A troubled but talented Los Angeles punk frontman becomes convinced that his entire career is the result of demonic possession.
This chronicle of the Christchurch Commonwealth Games marked one of the National Film Unit's most ambitious productions. Though a range of events (including famous runs by John Walker and Dick Tayler), are covered, the film often bypasses the pomp and glory approach; instead it dares to talk to the injured and mention that most competitors lose. The closing ceremonies of the "friendly games" feature the athletes gathering to — as the official song's chorus put it — "join together". Four directors joined together to work on it: Arthur Everard, John King, Paul Maunder and Sam Pillsbury.
Semi-Biographical film documenting the life of The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, creator of the beloved Thomas The tank Engine Stories
On January 13th 1985, Midnight Oil performed the Oils on the Water concert on Goat Island, Sydney, to celebrate radio Triple-J's tenth birthday, before a select crowd of 400 (half competition winners and half staff, media and friends, though other fans swam across). The concert was simulcast live on ABC TV and Triple J radio, released on video, then later remastered as part of the 2004 Best of Both Worlds DVD set. Oils on the Water was a classic Midnight Oil performance and setting with the band in fine high-energy form, caught in the light of the setting sun, against the backdrop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his straight-A students the finer points of rock 'n' roll and the power of sticking it to the man. But as the school’s stern principal closes in and the Battle of the Bands looms, Dewey must risk everything to prove that rock 'n' roll can change lives.
In the 1970s, Strange Fruit were it. They lived the rock lifestyle to the max, groupies, drugs, internal tension and an ex front man dead from an overdose. Even their demise was glamorous; when lightning struck the stage during an outdoor festival. Twenty years on, these former rock gods they have now sunk deep into obscurity when the idea of a reunion tour is lodged in the head of Tony, former keyboard player of the Fruits. Tony sets out to find his former bandmates with the help of former manager Karen to see if they can recapture the magic and give themselves a second chance.
Live at the U.S. Festival, ’82 and ’83, a DVD featuring both years’ concerts in their entirety, compiling the best performances from each year. It stands as a fine tribute to a legendary ’80s/ska band and the only representation of their fantastic live show.
The Spectacular Spinning Songbook made its first appearance in 1986 in Los Angeles during the "Costello Sings Again Tour." In 2011, Elvis Costello and the Imposters set out on The Revolver Tour and, for the first time in 25 years, once again allowed his set-list to be chosen by "The Spectacular Spinning Songbook," a monumental game-show type wheel spun by select fans and featuring songs from his latest critically acclaimed release National Ransom, plus new renditions of hits, rarities and very unexpected covers. This is the complete concert from the 12th May, including special guest appearance from The Bangles.
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
Jiří Bělohlávek: But I just love conducting so much
Extranjeros de sí mismos
In 1971, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE ceased to be part of Britain’s empire in the Middle East and became fully independent states. BBC News Persia and BBC Arabic collaborate in this gripping film, to uncover the secrets and shady deals that underpinned the decolonization process. From eye-witness accounts of a British-organised coup to Iran being left in control of disputed islands, it's a fascinating insight to a murky history.
Diana Mariscal reached a moment of fame in the sixties, when at just 18 years of age she was the lead actress of the movie Fando and Lis by Alejandro Jodorowsky. The moment seemed to trigger a promising career, but her public image faded little by little until disappearing. Forty years later the traces of her existence have not been entirely erased.
Between 1967 and 1976, Italian writer Goliarda Sapienza (1924-76) wrote The Art of Joy, a subversive novel about the dazzling social ascent of a rebellious heroine; too scandalous to be published at that contradictory time.
Michael Cockerell sheds new light on the tragi-comedy of the 1970s by focusing on some of its most controversial characters. With fresh filming and new interviews, along with a treasure trove of rare archive, the film presents the inside story of giant personalities who make today's public figures look sadly dull in comparison. The well-known journalist revisits some of his films on the big characters who helped shaped the 1970s in Britain. Both tragic and comic, it highlights just how much our world has changed in four decades.
The film tells the fairytale story of a scrawny East Frisian who, despite minimal starting opportunities, has had a unique career. Otto has always trusted his gut feeling, even when he often faced challenges that threatened to jeopardize his career. My Name is Otto shows comical moments and emotional high points, but also addresses the fears of a man who to this day firmly believes that his lucky streak could one day end.
Sight, like other senses, is as much a matter of personal experience as of the absence of possible comparisons. How can we know what others see and in what way? How can we describe when our reference points are constantly escaping? Faced with the risk of blindness since childhood, Manuel von Stürler lives in dread of this fate and condition; his lust for sight (Fureur de voir) retraces an initiatory journey into the universe of vision and senses, into the definition of darkness or of nothing.
Short docudrama exploring the history of sex in the homosexual community from the 1970s to the present day, and how the internet has changed the way gay men meet forever.
Each World Trade Center tower consisted of 110 floors. Each floor has a story. In this two-hour special, survivors from two of those floors, many speaking publicly for the first time, tell their stories. Focusing on one floor in the North Tower and one in the South, this film will provide a never-before-achieved intimacy with what it was really like to be inside the Twin Towers on 9/11.
Olympic Champion, Kiwi Icon, Tongan Leader, Orphan, Mother...winning was just part of the journey.