Documentary - Movies

Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.

Documentary

FREAKSCENE is a homage to one of the most influential bands of Alternative Music, which inspired the rock scene in the 1990s- including Nirvana. It is also the story of the eccentric guitarist and bandleader J. Mascis, bass player Lou Barlow and drummer Murph not communicating with each other. A tragically funny and sometimes noisy rollercoaster ride by a dysfunctional family: Dinosaur Jr.

The Biggest Little Farm

Documentary

The Biggest Little Farm chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature's conflicts, the Chesters unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons, and our wildest imagination. Featuring breathtaking cinematography, captivating animals, and an urgent message to heed Mother Nature's call, The Biggest Little Farm provides us all a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet.

Madonna Truth or Dare

Documentary

Madonna: Like you've never seen her before. This movie reveals her as she really is, on stage and off--den mother to her family of dancers, sex goddess to her millions of fans, businesswoman, singer, dancer, the biggest star in the world of music. Join her and experience an intimate backstage look at her "Blonde Ambition" tour. From her hotel room to her dressing room, from her stage show to her boudoir, here is Madonna--outrageous, hilarious, uninhibited.

I Am Evel Knievel

Documentary

Evel. Not a name that you forget. Not a man that you forget. Hell, he wasn't a man, he was a daredevil. Evel was the original daredevil. He left behind a twisted wreck of a life and a story that can only be told at full speed, straight up, and with no flowery prose. We will look back, and we will look inside. With a cast that includes those who were there, those who wanted to be Evel, and those who became who they are today because of one man who paved the way for those that risk it all. Interviews include Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Rodriguez, Kid Rock, Guy Fieri, Robbie Maddison and a host of family, friends and collaborators. This is the inside story of the one who gave birth to the culture of extreme. We will reveal what it was like to chase the dream alongside the greatest daredevil who ever lived. Combined with original exclusive interviews, I Am Evel Knievel will weave in archival footage of this bigger than life character to tell Knievel’s incredible story, with footage of Evel’s greatest jumps from Snake River Canyon to Caesars Palace. We will travel America to revisit the sites of Evel’s greatest glory, and to meet the most important people in Evel’s life, from small town to big city. From the site of Evel’s most infamous jump in Idaho’s Snake River Canyon to Montana’s Butte Trailer Park where Evel raised his family while scraping together a living. From the world’s most renowned stadiums to dusty parking lots where Evel Knievel’s death defying feats astonished the world, and left the skid marks of hard living on all those who ventured forth with him.

Facing Nolan

Documentary

Nolan Ryan is emblazoned onto our sub-conscience. Images of him pitching with a jersey covered in blood, 7 no-hitters, the all-time strikeout record, and the iconic brawl where Nolan walloped Robin Ventura are cultural cornerstones. But Ryan’s career is a study in extremes. He holds the record for most walks and most wild pitches. With this in mind, where does Ryan fit in the game of baseball?

Hitchcock/Truffaut

Documentary

In 1962, François Truffaut persuaded Alfred Hitchcock to sit with him for a week long interview in which the great British auteur would share with his young admirer the secrets of his cinema. Based on the original recordings of this meeting - used to produce the seminal book "Hitchcock/Truffaut" - this film illustrates the greatest cinema lesson of all time and plunges us into the world of the creator of Psycho, The Birds and Vertigo. Hitchcock's singular vision is elucidated and brought vividly to life by today's leading filmmakers: Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Arnaud Desplechin, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, WesAnderson, James Gray, Olivier Assayas, Richard Linklater, Peter Bogdanovich, and Paul Schrader.

Pavarotti

Documentary

From Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard comes this wonderfully intimate portrait of Luciano Pavarotti, the most beloved opera singer of all time. Interweaving Pavarotti’s genre-defining performances with revealing, never-before-seen footage, Pavarotti is a movie experience as singularly entertaining as its legendary subject.

City of Joel

Documentary

50 miles north of New York City, the town of Monroe is a microcosm for a hyper-partisan and divided nation as a land dispute between an ultra-orthodox Hassidic sect and their secular neighbors erupts into a turf war.

I Am Heath Ledger

Documentary

I Am Heath Ledger is a feature length documentary celebrating the life of Heath Ledger: actor, artist and icon. The documentary provides an intimate look at Heath Ledger through the lens of his own camera as he films and often performs in his own personal journey - extravagant in gesture and in action. It was his creative energy and unshakable willingness to take risks that instilled such an extraordinarily deep love and affection in the people that entered his life. Heath’s artistic nature and expression set him apart from the Hollywood mainstream, vaulted him to stardom and endeared him to the world.

Churchill and the Movie Mogul

Documentary

Winston Churchill was mad about movies, arguably more so than any other politician in history, but the true extent of his use of them as a war weapon has not been previously explored. Before the Second World War, one of Britain's most celebrated film producers, Alexander Korda, signed up Churchill as a screenwriter and historical advisor and a unique collaboration began. Churchill provided script notes for Korda's productions and also penned an epic screenplay. When war broke out, their collaboration became of immeasurable importance. Churchill sent Korda on a spy mission to Hollywood with the aim of bringing America into the war. Using previously undiscovered documents, that mission and the friendship which underpinned it is explored for the first time in a new documentary by writer-director John Fleet.

Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives

Documentary

During the 1990s, Stretch and Bobbito introduced the world to an unsigned Nas, Biggie, Wu-Tang, and Big Pun as well as an unknown Jay-Z, Eminem, and the Fugees. The total record sales for all the artists that premiered on their radio show exceed 300 million. The late night program had a cult following in the art/fashion world and prison population as well. All would loyally tune in for the humor just as much for the exclusive tunes. Stretch and Bobbito brought a unique audience together, and created a platform that changed music forever.

