King Corn (Green Packaging)
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List Price: $26.95
Our Price: $18.33
Your Save: $ 8.62 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: DOCURAMA
Starring: Michael Pollan, Ian Cheney, Curt Ellis, Stephen Macko, Chuck Pyatt
Directed By: Aaron Woolf
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: NEW VIDEO GROUP INC
EAN: 0767685110898
Format: Color
Label: DOCURAMA
Manufacturer: DOCURAMA
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: DOCURAMA
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-04-29
Running Time: 90
Studio: DOCURAMA
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Should Be Shown in Every School Room
Comment: Having recently made a friend of a person who is very allergic to corn I was "sensitized" into watching this. My friend and this film gave me a whole new appreciation of just how ubiquitous corn is in our diet. It's nearly impossible to avoid corn in so many commercial products it's insane. It also becomes obvious it's certainly not wise to have our nations figurative eggs in so few crop-baskets, virtual mono cultures. I'm old enough to remember grass finished beef, and prefer it, and think it's beyond egregious that animals are subjected to CAFO's and factory slaugher houses that regularly have to recall hundreds of thousands of pounds of meat due to contamination. The waste is totally unacceptable and now Mexico won't accept meat from many of our processors. This traces back to the ubiquitous use of corn and factory farming. Besides the unnatural corn in cattle rations there are other "proteins" including processed road kill and euthanized pets. The epidemic rise if type II diabetes in this country must be tied to so much corn and sweetener/browner/filler/starch as before the use of so much corn, diabetes was fairly UNcommon. The corn syrup seems to upset the metabolic system and contributes to obesity. I do wish that movie had addressed the issues surrounding GMO corn. But then, the lawsuits might have started rolling in. Corn that kills the earworm isn't something I want on my menu. I realize that bacterium thuringensis is fairly harmless when used as a dust on corn silks, but who knows what the effect is when it's built into every single kernel we eat of that particular modificication. That said the movie is easy watching with compassion for those who are being forced out of a way of life lived happily for generations and even out of small towns where generations have lived. It is an appeal for America to come to it's senses and have a good look around. We're very soon going to need the jobs small farms provide AND food we can actually eat might be handy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Comment: King Corn is a very informative, and sightly disturbing documentary about the American food chain. Two friends from the city travel west to the small town of Greene, Iowa to plant one acre of corn. They do this to try and learn, and show others, what corn farming has become. While in that small town, they interview many wonderful farmers and even see some old family photos. By strange coincidence, the friends who did this documentary both had relatives in this very small town. They do all this while they grow their corn, and sell it on the corn market. They document this whole process very well, and turn it into the documentary: King Corn.
Riddled with many facts, statistics, interviews with corn farmers, and stop motion with corn kernels, King corn informs you of the many problems with American Food. First off, corn is in almost everything we eat, the average American even has corn in their hair. Then it tells of the large amounts of pesticides and chemicals used to grow corn. They can not be good for the health of the corn plant, or the health of the organisms who consume it. It also discuses how terrible a diet of corn is for cattle, and that nearly every cattle farm in America feeds their cattle corn. In addition to all this, the documentary is funny, has a very personal and small-town-America edge to it. All of this, and more, combine to make this an excellent documentary. It has really made me question th quality of the food I eat. I highly recomend this documentary to any person who has ever questioned the quality of their food, or just wants to be educated about this important subject. Informative and entertaining, King Corn is an excellent documentary that any person can enjoy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: From Greene, IA
Comment: The video depicts the production of corn from start to finish and our reliance on the product as a nation and with the world. Amazing that the analysis on hair shows corn as part of the makeup. It was terrific to have the video shot in our area with people we know. Greatly informative for all.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Not too Corny!!
Comment: Watching a documentary about the effects of corn on the American diet was not something I thought I would ever accomplish. It just didn't seem very interesting, but I figured I'd give it a viewing and am glad I did. The filmmakers, Curt and Ian, take a seemingly boring subject and inject it with humor and surprising facts. Their behind the scenes view of the insurgence of corn into the diets of so many people is quite surprising and sad at the same time. The honesty that they are able to extract from the very farmers who grow the corn is astounding, as I thought they would defend their product vehemently. However, the farmers seemed to really understand where the filmmakers were taking their story and were willing to share the truth, admitting they were part of the problem.
