Take a look at what documentary features are new to our rental shelves this month:
8: The Mormon Proposition (2010) – A searing indictment of the Mormon Church’s historic involvement in the promotion and passage of California’s Proposition 8, and the Mormon religion’s secretive, decades-long campaign against gay rights. – [imdb]
American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2007) - Inspired by the death of four family members from “legal drugs”, Texas filmmaker Kevin Booth sets out to discover why the Drug War has become such a big failure. – [imdb]
The Art of the Steal (2009) – This documentary reveals how a private collection of paintings became the envy of the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other major institutions and the prize in a battle between one man’s vision and the forces of commerce and politics – [imdb]
Chow Down (2010) - Three men suffering from heart disease and diabetes decide to combat their disorders by radically altering their diets in this documentary exploring the possibility that simple lifestyle changes – not expensive surgeries and medications – could be the key to reversing the effects of deadly chronic diseases. – [imdb]
Huxley on Huxley (2009) – A compelling glimpse of Laura Huxley’s life with writer Aldous Huxley, as well as the revolutionary and provocative work that had a major influence on American and contemporary cultural history. – [imdb]
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009) – The story of Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist, who in 1971 concluded that the war is based on decades of lies and leaks 7,000 pages of top secret documents to The New York Times, making headlines around the world. – [imdb]
Nollywood Babylon (2008) - A look at Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood, which is the third-largest in the world–an unstoppable economic and cultural force that has taken the continent by storm and is now bursting beyond the borders of Africa. – [imdb]
Prodigal Sons (2008) – Returning home to a small town in Montana for her high school reunion, filmmaker Kimberly Reed hopes for reconciliation with her long-estranged adopted brother, Marc. – [imdb]
Saving Marriage (2006) – A landmark court decision in Massachusetts allows gay people in that state to marry – forcing activists, legislators, and ordinary people to reconsider how they view same-sex relationships. – [imdb]
Speaking in Code (2009) - An intimate account of people who are completely lost in music. A heartbreaking and lighthearted documentary, it’s a vérité glimpse into the world of techno. – [imdb]
What’s Underground About Marshmallows (1996) – In 1981, performance artist Jack Smith put together a bracing piece against ’60s avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas. Throughout the performance, Smith (portrayed by Ron Vawter) tries in vain to apprehend Mekas, whom he accuses of plagiarism. – [allmovie]