New Documentary Movies on Apple iTunes - Page 428

Classic Albums: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

1999

Classic Albums: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

1999
7.3
Never one for understatement, the aptly named singer known as Meat Loaf (aka Marvin Lee Aday) teamed with operatically-minded pianist-composer Jim Steinman to produce a bombastic slab of 1970s classic rock that has become one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Fueled by Steinman's epic compositions, Todd Rundgren's grandiose production, and Meat Loaf's own soaring vocals, the singer's 1977 debut BAT OUT OF HELL elevated the rock-opera genre to appropriately theatrical heights with its extravagant orchestration and a melodramatic narrative celebrating teenage rebellion. This episode of the CLASSIC ALBUMS series recounts the making of this monumental work through interviews, archival footage, and live performances of album tracks such as "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," and, of course, the adolescent opus "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."
Get Bruce!

1999

Get Bruce!

1999
6.2
Affectionate tribute to Bruce Vilanch, who writes material for celebrities who make public appearances, from Oscar hosts and award recipients to Presidents. We meet his mom and see photos of his childhood; in Chicago, he writes for the Tribune and then heads West. Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and Bette Midler talk with him and to the camera about working with Bruce, and we also watch Bruce help others prepare for Liz Taylor's 60th, Bill Clinton's 50th, and an AIDS awards banquet where the hirsute, rotund Vilanch lets his emotions show.
Totally Bill Hicks

1998

Totally Bill Hicks

1998
7.7
Consisting of two parts: ‘Revelations’, Bill Hicks’ last live performance in the United Kingdom made at the Dominion Theatre; and a documentary about Hicks’ life ‘Just a Ride’ featuring interviews with friends, admirers, and family.
Storefront Hitchcock

1998

Storefront Hitchcock

1998
5.8
Live performance by Robyn Hitchcock, in... well, a storefront.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part III

1998

The Decline of Western Civilization Part III

1998
6.9
A musical study of Los Angeles in the late 90s, where homeless teens roam the streets and profess to live a punk lifestyle of music, drugs, and flouting authority.
The Cruise

1998

The Cruise

1998
7.3
Affectionate portrait of Timothy "Speed" Levitch, a tour guide for Manhattan's Gray Line double-decker buses.
The A-Z of Separating People from their Money

1998

The A-Z of Separating People from their Money

1998
Pointing to the increasingly blurred distinction between reality and fiction in the world today, Dennis Hopper leads a discussion on the methods used by advertisers, as well as the responsibilities of ad-makers. The biggest names in the business have their say on shock, humour, and sex as methods of selling.
Tale of the Tides

1998

Tale of the Tides

1998
In Africa there is a fable that explains the creation of the tides. When a hyaena challenged a mudskipper to a drinking contest to decide who should own the shore, the god Mungu tilted the earth so the sea flowed inland, and neither could win.
The Brandon Teena Story

1998

The Brandon Teena Story

1998
6.1
Documentary about Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was murdered along with two others in 1993 in rural Nebraska.
Brakhage

1998

Brakhage

1998
7
BRAKHAGE explores the depth and breadth of the filmmaker’s genius, the exquisite splendor of his films, his magic personal charm, his aesthetic fellow travelers, and the influence his work has had on generations of other creators. While touching on significant moments in Brakhage’s biography, the film celebrates Brakhage’s visionary genius, and explores the extraordinary artistic possibilities of cinema, a medium mostly known only for its commercial applications in the form of narratives, cartoons, documentaries, and advertising. BRAKHAGE combines excerpts from Brakhage’s films and films of other avant-garde filmmakers (eg, George Kuchar, Jonas Mekas, Willie Varela, Bruce Elder, and others); interviews with Brakhage, his friends, family, colleagues, and critics; archival footage of Brakhage spanning the past thirty-five years; and location shooting in Boulder, Colorado and New York.
Beyond Titanic

1998

Beyond Titanic

1998
7.7
A survey of 86 years of Titanicana in popular culture, with the emphasis on movies about (or inspired by) the disaster.
The Man Who Drove with Mandela

1998

The Man Who Drove with Mandela

1998
10
During the time of apartheid Nelson Mandela drove around South Africa in a limousine disguised as a chauffeur while organizing the armed struggle against the apartheid regime. But who was the distinguished looking white man sitting in the back seat? Meet Cecil Williams, an acclaimed gay white theatre director and communist.
A Life Apart: Hasidism in America

1998

A Life Apart: Hasidism in America

1998
4.5
A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, is the first in-depth documentary about a distinctive, traditional Eastern European religious community. In an historic migration after World War II, Hasidism found it's most vital center in America. Both challenging and embracing American values, Hasidim seek those things which many Americans find most precious: family, community, and a close relationship to God. Integrating critical and analytical scholarship with a portrait of the daily life, beliefs, and history of contemporary Hasidic Jews in New York City, the film focuses on the conflicts, burdens, and rewards of the Hasidic way of life.
Babe Ruth

1998

Babe Ruth

1998
6.5
As its title implies, this video attempts to go beyond the public persona of one of major league baseball's greatest stars. Accepting Ruth as a larger-than-life figure, this 59-minute video doesn't attempt to rationalize, apologize, or analyze his behavior. Rather, it endeavors to present an unbiased account of the life of George Herman Ruth, contradictions and all.
Megacities

1998

Megacities

1998
6.5
Megacities is a documentary about the slums of five different metropolitan cities.
Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour

1998

Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour

1998
5
Blows the roof of Barbie’s “Dreamhouse,” revealing generations of people obsessed with the world’s most popular toy. At Barbie conventions and anti-Barbie demonstrations, from San Francisco’s gay pride parade to Croatia’s bunkers, Barbie fans, foes, fetishists – and Barbie’s creator Ruth Handler – reveal the history and fantasy behind the icon.
The Greatest Places

1998

The Greatest Places

1998
5.3
A journey to seven of the most geographically dynamic locations on earth. The film features spectacular land forms, diverse wildlife and the people and cultures indigenous to these places. Distinct geographic places include the great island of Madagascar, home to unique limestone pinnacles and the playful lemur; and the greatest desert—the Namib—home of the largest sand dunes in the world that tower majestically over its western border, the Atlantic Ocean. Other locations featured are the great icecap of Greenland, Iguazu Falls in Brazil, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the Chang Tang Plateau in Tibet, and the Amazon River in South America.
Monty Python: Live at Aspen

1998

Monty Python: Live at Aspen

1998
7.1
In March 1998 in Aspen, Colorado, the surviving members of the Monty Python team – John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin – shared a stage together for the first time in 18 years. Even more remarkably, Graham Chapman was there too....in an urn! The occasion for this reunion was the US Comedy Arts Festival Tribute to Monty Python, hosted by Robert Klein in front of a live audience.
Everest

1998

Everest

1998
6.6
An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.
Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt?

1998

Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt?

1998
6
Documentary covering the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a black nationalist and journalist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer and sentenced to death in a trial marked by controversial prosecutorial and defense tactics and charges of racism.