Top Rated Documentary Movies on Pantaflix - Page 260

The Case of the Grinning Cat

2006

The Case of the Grinning Cat

2006
6.9
Chris Marker’s The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chats perchés) follows the appearance of the yellow M. Chat graffiti across Paris in the early 2000s, using it as a lens to reflect on art, protest, and politics in the post-9/11 era. Blending street imagery with footage of global and local unrest, the film serves as a playful yet pointed companion to Marker’s earlier A Grin Without a Cat.
The Movie Orgy

1968

The Movie Orgy

1968
6.3
Clips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloopers, satirical short films and promotional and government films of the 1950s and 1960s are intercut together to tell a single story of various creatures and societal ills attacking American cities.
Petition

2009

Petition

2009
7.2
The dysfunctional Chinese justice system allows citizens with grievances against their local governments to petition the court to clear or correct their record. Yet in order to do so, the petitioners must travel to Beijing to file paperwork and wait an indefinite period to plead their case. Following the saga of a group of petitioners over the years of 1996 and 2008, Petition unfolds like a novel by Zola or Dickens. This was filmed surreptitiously from the point of view of the petitioners, and not the justice officials, the police, or those heavies sent by the municipalities.
Anna

1993

Anna

1993
4.9
Director Nikita Mikhalkov documents the history of Russia from 1980 to 1991 by annually asking his daughter Anna such questions as "What do you love the most?", "What scares you the most?", "What do you want above anything" and "What do you hate the most?"
Mama Africa

2011

Mama Africa

2011
5.6
Miriam Makeba was one of the first African musicians who won international stardom and whose music was always anchored in her traditional South African roots. Miriam Makeba was forced into exile in 1959. She sang for John F. Kennedy, performed with Harry Belafonte and Nina Simone, was married to Hugh Masekela and also Stokely Carmichael. Her life was tumultuous. She always stood for truth and justice. She fought for the oppressed most importantly for black Africans, as a campaigner against apartheid. She died November 2008 after a concert in Italy. Mika Kaurismäki's documentary, traces fifty years of her music and her performing life. Through rare archive footage of her performances and through interviews with her contemporaries we discover the remarkable journey of Miriam Makeba.
London

1994

London

1994
6.6
A psycho-geographic journey through London and its history, as undertaken by an unseen narrator and his companion, Robinson, at the time of the 1992 general election.
Titanoboa: Monster Snake

2012

Titanoboa: Monster Snake

2012
7.3
In the pantheon of predators, it's one of the greatest discoveries since the T-Rex: a snake 48 feet long, weighing in at 2,500 pounds. Uncovered from a treasure trove of fossils in a Colombian coal mine, this serpent is revealing a lost world of giant creatures. Travel back to the period following the extinction of dinosaurs and encounter this monster predator.
To Die in Madrid

1963

To Die in Madrid

1963
7.5
Morir en Madrid brings together several papers on the Spanish Civil War and integrates capturing different points of view, intended to represent the continuity of the suffering of the Spanish during the Franco regime. The death of Federico Garcia Lorca, Guernica, the defense of Madrid, the International Brigades, are some of the items comprised in this document.
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night

2012

Johnny Carson: King of Late Night

2012
7.6
Chronological look at the life and career of Johnny Carson (1925-2005), with commentary from an ex-wife and more than 30 fellow comedians, friends, employees, and biographers. The biography defines why Carson was an enduring star (his cool, his timing, his genuine laugh, his breadth of knowledge) and pursues his motivations and inner self (a loner with a drinking problem, a decent Midwesterner whose mother withheld approval, a quiet person who loved to entertain). The key to understanding him, argues the biography, is his love of magic.
Basic Training

1971

Basic Training

1971
6.6
Shot during the summer of 1970 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Frederick Wiseman’s film Basic Training focuses on a group of men going through infantry training, showing how they are turned from civilians into soldiers. As well as being a unique portrait of the US army at work, the film is also a fascinating snapshot of a time and place at a defining moment in American history.
Oriental Elegy

1996

Oriental Elegy

1996
6.1
A surreal journey of a displaced spirit as he wanders in the interminable darkness through the temporal landscape of a quaint and isolated feudal-era fishing village. Guided by a series of faintly illuminated rooms, the wandering spirit comes upon ancient souls who take on physical forms as they recount their personal stories of daily existence, loss, and tragedy in the peasant community. Intrigued by his initial visit to a curiously distracted elderly woman, the spirit returns to her home in order to ask a fundamental question - "What is happiness?" - an existential query that is innocently answered with innate humility and accepted unknowingness.
Mouse Heaven

2004

Mouse Heaven

2004
6.3
A short film featuring various vintage Mickey Mouse toys.
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood

2008

Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood

2008
6.1
A look at the forces that shaped Pre-Code Hollywood and brought about the strict enforcement of the Hays Code in 1934.
Terminal Bar

2003

Terminal Bar

2003
6.1
A fascinating pictorial history of a New York City bar whose customers, from the hard-drinking working class Irish to the coiffed African American gay male, continually transform its focus during its 10-year reign.
Mission to Lars

2015

Mission to Lars

2015
5.7
Kate and Will Spicer's brother, Tom, has Fragile X Syndrome, the most common form of inherited learning disability. He is also a massive fan of Lars Ulrich from Metallica. They made a promise to Tom that they would get him to meet Lars. Tom's dream is their promise. Together they went on a Mission to Lars.
Pink Floyd London '66-'67

2005

Pink Floyd London '66-'67

2005
6.7
Shot by movie maestro Peter Whitehead, this film features rare full length performances from the classic late 60's Pink Floyd line-up at Sound Techniques London & material from the legendary '14 hour Technicolor Dream' extravaganza in April '67 at Alexandra Palace.
ChickenHawk

1994

ChickenHawk

1994
5.9
Members of the controversial group NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association) discuss why their organization supports "boys and men who have or desire engagements in sexual or emotional relationships."
Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror

2001

Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror

2001
6.5
Documentary that explores Argento's film career.
God Is the Bigger Elvis

2012

God Is the Bigger Elvis

2012
6.7
The Oscar®-nominated documentary about a promising young actress who left Hollywood to become a nun.
Dong

2006

Dong

2006
5.5
Jia Zhangke travels with painter Liu Xiaodong from China to Thailand as they as they meet everyday workers in the throes of social turmoil. Liu Xiaodong is well-known for his monumental canvases, particularly those inspired by China's Three Gorges Dam project. Jia Zhangke visits Liu on the banks of Fengjie, a city about to be swallowed up by the Yangtze River. The area is in the process of being "de-constructed" by armies of shirtless male workers who form the subject of Liu's paintings. Liu and Jia next travel to Bangkok, where Liu paints Thai sex workers languishing in brothels. The two sets of paintings are united in their subjects' shared sense of malaise in the face of the dehumanizing labor afforded them.