Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 198

Louis Sullivan: the Struggle for American Architecture

2010

Louis Sullivan: the Struggle for American Architecture

2010
1
The award-winning feature-length documentary about the revolutionary and brilliant Chicago architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924). Known by historians as the 'father of the skyscraper' and creator of the iconic phrase 'form follows function,' Sullivan was on top of his profession in 1890. Then a series of setbacks plunged him into destitute obscurity from which he never recovered. Yet his persistent belief in the power of his ideas created some of America's most beautiful buildings ever created, and inspired Sullivan's protégé, Frank Lloyd Wright, to fulfill his own dream of a truly American style of architecture.
The Edge of the Possible

1998

The Edge of the Possible

1998
8
Jørn Utzon, acclaimed architect of the Sydney Opera House, tells the story of the design and construction of his masterpiece.
Cafeteria Man

2011

Cafeteria Man

2011
8
Cafeteria Man is the true story of rebel chef Tony Geraci and his mission to radically reform Baltimore's public school food system with a recipe for change.
Terra Antarctica, Re-Discovering the Seventh Continent

2009

Terra Antarctica, Re-Discovering the Seventh Continent

2009
6
For six weeks we explored the Antarctic Peninsula by sea kayak, sailboat, foot and small plane, observing the fast changing evolution of this most remote place. Impacted by climate change - temperatures have warmed along the Peninsula faster than anywhere on the planet during the past 50 years - this part of Antarctica is also experiencing a boom in tourism and nations fighting over who owns what as its ice slowly disappears. This National Geographic-sponsored exploration is a one-of-a-kind look at Antarctica from a unique perspective - sea level.
James Brown - The Man, The Music & The Message

2014

James Brown - The Man, The Music & The Message

2014
8
The Godfather of Soul tells his life story and features his greatest live performances.
Dark Legacy II

2014

Dark Legacy II

2014
6
Jaw-dropping evidence of foul play in the death of JFK Jr., all based on official gov't documents. The prime suspect, George W. Bush, though very publicly running for president, disappeared the day of the murder, and stayed missing for 3 days.
Wagner's Jews

2013

Wagner's Jews

2013
9
Who were they? What brought them to Wagner, and what brought him to them? These questions are at the heart of Hilan Warshaw's documentary "Wagner's Jews," the first film to focus on Wagner's complex personal relationships with Jews.
Growing Cities

2013

Growing Cities

2013
7
From rooftop farmers to backyard beekeepers, Americans are growing food like never before. Growing Cities goes coast to coast to tell the inspiring stories of intrepid urban farmers who are challenging the way this country feeds itself.
Clockwork Orange County

2012

Clockwork Orange County

2012
6
Many objected to leather-jacket, spike-hair kids with tattoos. But, that did not dissuade a generation... No one realized that a little club in Costa Mesa, CA would end up spawning a multi-billion dollar youth culture that still endures today! It was the Cuckoos Nest of the late 70s and early 80s. With archival, unseen and new footage, the filmmakers compiled an intimate story about the beginning of a movement, a place of refuge for a youth culture, a fearful establishment and a police force that didnt understand what was happening.
Coney Island

1991

Coney Island

1991
6
Before there was Disneyland, there was Coney Island. By the turn of the century, this tiny piece of New York real estate was internationally famous. On summer Sundays, three great pleasure domes--Steeplechase, Luna Park and Dreamland--competed for the patronage of a half-million people. By day it was the world's most amazing amusement park, by night, an electric "Eden".
Andy Warhol

1972

Andy Warhol

1972
7
With a rambling, unstructured style that echoes Andy Warhol’s own approach to filmmaking, this documentary profiles his career, showing him to be a brilliant manipulator, dedicated voyeur and person of astute commercial judgment.
Urban Roots

2011

Urban Roots

2011
6
URBAN ROOTS is a documentary that tells the story of the spontaneous emergence of urban farming in the city of Detroit. Detroit, once an industrial powerhouse of a lost American era, is a city devastated by the loss of half its population due to the collapse of manufacturing. By the looks of it, the city has died. But now, against all odds, in the empty lots, in the old factory yards, and in-between the sad, sagging blocks of company housing, seeds of change are taking root.
Sacred Sperm

2014

Sacred Sperm

2014
7
The film creates a daring first exposure on the way parents, rabbis, teachers, pedagogues and therapists within the Orthodox Hasidic Jewish Community educating their male children from infancy to adolescence, to avoid spilling their sperm. They target them to keep their seed only after marriage with a female for the purpose of fertilization. "Sacred Sperm" penetrates into one of the most suppressed hidden issues in the Orthodox Hasidic Jewish Community - a Taboo. Throughout the film we follow the emotional and theological struggle of the director who is trying to find a proper way as a father to explain his teenager son logically why he should keep this major Mitzvah (commandment) which perceived by many as unreasonable and seems impossible to fulfill.
Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst

2006

Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst

2006
7
A Colourful Life is a Docu/Drama based on the colourful life of flamboyant design pioneer Florence Broadhurst.
People Say I'm Crazy

2003

People Say I'm Crazy

2003
8
John Cadigan, an artist with schizophrenia, presents a documentary about "the world inside my head. It's a chaotic world filled with paranoia, creativity, fear and desire. A world in which I'm struggling every day, trying to know what is real and what is not."
Two Towns of Jasper

2002

Two Towns of Jasper

2002
7
Using two separate filmmaking teams (an all-white crew filming white residents and an all-black camera crew filming black residents), TWO TOWNS OF JASPER captures very different racial views by townsfolk in Jasper, Texas, the location for a racially motivated murder of an African American man in 1998.
Soul of a Banquet

2014

Soul of a Banquet

2014
3
Documentary about Cecilia Chiang, "the mother of the true Chinese cuisine."
The Zen Mind

2007

The Zen Mind

2007
8
In the last fifty years the culture of Zen has spread far beyond Japan. Zen centers and zen retreats have sprung up throughout America and Europe. When Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen, brought Zen to Japan from China 800 years ago, it quickly took root and became an integral part of Japanese life. Yet what do we know about zen practice in Japan today? The Zen Mind is a fascinating journey across Japan to explore zen in its natural habitat.
Mothers of Bedford

2011

Mothers of Bedford

2011
10
Eighty percent of women in US prisons today are mothers of school-age children. Filmmaker Jenifer McShane spent four years visiting Bedford Hills and following the women and their families. A mother herself, Jenifer was drawn to the universal themes of motherhood and the staggering power of the mother-child relationship. In all walks of life, mother and child care for each other. As we watch the mothers inside Bedford trying to become their better selves, we see parts of our own selves - and that gives us all hope.
A Quiet Inquisition

2014

A Quiet Inquisition

2014
8
At a public hospital in Nicaragua, Ob/Gyn Dr. Carla Cerrato must choose between following a law that bans all abortions and endangers her patients or taking a risk and providing the care that she knows can save a woman's life. In 2007, Dr. Cerrato’s daily routine took a detour. The newly elected government of Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary who converted to Catholicism to win votes, overturned a 130-year-old law protecting therapeutic abortion. The new law entirely prohibits abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is at stake. As Carla and her colleagues navigate this dangerous dilemma, the impact of this law emerges—illuminating the tangible reality of prohibition against the backdrop of a political, religious, and historically complex national identity. The emotional core of the story—the experiences and situations of the young women and girls who are seeking care—illustrate the ethical implications of one doctor's response.