Fans continue to treasure the songs and performances of John Denver, one of the most popular recording artists of the 20th century. Before his death in 1997, Denver toured the world, landing in Birmingham, England, for the 1986 concert captured here. The sunny country star provides heartfelt renditions of many of his biggest hits, including "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Sunshine on My Shoulders."
A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie, who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.
A young romantic loves step dance but there is only one person who knows this forgotten art. Beglov was a step dance super star back in 50s but as step became unpopular he lost everything. He hates even this word - 'chechotka' (step dance). But somehow the young man convinces him to become his coach and manager.
Cocky cockney snooker player Billy Kid accepts the challenge of a grudge match from Maxwell Randall (the Green Baize Vampire), six times world champion; the loser will never play professional snooker again.
Crumb director Terry Zwigoff’s first film is a true treat: a documentary about the obscure country-blues musician and idiosyncratic visual artist Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong, member of the last known black string band in America. As beguiling a raconteur as he is a performer, Louie makes for a wildly entertaining movie subject, and Zwigoff honors him with an unsentimental but endlessly affectionate tribute. Full of infectious music and comedy, Louie Bluie is a humane evocation of the kind of pop-cultural marginalia that Zwigoff would continue to excavate in the coming years.
La Scala went all out for its 1986 production of this grandest of grand operas, with a strong cast and, most important for a video recording, a larger-than-life staging. The Triumph Scene in Act II is by no means Aida's only attraction, but it is the part that makes the strongest and most lasting impression and it is the visual and musical climax of this production. Stage director Luca Ronconi brings on a procession to dwarf all processions: looted treasures, heroic statuary, miserable captives struggling under the lash of whip-bearing slave drivers. On par with these visuals is Lorin Maazel's first-class performance of the popular Grand March with the outstanding La Scala chorus and orchestra. In Act III, the contrasting tranquility of the Nile Scene also gets a visual treatment to match the music's qualities.
Russell Walker is a young, successful manager of rap performers, handling acts for the Krush Groove label, including Run-DMC and The Fat Boys. When Run-D.M.C. has a hit record and Russell needs more money to press more copies, he borrows it from a street hustler and soon regrets his decision.
Robert Mugge's 1986 film provides a full-blooded portrait of the Latino singer, actor, bandleader, and composer. Blades' Panama homeland, his Harvard Master's degree, and a New York performance with his band Seis de Solar all serve as stops on this biographical journey.
Get Out of My Room, was a mockumentary in the style of This Is Spinal Tap, written and directed by Cheech Marin. In the film, he and Tommy Chong are shown attempting to finish a "video album" for their novelty record Get Out of My Room.
Ganga Singh lives near Gangotri with her brother, Karam. One day she comes to the assistance of a young man, Narendra Sahay, who has come with a group of Calcutta-based college students to study the source of the holy river Ganga, and to get some holy water for his wheelchair-bound paternal grandma. Both are attracted to each other, and on the next Puran Mashi get married, and spend the night in close intimacy. Narendra leaves, but promises Ganga that he will be back soon. Months go by, but he does not return. She gives birth to a son, and as soon she is able to, she starts her journey to Alipor, Calcutta, to confront Narendra and ensure a better future for their son.
The Compleat Al (a title parody/homage of the 1982 documentary ‘The Compleat Beatles’) is a mockumentary about the life of "Weird Al" Yankovic, the Grammy® award-winning master of musical parody and rock-and-roll comedy, from his birth to 1985. Although a mockumentary, it is roughly based on Yankovic's real life, beginning with his childhood years, his high school and college days, and up through his early-career rise to stardom. This semi-concocted chronicle also contains classic moments from AL-TV, footage from his trip to Japan, and a somewhat embellished version of how he received permission from Michael Jackson for "Eat It". And to top it off, The Compleat Al contains eight "Weird Al" music video classics: "Ricky", "I Love Rocky Road", the award-winning "Eat It", "I Lost on Jeopardy", "This Is the Life", "Like a Surgeon", "One More Minute", and "Dare to Be Stupid"!
Big Bird is sent to live far from Sesame Street by a pesky social worker, who thinks it would be better for him to live with other birds. Unhappy, Big Bird runs away from his foster home, prompting the rest of the Sesame Street gang to go on a cross-country journey to find him.
A shady music mogul brings together two wannabe stars—punk rock rebel Kan and new-wave crooner Shingo—and transforms them into the Stardust Brothers, a girl-friendly, silver-jumpsuited, synth-pop sensation. Along with their #1 fan, who herself dreams of a music career, the duo rockets to stardom.
Relying on a bounty of archival footage and interviews with prominent musicians and intimates, Philo Bregstein's film traces the life and career of the conductor and composer Otto Klemperer, one of the foremost musicians of his time.
Janey is new in town, and soon meets Lynne, who shares her passion for dancing in general, and "Dance TV" in particular. When a competition is announced to find a new Dance TV regular couple, Janey and Lynne are determined to audition. The only problem is that Janey's father doesn't approve of that kind of thing.
A gang of boys under the Brooklyn Bridge are united by their common interest in break dancing. Some work as pizza delivery boys, hence they call themselves the "Delivery Boys". They form a dance team and enter a local break dance contest, sponsored by a woman's panty manufacturer. A rival gang's sponsor intimidates their employer into thinking she must keep the boys working so they won't be harmed. She gives the boys some "specialized" deliveries to make them late for the contest. The antics and calamities abound as the boys wrestle with her work assignments and getting to the contest on time.
“Prince and the Revolution: Live” is a legendary concert filmed toward the end of Prince's “Purple Rain” tour in Syracuse, NY on March 30, 1985. The performance has Prince at the height of his powers, backed by the classic Revolution lineup of Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink, Mark Brown, Eric Leeds, and Bobby Z. The 20-song set features: Let's Go Crazy, Delirious, 1999, Little Red Corvette, Take Me With U, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Do Me Baby, Irresistible Bitch, Possessed, How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore, Let's Pretend We Are Married, International Lover, God, Computer Blue, Darling Nikki, The Beautiful Ones, When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 U, Baby I'm A Star, and Purple Rain.