Top Rated History Movies on Kanopy - Page 28

A Tuba To Cuba

2019

A Tuba To Cuba

2019
6.6
A son seeking to fulfill his late father’s dream takes his band from the storied city of New Orleans to the shores of Cuba, where — through the universal language of music — dark and ancient connections between their peoples reveal the roots of jazz.
The Image You Missed

2018

The Image You Missed

2018
5.5
An Irish filmmaker grapples with the legacy of his estranged father, the late documentarian Arthur MacCaig, through MacCaig's decades-spanning archive of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Drawing on over 30 years of unique and never-seen-before footage, 'The Image You Missed' is an experimental essay film that weaves together a history of the Northern Irish 'Troubles' with the story of a son's search for his father. In the process, the film creates a candid encounter between two filmmakers born into different political moments, revealing their contrasting experiences of Irish nationalism, the role of images in social struggle, and the competing claims of personal and political responsibility.
'85: The Greatest Team in Football History

2016

'85: The Greatest Team in Football History

2016
8.2
Through never-been-seen-before footage and fascinating interviews with key members of the 1985 Chicago Bears -- Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon, Mike Singletary, and others -- you will hear the inside story of their historic season.
Sembene!

2015

Sembene!

2015
7
Meet Ousmane Sembene, the African freedom fighter who used stories as his weapon.
The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo

1985

The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo

1985
6.1
1985 Argentine documentary film directed by Susana Blaustein Muñoz and Lourdes Portillo about the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
Koch

2013

Koch

2013
4.9
A documentary on the former mayor of New York City, Ed Koch.
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio

1991

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio

1991
7.5
For 50 years radio dominated the airwaves and the American consciousness as the first “mass medium.” In Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Ken Burns examines the lives of three extraordinary men who shared the primary responsibility for this invention and its early success, and whose genius, friendship, rivalry and enmity interacted in tragic ways. This is the story of Lee de Forest, a clergyman’s flamboyant son, who invented the audion tube; Edwin Howard Armstrong, a brilliant, withdrawn inventor who pioneered FM technology; and David Sarnoff, a hard-driving Russian immigrant who created the most powerful communications company on earth.
American Teacher

2011

American Teacher

2011
5.5
As the debate over the state of America's public school system rages on, one thing everyone agrees on is the need for great teachers. Yet, while research proves that teachers are the most important school factor in a child's future success, America's teachers are so woefully underpaid that almost a third must divide their time between a second job in order to make a living. Chronicling the stories of four teachers in different areas of the country, American Teacher reveals the frustrating realities of today's educators, the difficulty of attracting talented new teachers, and why so many of our best teachers feel forced to leave the profession altogether. But this wake-up call to our system's failings also looks at possibilities for reform. Can we re-value teaching in the United States and turn it into a prestigious, financially attractive and competitive profession? With almost half of American teachers leaving the field in the next five years, now is the time to find out.
Daughter From Danang

2002

Daughter From Danang

2002
6.8
In 1975, as the Vietnam War was ending, thousands of orphans and Amerasian children were brought to the United States as part of "Operation Babylift." Daughter from Danang tells the dramatic story of one of these children, Heidi Bub (a.k.a. Mai Thi Hiep), and her Vietnamese mother, Mai Thi Kim, separated at the war's end and reunited 22 years later. Heidi, now living in Tennessee - a married woman with kids - had always dreamt of a joyful reunion. When she ventures to Vietnam to meet her mother, she unknowingly embarks on an emotional pilgrimage that spans decades and distance. Unlike most reunion stories that climax with a cliché happy ending, Daughter from Danang is a real-life drama. Journeying from the Vietnam War to Pulaski, Tennessee and back to Vietnam, Daughter from Danang tensely unfolds as cultural differences and the years of separation take their toll in a riveting film about longing and the personal legacy of war.
Sacco and Vanzetti

2006

Sacco and Vanzetti

2006
7
SACCO AND VANZETTI is an 80-minute-long documentary that tells the story of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrant anarchists who were accused of a murder in 1920, and executed in Boston in 1927 after a notoriously prejudiced trial. It is the first major documentary film about this landmark story.
Queen of the Deuce

2023

Queen of the Deuce

2023
6.6
The unbelievable true story of Chelly Wilson, who escaped the Holocaust and built a porn cinema empire in New York City in the 1970s. Chelly was a Greek-born, Christmas-celebrating, Jewish grandma, who married men but was openly gay. This documentary charts her unlikely rise to wealth as a shrewd businesswoman on “The Deuce,” aka New York’s infamous 42nd Street.
Robin Bank

2022

Robin Bank

2022
6.9
The story of Enric Duran, a Catalan activist who, during the economic crisis of 2008, stole —by borrowing loans that he never paid back— half a million euros from banks, donated them to social projects and announced it to the media to denounce the practices of the banking system.
Image of Victory

2023

Image of Victory

2023
6
1948: an Egyptian filmmaker is creating newsreel stories about a volunteer force tasked to liberate Palestinian farmers. The journey propels him towards a chance encounter with a tenacious young leader of a nearby commune that will set in motion events that will change their lives forever.
Gorbachev. Heaven

2021

Gorbachev. Heaven

2021
7.6
An immersion into the intimacy of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the USSR. The architect of perestroika and glasnost, who was praised in the West but reviled in his own country, still combative despite his advanced age, loneliness and illness, offers his personal and political testament.
Foxhole

2021

Foxhole

2021
4.6
Unfolding over the span of 36 hours in three separate wars – The American Civil War, World War I, and Iraq – FOXHOLE follows five soldiers confined in a foxhole as they grapple with morality, futility, and an increasingly volatile combat situation. Casting the same five actors in each episode, the film depicts the shifting roles of race and gender over time against the backdrop of the seemingly endless human struggle for power and domination. (Olivia Belluck)
The Capote Tapes

2021

The Capote Tapes

2021
6.6
A portrait of the brilliant American writer Truman Capote (1924-84) and the New York high society of his time.
Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue

2019

Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue

2019
7.4
A Japanese-American director digs deep into the controversial 'comfort women' issue to settle the debate on whether the women were paid prostitutes or sex slaves, and reveals the motivations and intentions of the main actors pushing to revise history in Japan.
The Dive

2019

The Dive

2019
6.6
It is Thursday and another war is hitting the northern part of Israel hard. Three brothers reunite in their childhood kibbutz to bury their father. Two days later the youngest has to go to war, and while he seeks guidance from his older siblings who have both experienced the battlefield, the homecoming soon spins out of control.
¡Las Sandinistas!

2018

¡Las Sandinistas!

2018
7
¡Las Sandinistas! uncovers the disappearing stories of women who shattered barriers to lead combat and social reform during Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution, and who continue to lead Nicaragua’s current struggle for democracy and equality.
Ask for Jane

2019

Ask for Jane

2019
6.5
A group of college students develop an underground network that helps women get abortions in the pre-Roe vs. Wade Chicago.