New Documentary Movies on Free Services - Page 479

Releasing the Spirits: A Village Cremation in Bali

1991

Releasing the Spirits: A Village Cremation in Bali

1991
Cremation rites are the most elaborate rites of passage performed by Balinese householders. Poor families may wait years before accumulating enough resources to cremate their dead, who are buried in the meantime. In 1978 many more cremations than usual were carried out because of the great purification cermony, Eka Dasa Rudra, held at Bali's main temple, Besakih, in 1979. Religious officials recommended that all Balinese cleanse the island by cremating their dead, as part of the preparations for the great Besakih ceremony. Villagers of limited means pooled their resources to perform group cremations which greatly reduced the cost for each family. This film is about a group of villagers in Central Bali who cooperated to carry out a group cremation.
Dear Lisa: A Letter to My Sister

1991

Dear Lisa: A Letter to My Sister

1991
The filmmaker questions her sister, herself and others about the dreams and hopes they had growing up as girls in contrast to the reality they face as women.
The Real Rembrandt

1991

The Real Rembrandt

1991
Scientific methods of verifying works of art have drastically reduced the number of paintings attributed to Rembrandt (1606-1669). Many canvases, hitherto believed to be by the hand of the Master, are now thought to be the work of artists who learnt their craft in his studio by copying his style. The film is a fascinating study of modern scientific techniques, a comprehensive art historical view of Rembrandt’s work over the centuries and a reaffirmation of his genius.
Butoh: Piercing the Mask

1991

Butoh: Piercing the Mask

1991
This documentary pierces the mystery and mystique of a dance movement adored by the West and largely ignored by the Japanese. It uses archival and modern footage of leading Butoh performers and interviews Butoh specialists to throw light on the essential Butoh themes of darkness, violence and eroticism to get to the core of the nature of Butoh.
Shock Cinema: Volume One

1991

Shock Cinema: Volume One

1991
2.5
An hour-long documentary featuring interviews with various filmmakers who've made a name in the direct-to-video market.
Marc and Ann

1991

Marc and Ann

1991
4
Legendary filmmaker Les Blank's toe-tapping film treats us to a portrait of a musical Louisiana couple committed to celebrating and preserving Cajun culture.
Something Like a War

1991

Something Like a War

1991
An examination of India’s family planning program from the point of view of the women who are its primary targets. It traces the history of the family planning program and exposes the cynicism, corruption and brutality which characterizes its implementation. As the women themselves discuss their status, sexuality, fertility control and health, it is clear that their perceptions are in conflict with those of the program.
Cowboy and Maria in Town

1991

Cowboy and Maria in Town

1991
Exploring individual responses to rapid social change, Cowboy and Maria in town follows the parallel lives of its two central characters. Cowboy and Maria have independently landed in Port Moresby, negotiating ways to survive urban life in a city ranked as one of the most dangerous in the world. Cowboy is an ex-raskol (urban bandit) and Maria an inhabitant of a squatter settlement. Unemployed and with a jail record, Cowboy has constructed an electric guitar out of scrap materials and plays on street corners. Maria lives an equally precarious existence, cultivating a seasonal garden in an urban settlement inflamed by frustration and intertribal conflicts. Far from being third world victims, they go about their daily lives with humour and imagination, rising to the challenge of enormous cultural upheaval.
Aspen

1991

Aspen

1991
6.1
A film about a town famous in the 19th century for silver mining and now known for its scenic splendor, mountains, skiing, hiking, music, intellectual activity and fashionable people. The film documents the daily life and activities of the people who live, work, visit and play in Aspen in the winter.
High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music

1991

High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music

1991
7
Longtime fans of bluegrass music and those only recently discovering it will appreciate this documentary on the genre, which was born of a combination of African and Celtic sounds and is the base of American country music. This film traces the musical form from its Appalachian roots to the present. The rise, fall, and consistent revival of bluegrass chronicled through oral history and visual record, resulting in a priceless film that even casual fans are sure to enjoy.
Innocents Abroad