Facts abound, as is usual for a documentary, but are portrayed using "cute" stop motion photography with candy corn and Little People playsets, making them light and fun.
Although the movie did tend to bloat around the middle part, just like the American waistline, it picked right up and ended strong. The final shot of Curt and Ian purchasing the acre of land and deciding to plant grass was very poignant and touching at the same time.
I recommend this movie to anyone who has an interest in what they consume or the history of farming in America.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Just 1 level of a multi layered problem
Comment: This is a great starter program for people learning about how the industry works and more importantly what is going on with our food. The program is not meant to be educational in the sense of high academia but it does a good job opening the doors of awareness to many related issues that influence and affect one another. The program slighly brings up the issue of High Fructose Corn Syrup which should be a top concern for everyone. Big money is spent to claim it is just as good for you as sugar citing research funded by the industries who will benefit (of course they are going to say it is okay).
This isn't about farmers being bad or people who live in cities not understanding, it goes way beyond the micro issues to our health as a society in general. Organic farming is beginning to prove it can be lucrative and growing in demand due to programs like this raising the consciousness level of people who are realizing the dangers of the food we are being sold.
I highly recommend everyone see "The Future of Food" which is better with more data/science and has much more concerning issues about what is being done to the farmers, our food and big corporations who seem to have too much power. I also recommend viewing "Critical Condition" and "Sicko" for correlation about how these issues bleed over to the health care industries. Also worth noting are: Fast Food Nation, Supersize Me, In Debt We Trust and many shows about the environment and pollution from chemicals used in non organic farms getting into water supplies.
There are issues on so many levels here we all need to take notice and quit being reactive, criticizing, blaming one another and take action by stepping up (write congressman, senators - powers that be etc.)
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Should Be Shown in Every School Room
Comment: Having recently made a friend of a person who is very allergic to corn I was "sensitized" into watching this. My friend and this film gave me a whole new appreciation of just how ubiquitous corn is in our diet. It's nearly impossible to avoid corn in so many commercial products it's insane. It also becomes obvious it's certainly not wise to have our nations figurative eggs in so few crop-baskets, virtual mono cultures. I'm old enough to remember grass finished beef, and prefer it, and think it's beyond egregious that animals are subjected to CAFO's and factory slaugher houses that regularly have to recall hundreds of thousands of pounds of meat due to contamination. The waste is totally unacceptable and now Mexico won't accept meat from many of our processors. This traces back to the ubiquitous use of corn and factory farming. Besides the unnatural corn in cattle rations there are other "proteins" including processed road kill and euthanized pets. The epidemic rise if type II diabetes in this country must be tied to so much corn and sweetener/browner/filler/starch as before the use of so much corn, diabetes was fairly UNcommon. The corn syrup seems to upset the metabolic system and contributes to obesity. I do wish that movie had addressed the issues surrounding GMO corn. But then, the lawsuits might have started rolling in. Corn that kills the earworm isn't something I want on my menu. I realize that bacterium thuringensis is fairly harmless when used as a dust on corn silks, but who knows what the effect is when it's built into every single kernel we eat of that particular modificication. That said the movie is easy watching with compassion for those who are being forced out of a way of life lived happily for generations and even out of small towns where generations have lived. It is an appeal for America to come to it's senses and have a good look around. We're very soon going to need the jobs small farms provide AND food we can actually eat might be handy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Comment: King Corn is a very informative, and sightly disturbing documentary about the American food chain. Two friends from the city travel west to the small town of Greene, Iowa to plant one acre of corn. They do this to try and learn, and show others, what corn farming has become. While in that small town, they interview many wonderful farmers and even see some old family photos. By strange coincidence, the friends who did this documentary both had relatives in this very small town. They do all this while they grow their corn, and sell it on the corn market. They document this whole process very well, and turn it into the documentary: King Corn.
