Featuring unprecedented access to Jim Henson's personal archives, filmmaker Ron Howard brings us a fascinating and insightful look at a complex man whose boundless imagination inspired the world.
Following Jim Henson's passing on May 16th 1990, two public memorial services were held. The first (featured here) was held in New York at Cathedral of St. John the Divine on May 21, 1990. The second service was held in London at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 2nd 1990.
Jim Henson and Rowlf the Dog explain the art and history of puppetry, and let the viewer in on some of the secrets in performing his own act, the Muppets.
A documentary which explores the making of Jim Henson and Frank Oz's 1982 fantasy film 'The Dark Crystal', which originally aired on PBS in the United States on January 9, 1983. This one-hour documentary details the technological innovations in the field of animatronics, art design, film making, and Henson's own brand of magic. Requiring 5 years of production, including over two years of pre-production, The Dark Crystal was inspired by the imagination of artist Brian Froud and conceived by scores of talented designers, builders, technicians, and performers. The World of the Dark Crystal shows how Jim Henson's Creature Shop in London and the Muppet Workshop in New York brought Brian Froud's art and Jim Henson's vision to life.
Consists of the shorts "The Muppet Introduction", "Just a Few Announcements" and "Sell, Sell, Sell".
The story of how Jim Henson tried to convince broadcasters that The Muppets was a great idea and how he worked to get the characters on air where they became a comedy staple.
In a mix of puppetry and animation, Harry demonstrates the Art of Visual Thinking to Kermit—and what it does to you once it gets out of control.
ALEXANDER THE GRAPE, an unfinished cut-paper animated short from Jim Henson from 1965, relates the fable of a young grape with big ambitions who learns that it is better to accept yourself than to try to be something you are not. The short was reconstructed from film and audio elements; images from Jim’s storyboard fill in missing segments of the animation.
Rare footage from the Sesame Street season 18 cast and crew wrap party. 1986 When the Sesame Street cast and crew finish taping a season, they traditionally celebrate with a wrap party where they have dinner, watch a reel of outtakes and highlights from the season, and enjoy live skits that often poke fun at the show. In addition, toasts are exchanged, and awards and bottles of wine are presented to people who got engaged, married or had babies since the last party. In the earliest days of the show, Richard Hunt took it upon himself to provide entertainment for the parties, for one party, cameraman Frank Biondo was given the role of introducing one of Hunt's acts and from then on, he served as the organizer and emcee for the live show, eventually he was granted a full stage so they could set up the show. Includes an "adult version" of the song People in your neighborhood, sung by Bob McGrath.
An unsold TV pilot based on the classic comic strip, shot by Jim Henson with puppets built by Don Sahlin.
It's Tutter's birthday and viewers are invited to join Bear and the gang in the Big Blue House as they work together to plan a surprise party for Tutter. This stage production features many of the voices from the show and many of its songs as well.
Join Kermit the Frog, Oscar the Grouch, and Gobo Fraggle as they celebrate Jim Henson, the man who inspired the lovers, the dreamers, and all of us to come and play, and dance our cares away.
A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse
Illustrates and explains how the 2018 film Blindspotting was created. Features interviews with all involved in the film.
As Hong Kong's foremost filmmaker, Johnnie To himself becomes the protagonist of this painstaking documentary exploring him and his Boundless world of film. A film student from Beijing and avid Johnnie To fan, Ferris Lin boldly approached To with a proposal to document the master director for his graduation thesis. To agreed immediately and Lin's camera closely followed him for over two years, capturing the man behind the movies and the myths. The result is Boundless, a candid profile of one of Hong Kong's greatest directors and a heartfelt love letter to Hong Kong cinema.
Presented here is a 2001 "cinema lesson" from the Cannes Film Festival, featuring Wong and film theorist and producer Gilles Ciment.
A song is heard in the distance. It comes from the Hekeng village, famous for its ancient earthen buildings, also called tulou. It is where the last original Hakka families live amidst the exodus of those looking for a more modern environment. Among them there is Zhang Zhouyin, an elderly man concerned about the state of the village's temple; or her daughter-in-law, Wei Yi, who spends her entire day guiding tourists through these awe-inspiring houses. And then there’s young Zhang Weibo, her son, who manages to find joy even in the simplest of things... Hekeng: a place frozen in time whose songs have endured for centuries.
Part activist and part globe trekking photographer, Sebastião Salgado is most famous for recording the migration of people and culture around the world. In this extensive conversation, Sebastiao Salgado revisits his adventurous career via the breathtaking images he captured.
One of the greatest comedians of early television, Sid Caesar hasn't had his work shown in perennial reruns, so it's especially gratifying to see a collection of his classic sketches released on video, with Caesar himself introducing the material. Besides being a truly gifted comic, Caesar benefited from having some brilliant supporting players, including Carl Reiner, Imogene Coca, and Nanette Fabray. Some of his illustrious writers, including Neil Simon, Woody Allen, and Mel Brooks, appear in interviews setting up the sketches. The sketches themselves include some all-time classics such as Caesar and company playing the figurines populating a medieval town clock (a brilliant bit partly written by Neil Simon and his brother, Danny, who reminisce after the sketch).
Vienna’s Prater is an amusement park and a desire machine. No mechanical invention, no novel idea or sensational innovation could escape incorporation into the Prater. The diverse story-telling in Ulrike Ottinger’s film “Prater” transforms this place of sensations into a modern cinema of attractions. The Prater’s history from the beginning to the present is told by its protagonists and those who have documented it, including contemporary cinematic images of the Prater, interviews with carnies, commentary by Austrians and visitors from abroad, film quotes, and photographic and written documentary materials. The meaning of the Prater, its status as a place of technological innovation, and its role as a cultural medium are reflected in texts by Elfriede Jelinek, Josef von Sternberg, Erich Kästner and Elias Canetti, as well as in music devoted to this amusement venue throughout the course of its history.