The international success of the film Das Boot by Wolfgang Petersen made U-96 one of the most famous submarines in cinematic history. But the true story of one of Hitler's most fearsome U-boats and its crew goes far beyond fiction. For the first time, this documentary sheds light on the reality behind the fiction through exclusive interviews with the makers and actors of Das Boot, as well as the last survivors of the time. In doing so, this documentary explores how Hitler's propaganda images may have influenced the visual and narrative force of Das Boot.
Documentary about the life and career of Italian film director Vittorio De Sica.
A 1965 episode of the French television program Cinéastes de notre temps, featuring interviews with many of film director Max Ophuls’s collaborators
A journey through the work of Spanish filmmaker Juan Piquer Simón (1935-2011).
Documentary about filmmakers of the New German Cinema who were members of the legendary Filmverlag für Autoren (Film Publishing House for Authors). Among them are Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Wim Wenders.
Documentary about the making of Marcel Carne's 1945 film Children of Paradise (France), interviewing the director, the actors and production designer, as well as other French directors.
Documentary about Italian film screenwriter Cesare Zavattini
Documentary about the life and career of Japanese actor Chishu Ryu.
Documentary about the making of Juzo Itami's film "Tampopo" (1985).
A tribute to the legendary Japanese film director featuring the reflections of filmmakers Lindsay Anderson, Claire Denis, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Aki Kaurismäki, Stanley Kwan, Paul Schrader, and Wim Wenders
This is a documentary about the making of "Wings of Desire" (1987). The director, writer, actors, composer and other contributors speak at length and in detail about how the award-winning film was devised, cast, filmed, scored and edited.
Brought to life through archival material and the reflections of over 40 colleagues, friends and fans, BLOOD & FLESH is much more than the story of a moviemaking life most unusual. It beautifully captures the worlds of outsider filmmaker communities that existed in California in the ’70s, and the weird ways they intersected with Hollywood mainstream and union indies. On Adamson shoots, regular Orson Welles crew and cinematographers like Gary Graver, Vilmos Szigmond and Lazlo Kovaks worked alongside Bud Cardos — and at one point, Charles Manson! Director David Gregory (founder of Severin Films, director of LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU) spent years making this film, speaking to everyone down to the cops who investigated Adamson’s murder, vividly encapsulating both a bold life and tragic demise, with alien conspiracies, go-go dancers and Colonel Sanders coming in along the way. If you’ve got even a passing interest in cinema, you want to see this
A television documentary on the life and career of British film director David Lean. Scenes of Lean directing are intercut with personal interviews in which the director explains his methods, the beginnings of his career, and his relationships with actors and actresses.
Four lives that could not be more different and a single passion that unites them: the unconditional love for their cinemas, somewhere at the end of the world. Comrades in Dreams brings together six cinema makers from North Korea, America, India and Africa and follows their efforts to make their audiences dream every night.
In 1966, German film critic Theodor Kotulla — who would go on to become one of the New German Cinema's most uncompromising filmmakers — visited the set of Robert Bresson's "Mouchette" (1967) and created this half-hour documentary about the director. It won the 1967 German Film Award for best short documentary.
Omnibus: François Truffaut
When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7."
Martin Scorsese’s electrifying concert documentary captures The Rolling Stones live at New York’s Beacon Theatre during their A Bigger Bang tour. Filmed over two nights in 2006 with an all-star team of cinematographers, the film combines dynamic performances with archival footage and rare glimpses behind the scenes, offering a vibrant portrait of the band’s enduring energy and legacy.
Documentary about the making of the Spierig Brothers' 2014 film PREDESTINATION that is based on Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 science-fiction short story '—All You Zombies—'. Through interviews with cast and crew, film clips and behind-the-scenes footage, this documentary thoroughly explores how the film came to be from casting to pre-production to principal photography to post-production. Interviewees include writers/directors Michael and Peter Spierig, producers Paddy McDonald and Tim McGahan, director of photography Ben Nott, special makeup effects designer Steve Boyle, production designer Matthew Putland, special makeup effects supervisor Samantha Lyttle, costume designer Wendy Cork, film editor Matt Villa, and actors Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor and Ethan Hawke.
As artificial intelligence becomes ever more sophisticated, the film industry is split between enthusiasm at what the technology can achieve and concern over the future for human workers in the industry. Will actors and actresses be replaced by machines? An overview on the coming wave of AI in cinema.