Completed | 2013 | Documentary Movies | Sort: Most Popular

The injustice of solitary confinement and the transformative power of art are explored in Herman’s House, a documentary that follows the unlikely friendship between a New York artist and one of America’s most famous inmates as they collaborate on an acclaimed art project. In 1972, New Orleans native Herman Joshua Wallace was serving a 25-year sentence for bank robbery when he was accused of murdering an Angola Prison guard and thrown into solitary confinement. Then in 2001 Herman received a perspective-shifting letter from a Jackie Sumell, a young art student, who posed the provocative question: What kind of house does a man who has lived in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell for over 30 years dream of?

A multi-layered tale about transparency in the information age and our ever-elusive search for the truth. Detailing the creation of Julian Assange’s controversial website, which facilitated the largest security breach in U.S. history, the film charts the enigmatic Assange’s rise and fall in parallel with that of Pfc. Bradley Manning, the brilliant, troubled young soldier who downloaded hundreds of thousands of documents from classified U.S. military and diplomatic servers.

A 3D behind-the-scenes film showcasing London-based global music sensation One Direction.

For the first time ever, six former heads of Israel's domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. Since the Six Day War in 1967, Israel has failed to transform its crushing military victory into a lasting peace. Throughout that entire period, these heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel's decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and their assessments and insights had - and continue to have - a profound impact on Israeli policy.

A documentary that recounts the life of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, who lost the 1951 National League pennant to the New York Giants by giving up the game-winning home run.

Freda Kelly was just a shy Liverpudlian teenager when she was asked to work for a local band hoping to make it big. Though she had no concept of how far they would go, Freda had faith in The Beatles from the beginning, and The Beatles had faith in her.

History notes that The Beatles were together for 10 years, but Freda worked for them for 11. Many people came in and out of the band's circle as they grew to international stardom, but Freda remained a staple because of her unfaltering loyalty and dedication. As the Beatles' devoted secretary and friend, Freda was there as history unfolded; she was witness to the evolution – advances and setbacks, breakthroughs and challenges – of the greatest band in history.

In Good Ol' Freda, Freda tells her stories for the first time in 50 years. One of few films with the support of the living Beatles and featuring original Beatles music, the film offers an insider perspective on the beloved band that changed the music industry.

Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O. Hyde examines the inspirational life of Dayton O. Hyde as a modern-day renaissance man and one of the last old-style cowboys. Through heroic determination, he is preserving part of the American West with a breathtaking 12,000-acre prairieland Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota that he has maintained for the last 25 years and where more than 500 mustangs now run free—all rescued from the controversial wild horse roundups in the west.

Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark met in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s and, despite leading very different lives, remained close friends ever since. Shepard became a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (Buried Child) and an Academy Award-nominated actor (The Right Stuff), while Dark was a homebody who supported himself with odd jobs. Through the decades, they stayed bonded by family ties. Dark married an older woman named Scarlett and Shepard married her daughter. For years, the two couples lived together, until Shepard broke away for a relationship with Jessica Lange in 1983, leaving Johnny to help father his first son. Nevertheless, he and Dark continued writing to each other, amassing hundreds of letters.

Director Treva Wurmfeld began filming the two friends in 2010 during a period of transition and reflection for Shepard. At the time, he had quietly ended his relationship with Lange and agreed to publish his correspondence with Dark. The task required them to meet and sift through years of their shared history, stirring memories both good and bad. Wurmfeld observes the two men over a period of 18 months and captures an indelible portrait of a complex male friendship rarely depicted on screen.

The epic rivalry between half-pipe legends Kevin Pearce and Shaun White is documented in this exhilarating ride into the world of extreme snowboarding. With both practicing more and more breathtaking and dangerous tricks leading up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, everything suddenly changes for Kevin when a horrific crash leaves him fighting for his life. When he recovers, all he wants to do is get on his snowboard again, even though medics and family fear it could kill him.

