An impressionistic biographical look at Siddheshwari Devi (1908–1977), the classical Indian singer whose voice was appreciated by the maharajas and public alike.
Largely considered to be the greatest American author, Mark Twain is celebrated in this exhaustive documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns.
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Mark Rappaport's creative bio-pic about actress Jean Seberg is presented in a first-person, autobiographical format. He seamlessly interweaves cinema, politics, American society and culture, and film theory to inform, entertain, and move the viewer. Seberg's many marriages, as well as her film roles, are discussed extensively. Her involvement with the Black Panther Movement and subsequent investigation by the FBI is covered. Notably, details of French New Wave cinema, Russian Expressionist (silent) films, and the careers of Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, and Clint Eastwood are also intensively examined. Much of the film is based on conjecture, but Rappaport encourages viewers to re-examine their ideas about women in film with this thought-provoking picture.
Thom Andersen's remarkable and sadly neglected hour-long documentary adroitly combines biography, history, film theory, and philosophical reflection. Muybridge's photographic studies of animal locomotion in the 1870s were a major forerunner of movies; even more interesting are his subsequent studies of diverse people, photographed against neutral backgrounds.
As the world boiled in the rush of Easy Rider bikes, in the frenetic pace of Elvis Presley, in Beatniks poets, in the explosion of counterculture, a boy from Bahia gave birth to Rock in Brazil. A runaway flying saucer that abducted the hearts and minds of thousands of fans, Raul Seixas, a man who became a myth. Raul died young because he lived intensely. Rock n 'roll, free love, alternative society, drugs, black magic, military dictatorship, women and daughters. A man who wanted to live from his work and died for it. The beginning, the end and the middle are confused, because the story is not over. The film reveals through rare images of archive, meeting with relatives, conversations with artists, producers and friends, the trajectory of the legend of Rock.
I told you all I was going to be No. 1, and I did just that Usain Bolt There is no athlete that can compete with him...he s a global superstar Michael Johnson In this extraordinary film, director Gael Leibland spends a year chronicling every minute of the life of athletics champion and cultural icon Usain Bolt. Granted unprecedented access, Leibland follows Bolt behind the scenes as he attempts to smash records and make history at the 2012 Olympic Games. Through in-depth interviews with Bolt, his family and friends, Bolt: The Movie takes you on a journey into the life of the fastest man on the planet and is a no-holds-barred account of what it is like to be the very best.
Stanley Laurel's last visit to Oliver Hardy, as originally told in Neil Brand's radio play.
Les Blank's first feature-length documentary captures music and other events at Leon Russell's Oklahoma recording studio during a three-year period (1972-1974).
Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending of their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale.
An animated feature-length documentary telling the story of the life of Crulic, a 33 year-old Romanian accused of having stolen a wallet from an important Polish judge. Crulic was brought to the Krakow Detention Center Custody prison. He decided to start a hunger strike from the day he was arrested, demanding a meeting with somebody from the Romanian Consulate.
An irresistible journey through the universe of the singer and composer that revolutionized the song in Brazil and influenced generations of musicians, paving the way for movements such as Bossa Nova and Tropicália.
An American low-budget action film celebrated an unexpected worldwide success in 1988: "Bloodsport". With its, the world of film fans and martial arts cinema discovered a new idol: Jean-Claude Van Damme. In the 1970s there was Bruce Lee, but at the end of the 1980s a Belgian won the day. Van Damme was a karate master and had unparalleled strength and flexibility. For ten years he was one of Hollywood's hottest action stars. But excessive overconfidence and drugs bring him down again. At home in Europe he becomes a laughing stock on talk shows. Only with "JCVD" does he manage to get back on his feet, playing his character with perspective and self-irony, but without ever giving up the reputation that his action films brought him and which has been a cult for several generations. The highs and lows of his eventful life are told through archive footage and contributions from people close to the popular Belgian actor.
Featuring all the material shot for Elvis Presley's 1968 television special, including the two complete jam session concerts and the two complete solo concerts, which have never been released in their entirety All takes of the material shot for the original broadcast's two big production numbers and for the show's opening and closing segments Includes the original broadcast version of the special Newly remastered sound and picture
French artist Maurice Chevalier (1888-1972), a legend of stage and screen, was an accomplished singer, actor and entertainer, who embodied the charm of his native Paris throughout a decades-long career that brought him fame in Europe and America and left for show business history a vast repertoire of masterful classic songs and captivating film performances.
An account of the life and work of the Swiss writer Johanna Spyri (1827-1901), the barely known artistic mother of Heidi, her brave alpine heroine, who was first introduced to the world between 1880 and 1881, in a novel published in two parts, and became definitely immortal thanks to an anime series, released in 1974, directed by the Japanese genius Isao Takahata.
He was born in Granada, the only city in the world with an explosive name. At the age of ten he joined the Falange because he wanted to play the drum. His biggest musical influences have been Holy Week and his first host, the one he was given at birth. It was produced at the age of sixteen. A little later he began using drugs to escape. he should have died before thirty. For forty years he has hit the drums as life has hit him, with all his might.
Mahatma: Life of Gandhi, 1869–1948 is a 1968 documentary biography film, detailing the life of Mahatma Gandhi. The film was made to seek to tell the life story Gandhi, and his incessant search for Truth. The film contains animation, live photography and old prints to provide an integrated image of his life. The story itself is narrated using mostly Gandhi's own words. There are several versions of the film. There is the 5 hour version in English, a shorter version which runs for 2 hours and 16 minutes, and an even shorter version which runs for an hour. A Hindi version exists, running for 2 hours and 20 minutes, and a German version at 1 hour and 44 minutes.
This documentary explores Bob Einstein’s unlikely discovery and enduring career, sharing the many evolving layers of his comedy from the people that knew him best.
On 27th July 1986, British stadium rock band Queen broke new ground by playing for the first time in Hungary, a country which was still under a communist dictatorship behind the Iron Curtain.