Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 17

Tricked: The Documentary

2013

Tricked: The Documentary

2013
6.1
This character-driven film considers the evolving sex trafficking landscape as seen by the main players: the exploited, the pimps, the johns that fuel the business, and the cops who fight to stop it.
Bettie Page Reveals All

2013

Bettie Page Reveals All

2013
6.7
The world's greatest pin-up model and cult icon, Bettie Page, recounts the true story of how her free expression overcame government witch-hunts to help launch America's sexual revolution. When she saw the film The Notorious Bettie Page, produced by HBO in 2006, the main person concerned reacted unequivocally: “Lies! Lies!” In a long interview recorded shortly before her death, the woman who entered the collective unconscious as the ultimate pin-up gave her version of events to director Mark Mori. In a gravelly voice, Bettie Page tells her own story and lifts the veil on areas often hidden by images that have made so many men and women fantasize since the 1950s: her abused childhood, an eclipse that lasted forty years, her mental illness. Through testimonies and unpublished archives, this documentary brings back to life a body and a face endlessly declined before our eyes, just as Bettie wanted: “I would like people to remember me as I was in the photos.”
The Tillman Story

2010

The Tillman Story

2010
7.1
Pat Tillman never thought of himself as a hero. His choice to leave a multimillion-dollar football contract and join the military wasn't done for any reason other than he felt it was the right thing to do. The fact that the military manipulated his tragic death in the line of duty into a propaganda tool is unfathomable and thoroughly explored in Amir Bar-Lev's riveting and enraging documentary.
Vernon, Florida

1981

Vernon, Florida

1981
6.7
Early Errol Morris documentary intersplices random chatter he captured on film of the genuinely eccentric residents of Vernon, Florida. A few examples? The preacher giving a sermon on the definition of the word "Therefore," and the obsessive turkey hunter who speaks reverentially of the "gobblers" he likes to track down and kill.
Gilbert

2017

Gilbert

2017
6.7
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
We Are Twisted Fucking Sister!

2016

We Are Twisted Fucking Sister!

2016
6.5
In 1984, American heavy metal band Twisted Sister became a global sensation. For 30 years, they been synonymous with hairspray, women's clothing and tasteless album covers. Until now. Ten years ago, director Andrew Horn was granted access to the archives of Twisted Sister founder Jay French and he explores the decade that preceded their breakthrough.
To the Sea

2010

To the Sea

2010
6.9
Before leaving for Rome with his mother, five year old Natan is taken by his father, Jorge, on an epic journey to the pristine Chinchorro reef off the coast of Mexico. As they fish, swim, and sail the turquoise waters of the open sea, Natan discovers the beauty of his Mayan heritage and learns to live in harmony with life above and below the surface, as the bond between father and son grows stronger before their inevitable farewell.
Cocaine Cowboys 2

2008

Cocaine Cowboys 2

2008
6.7
Set in 1991 on the inner-city streets of Oakland, California, cocaine dealer Charles Cosby has his life is changed forever when he writes a fan letter to the "Cocaine Godmother" Griselda Blanco, who is serving time at a nearby federal prison. Six months later, Cosby is a multi-millionaire, Blanco's lover, and the head of her $40 million a year cocaine business.
Welcome to Chechnya

2020

Welcome to Chechnya

2020
6.8
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

2017

Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

2017
6.9
This documentary looks to forge the greatest, most definitive, documentary on everything He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra, the live action movie, New Adventures of He-Man, the 200x series and much more! They delve into the toys, comics, cartoons, and movies from all eras by talking to the artists, creators, executives and actors who helped make it a reality.
Four Horsemen

2012

Four Horsemen

2012
7.2
Documentary about the modern apocalypse caused by a rapacious banking system. 23 leading thinkers – frustrated at the failure of their respective disciplines – break their silence to explain how the world really works.
Food Matters

2010

Food Matters

2010
6.7
With nutritionally-depleted foods, chemical additives and our tendency to rely upon pharmaceutical drugs to treat what's wrong with our malnourished bodies, it's no wonder that modern society is getting sicker. Food Matters sets about uncovering the trillion dollar worldwide sickness industry and gives people some scientifically verifiable solutions for curing disease naturally.
The Weather Underground

2002

The Weather Underground

2002
6.7
The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.
American Teen

2008

American Teen

2008
6.3
A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.
Anselm

2023

Anselm

2023
6.7
This unique cinematic experience dives deep into an artist’s work and reveals his life path, inspiration, and creative process. It explores his fascination with myth and history. Past and present are interwoven to diffuse the line between film and painting, allowing the audience to be completely immersed in the remarkable world of one of the greatest contemporary artists, Anselm Kiefer. Wim Wenders shot this unique portrait over the course of two years in stunning 3D.
Living with Chucky

2022

Living with Chucky

2022
6.5
A filmmaker who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll seeks out the other families surrounding the Child's Play films as they recount their experiences working on the ongoing franchise and what it means to be a part of the, "Chucky" family.
Kubrick by Kubrick

2020

Kubrick by Kubrick

2020
7.5
American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999), one of the greatest in history, but also one of the most reserved, gave few interviews throughout his long career, and none of them were filmed. A first-person journey through his life and work, based on a recorded conversation with French film critic Michel Climent.
How the Beatles Changed the World

2017

How the Beatles Changed the World

2017
7.4
The fascinating story of the cultural, social, spiritual, and musical revolution ignited by the coming of the Beatles. Tracing the impact that these four band members had, first in their native Britain and soon after worldwide, it reappraises the band and follows their path from young subversives to countercultural heroes. Featuring fresh, revealing interviews with key collaborators as well as a wealth of rarely-seen archival footage, this is a bold new take on the most significant band in the history of music and their enduring impact on popular culture.
Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle

2017

Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle

2017
7.3
Julita expressed her three greatest wishes shortly after getting married: lots of children, a monkey and a castle she can call her own. That all of these wishes have become a reality is probably down to the immense stubbornness of this charismatic and equally hilarious matriarch who has a weakness for collecting crazy objects. When financial circumstances force the family to sell their castle, her adult children are left sifting through a lifetime of peculiarities in search of a few lost bones… Spanish actor and neo director Gustavo Salmerón paints a deliciously absurd family portrait that just happens to reveal a lot about Spain, Catholicism and the economic crisis.
Tokyo Idols

2017

Tokyo Idols

2017
6.7
This exploration of Japan's fascination with girl bands and their music follows an aspiring pop singer and her fans, delving into the cultural obsession with young female sexuality and the growing disconnect between men and women in hypermodern societies.