1991

Innocents Abroad

1991
A warmly amusing look at a bus-full of American tourists on a whirlwind tour of Europe. The eclectic soundtrack includes Mozart, Bob Dylan, Sandy Denny, Jonathan Richman, others.
Chronique paysanne en Gruyère

1990

Chronique paysanne en Gruyère

1990
The shooting of this peasant chronicle in the Gruyère region of Switzerland lasted a whole year, from July 1989 to July 1990.
Echoes from a Sombre Empire

1990

Echoes from a Sombre Empire

1990
7.1
Documentary examining Bokassa's rule in the Central African Republic using the testimony of witnesses and visits to key sites.
Louvre City

1990

Louvre City

1990
6.6
A voyage into the museum's reserves, and part of the extra work involved to mount the expositions after the renovation of the Louvre in the 1980s, when the glass pyramid was added to the classic buildings. From the preservation rooms through the frame and painting retouches by experts, to the personnel instruction on how to be efficient in protecting the collections, and look nice to the visitors.
Jasper Johns: Take an Object

1990

Jasper Johns: Take an Object

1990
1
A portrait of the artist at work. The film begins in 1972 with Johns repainting Air Ocean World based on Buckminster Fuller's dymaxion map. Johns work is traced over the next eighteen years. His Untitled, 1973, with its cross-hatching, flagstones, and anatomical parts become recurrent motifs, as Johns begins to imbed skulls and severed arms in them. The paintings become more personal as Johns gradually "drops the reserve" in his recent series, "The Seasons." The film culminates with Johns working on the final state of the etching based on "The Seasons."
In Transit: Report for Posterity

1990

In Transit: Report for Posterity

1990
Revolution and resignation within the changes at the end of the GDR.
Snack Bar Special

1990

Snack Bar Special

1990
The lower level of Lichtenberg Station in Belin in early October 1989: the beginning of the end for the GDR. In the snack bar, the staff are catering for travellers of every kind while in the background the authorities maintain a flow of triumphal statements, but those months between August and October come to feel like sitting out the death throes. Careful observation of people and their work as the current of history suddenly becomes perceptible.
Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones

1990

Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones

1990
6
The extraordinary life of Quincy Jones -- one of the 20th century's most influential and talented composers, musicians and music producers -- provides the basis of this offbeat, free-form documentary tribute. With little regard for formal timelines and traditional documentary biography methods, the film is an amazing patchwork of personal insights featuring a constellation of music stars including his long-time friend Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Herbie Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie and rappers Big Daddy Kane and Flavor Flav, as well as politicians, filmmakers and other important people. Some of the most moving scenes involve Jones returning to his childhood home in Chicago and recounting honest and painful memories from his childhood. Jones does not shy from discussing everything -- from his mother's mental illness, to his marital problems, to his serious health conditions. He also looks frankly at his career.
The Salt Mines

1990

The Salt Mines

1990
6
Explores the lives of Sara, Gigi and Giovanna, three Latino transvestites who for years have lived on the streets of Manhattan supporting their drug addictions through prostitution. They made their temporary home inside broken garbage trucks that the Sanitation Department keeps next to the salt deposits used in the winter to melt the snow. The three friends share the place known as "The Salt Mines".
Death In Hollywood

1990

Death In Hollywood

1990
6.3
HOLLYWOOD. Tinseltown. Land of the stars. A city where an actor can reach the greatest heights overnight - and descend just as rapidly. What goes up must come down, and Hollywood's failing stars leave a legacy of sadness, pain and disappointment in their wake. Here, in graphic detail, are the shocking stories behind the deaths of the silver screen's most beloved celebrities, as well as it's lesser known players. Packed with stunning newsreel footage, and previously unrevealed facts, DEATH IN HOLLYWOOD documents many a celebrity's morbid demise due to suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, disease, and even murder. From the outrageous to the tragic, DEATH IN HOLLYWOOD leaves no tombstone unturned in it's quest to dig up the truth about Hollywood's dearly departed.