Creem: America's Only Rock 'N' Roll Magazine

Documentary

Capturing the messy upheaval of the '70s just as rock was re-inventing itself, the film explores CREEM Magazine's humble beginnings in post-riot Detroit, follows its upward trajectory from underground paper to national powerhouse, then bears witness to its imminent demise following the tragic and untimely deaths of its visionary publisher, Barry Kramer, and its most famous alum and genius clown prince, Lester Bangs, a year later. Fifty years after publishing its first issue, 'America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine' remains a seditious spirit in music and culture.

The Messenger

Documentary

A contemplative documentary, THE MESSENGER explores our deep-seated connection to birds and warns that the uncertain fate of songbirds might mirror our own. Moving from the northern reaches of the Boreal Forest to the base of Mount Ararat in Turkey to the urban streets of New York, THE MESSENGER brings us face-to-face with a remarkable variety of human-made perils that have devastated thrushes, warblers, orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks and many other airborne music-makers. These include hunting, light pollution, high-rise collisions, pipelines, pesticides and loss of migratory habitats. On one level, THE MESSENGER is the artful story about the mass depletion of songbirds on multiple continents, and about those who are working to turn the tide. According to international expert Dr. Bridget Stutchbury, who is featured in the documentary, we may have lost almost half the songbirds that filled the skies fifty years ago. On another level, the messenger is an engaging, visually stunning, three-act emotional journey, one that mixes its elegiac message with hopeful notes and unique glances into the influence of songbirds on our own expressions of the soul. For example, a German composer, DJ and bird-watching enthusiast, Dominik Eulberg incorporates bird-sounds seamlessly into techno music and introduces us to the use of birdsongs in Wagnerian opera.

I Am Patrick Swayze

Documentary

I Am Patrick Swayze is a feature documentary film exploring the 1980’s most recognizable leading man, who challenged Hollywood’s very notions of masculinity and redefined what it meant to be the Sexiest Man Alive. Featuring never-before-seen home videos, photographs and original interviews with those who knew Patrick best—including the illustrious costars of his biggest films—this documentary dives beyond his status as a sex-symbol to reveal the complexities of an often misunderstood movie star. From his ferocious drive, to his most iconic roles and off camera battles with alcohol and cancer, Patrick’s family, friends and collaborators reflect on the life and legacy of the man they endearingly called Buddy. Whether he was leading a pack of outsiders, performing acrobatics 10,000 feet in the air, strutting in full drag, or sweeping women, literally, off their feet, he approached every role with vulnerability and fearlessness. I Am Patrick Swayze channels the same tenderness and strength that defined not only Patrick’s beloved characters, but the remarkable man he was—a man who was born to be either a Texas cowboy, prolific dancer, all-star athlete or a true artist, who instead decided to be all of them. I Am Patrick Swayze features a star-studded cast including Patrick’s widow, Lisa Niemi, brother, Don Swayze, co-stars Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Sam Elliott, Jennifer Grey, C. Thomas Howell, Marshall R. Teague, Kelly Lynch and Lori Petty, director Roland Joffe, agent Nicole David, manager Kate Edwards, personal assistant Rosemary Hygate, stuntman Cliff McLaughlin, and bodyguard Frank Whiteley.

Valerie

Documentary

VALERIE is a documentary about legendary actress Valerie Perrine. From her Academy Award Nominated and Cannes winning role as ‘Honey Bruce’ in the film LENNY, to her iconic role as ‘Eve Teschmacher’ in the original SUPERMAN - Valerie has been an inspiration for so many. This film offers an intimate look at Valerie’s amazing career and personal life.

Balloon Man

Documentary

The rubber met the road in the early 1970s for Bill Costen. After being drafted by the Buffalo Bills, tragedy forces him out of his dream. Saying goodbye to a career on the turf, Bill takes to the air, becoming the first African American Hot-Air Balloon Master Pilot in the world. Balloon Man is an intimate portrait of a former NFL athlete who learned how to navigate through the clouds, told through the lens of his daughter, award-winning filmmaker, Chantal Potter. Bill found freedom in flying, proving that with a bit of faith, the sky's the limit.

Justin Bieber's Believe

Documentary

Behind the headlines, beyond the spotlight… lies Justin’s real story. Get to know Justin Bieber as only the lucky few do – honest, funny and totally captivating – through incredible performances and exclusive interviews with the star himself. This is the compelling documentary that goes backstage to reveal Justin’s real story: his insights on evolving as an artist, the relationships that matter most to him, and what it’s like to come of age in the spotlight. It also includes thrilling never-before-seen concert footage, unprecedented behind-the-scenes access and special appearances from manager Scooter Braun, Pattie Mallette and many more.

Rolling Thunder

Documentary

A feature film shot in one day, Rolling Thunder follows millennial director Benny Blake as he confronts one disaster after another while making a big-budget short film with Joe Mantegna, Wes Studi and the band Chicago.

Hoop Dreams

Documentary

Two ordinary inner-city kids dare to dream the impossible—professional basketball glory—in this epic chronicle of hope and faith. Filmed over a five-year period, Hoop Dreams follows young Arthur Agee and William Gates as they navigate the complex, competitive world of scholastic athletics while striving to overcome the intense pressures of family life and the realities of their Chicago streets. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this landmark documentary chronicling two remarkable families who challenge the American dream.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

Documentary

The award-winning documentary about the fascinating and harrowing making of Apocalypse Now, one of the most celebrated films in American cinema.

Documentary Movies