The Last of the Ski Bums

Known for his commentary-laden chronicles of key moments in winter sports history, the late John Jay is considered by many to be the founding father of the modern-day ski film. This installment of the "Classic Ski Films" series presents Jay's coverage of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, Calif., which includes the opening and closing ceremonies, the 90-meter ski jump and the dramatic USA vs. USSR hockey game.

Not long after opening the first ski school in the United States to an impressive roster of celebrity students, Otto Lang became a noted ski film director and earned an Oscar nod for his efforts. Ski Flight, which premiered at the iconic Radio City Music Hall in 1938 is the first-ever theatrical ski film.

The story of five skiers, sponsored by K2, who tour the U.S. in a red, white and blue van that matched their skis. They travel like a pack of joyful wolves, devouring powder and looking for challenges. Just 26 minutes in length, the film offers ferocious detail, with ski footage that still holds up today. The film revealed the ski culture as a surrogate family. In an interview years later, skier Charlie McWilliams recalled how people came up to him to explain how they deeply identified with this happygo- lucky skiing clan. He saw the film as a groundbreaking portrayal of skiing as a tribal experience. “It was the first time anybody had gone out and made a film of a group of guys traveling around the country having a great time skiing.”

Shot in 1941, this black-and-white instructional film (featuring actor Alan Ladd) serves as a veritable time capsule on the history of the sport, with advice on ski design, schussing, lacquer, wax and toe plates.

Skifully Yours by noted ski film director Otto Lang, offers a charming look at the Sun Valley, Idaho, ski scene of the late 1930s.

A breathtakingly beautiful film loaded with laughs. Travel from the American Rockies to the uniquely picturesque scenery of the European Alps. Catch scenes of the Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia; Vail, Colorado; Switzerland; Japan; Australia; and Russia. Highlights include Stein Eriksen, Norwegian world Champion skier, performing among the gum trees and irrigation ditches of Australia as well as skiing among the crevasses of the Tasman Glacier in New Zealand.

Before the high-tech advancements of Fiberglas, aluminum poles, release bindings and artificial powder, it was a simpler time in the world of winter sports: It was just you, your skis and the snow that lay ahead. Rounding up works produced in the 1940s, '50s, '60s and '70s by iconic ski-film director John Jay, this retrospective sampler offers a nostalgic look at what's called "the golden age of American skiing."

Beginning in picturesque Taos, New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range Jay continues on a laugh a minute cruise through Vail and Aspen, Colorado; Klosters and Zermatt, Switzerland; Japan; Sun Valley, Idaho; Mount Snow, Vermont; Persia; and New Zealand. Highlights are numerous and include the daring race on an avalanche slope by world champion skier Helli Lantschner as well as the camel safari to ski the Atlas Mountains in Africa.

"The Last Dragon" is a nature mockumentary about a British scientific team that attempts to understand the unique incredible beasts that have fascinated people for ages. CGI is used to create the dragons.

Nikola Tesla is considered the father of our modern technological age and one of the most mysterious and controversial scientists in history.

The true history of Japanese Unit 731, from its beginnings in the 1930s to its demise in 1945, and the subsequent trials in Khabarovsk, USSR, of many of the Japanese doctors from Unit 731. The facts are told, and previously unknown evidence is revealed by an eyewitness to these events, former doctor and military translator, Anatoly Protasov.

This documentary follows the lives and careers of a collective group of do-it-yourself artists and designers who inadvertently affected the art world.

A collection of trailers and previews from various low-budget horror films of the '50s and '60s.

Iverson is the ultimate legacy of NBA legend Allen Iverson, who rose from a childhood of crushing poverty in Hampton, Virginia, to become an 11-time NBA All-Star and universally recognized icon of his sport. Off the court, his audacious rejection of conservative NBA convention and unapologetic embrace of hip hop culture sent shockwaves throughout the league and influenced an entire generation. Told largely in Iverson's own words, the film charts the career highs and lows of one of the most distinctive and accomplished figures the sport of basketball has ever seen.

Acclaimed Montreal band Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra is one of a growing number of rock groups to have accepted an infant into their touring tribe. Touring with children is both costly and complicated, yet SMZ are determined to combine family life and being on the road with the band's deep political commitment.

Carole Laganière dives deeply into personal territory in this beautifully crafted exploration of absence and loss and its painful effect on daily lives. Inspired by her mother’s steadily advancing Alzheimer’s and the inevitability of her estrangement, Laganière weaves their story with the stories of others wrestling with loss: Ines, an immigrant who returns to her birth country of Croatia to find the mother who abandoned her during the war; Deni, an American author who’s finally able to search for his Quebec roots; and Nathalie, who’s desperately looking for her missing sister. Through their experiences the film ponders how absence is often the catalyst for a quest—a quest for information, understanding and often acceptance. Through its many voices, Absences speaks to us of the immense fragility and resiliency of human emotions.

Film historians, and producer Richard Gordon, talk about the horror movie career of cult star Bela Lugosi.

The Town was a short propaganda film produced by the Office of War Information in 1945. It presents an idealized vision of American life, shown in microcosm by Madison, Indiana. It was created primarily for exhibition abroad, to provide international audiences a more well-rounded view of America, and was therefore produced in more than 20 translations. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Fresh off the release of Kanye's fourth #1 album, 808s & Heartbreak, VH1 and Mr. West collaborated for a special concert as part of the critically acclaimed Storytellers series. A collection of live performances from Kanye's arsenal of hits including songs from his ground breaking 808s & Heartbreak album.

A biography documentary of the Argentine modernist architect Amancio Williams.