Browse Movies : Documentary : M

In this documentary, Nathaniel Kahn examines the life and career of his father, Philadelphia architect Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974), whose work included the Salk Institute and the Parliament and Capitol Buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh, before dying of a heart attack in a Penn Station bathroom in 1974, unidentified and broke despite having been one of the century's most influential architects. Louis Kahn also led three different personal lives, with three different families, fathering a daughter with his wife, and a child each by two other lovers (one of whom was the mother of Nathaniel, who was 11 when his father died).

Melding biography and social history with a cultural analysis of our Society's obsession with fame and celebrity, "Mayor of the Sunset Strip chronicles the picaresque life of pop impresario Rodney Bingenheimer, beloved figure on the Los Angeles music scene since the early 1960s, and a friend, confidant, and lifelong admirer of countless luminaries from all walks of public life. Rodney has helped define the sounds that have dominated over three decades of music by giving dozens of major artists their first airplay. A partial list of bands he helped to break includes the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Ramones, X, the Go-Go's, Blondie, Devo, Van Halen, Nirvana, Oasis, No Doubt, and, more recently, Coldplay and the Strokes. Featuring interviews with such stars as David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Cher, Brooke Shields, Brian Wilson, Debbie Harry, Gwen Stefani, Courtney Love, Nancy Sinatra, Coldplay's Chris Martin, and many others, "Mayor of the Sunset Strip" is a fascinating look at a life defined by a fascination with, and a Zelig-like knack for getting close to, the most famous names in music, movies, television, and beyond.

Three years in the making, this new film from acclaimed documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky provides a fascinating, in-depth portrait of the most successful heavy metal band of all time, as they faced monumental personal and professional challenges while recording their first studio album of original songs in five years. In the tradition of such seminal music documentaries as "Don't Look Back" and "Gimme Shelter", "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" seeks to transcend the conventions of the "rock 'n' roll movie" genre, trading rock-star posing for truthful introspection, and revealing an intimate portrait of the individuals behind a legendary band and their unique creative journey.

A riveting feature documentary about Marilyn Monroe's first husband and boyfriend. He was her svengali, her lover and her friend. She loved him more than anyone on earth, and despite Hollywood ordering her to divorce him, she still wanted to live with him, bear his children, and secretly keep him in her life. This film documents her secret life with him, and reveals startling secrets about Marilyn's true personae, her unknown illness, her frailties, fears and fantasies.

This is a profile of several New York City's public school kids and their journey into the world of ballroom dancing. The eleven-year-olds go from reluctantly participating in ballroom dancing to preparing to compete in the citywide finals.

Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins in their thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds. Guided by instinct, by the otherworldly radiance of the Southern Cross, they head unerringly for their traditional breeding ground where--after a ritual courtship of intricate dances and delicate maneuvering, accompanied by a cacophony of ecstatic song--they will pair off into monogamous couples and mate. The females remain long enough only to lay a single egg. Once this is accomplished, exhausted by weeks without nourishment, they begin their return journey across the ice-field to the fish-filled seas. The male emperors are left behind to guard and hatch the precious eggs, which they cradle at all times on top of their feet. After two long months during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Once they have emerged into their ghostly white new world, the chicks can not survive for long on their fathers' limited food reserves. If their mothers are late returning from the ocean with food, the newly-hatched young will die. Once the families are reunited, the roles reverse, the mothers remaining with their new young while their mates head, exhausted and starved, for the sea, and food. While the adults fish, the chicks face the ever-present threat of attack by prowling giant petrels. As the weather grows warmer and the ice floes finally begin to crack and melt, the adults will repeat their arduous journey countless times, marching many hundreds of miles over some of the most treacherous territory on Earth, until the chicks are ready to take their first faltering dive into the deep blue waters of the Antarctic.

A film about quadriplegics who play full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs - overcoming unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Brian has been crazy about Drew Barrymore since the second grade when he first saw her in "E.T." Now it's 20 years later, and since Drew hasn't come knocking on his door, Brian decided to make the first move. By documenting his quest to meet Drew on video tape, Brian thought he would represent the "everyman," and his quest will seem noble, instead of just desperate. Armed only with steadfast determination, a video camera and $1,100 that he recently won on a game show, Brian summoned the powers of "Six Degrees of Separation," figuring he must know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who knows Drew. Despite the odds, Brian found encouragement in the words of Drew Barrymore: "If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul." "My Date with Drew" will inspire moviegoers everywhere to follow their dreams.

Margaret Cho performs her stand-up comedy, recorded live in May of 2005 at the Warner Theater in Washington D.C. during her "State of Emergency" tour.

Fifteen young sailors...six months of intense training... one chance at the brass ring. This exciting true-life documentary tells the inspiring story of a group of intrepid and determined young men and women, on the cusp of adulthood, as they embark on life's first great adventure. Racing a high-performance 52-foot sloop in the Transpac, the most revered of open-ocean sailing competitions, the crew of "Morning Light" matches wits and skills in a dramatic 2,300-mile showdown against top professionals. From their earliest training sessions in Hawaii conducted by world-class teachers through their test of endurance on the high seas, they form an unbreakable bond in the process of becoming singular team that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The movie, which will mix archival footage and family memorabilia with fresh interviews, follows LeBron James' high school basketball days, following the five starters on the varsity team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. The team travels a winding road from a rundown gymnasium to national glory and NBA riches, seeking to remain a tight-knit quintet even as James becomes a megamillionaire. James was drafted out of high school in 2003 and led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007. He becomes a free agent in 2010.

Michael Jackson's "This Is It" will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London's O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from March through June, 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen before. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson's "This Is It" captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius, and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show.

Five ordinary Russians living in extraordinary times, from their sheltered Soviet childhood, to the collapse of the Soviet Union during their teenage years, to the constantly shifting political landscape of post-Soviet Russia.

In Make Believe, director J. Clay Tweel follows six adolescent outsiders who all share an extraordinary passion: the art of magic. Armed with great skill and a dazzling array of illusions, these teenagers embark from the varied hometowns of Malibu, California; Chicago, Illinois; Capetown, South Africa; Littleton, Colorado; and Kitayama, Japan to attend the annual World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas, where they each hope to be named Teen World Champion by master magician Lance Burton. The film's six subjects are remarkably assured and dedicated entertainers. Offstage, however, they face the diverse obstacles of adolescence: loneliness, high parental expectations, the pressures of impending stardom, abject poverty, and the deep desire to fit in. With great humor, honesty, and heart, Make Believe reveals an enduring world that audiences know little about while it also explores a time of life no one ever forgets.

A documentary about the psychedelic 1960s cross-country bus tour taken by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters.

Yeshi, who was recognized at birth as the reincarnation of a famous spiritual master, considers departing from tradition to embrace the modern world.

Richard Garriott's quest to become the first second-generation astronaut, from making his fortune to spending $30 million to reach the International Space Station via Russian rocket.

A documentary about legendary reggae star Bob Marley, which has been authorized by Marley's family.

From America's greatest beardsman, to Morgan Spurlock's own mustache, Executive Producers Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Ben Silverman bring us a look at men's identity in the 21st century. Models, actors, experts and comedians weigh in on what it is to be a man in a world where the definition of masculinity has become as diverse as a hipster's facial hair in Williamsburg.

Exposes the abuse of power in the Catholic Church and a cover-up that winds its way from the row houses of Milwaukee Wisconsin, through the bare ruined choirs of Ireland's churches all the way to the highest office of the Vatican.