Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 49

Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful

2020

Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful

2020
6.2
Women were clearly at the core of legendary photographer Helmut Newton's work. The stars of his iconic portraits and fashion editorials – from Catherine Deneuve to Grace Jones, Charlotte Rampling to Isabella Rossellini – finally give their own interpretation of the life and work of this controversial genius. A portrait by the portrayed. Provocative, unconventional, subversive, his depiction of women still sparks the question: were they subjects or objects?
Stray

2021

Stray

2021
5.9
Experience the bustle of Istanbul street life through the eyes of three stray dogs – Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal.
FAT: A Documentary

2019

FAT: A Documentary

2019
6.2
Weight loss expert Vinnie Tortorich and award-winning filmmaker Peter Pardini want you to join their team to make a hard-hitting documentary film that exposes the widespread myths and lies around healthy eating, fat and weight loss and shows how, in spite of all our good intentions, we go on getting fatter and fatter.
Other Music

2019

Other Music

2019
6.7
A documentary highlighting the 20 year history of influential indie record store Other Music in Manhattan's East Village.
Madame

2019

Madame

2019
5.9
The intimate journey of Caroline, a flamboyant grandmother, and Stéphane, her filmmaker grandson, exploring the development and transmission of gender identity.
Loving Vincent: The Impossible Dream

2019

Loving Vincent: The Impossible Dream

2019
8
A documentary detailing the journey it took two passionate filmmakers to achieve their impossible dream, creating the world's first fully painted feature film.
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am

2019

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am

2019
7.5
This artful and intimate meditation on the legendary storyteller examines her life, her works, and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career. Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics, and colleagues on an exploration of race, history, the United States, and the human condition.
Out of Many, One

2018

Out of Many, One

2018
5.3
The U.S. has long offered a promise of opportunity to immigrants, but currently immigration has become a divisive issue. This documentary illustrates how an understanding of our history and democracy is essential to constructive debate, informed civic participation and shaping a new class of citizens.
Rams

2018

Rams

2018
7.4
RAMS is a documentary portrait of legendary designer Dieter Rams by filmmaker Gary Hustwit. For over fifty years, Rams has left an indelible mark on the field of product design with his iconic work at Braun and Vitsoe, and his influence on Apple. So at 86 years old, why does he now regret being a designer? RAMS is a design documentary, but it’s also a rumination on consumerism, materialism, and sustainability. Dieter's philosophy is about more than just design, it’s about a way to live. The film also features an original score by pioneering musician Brian Eno.
Shut Up and Play the Piano

2018

Shut Up and Play the Piano

2018
7.2
The documentary follows Chilly Gonzales from his native Canada to late '90s underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world's great philharmonic halls. Diving deep into the dichotomy of Gonzales' stage persona, where self-doubt and megalomania are just two sides of the same coin.
Instant Dreams

2017

Instant Dreams

2017
6.7
There could hardly be a more telling contrast between the analog and digital eras than the beautifully blurry memories captured in a Polaroid picture and the thousands of pin-sharp photos on an iPhone. In this ambitious visual essay, Willem Baptist explores the visionary genius of Edwin H. Land, the inventor of the Polaroid camera. Even today, all sorts of people are keeping his instant dream alive. Former Polaroid employee Stephen Herchen moved from the United States to Europe to work in a laboratory developing the 2.0 version of Polaroid. Christopher Bonanos, the author of Instant: The Story of Polaroid, tells us, "When I heard Polaroid would stop making film, it felt like a close friend had died." Artist Stefanie Schneider, who is working with the last of her stock of Polaroid film, is using the blurring that occurs with expired film as an additional aesthetic layer in her photographic work.
Wait for Your Laugh

2017

Wait for Your Laugh

2017
7.6
The life and career of comedian Rose Marie is documented through interviews with friends and colleagues as well as never-before-seen home movies shot by the actress herself.
Cocaine Prison

2019

Cocaine Prison

2019
6.1
From inside Bolivia's craziest prison a cocaine worker, a drug mule and his little sister reveal the countries relationship with cocaine.
Frank Serpico

2017

Frank Serpico

2017
5.9
In 1972, officer Frank Serpico exposes the corruption which poisons the roots of the NYPD and becomes famous in 1973 when director Sidney Lumet tells his story in the classic film “Serpico,” starring Al Pacino.
The Bomb

2017

The Bomb

2017
7
Filmmakers use archival footage and animation to explore the culture surrounding nuclear weapons, the fascination they inspire and the perverse appeal they still exert.
May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers

2017

May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers

2017
7.7
An intimate portrait of the acclaimed North Carolina band The Avett Brothers, charting their decade-and-a- half rise, while chronicling their present-day collaboration with famed producer Rick Rubin on the multi-Grammy-nominated album “True Sadness.”
Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown

2016

Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown

2016
7
Since the early days, Jerry Lewis—in the line of Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel—had the masses laughing with his visual gags, pantomime sketches and signature slapstick humor. Yet Lewis was far more than just a clown. He was also a groundbreaking filmmaker whose unquenchable curiosity led him to write, produce, stage and direct many of the films he appeared in, resulting in such adored classics as The Bellboy, The Ladies Man, The Errand Boy, and The Nutty Professor.
Can We Take a Joke?

2016

Can We Take a Joke?

2016
6.7
In the age of social media, nearly every day brings a new eruption of outrage. While people have always found something to be offended by, their ability to organize a groundswell of opposition to – and public censure of – their offender has never been more powerful. Today we're all one clumsy joke away from public ruin. Can We Take A Joke? offers a thought-provoking and wry exploration of outrage culture through the lens of stand-up comedy, with notables like Gilbert Gottfried, Penn Jillette, Lisa Lampanelli, and Adam Carolla detailing its stifling impact on comedy and the exchange of ideas. What will the future will be like if we can't learn how to take a joke?
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

2016

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

2016
7.1
Arguably the most influential creator, writer, and producer in the history of television, Norman Lear brought primetime into step with the times. Using comedy and indelible characters, his legendary 1970s shows such as All In the Family, Maude, Good Times, and The Jeffersons, boldly cracked open dialogue and shifted the national consciousness, injecting enlightened humanism into sociopolitical debates on race, class, creed, and feminism.
Boom Bust Boom

2015

Boom Bust Boom

2015
7.2
Terry Jones presents Boom Bust Boom. The result of a meeting between writer, director, historian and Python Terry Jones and economics professor and entrepreneur Theo Kocken. Co-written by Jones and Kocken and featuring John Cusack, Nobel Prize winners Daniel Kahneman, Robert J Shiller and Paul Krugman, the film is part of a global movement to change the economic system through education to protect the world from boom and bust. A unique look at why economic crashes happen, Boom Bust Boom is a multimedia documentary combining live action with animation and puppetry to explain economics to everyone.