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2017 : Rating Not Available : Documentary Movies - Sort: Most Popular

Portrait of Amy Renner Amy Renner

Last modified: May. 5, 2019

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Born in China follows the stories of three animal families, transporting audiences to some of the most extreme environments on Earth to witness some of the most intimate moments ever captured in a nature film. A doting panda bear mother guides her growing baby as she begins to explore and seek independence. A two-year-old golden monkey who feels displaced by his new baby sister joins up with a group of free-spirited outcasts. And a mother snow leopard—an elusive animal rarely caught on camera—faces the very real drama of raising her two cubs in one of the harshest and most unforgiving environments on the planet.

Documentary Nature

  • 4.2 / 5
86% 14%

Inspired by the Church’s use of filming techniques, and aided by ex-members of the organization, Louis Theroux uses actors to replay some incidents people claim they experienced as members in an attempt to better understand the way it operates. In a bizarre twist, it becomes clear that the Church is also making a film about Louis Theroux. Suffused with a good dose of humor and moments worthy of a Hollywood script, My Scientology Movie is stranger than fiction.

Documentary 1 hr, 30 mins

  • 4 / 5
53% 47%
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In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing an unavoidable endeavor he was about to embark on: the writing of his last book, Remember This House. The book was to be an account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his friends — Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers and Malcolm X. Their murders permanently traumatized an entire generation. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of this manuscript. In this documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.

Documentary 1 hr, 33 mins

  • 3.4 / 5
63% 37%

A rags-to-riches story behind the MMA fighter-turned-boxing star Conor McGregor.

Sports Documentary

  • 3 / 5
77% 23%
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Profiles portrait photographer Elsa Dorfman through her work with the Polaroid Land 20x24 camera and her Cambridge, Mass., studio, where she captured families, Beat poets, rock stars and Harvard standouts.

Documentary

  • 1.3 / 5
50% 50%

Follows the true life tale of Linda Bishop, a mentally-ill homeless woman who spent four months alone in an abandoned farmhouse, living off of rainwater and apples, waiting for God to save her, during one of the coldest winters on record.

Documentary 1 hr, 37 mins

  • 3.3 / 5
75% 25%
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Dina, an outspoken and eccentric 49-year-old in suburban Philadelphia, invites her fiancé Scott, a Walmart door greeter, to move in with her. Having grown up neurologically diverse in a world blind to the value of their experience, the two are head-over-heels for one another, but shacking up poses a new challenge. Filmmakers Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini construct seamless vérité scenes that lovingly frame Dina and Scott's vulnerable, yet matter-of-fact romance. Whether at the local nail salon, the warm beaches of Ocean City, Dina's racy bachelorette party, or on honeymoon in the Poconos, Dina captures the cadences and candid conversations of a relationship that reexamines the notion of love on-screen.

Documentary 1 hr, 41 mins

  • 3.7 / 5
33% 67%

Based on a true marriage journey, the film tells the story of ultra-marathon runner and college professor David Horton, his wife, Nancy, and their attempt to finish their marriage race well.

Family Documentary 1 hr, 42 mins

  • 5 / 5
73% 28%

Covers the life of Jeremiah Tower, who became one of America’s first celebrity chefs, and includes interviews with Anthony Bourdain, Mario Batali, Martha Stewart and Ruth Reichl.

Documentary

  • 1 / 5
50% 50%

On the morning of Election Day 2016, Americans of all stripes woke up and went about living their radically different lives. These were the hours leading up to Donald Trump's unexpected, earth-shaking victory, but, of course, no one knew that yet. Curated and produced by Jeff Deutchman 11/8/16 documents the moments leading up to a defining moment in American history.

Documentary Political

  • 1 / 5
44% 56%

A documentary about The Anarchist Cookbook creator William Powell.

Documentary

67% 33%

The musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club exposed the world to Cuba's vibrant culture with their landmark 1997 album. Now, against the backdrop of Cuba's captivating musical history, hear the band's story as they reflect on their remarkable careers and the extraordinary circumstances that brought them together.

Documentary 1 hr, 50 mins

  • 3 / 5
83% 17%

A documentary feature about the passion and personalities at the heart of today’s new wave of burlesque. On stage and in candid conversation, twelve of today’s hottest performers reveal the naked truth about an exotic world where artifice is a route to authenticity and pretending to be someone else is the ultimate journey to become yourself. These burlesquers put it all on the line in performances that are sexy, funny, elegant and outrageous – and they bare more than just their bodies as they discuss their artistic vision, their financial struggles, the misconceptions that infuriate them and the community that sustains them.

Documentary Dance

  • 3 / 5
51% 49%

Movie fans know the work of Harold and Lillian Michelson, even if they don’t recognize the names. Working largely uncredited in the Hollywood system, storyboard artist Harold and film researcher Lillian left an indelible mark on classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and many more.

Documentary

  • 3.3 / 5
62% 38%

Documentary on New York City's vibrant underground ballroom scene fueled by young LGBTQ people staging elaborate dance competitions.

Documentary

25% 75%

An exploration of the blurring line between childhood and adulthood, Antonio, Juan, and Jarad, all teenagers between 14 and 16, face decades in adult prison. To pass the time, they sign up for a screenwriting class and collaborate on a short film about their lives. What immediately becomes clear is that while the gravity of their alleged crimes haunts every frame, these young men are still simply teenagers. Do they deserve a second chance? The question is a societal conundrum beyond legislation and data. To their advocates, they're kids. To the system, they're adults. To their victims, they're monsters.

Documentary 1 hr, 22 mins

  • 3 / 5
67% 33%

In 2012, “Nature” published a study led by more than 20 researchers from the top scientific institutions in the world predicting that humankind could disappear between 2040 and 2100. It also said that it could be avoided by drastically changing our way of life and take appropriate measures.

Shortly after giving birth to her first child, French actress and director Mélanie Laurent became increasingly aware of the dangers and the state of urgency that her son will face in the future. Along with friend and activist Cyril Dion and their crew, she decided to travel the world in search of solutions that can help save the next generations. The result is Tomorrow, an inspiring documentary that presents concrete solutions implemented throughout the world by hundred of communities.

Documentary 2 hrs, 0 mins

  • 3.4 / 5
78% 22%

Endangered African species like elephants, rhinos and lions march closer to extinction each year. Their devastating decline is fueled in part by a global desire to consume these majestic animals. TROPHY investigates the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation. Through the eyes of impassioned individuals who drive these industries—from a Texas-based trophy hunter to the world’s largest private rhino breeder in South Africa—the film grapples with the consequences of imposing economic value on animals. What are the implications of treating animals as commodities? Do breeding, farming and hunting offer some of the few remaining options to conserve our endangered animals?

Documentary 1 hr, 48 mins

  • 3 / 5
57% 43%

Tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forces the Sung family to defend themselves – and their bank’s legacy in the Chinatown community – over the course of a five-year legal battle.

Documentary 1 hr, 28 mins

  • 2.7 / 5
67% 33%

A portrait of French glaciologist, Claude Lorius, whose groundbreaking research in Antarctica gave us the first clear evidence of man-made global climate change.

Lorius discovered his destiny as a college student when he joined an expedition to Antarctica in 1955; land essentially untouched by scientific experiment. He would go on to participate in twenty-two expeditions during his long career, facing unforgiving conditions and brutal personal challenges that were rewarded with an amazing discovery: using ice cores thousands of meters deep, tiny air bubbles suspended in the ice reveal the composition of the planet’s atmosphere over nearly a million years.

Documentary Nature 1 hr, 29 mins

  • 4 / 5
62% 38%

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