Top Rated Documentary Movies on Pantaflix - Page 433

Dead Birds

1963

Dead Birds

1963
5.8
The film's title is borrowed from a Dani fable that Gardner recounts in voice-over. The Dani people, whom Gardner identifies mysteriously as "a mountain people," believe that there was once a great race between a bird and a snake, which was to determine the lives of human beings. Should men shed their skins and live forever like snakes, or die like birds? The bird won the race, dictating that man must die. The film's plot revolves around two characters, Weyak and Pua. Weyak is a warrior who guards the frontier between the land of his tribe and that of the neighboring tribe. Pua is a young boy whom Gardner depicts as weak and inept.
Kubrick's Odyssey: Secrets Hidden in the Films of Stanley Kubrick; Part One: Kubrick and Apollo

2011

Kubrick's Odyssey: Secrets Hidden in the Films of Stanley Kubrick; Part One: Kubrick and Apollo

2011
5.4
This provocative and insightful film is the first in a series of documentaries that will reveal the secret knowledge embedded in the work of the greatest filmmaker of all time: Stanley Kubrick. This famed movie director who made films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut, placed symbols and hidden anecdotes into his films that tell a far different story than the films appeared to be saying. In Kubrick's Odyssey, Part I, Kubrick and Apollo, author and filmmaker, Jay Weidner presents compelling evidence of how Stanley Kubrick directed the Apollo moon landings.
Marcela

2007

Marcela

2007
5.8
The life of Marcela, an ordinary Czech woman is explored throughout several decades of her life. We are engaged to struggle and fight back with Marcela as her tragic life unfolds before our eyes especially when dealing with her daughter’s unexpected death, which almost drives her to suicide. The film was initially part of a series about the fate of six married couples, but the events that happened throughout Marcela’s life were the reason why the director decided to focus solely on a documentary about her.
Checkpoint

2003

Checkpoint

2003
6.9
Documentary filmmaker Yoav Shamir's depiction of the checkpoints that the Israel Defense Forces man in the Palestinian Authority.
Running on the Sun: The Badwater 135

2000

Running on the Sun: The Badwater 135

2000
5.7
Forty runners compete in the most gruelling race on earth, the Badwater. The film documents the trials and tribulations of these athletes as they run 135 miles through Death Valley in July and explores the motivations behind this seemingly masochistic contest. A celebration of the perseverance of the human will beyond the limits of the human body
Forever Hardcore: The Documentary

2005

Forever Hardcore: The Documentary

2005
5.7
FOREVER HARDCORE is fearless in exposing the true history of this wrestling revolution, as the faces that shaped an era share their memories through the laughter and the tears.
Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation

2004

Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation

2004
7.2
A comprehensive look at the history of the Hellboy character from his comic book roots through to his movie debut.
One By One

1975

One By One

1975
5.3
Intended to be about the passing of the torch from Stewart to Cevert; One By One is a documentary chronicling the lives of Formula 1 racers in the seventies.
Central Park

1990

Central Park

1990
7.4
CENTRAL PARK is a film about the famous New York City landmark and the variety of ways in which people make use of it: running, boating, walking, skating, music, theatre, sports, picnics, parades and concerts. The film also illustrates the complex problems the New York City Parks Department deals with in order to maintain and preserve the park and keep it open and accessible to the public.
Darwin

2011

Darwin

2011
6.1
Nick Brandestini is a filmmaker based in Zurich, Switzerland. His first documentary, Return to Florence (2006), about a small group of young American and British artists studying classical methods at an unconventional school in Florence, screened at numerous film festivals across North America, winning several awards. His next documentary, H.R. Giger's Sanctuary (2007), about the renowned and reclusive artist, H.R. Giger, most famous as the creator of Ridley Scott's “Alien”, was an official selection at the AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey

1995

Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey

1995
5.6
After escaping Russia's communist revolution, Léon Theremin travels to New York, where he pioneers the field of electronic music with his synthesizer. But at the height of his popularity, Soviet agents kidnap and force him to develop spy technology.
Lewis Black: Taxed Beyond Belief

2002

Lewis Black: Taxed Beyond Belief

2002
6.8
Lewis Black hosts this comedic documentary about the US income tax system. Set at St John’s University, Lewis, as Professor Black, teaches a ‘Taxes 101’ course to students which highlights the utter stupidity of our tax system. Lessons are supplemented with interviews with a New York City accountant, Bob Dole, John McCain and Larry King.
Classic Albums: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

1999

Classic Albums: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

1999
7.3
Never one for understatement, the aptly named singer known as Meat Loaf (aka Marvin Lee Aday) teamed with operatically-minded pianist-composer Jim Steinman to produce a bombastic slab of 1970s classic rock that has become one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Fueled by Steinman's epic compositions, Todd Rundgren's grandiose production, and Meat Loaf's own soaring vocals, the singer's 1977 debut BAT OUT OF HELL elevated the rock-opera genre to appropriately theatrical heights with its extravagant orchestration and a melodramatic narrative celebrating teenage rebellion. This episode of the CLASSIC ALBUMS series recounts the making of this monumental work through interviews, archival footage, and live performances of album tracks such as "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," and, of course, the adolescent opus "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."
Hollywood Uncensored

1987

Hollywood Uncensored

1987
5.1
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Peter Fonda host an examination of the history of decency standards for movies from the early 1920s onwards.
Worlds Most Dangerous Drug

2006

Worlds Most Dangerous Drug

2006
5.7
Methamphetamine is one of the hardest drugs to quit. Its abuse is ravaging rural communities and cities alike. NGC correspondent Lisa Ling goes inside this global epidemic to find out what makes meth so addictive and destructive.
Sport, Sport, Sport

1970

Sport, Sport, Sport

1970
5.6
A half-fiction half-documentary story about sport and it's importance in everyday life.
Under Pressure: Making 'The Abyss'

1993

Under Pressure: Making 'The Abyss'

1993
7.9
Documentary about the challenging making of the sci-fi film "The Abyss" , with commentary by various actors and crew, outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage of the actual shooting of the film.
Islam: Empire of Faith

2001

Islam: Empire of Faith

2001
8.4
Islam: Empire of Faith is a documentary series that details the history of Islam, from the birth of the Islamic Prophet, Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire. It is narrated by Ben Kingsley. The first episode deals with the life of Muhammad, the second with the early Caliphates, Crusades, and Mongol invasion, and the third with the Ottoman Empire and Safavid dynasty.
The Merchants of Cool

2001

The Merchants of Cool

2001
7.2
A documentary on the marketing of pop culture to Teenagers.
Nitrate Base

1997

Nitrate Base

1997
5.3
This documentary celebrates the 100th anniversary of the cinema birth. It is an historic running through the technical and artistic evolution of the 7th art. We move from mute to sound, from B&W to color, trough all the genders (musical, Lyric, politic...). Beside it we have a kind of resume of the historic contest in which cinema lived till now, events and movements (neo-realism, classical etc.). All the aspects are taken in consideration: fashion, star system till the end, the sad end, of cinema in the theaters.