Renowned author Philip Pullman discusses his popular His Dark Materials trilogy -- which consists of the novels The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass -- along with his other literary works in this absorbing program. Pullman's trilogy has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Interviews with critic and author Nick Tucker and the Bishop of Oxford shed additional light on Pullman's creative accomplishments.
Filmmaker Dan Klores examines the strange love affair of Burt Pugach and Linda Riss. Pugach is a successful attorney in 1950s New York when he meets much-younger Riss. The pair date, but Riss breaks off contact with Pugach upon learning his claims of divorce are false. Discovering that Riss was engaged to another man, Pugach hires some men to throw lye in her face, and he serves 14 years in prison for the crime.
Steeped in a rich tradition dating back to their inaugural meeting in 1897, this rivalry extends beyond the pursuit of a Big Ten title, and is renewed each year through the pageantry and colliding cultures that distinguish the two schools.
This cutting edge film examines the secret codes and symbols of Lyra's world - a parallel universe where each person is guided by their animal daemon and where dark, evil forces lurk behind facades of piousness and beauty. Utilizing the latest CG animation and rare archival footage, Beyond The Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman also includes revealing interviews with historians and experts as well as an exclusive talk with the author himself. Includes over 60 minutes of bonus features including: Exclusive interview with Philip Pullman Extended Interviews with Professors and Scholars Slide Show with Jean-Pierre Isbouts (director of Beyond The Golden Compass:
This acclaimed documentary follows the story of six people who are determined to end the sufferings in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur. The six - an American activist, an international prosecutor, a Sudanese rebel, a sheikh, a leader of the World Food Program and an internationally known actor - demonstrate the power of how one individual can create extraordinary changes.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the forced integration of Central High School, Little Rock natives Brent and Craig Renaud provide a candid look at the lives of contemporary Central High students. Filmed over the course of a year, this documentary also follows teachers, administrators and community leaders while sharing the stories of both black and white students.
The true-life story of a Harlem's notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord. Follow his life story from his rough childhood to the last days of his life.
Stone, Time, Touch is a documentary made by Gariné Torossian about the relationship of three Armenian women from the diaspora with the land of Armenia. The young woman (played by Kamee Abrahamian) is visiting Armenia for the first time. The older woman, Arsinée Khanjian has a more conflicted and analytical perspective of her identity and her relationship with the fledgling democracy, one of the former Soviet Union republics. She has been to landlocked Armenia many times and comments on photos taken by French photographer Marc Baguelin. The third trajectory is more subtle and is represented by Gariné Torossian herself whose face is super imposed from time to time in this stylistically-layered documentary.
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich and packed with rare concert footage and home movies, this documentary explores the history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, including Petty's famous collaborations and notorious clashes with the record industry. Interviews with musical luminaries including Jackson Browne, George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, Dave Stewart and Petty himself shed some revelatory vision.
A look at the work and surprising success of a four-year-old girl whose paintings have been compared to the likes of Picasso and has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
An intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25 hours of previously unheard audiotaped interviews conducted with Cobain by noted music journalist Michael Azerrad for his book "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana." In the film, Kurt Cobain recounts his own life - from his childhood and adolescence to his days of musical discovery and later dealings with explosive fame - and offers often piercing insights into his life, music, and times. The conversations heard in the film have never before been made public, and they reveal a highly personal portrait of an artist much discussed but not particularly well understood.
The first rule is that there are no rules. For the bare-knuckle combatants competing in Musangwe fights, anything goes - you can even put a curse on him. The sport, which dates back centuries, has become a South African institution. Any male from the age of nine to ninety can compete. We follow a group of fighters as they slug it out in the ring. Who will be this year's champion?
Star actor/comedian D.L. Hughley appears in his first solo HBO special, a no-holds-barred 60-minute routine performed in front of a live audience at The Lincoln Theater, the venerable Washington DC venue. Hughley, seen previously in Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam, keeps the crowd roaring with his hilarious take on politics, childhood, challenging your father to a fight, gluttony, impotence drugs, parenthood and more.
Standard Films spanned the globe this past winter documenting the best snowboarding in the greatest mountain ranges to catch the vapors. Witness pro snowboarders descend huge mountain peaks, drop endless pillows lines, boost off huge backcountry kickers, hit unique urban features and destroy custom resort parks. Catch the Vapors is the progression of All Terrain, Freestyle, All Mountain and Backcountry Snowboarding!
The inspiring and tumultuous story of 85-year old surfer, health advocate and sex guru, Dr. Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, his wife Juliette, and their nine children who were all home-schooled and raised in a small camper on the beach, where they surfed and had to adhere to the strict diet and lifestyle of animals in the wild.
In a war that has left more than 25,000 wounded, ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ looks at a new generation of veterans. Executive Producer James Gandolfini interviews ten Soldiers and Marines who reveal their feelings on their future, their severe disabilities and their devotion to America. The documentary surveys the physical and emotional cost of war through memories of their "alive day," the day they narrowly escaped death in Iraq.