In 1968, a young college drop-out named George A. Romero directed Night of the Living Dead, a low budget horror film that shocked the world, became an icon of the counterculture, and spawned a zombie industry worth billions of dollars that continues to this day.

Birth of the Living Dead shows how Romero gathered an unlikely team of Pittsburghers -- policemen, iron workers, teachers, ad-men, housewives and a roller-rink owner -- to shoot a revolutionary guerrilla style film that went on to become a cinematic landmark, offering a profound insight into how our society worked in a singular time in American history.

Focuses on the advent of digital media sharing, including the rise of game-changing company Napster and its controversial online pioneers Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. The digital revolution ultimately created a technology paradigm shift and upended both the music industry and music artists, and changed the world.

Oscar-nominated director Markus Imhoof tackles the vexing issue of why bees, worldwide, are facing extinction. With the tenacity of a man out to solve a world-class mystery, he investigates this global phenomenon from California to Switzerland, China and Australia.

The film depicts the fortunes of a young male King Penguin, who returns to the place where he was born and raised. Known as Penguin City, this sub-Antarctic island is home to albatrosses, leopard seals and elephant seals—and six million penguins! Somehow our hero must earn his place among the inhabitants and fulfill his destiny by finding a mate and raising a family.

The high stakes crime, political movement, and trial that catapults the 26 year-old newly appointed philosophy professor at the University of California at Los Angeles into a seventies revolutionary political icon. Nearly forty years later, and for the first time, Angela Davis speaks frankly about the actions that branded her as a terrorist and simultaneously spurred a worldwide political movement for her freedom.

A follow up to award winning documentary 'Herb & Dorothy', the film captures the ordinary couple's extraordinary gift of art to the nation as they close the door on their life as collectors. When Herb and Dorothy Vogel, a retired postal clerk and librarian, began collecting works of contemporary art in the 1960s, they never imagined it would outgrow their one bedroom Manhattan apartment and spread throughout America. 50 years later, the collection is nearly 5,000 pieces and worth millions. Refusing to sell, the couple launches an unprecedented gift project giving artworks to one museum in all 50 states. The film journeys around the country with the Vogels, meeting artists who are famous or unknown, often controversial, striking today's society with questions about art and its survival.

A shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease, How to Make Money Selling Drugs is an insider's guide to the violent but extremely lucrative drug industry. Told from the perspective of former drug dealers, and featuring interviews with rights advocates Russell Simmons, Susan Sarandon, and David Simon (creator of The Wire), the film gives you the lessons you need to start your own drug empire while exposing the corruption behind the "war on drugs."

The film examines the life of the notorious pimp and author of seven ground-breaking books. It includes insightful interviews with well-known artists, scholars, friends and family members that create a riveting tapestry as colorful as the subject himself. The autobiographical work of Iceberg Slim is considered to be the genesis of blaxploitation films and gangster rap and it continues to influence artists today.

Matt Berninger, lead singer of the rock band The National, invites his metalhead younger brother, Tom, to film their biggest tour yet.

Murph: The Protector is a feature-length documentary based on LT Michael Murphy's life of honor, courage and commitment, as told by his friends, family and teammates. Michael was raised in Patchogue, New York, attended Penn State University and then joined the U.S. Navy to serve in the SEAL Teams. Well-known for his selflessness, Michael gave his life for his men in 2005 and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2007. His legacy now lives on in this moving portrait of a real American hero.

The story of a small Alabama town by the Tennessee River, where a man named Rick Hall overcame crushing personal hardship to put together a recording studio and house band (the Swampers) that became legendary for its electrifying musical chemistry. Luring some of the biggest figures in 20th century pop music, like Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, theStaples Singers, the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Simon and Garfunkle, the studio produced all time classic songs like “Mustang Sally,” “I Never Loved a Man,” “Wild Horses” and many more, uniting black and white musicians in the deep south during an incendiary period of racial hostility.