Flicker Memories

This short film takes a nostalgic look at the Mack Sennett comedies of the silent cinema era.

“This film was a gift to me. I make no claims for it, nor do I offer any apologies. It comes from work on The Thoughts That Once We Had. There was one shot we had to cut whose loss I particularly regretted. It was a shot of a train pulling into Tokyo Station from Ozu’s The Only Son (1936). So I decided to make a film around this shot, an anthology of train arrivals. It comprises 26 scenes or shots from movies, 1904-2015. It has a simple serial structure: each black & white sequence in the first half rhymes with a color sequence in the second half. Thus the first shot and the final shot show trains arriving at stations in Japan from a low camera height. In the first shot (The Only Son), the train moves toward the right; in the last shot, it moves toward the left. A bullet train has replaced a steam locomotive. So after all these years, I’ve made another structural film, although that was not my original intention.”

Martin Scorsese celebrates American movies from the silent classics to the Hollywood of the seventies.

Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major filmmakers: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Peter Fonda host an examination of the history of decency standards for movies from the early 1920s onwards.

This horror documentary is not the same as the 1986 TV special Stephen King's World of Horror nor the 1988 VHS release of the same name, which runs 45 minutes, was distributed by Front Row Entertainment and is about King himself. Instead, This Is Horror (copyright 1989) was a TV special which ran in four 60 minute increments. This new special used some framing footage from the original 'World of Horror' but is primarily newer interviews and behind-the-scenes footage about what was hot in horror in the late 80s. Here in the U.S., a condensed 90-minute version made its way onto video courtesy of Goodtimes in 1990. Elsewhere, the entire special was released as 2 different tapes running 90 minutes apiece. In the UK these were titled This is Horror: A Video Encyclopedia of Horror (Volumes 1 and 2) and in Germany they were called Best of Stephen King's World of Horror (Parts 1 & 2).

This film features highlights of MGM's productions from 1924 through 1943, in honor of the studio's twentieth anniversary.

A Turner Classic Movies (TCM) documentary about Keaton's discontented relationship with MGM and the events that eventually led to his career downfall.

A story about a young architect and his friend who goes to the province to build a church Upon their arrival they notice something peculiar, it seems that the place was primarily inhabited by women they soon learn that it was due to most men enlisted and perished in the war. Lacking the manpower to build the church he started to hire women as construction workers, he then meets this particular woman.

A theater ensemble prepares for their performance of the evening when they find out that one of the main actresses is ill. They are divided on how to solve this. The show must go on ... or? Hierarchies and rankings become clear when the main actor commits to calling the boss.

Daniel brings a pet home but his flatmates are less than excited about the idea.

A family of urban foxes embarks on an adventure-filled day-trip to the countryside, after one of its cubs asks to see where he was born.

A notorious political satirist conceals his identity and poses as a political candidate.

The outside world is full of wonder and excitement, mystery and beauty, but I need my blue essence.

An ogre breaks his teeth the day before Saint-Festin, the ogres’ great celebration day. A magician botches his trick of sawing a woman in half, and loses his assistant’s legs. An overequipped hiker gets stuck in the elevator for several days. An old man falls in love with a runaway pair of legs. A mother asks her neighbour to look after her children on the eve of Saint-Festin… In one building, the lives of ten next-door neighbours, or the neighbours of neighbours, intertwine as they grapple with the dramas, joys, surprises and dangers of everyday life.

A 14 year-old girl builds herself a best friend to cope with the mounting pressures of adolescence.

RBO - Top 40

A large monster attacks Japan, but dies suddenly. While the people rejoice and bask in relief, the giant corpse left behind begins to slowly rot and bloat. If it explodes, the nation will be destroyed.

“Burlesqueing western conventions, this film has silent movie titles and music and a posse of shetland ponies. A gumnut satire of Westerns with a fine eye for the absurd.” (The Australian Filmmakers Co-operatives Catalogue of Independent Film)