King Corn

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King Corn

2007

1h 30m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

26 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.

Critics Consensus

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

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John Hartl

Seattle Times

Nov 16, 2007

3/4

Simultaneously nostalgic and sinister, King Corn mixes full-blown Americana with fast-food follies in the Iowa heartland.

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Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Nov 8, 2007

3.5/4

A breezy diary from a pair of first-time farmers, as well as a wry rebuke to a nation devoted to eating cheaply but not necessarily well, King Corn makes its points without much finger-wagging.

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Walter V. Addiego

San Francisco Chronicle

Nov 2, 2007

3/4

While there's no startling news here -- most people know that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a staple in food processing and isn't particularly good for us -- this documentary neatly, and often humorously, summarizes a very unhealthy situation.

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Martin Tsai

New York Sun

Apr 21, 2023

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.

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Dorothy Woodend

The Tyee (British Columbia)

Aug 22, 2017

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.

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Annie Wagner

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Aug 22, 2017

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.

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May 7, 2021

It was not helpful, and very long

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Jan 13, 2020

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.

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Feb 5, 2019

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.

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Jan 5, 2016

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.

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Jun 20, 2015

Nothing I haven't seen before. Relatively clever approach, but not cinematically interesting or factually revelatory. Also boring in some parts.

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Jan 27, 2014

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.

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Aaron Woolf

Director

Ian Cheney

Self

Curt Ellis

Self

Aaron Woolf

Screenwriter

Ian Cheney

Screenwriter

Curtis Ellis

Screenwriter

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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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