Best movies & TV Shows like Downing of a Flag

A documentary on American political campaign marketing tactics and their consequences.

Canadian director Catherine Annau's debut work is a documentary about the legacy of Pierre Trudeau, the long-running Prime Minister of Canada, who governed during the 1970s. The film focuses particularly on Trudeau's goal of creating a thoroughly bilingual nation. Annau interviews eight people in their mid-30s on both sides of the linguistic divide. One tells of her life growing up in a community of hard-core Quebec separatists, while another, a yuppie from Toronto, recalls believing as a child that people in Montreal got drunk and had sex all day long. Annau has all of the interviewees discuss how Trudeau's policies affected their lives and their perceptions of the other side, in this issue that strikes to the heart of Canada's national identity.

Amid the bitter divisiveness of the Civil War, Confederate Capt. Robert Adams (Julian Adams) feels the rift within his soul. Steadfastly loyal to the South, Adams also holds an unshakable love for his Northerner wife, Eveline McCord (Gwendolyn Edwards). Based on the true story of Robert Adams and produced by his descendents, this stirring historical drama -- a film festival favorite -- delves into the themes of honor, patriotism and love.

Are we in fact living in a simulation? This is the question postulated, wrestled with, and ultimately argued for through archival footage, compelling interviews with real people shrouded in digital avatars, and a collection of cases from some of our most iconoclastic figures in contemporary culture.

Bob Marley's universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), MARLEY is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best.

Traces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs in 1997. Three actors provide dramatic interpretations of the work of these three writers, and the film chronicles their friendships, their arrival into American consciousness, their travels, frequent parodies, Kerouac's death, and Ginsberg's politicization. Their movement connects with bebop, John Cage's music, abstract expressionism, and living theater. In recent interviews, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kesey, Ferlinghetti, Mailer, Jerry Garcia, Tom Hayden, Gary Snyder, Ed Sanders, and others measure the Beats' meaning and impact.

Most of us can answer that question without a second thought, but for some people, the answer isn’t so simple. American Transgender takes us firsthand into the daily lives of three individuals—Clair, Jim, and Eli—who each identify with a different gender from the one in which they were born and raised. We witness their struggles and triumphs, and experience their hopes and fears. How do they manage at work, build careers, maintain friendships, and nurture lasting, intimate partnerships? Each of the characters in the film tells their story in their own words as we follow them through life’s daily battles and victories, both large and small.

Both sober and sobering, producer-director Emile de Antonio’s In the Year of the Pig is a powerful and, no doubt for many, controversial documentary about the Vietnam War.

CSS Hunley tells the incredible true story of the crew of the manually propelled submarine CSS Hunley, during the siege of Charleston of 1864. It is a story of heroism in the face of adversity, the Hunley being the first submersible to sink an enemy boat in time of war. It also relates the human side of the story relating the uncommon and extaordinary temperament of the 9 men who led the Hunley into history and died valiantly accomplishing this feat.

A fascinating account of the presidency of Andrew Jackson, who was both one of America's great presidents and a borderline tyrant. The seventh president shook up the glossy world of Washington, DC with his "common-man" methods and ideals, but also oversaw one of the most controversial events in American history: the forced removal of Indian tribes, including the Cherokees, from their homes.

CHINA: A CENTURY OF REVOLUTION is a six-hour tour de force journey through the country's most tumultuous period. First televised on PBS, this award-winning documentary series presents an astonishingly candid view of a once-secret nation with rare archival footage, insightful historical commentary and stunning eyewitness accounts from citizens who struggled through China's most decisive century. Mao's death begins BORN UNDER THE RED FLAG, which follows the country's new leadership of Deng Xiaoping and its unlikely transformation into an extraordinary hybrid of communist-centralized politics with an ever-expanding free market economy.

The Berlin Wall came down in 1989, bringing the reunification of Germany and an end to the Cold War. This documentary revisits the events surrounding the wall's historic collapse. Interviews with George Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl offer insight into political maneuvering while firsthand accounts from Germans provide personal perspectives of this historic event that changed the world forever.

Host Adam Conover employs a combination of comedy, history and science to dispel widespread misconceptions about everything we take for granted.

Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.

Each week the fifth estate brings in-depth investigations that matter to Canadians – delivering a dazzling parade of political leaders, controversial characters and ordinary people whose lives were touched by triumph or tragedy.

WWII in HD is a 10-part American documentary television miniseries that originally aired from November 15 to November 19, 2009 on the History Channel. The program focuses on the firsthand experiences of twelve American service members during World War II, including an Army nurse, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a second generation Japanese American and prisoner of war, and an Austrian Jewish immigrant. The twelve members recorded their time in both theaters and some had later interviews; found footage from the battlefield was paired with the stories of the twelve service members. The episodes premiered on five consecutive days, with two episodes per day. The series is narrated by Gary Sinise and was produced by Lou Reda Productions in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States.

The firsthand experiences of thirteen Americans during the Vietnam War. The thirteen Americans retell their stories in Vietnam paired with found footage from the battlefield.

This is the ultimate chronicle of the largest amphibious invasion in history. The momentous decisions and tragic losses, pitched battles and desperate strategies come alive with extensive footage from both Allied and Axis government vaults and revealing interviews with soldiers, commanders and civilians. Trace the development of D-Day from the initial plans and strategies to the final breakthrough that sent Allied troops roaring to Paris. Follow the strategies of Eisenhower, Montgomery, Marshall and Bradley and the counter-attacks and defenses of their German opponents. See how the heroism and valor of individual men was vital to salvaging success from plans that went awry in the first few minutes. And get an incredible, front-line view of the pitched battles that sent so many men to their grave.

Archival footage and interviews with historians mark this fascinating documentary on the 1950s, based on David Halberstam's bestseller. Among the subjects covered: work and the family; the impact of TV; the Cold War; and the beginnings of the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution.

