Documentary Picks of the Day, a list by amything

7.3

/709/

71

/64/

68

/22/

3.5

/485/

88

/41/

80

/24/

77

/15/

2.5

age 14+

Code Black follows a team of young, idealistic and energetic ER doctors during the transition from the old to the new L.A. County as they try to avoid burnout and improve patient care. Why do they persist, despite being under siege by rules, regulations and paperwork?

NEW

68

7.0

/7596/

71

/305/

69

/142/

3.4

/4920/

67

/116/

62

/843/

63

/33/

3.0

age 7+

A non-narrated documentary following the lovesome lives of four infants from birth to their first birthday. The babies featured are two from rural areas: Ponijao from Opuwo, Namibia, and Bayar from Bayanchandmani, Mongolia, as well as two from urban areas: Mari from Tokyo, Japan, and Hattie from San Francisco, USA.

NEW

74

6.6

/455/

71

/30/

64

/15/

3.6

/814/

100

/22/

3.0

age 15+

In the wake of the Taliban's return to power, a group of Kabul women lead a revolutionary fight for their rights—and their lives.

NEW

81

61

8.3

/15231/

72

/40/

76

/54/

3.5

/290/

94

/386/

93

/4041/

Behind the scenes look at fight choreography and action training.

NEW

75

7.0

/681/

66

/28/

68

/17/

3.7

/10356/

94

/52/

78

79

/12/

3.0

Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel "Orlando: A Biography" follows the centuries-spanning life of a young nobleman who awakens to find that they are a woman. Almost a century after its publication, Paul B. Preciado claims that fiction has become reality and Orlando's story lies at the root of all contemporary trans and non-binary life.

NEW

82

62

8.0

/1248/

74

/62/

72

/20/

4.2

/12518/

89

/9/

92

/807/

83

/8/

In 1970, right after the triumphant premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking concept musical Company, the renowned composer and lyricist, his director Harold Prince, the show’s stars, and a large pit orchestra all went into a Manhattan recording studio as part of a time-honored Broadway tradition: the making of the original cast album. What ensued was a marathon session in which, with the pressures of posterity and the coolly exacting Sondheim’s perfectionism hanging over them, all involved pushed themselves to the limit.

NEW

78

8.1

/484/

72

/27/

73

/6/

3.7

/598/

90

/10/

86

/2/

80

/5/

3.0

A documentary following JR's artwork giving a global voice to everyday people.

NEW

70

6.7

/8739/

67

/491/

62

/132/

3.2

/11736/

96

/23/

74

/20/

68

/6/

2.5

The spectacular rise and scandalous fall of hot-yoga evangelist Bikram Choudhury is chronicled through archival footage and extensive insider interviews.

NEW

72

7.2

/116345/

68

/4626/

67

/1730/

3.1

/111568/

92

/168/

72

/13223/

73

/37/

3.0

age 13+

Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a diet based only on McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days without exercising to try to prove why so many Americans are fat or obese. He submits himself to a complete check-up by three doctors, comparing his weight along the way, resulting in a scary conclusion.

NEW

79

7.9

/10035/

78

/195/

78

/167/

3.8

/2705/

77

/87/

90

/470/

66

/33/

3.5

age 17+

Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.

NEW

70

6.5

/418/

68

/45/

70

/9/

3.4

/858/

67

/21/

81

/2/

66

/8/

3.0

Chinatown Fair opened as a penny arcade on Mott Street in 1944. Over the decades, the dimly lit gathering place, known for its tic-tac-toe playing chicken, became an institution, surviving turf wars between rival gangs, changing tastes and the explosive growth of home gaming systems like Xbox and Playstation that shuttered most other arcades in the city. But as the neighborhood gentrified, this haven for a diverse, unlikely community faced its strongest challenge, inspiring its biggest devotees to next-level greatness.

NEW

76

63

7.3

/2629/

72

/45/

68

/36/

3.9

/1859/

88

/67/

81

/326/

78

/20/

An intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. The Carthusians finally contacted Gröning 16 years later to say they were now willing to permit Gröning to shoot the movie, if he was still interested.

NEW

79

7.4

/1210/

81

/55/

68

/25/

3.6

/837/

91

/44/

88

/20/

78

/12/

3.5

age 13+

A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

NEW

62

6.7

/1830/

65

/113/

55

/18/

3.4

/19025/

74

/50/

68

/12/

64

/17/

1.5

Set against the backdrop of 9/11, this documentary tells the story of how a new generation kickstarted a musical rebirth for New York City that reverberated around the world.

NEW

82

7.5

/4315/

76

/242/

76

/78/

4.0

/22553/

99

/72/

81

/13/

82

/18/