Celebration of the most representative genre of Cuban idiosyncrasy, rumba. Through interviews and drumbeats by the most emblematic figures and groups of this manifestation, we comment on its origin, the role it plays in national life and the enormous influence it has had on other forms such as son, timba , jazz and rap.
Die Drei von der Tankstelle, meaning The Three from the Gas Station, was advertised as a German operetta when release and with it’s star studded cast would become the forerunner of Musical films. Even today the soundtrack of the comic harmonists is popular in Germany.
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family up to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.
Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.
In this East German teen musical, a group of girls are planning to take their summer vacation together on the Baltic coast. When a loud and obnoxious group of boys intrudes on their holiday, the girls are horrified to learn that the boys have the same vacations plans as them. The two groups quarrel with each other and compete over a number of things, but gradually an attraction starts to form.
Capturing John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in their electrifying element, 'A Hard Day's Night' is a wildly irreverent journey through this pastiche of a day in the life of The Beatles during 1964. The band have to use all their guile and wit to avoid the pursuing fans and press to reach their scheduled television performance, in spite of Paul's troublemaking grandfather and Ringo's arrest.
Poor people who live in the slums in Rio de Janeiro decide to occupy an empty apartment building in the rich part of the city. Meanwhile, a rich girl falls in love with a poor composer. Based on the musical play "Pobre Menina Rica", by Vinícius de Moraes and Carlos Lyra.
After a chaotic night of rioting in a marginal suburb of Paris, three young friends, Vinz, Hubert and Saïd, wander around unoccupied waiting for news about the state of health of a mutual friend who has been seriously injured when confronting the police.
Tano is 16-years-old and is already sitting in jail. In 48 hours he’s a free man and off to the wedding of his brother. In the two days he recounts his neighborhood in a section of Sevilla.
A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
From the mean streets of the Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York's most famous concert halls, Edith Piaf's life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in her grandmother's brothel, Piaf was discovered in 1935 by nightclub owner Louis Leplee, who persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness. Piaf became one of France's immortal icons, her voice one of the indelible signatures of the 20th century.
In New York City, a young writer's resolute belief in true love is put to the test by a beautiful girl and her struggle with addiction. This original rock musical drama is made unique by its non-musical scenes spoken purely in verse.
Talented eight year old Tina Denmark will do anything to play the lead in her school musical. Anything! As Tina discovers where her talent comes from, she shows us just what it takes to succeed...
This is one of the rare gems in early Chinese musical films that still exists today. Nancy Chan plays a naïve young woman who can sing and dance. Under the arrangement of her stepfather, she becomes a star and indulges in the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world before getting married to a wealthy heir in Nanyang. Yet her husband is cruel and unfaithful, leading her to divorce and return to her parents in Shanghai. She is set for a comeback to the stage. Her young daughter suffers from a serious illness. A remake of the Bu Wanchang’s silent film The Light of Maternal Instinct (1933), this film takes cues from Hollywood musicals, resulting in an elegant and lively fusion of camera movement and musical numbers. The film also reflects the harsh reality of China in the 1930s and the pathos of popular literature by combining morals, entertainment and social commentary to show that changes in the idea of femininity is a symbol of progress.
Two moms whose Broadway dreams got deferred, enter a TV talent show competition together and learn that it's never too late to become what or who you want to be.
The story of a German singer named Willie who while working in Switzerland falls in love with a Jewish composer named Robert whose family is helping people to flee from the Nazis. Robert’s family is skeptical of Willie, thinking she could be a Nazi as she becomes famous for singing the song “Lili Marleen”.
The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.
Two screwy characters travel to Hollywood and cause mischief.
The story of America's first astronauts, known as the Mercury 7, told through archival news & radio reports, newly transferred & previously unheard NASA mission audio recordings, and more rare & unseen material.