Riddled with many facts, statistics, interviews with corn farmers, and stop motion with corn kernels, King corn informs you of the many problems with American Food. First off, corn is in almost everything we eat, the average American even has corn in their hair. Then it tells of the large amounts of pesticides and chemicals used to grow corn. They can not be good for the health of the corn plant, or the health of the organisms who consume it. It also discuses how terrible a diet of corn is for cattle, and that nearly every cattle farm in America feeds their cattle corn. In addition to all this, the documentary is funny, has a very personal and small-town-America edge to it. All of this, and more, combine to make this an excellent documentary. It has really made me question th quality of the food I eat. I highly recomend this documentary to any person who has ever questioned the quality of their food, or just wants to be educated about this important subject. Informative and entertaining, King Corn is an excellent documentary that any person can enjoy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: From Greene, IA
Comment: The video depicts the production of corn from start to finish and our reliance on the product as a nation and with the world. Amazing that the analysis on hair shows corn as part of the makeup. It was terrific to have the video shot in our area with people we know. Greatly informative for all.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not too Corny!!
Comment: Watching a documentary about the effects of corn on the American diet was not something I thought I would ever accomplish. It just didn't seem very interesting, but I figured I'd give it a viewing and am glad I did. The filmmakers, Curt and Ian, take a seemingly boring subject and inject it with humor and surprising facts. Their behind the scenes view of the insurgence of corn into the diets of so many people is quite surprising and sad at the same time. The honesty that they are able to extract from the very farmers who grow the corn is astounding, as I thought they would defend their product vehemently. However, the farmers seemed to really understand where the filmmakers were taking their story and were willing to share the truth, admitting they were part of the problem.
Facts abound, as is usual for a documentary, but are portrayed using "cute" stop motion photography with candy corn and Little People playsets, making them light and fun.
Although the movie did tend to bloat around the middle part, just like the American waistline, it picked right up and ended strong. The final shot of Curt and Ian purchasing the acre of land and deciding to plant grass was very poignant and touching at the same time.
I recommend this movie to anyone who has an interest in what they consume or the history of farming in America.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Just 1 level of a multi layered problem
Comment: This is a great starter program for people learning about how the industry works and more importantly what is going on with our food. The program is not meant to be educational in the sense of high academia but it does a good job opening the doors of awareness to many related issues that influence and affect one another. The program slighly brings up the issue of High Fructose Corn Syrup which should be a top concern for everyone. Big money is spent to claim it is just as good for you as sugar citing research funded by the industries who will benefit (of course they are going to say it is okay).
This isn't about farmers being bad or people who live in cities not understanding, it goes way beyond the micro issues to our health as a society in general. Organic farming is beginning to prove it can be lucrative and growing in demand due to programs like this raising the consciousness level of people who are realizing the dangers of the food we are being sold.
I highly recommend everyone see "The Future of Food" which is better with more data/science and has much more concerning issues about what is being done to the farmers, our food and big corporations who seem to have too much power. I also recommend viewing "Critical Condition" and "Sicko" for correlation about how these issues bleed over to the health care industries. Also worth noting are: Fast Food Nation, Supersize Me, In Debt We Trust and many shows about the environment and pollution from chemicals used in non organic farms getting into water supplies.
There are issues on so many levels here we all need to take notice and quit being reactive, criticizing, blaming one another and take action by stepping up (write congressman, senators - powers that be etc.)
KING CORN is a fun and crusading journey into the digestive tract of our fast food nation where one ultra-industrial, pesticide-laden, heavily-subsidized commodity dominates the food pyramid from top to bottom corn. Fueled by curiosity and a dash of naivete, college buddies Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis return to their ancestral home of Greene, Iowa to figure out how a modest kernel conquered America.
With the help of some real farmers, oodles of fertilizer and government aide, and some genetically modified seeds, the friends manage to grow one acre of corn. Along the way, they unlock the hilarious absurdities and scary but hidden truths about America s modern food system in this engrossing and eye-opening documentary.
A graceful and frequently humorous film that captures the idiosyncrasies of its characters and never hectors (Salon), KING CORN shows how and why whenever you eat a hamburger or drink a soda, you re really consuming ... corn.
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