Top Rated History Movies on Kanopy - Page 34

An African Election

2011

An African Election

2011
7.4
Filmmaker Jarreth Merz directs this eye-opening documentary about the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, chronicling the start-to-finish drama of campaigning in a nation that's long served as a measure of the continent's political stability.
Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry

2004

Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry

2004
7.4
A documentary on Senator John Kerry's Navy tour of duty in Vietnam, his contributions to the peace movement that followed, and the ultimate shape of his future political career.
Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World

2011

Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World

2011
6.1
In this fascinating documentary, historian Bettany Hughes travels to the seven wonders of the Buddhist world.Her journey begins at the Mahabodhi Temple in India, where Buddhism was born; here Hughes examines the foundations of the belief system - the three jewels.At Nepal's Boudhanath Stupa, she looks deeper into the concept of dharma - the teaching of Buddha, and at the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka, Bettany explores karma, the idea that our intentional acts will be mirrored in the future.At Wat Pho Temple in Thailand, Hughes explores samsara, the endless cycle of birth and death that Buddhists seek to end by achieving enlightenment, before travelling to Angkor Wat in Cambodia to learn more about the practice of meditation.In Hong Kong, Hughes visits the Giant Buddha and looks more closely at Zen, before arriving at the final wonder, the Hsi Lai temple in Los Angeles, to discover more about the ultimate goal for all Buddhists - nirvana.
Journey to 10,000 BC

2009

Journey to 10,000 BC

2009
4.7
10,000 B.C. was a time of cataclysmic change on Earth. Extreme climactic fluctuations hurled the planet into a minor ice age; megafauna like the saber-toothed tiger and woolly mammoth were suddenly becoming extinct; and early humans began to inhabit North America. Cold and hungry, their fragile communities undertook perilous hunting expeditions. The slaughter of a single mammoth, weighing nearly ten tons, could be the difference between survival and death. Journey to 10,000 BC. brings this unique and thrilling period to life, and investigates the geologic and climate changes that scientists are just beginning to understand. In a major forensic investigation, History visits early human archaeological sites to uncover fossilized bones, ancient dwellings, and stone weapons, and uses state-of-the-art CGI to recreate the treacherous mammoth hunts and the devastating impact of a comet colliding with Earth.
Robbery Under Arms

1985

Robbery Under Arms

1985
6.4
Fourth adaptation and first made for television of the classic Australian bushranger novel "Robbery Under Arms" by Rolf Boldrewood. Made by the South Australian Film Corporation during the mini-series boom of the 1980s and lensed in the Flinders Ranges, it stars Sam Neill as the infamous Captain Starlight.
Bardejov

2024

Bardejov

2024
5.5
The story of Holocaust survivor Emil A. Fish, who was nine years old when he and his family in Bardejov, Slovakia were sent to a concentration camp.
Cryptoqueen: The OneCoin Scam

2022

Cryptoqueen: The OneCoin Scam

2022
7
When, in 2014, the charismatic German-Bulgarian Ruja Ignatova introduced OneCoin, a new cryptocurrency, she claimed that it was destined to become the world's most important digital currency and would change the course of history.
The Harrisville Haunting: The Real Conjuring House

2022

The Harrisville Haunting: The Real Conjuring House

2022
3.5
Four paranormal researchers and YouTubers document the paranormal claims of the Harrisville Farmhouse. The inspiration for the well known movie "The Conjuring". Is it truly haunted?
A Couple

2022

A Couple

2022
6.9
"A Couple" is a film about a long term relationship between a man and a woman. The man is Leo Tolstoy. The woman is his wife, Sophia. They were married for 36 years, had 13 children, nine of whom survived. Each kept a diary. Although they lived together, in the same house, they wrote letters frequently to each other. Leo Tolstoy insisted that they read their diaries aloud to guests at dinner parties. The Tolstoy’s were also a dysfunctional couple, arguing frequently and being very unhappy with each other while occasionally enjoying passionate moments of reconciliation. The film is Sophia’s monologue about the joys and struggles of their life together, loosely drawn from their letters to each other and their diary entries.
Riotsville, USA

2022

Riotsville, USA

2022
4.9
An archival documentary about the U.S. military’s response to the political and racial injustices of the late 1960s: take a military base, build a mock inner-city set, cast soldiers to play rioters, burn the place down, and film it all.
Holy Silence

2020

Holy Silence

2020
7
As World War II looms, Pope Pius XI calls on a humble American priest to help him challenge the evils of Nazism and anti-Semitism. But death intervenes, and Pope Pius XII now carries out a very different response to Hitler and the Holocaust.
The Ornament of the World

2019

The Ornament of the World

2019
7.8
Filmed in Cordoba, Granada, Seville, and Toledo, this documentary retraces the 800-year period in medieval Spain when Muslims, Christians, and Jews forged a common cultural identity that frequently transcended their religious differences, revealing what made this rare and fruitful collaboration possible, and what ultimately tore it apart.
The Chinese Exclusion Act

2017

The Chinese Exclusion Act

2017
8
A sweeping chronicle of the entire exclusion era - the latter part of the 1800s, when anti-Chinese agitation led to federal laws targeting Chinese abroad and those already in the country. Go far beyond the legislation with the survival and growth of Chinese American communities in the face of prejudice and outright violence, the “paper” sons and daughters who emigrated despite the seemingly impassable barriers, and the legal challenges that produced some of the most momentous decisions in Supreme Court history.
Cinecittà Babilonia: Sex, Drugs and Black Shirts

2017

Cinecittà Babilonia: Sex, Drugs and Black Shirts

2017
6.5
The story of Italian cinema under Fascism, a sophisticated film industry built around the founding of the Cinecittà studios and the successful birth of a domestic star system, populated by very peculiar artists among whom stood out several beautiful, magnetic, special actresses; a dark story of war, drugs, sex, censorship and tragedy.
Lumiere's First Picture Shows

2013

Lumiere's First Picture Shows

2013
6.5
An overview of the works of French film pioneers Louis and Auguste Lumière from 1895 to 1897.
9/11: Inside the Pentagon

2016

9/11: Inside the Pentagon

2016
7.8
The Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon is recalled via the first-person accounts of Pentagon personnel, first responders, aviation experts and journalists. Included: Department of Defense footage from inside the Pentagon.
Another Country

2015

Another Country

2015
5.8
In this documentary companion to CHARLIE'S COUNTRY, Australian actor David Gulpilil tells the story of when his people's way of life was derailed by ours.
In Exile: A Family Movie

2017

In Exile: A Family Movie

2017
5.5
The life stories of Juan Francisco's grandparents and parents, who arrived in Mexico in 1939 as refugees at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). A family saga, from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day.
Henry Ford

2013

Henry Ford

2013
8.4
HENRY FORD paints a fascinating portrait of a farm boy who rose from obscurity to become the most influential American innovator of the 20th century.
Pacific Adventure

1946

Pacific Adventure

1946
6.5
An Australian biopic about the life of pioneering aviator Charles "Smithy" Kingsford-Smith. The film is unusually frank about the controversies that occasionally dogged him. PG Taylor and Billy Hughes both make appearances playing themselves.