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 feature length docu-concert film, Duran Duran celebrate their four decade long career, the release of their latest studio album FUTURE PAST, and the launch of a global world tour. An extraordinary night of music, shot on a Los Angeles rooftop, with the iconic Capitol Tower behind them and the Hollywood sign in the distance. A Hollywood High reminds us of the prolific's group of its diverse songwriting, and capturing their boundless live energy. The film also brings to life the band’s deep and lasting relationship with Los Angeles and through archival footage, interviews and behind-the-scenes it traces the band’s rise to become one of the most influential and successful groups of all time.
Known for what must be the cheapest and cheesiest of the indie film world, Troma films takes on Cannes with gallons of fake blood, the Tronettes, and numerous hijinks by an uncontrollable group of volunteer Troma fans, costumed, naked, and did I mention covered with blood? While any publicity is good publicity, the low budget Troma films must wonder what this will do to their reputation. And I think they're thinking, woohoo!
In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot's production of L'Enfer came to a halt. Despite huge expectations, major studio backing and an unlimited budget, after three weeks the production collapsed. This documentary presents Inferno's incredible expressionistic original rushes, screen tests, and on-location footage, whilst also reconstructing Clouzot's original vision, and shedding light on the ill-fated endeavor through interviews, dramatizations of unfilmed scenes, and Clouzot's own notes.
With his mafia wiseguy links and access to entertainment industry star power, Frank Sinatra helped John F. Kennedy into the White House in 1960. But it all came to a bitter end.
Composer and performer Danny Elfman, Tim Burton’s prolific musical collaborator, descends on Lincoln Center with an 88-piece orchestra, 44-voice choir and a colorful assortment of fans and fanatics. Live from Lincoln Center will capture all the excitement of this cultural invasion, climaxing in performances of Elfman’s most beloved Burton scores from films like Batman, Beetlejuice, Alice in Wonderland, Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, which features Elfman singing his iconic songs. Accompanying the music are film clips from select movies as well as original sketches and storyboards created by Tim Burton. We’ll also delve into the surreal spectacle behind the performance, offering a whimsical look at Elfman and friends as they arrive on campus and prepare for the show. It’s a stylish musical journey filled with nods to the extraordinary vision of Tim Burton and Danny Elfman.
This film attempts to correct the record when it comes to the left's attacks on President Bush, 9/11 and the war in Iraq and Kerry's 20-year tenure in the Senate.
Story of Irish popular music from 1950 to the present day told by the artists, songwriters, producers and executives who made it all happen. It tells of the dramatic evolution from a grey, conservative culture to a vibrant, colourful music scene which has an enormous popularity and influence completely out of proportion to the size of the country.
A look back at the largely undocumented period of early Chinese-language horror cinema, beginning in Hong Kong and the Shaw Brothers and graduating to Taiwan and the production of Calamity of Snakes in 1983.
"Born in a Ballroom," explores the relationship between the Hütte Restaurant, its founder, Eleanor Mailloux, and the rural Appalachian village she called home, Helvetia, West Virginia.
Author David Macaulay hosts CATHEDRAL, based on his award-winning book. Using a combination of spectacular location sequences and cinema-quality animation, the program surveys France's most famous churches. Travel back to 1214 to explore the design of Notre Dame de Beaulieu, a representative Gothic cathedral. The program tells period tales revealing fascinating stories of life and death, faith and despair, prosperity, and intrigue.
Benjy is a 1951 American short documentary film directed by Fred Zinnemann. It won an Oscar in 1952 for Documentary Short Subject. Henry Fonda narrates this short film about a boy who was handicapped from birth. An orthopedic pediatrician wants to provide a therapeutic regimen that could cure the child, a scoliosis patient, but first he needs to convince the boy's parents, who have rejected the child because of his disabilities.
An anti-western propaganda film about the influences of American visual and consumption culture on the rest of the world, as told from a North Korean perspective.
A look at the relationships and rivalries within The Rolling Stones in their formative years, as well as the creative musical genius of Brian Jones, key to the success of the band.