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King Corn

2007 1h 30m Documentary List
96% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Two recent college graduates travel to Iowa to investigate the role that corn plays in an increasingly complicated and dysfunctional American food industry. After planting their own small crop of corn and tracing its journey through the industry, they are alarmed to discover that corn figures in almost everything Americans eat. The consequences of this are examined through interviews with various experts and industry insiders, providing a balanced look at this American agricultural issue.

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King Corn

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Critics Consensus

King Corn takes a thought-provoking look at modern mass food production that deftly balances information and entertainment.

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Critics Reviews

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Ben Kenigsberg Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 18, 2011 Full Review Gabriella Gershenson Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review John Hartl Seattle Times Simultaneously nostalgic and sinister, King Corn mixes full-blown Americana with fast-food follies in the Iowa heartland. Rated: 3/4 Nov 16, 2007 Full Review Martin Tsai New York Sun Clearly inspired by the likes of Ross McElwee and Morgan Spurlock, director Aaron Woolf artificially staged a scenario that serves as the launching pad for the film. Apr 21, 2023 Full Review Dorothy Woodend The Tyee (British Columbia) Although the film is very much in the Morgan Spurlock-school of highly personalized documentary filmmaking, King Corn contains a considerable amount of information about how the American farming tradition has changed in the last 50 years. Aug 22, 2017 Full Review Annie Wagner The Stranger (Seattle, WA) This smart, amiable documentary is about corn: how it's grown, subsidized, processed, and how it sneaks its way into virtually every food on grocery-store shelves. Aug 22, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member It was not helpful, and very long Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member A solid insight into the abundance of corn in American society. The makers of this documentary took great care to cover every angle of corn in America. I did enjoy their fun experiment with buying an acre of corn to highlight the struggles of farming. 4/5. An interesting and fun food documentary in the post-Supersize Me era. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Two guys move to Iowa to grow corn, for some reason? They can't just explain how corn is grown: they instead spend over an hour going showing them growing corn... and that's it. Oh wait, I forgot. They also interview a guy who talks about a dream he had where he flew over a corn field (only part worth two stars) and one of the guys wastes a bunch of time researching his family history in Iowa, because that is apparently something worth the viewers' time. For the love of god, don't watch this movie. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member 1/5/16 Sundance Doc Club An interesting, informative, fun yet disturbing look at today's industrial farming economy. The use of animated graphics is both creative and thought provoking. The film makers chose an interesting path to tell the story of the economics, business, history and results of the evolution of farming from family farms to factory farms. Interviews with farmers, professors, grain elevator operators and government officials add to the story. Bottom line is you want to change what and how you eat. Hooray for farmers markets. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Nothing I haven't seen before. Relatively clever approach, but not cinematically interesting or factually revelatory. Also boring in some parts. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member What is wrong with the picture of America that this film paints? Everything! From the death of the Honeybee (which the film doesn't address and should) to the endless fields of unpalatable and unedible GMO fast-food fodder pretending to be corn -- this film shows the depressing reality of the demise of the family farm and the rise of high-fructose corn syrup. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Two recent college graduates travel to Iowa to investigate the role that corn plays in an increasingly complicated and dysfunctional American food industry. After planting their own small crop of corn and tracing its journey through the industry, they are alarmed to discover that corn figures in almost everything Americans eat. The consequences of this are examined through interviews with various experts and industry insiders, providing a balanced look at this American agricultural issue.
Director
Aaron Woolf
Producer
Ian Cheney, Curt Ellis, Curtis Ellis, Aaron Woolf
Screenwriter
Aaron Woolf, Ian Cheney, Curtis Ellis, Jeffrey K. Miller
Production Co
ITVS (Independent Television S, Mosaic Films
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 22, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$81.4K
Runtime
1h 30m
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