Colorized historical footage in ascending order of World War 1. Not only the relatively known Flanders and France battles, but also the generally unknown Italian-Austrian, German-Polish-Russian, Japanese-German, Ottoman Empire- Allied and African German Colonies, and other unknown or forgotten fronts and battles.

Take a journey back in time and immerse yourself in a 150-year-old battle that nearly split our nation in two. This three-part series explores famous and little known aspects of the Civil War, from the perspectives of the Union, the Confederacy and the millions of enslaved people struggling for freedom. Hosted by Ashley Judd, Trace Adkins, and Dennis Haysbert, all of whom had ancestors greatly affected by the war, this series delivers fresh insights and untold tales, brought to life through dramatic recreations and the Smithsonian Institution's vast collection of artifacts.

The sexual revolution is alive and thriving. National Geographic Channel examines a once-taboo subject that is now impacting every aspect of society, from pop culture and science to politics and social interaction. The six-part series explores how sex is increasingly permeating contemporary cultures around the world, shaping lives by becoming more visible via the Internet, advertising, education and the media. Archival footage, animation, interviews and re-creations help uncover surprising ways sex impacts humanity and how societal conditions have changed over the past 50 years.

For more than 25 years, Dateline has brought viewers investigations into some of biggest mysteries in America. This entry in the franchise takes a second look at some of the most mysterious cases of recent history. It explores the stories through firsthand accounts told by people who are close to the crime, including investigators who dedicated their time to the cases and family members who are still trying to confront the tragedies that befell their loved ones.

Follow the transformation of Patty Hearst from heiress to terrorist in a saga of privilege, celebrity, politics, media, revolution, and violence. Over forty years later, newly discovered evidence, archival footage, cinematic recreations and exclusive firsthand accounts shed light on one of the biggest and most bizarre stories in modern American history.

In the early 1980s, AIDS emerged and quickly became an epidemic. Those responsible for public safety failed. People were kept in the dark, afraid to speak out. Ignorance, arrogance, politics and economics all lead to betrayal, to cover-up, to scandal. Unspeakable is told from the perspective of two families caught in a tragedy that gripped a nation, as well as the doctors, nurses, corporations and bureaucracy responsible.

Explore the Bush family’s internal dynamics: the influential matriarchs, sibling ambitions and unceasing competitive spirit which drove them to power. Through archival footage and interviews with historians, journalists, political figures and Bush family members, the series reveals a story of triumph, tragedy, heroism, faith, and an evolving conservatism.

The European Union has been beset by a series of comings and goings over the last few years, each triggering its own brand of crisis. The civil war in Syria created the biggest wave of refugees to hit Europe since World War II, sparking contested debates on how to divvy up tens of thousands of refugees across E.U. countries. Meanwhile, in the U.K., Britain's vote in favor of Brexit added to the turmoil. Go behind the scenes with firsthand accounts of Europe's tumultuous last decade and its impact around the globe.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard's chair of Afro-American Studies, travels the length and breadth of the United States to take the temperature of black America at the start of the new century. He explores this rich and diverse landscape, social as well as geographic, and meets the people who are defining black America, from the most famous and influential to those at the grassroots.

A four-part documentary series revolving around the case of single mother Barbara Hamburg, who was brutally murdered in 2010 near her home in the upper-middle class enclave of Madison, Connecticut. The series presents first-time filmmaker Madison Hamburg’s complicated journey as a young man determined to solve an unspeakable crime and absolve the people he loves, while looking for answers within his fractured family and community.

Lurking behind every murder is the truth. But what if the people involved in the case disagree on what the truth is and what really happened? We have to determine who is trustworthy, and who isn't. We must decide which details matter and which ones don't, and whose memories seem clear and accurate. This original series interviews people with conflicting perspectives on a real murder case to reveal the true Killer In Question.

Modern history can be divided into two time frames: before 9/11 and after 9/11. This five-part docuseries is a cohesive chronicle of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., offering illuminating perspectives and personal stories of how the catastrophic events of that day changed the course of the nation.

Featuring exclusive reporting from The New York Times, interviews with people who worked inside the Murdoch companies, and decades of rich archival footage, this six-part series goes behind the scenes of the improbable rise of a media tycoon, his outsized influence around the globe, and the intense succession battle between his children over who will inherit his throne. Cinematic and thrilling, The Murdochs: Empire of Influence charts the high-stakes deal making, political maneuvering, and dynastic betrayals – and how the ambitions of one family birthed one of the largest media empires in history.

This BBC series offers a fresh look at an amazing organization and mankind's quest to understand the universe. Blending stunningly restored footage with revealing, insightful and engaging interviews with the people who were there - the astronauts, family members and journalists - this is an epic story of the heroes, the triumphs and the tragedies of space exploration. Starting with NASA's beginnings in the Cold War, the series follows the iconic moments of space exploration from the race to get the first man in space to the first steps on the moon. And with triumph and achievement comes risk and disaster, as the series follows the white-knuckle suspense of Apollo 13 and the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. Intelligent, inspiring and accessible, The Space Age is a complete history of mankind's journey into space.

Whether it's a cheating ex, a double-crossing co-worker, or the best friend who stabbed you in the back, it's human instinct to want to get even. Though most people don't act on this impulse, there are those who are consumed with getting even. For them, what starts as a nagging bitterness evolves into obsession and results in murder. This true crime documentary series profiles those stories of revenge, told through gripping interviews with the family members, community members, and law enforcement who experienced the events firsthand.

Drafted to the NBA out of high school when he was only 19 years old, two time NBA Champion JR Smith has a new focus. He's getting a college education and pursuing a new athletic passion at the nation’s largest historically black university - North Carolina A&T.