensure their Second Amendment rights and safety, while those of lesser means struggle. Informative and emotionally charged, "Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire" is an eye-opening look at the genesis of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, leading the audience to rethink the issues surrounding gun control, and the effect on civil rights and liberty. After all, what you don't know can kill you.
Intimidad

2008

Intimidad

2008
8
Shot over the course of five years, Intimidad is an in-depth portrait of Cecy and Camilo Ramirez, a young couple struggling to make ends meet in Reynosa, Mexico. They have recently left their 2-year old daughter, Loida, with Cecy's mother in Santa Maria in the hopes of building a proper home and after one year, they return to visit her for the Christmas holidays. But their vacation is barely the respite the couple expected, as Loida hardly recognizes her parents, and a sudden tragedy threatens to tear the family apart.
Booked for Safekeeping

1960

Booked for Safekeeping

1960
6
A training film showing police officers how to deal with persons who are mentally ill.
All of Me

2013

All of Me

2013
4
The 'Girls' have been friends for years, bonding over hopes, dreams, food, and the shared experience of being obese. But, now, as some pursue weight-loss surgery, their center has shifted and upset everything they knew about happiness, friendship, and love.
This Ain't No Mouse Music!

2014

This Ain't No Mouse Music!

2014
7
Loving, music-filled tribute to Chris Strachwitz, guiding force behind legendary roots music label Arhoolie Records. With Ry Cooder, Clifton Chenier, Richard Thompson, Flaco Jiménez and a new generation of roots musicians.
Evergreen: The Road to Legalization in Washington

2013

Evergreen: The Road to Legalization in Washington

2013
6
A documentary on how Washington State legalized recreational marijuana and the effects of this decision on the state, the nation and the world.
American Commune

2013

American Commune

2013
5
In 1970, hundreds of hippies followed Stephen Gaskin on a journey from San Francisco to Tennessee, where they founded a legendary commune known as the Farm. Within this self-sustaining society based on non-violence, vegetarianism and respect for the earth, members willingly took a vow of poverty, lived in converted buses, grew their own food and home-delivered babies. Born and raised in this alternative community, filmmakers and sisters Rena and Nadine return for the first time since leaving in 1985. Finally ready to face the past after years of hiding their upbringing, they chart the rise and fall of America’s largest utopian socialist experiment and their own family tree. The nascent idealism of a community destroyed, in part, by its own success is reflected in the personal story of a family unit split apart by differences. American Commune finds inspiration in failure, humour in deprivation and, most surprisingly, that communal values are alive and well in the next generation.
The Mosque in Morgantown

2009

The Mosque in Morgantown

2009
7
One woman's campaign against extremism in her West Virginia mosque throws the community into turmoil, raising questions that cut to the heart of American Islam.
Do the Math

2013

Do the Math

2013
6
It’s simple math: we can burn less than 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide and stay below 2°C of warming — anything more than that risks catastrophe for life on earth. The only problem? Fossil fuel corporations now have 2,795 gigatons in their reserves, five times the safe amount. And they’re planning to burn it all — unless we rise up to stop them.
Into the Fire

2013

Into the Fire

2013
8.5
Greece is in crisis. But the economic crisis is not the only one. An asylum crisis has gripped the country at this time of severe austerity. And it hits the most vulnerable: Refugees, including minors, who have left everything behind fleeing their countries to find safety. In Greece, they are left destitute and on the streets, unable to apply for asylum and threatened by escalating racist attacks. Trapped in Greece, they have one message for Europe and the rest of the world: Let us leave!
We Are Wisconsin

2012

We Are Wisconsin

2012
6
When a Republican Governor's bill threatens to wipe away worker rights and lock out public debate, six (extra)ordinary citizens force their way into the Wisconsin State Capitol, joining thousands of protesters who spend the next twenty-six days launching a popular uprising that not only challenges the bill, but the soul of a nation.