In 1908, amateur naturalist and pioneering filmmaker Percy Smith stunned early cinema goers with his footage of the juggling fly. Hailed as the father of Natural History film, Smith was a hugely influential visual pioneer, inventing many techniques that are still used today. Being both a genius and an eccentric, we follow his life from his earliest films, to the collapse of his house from his mould experiment to his ultimate suicide. We also meet Natural History icon Sir David Attenborough, who was so amazed by Smith’s films in the 1930s that they inspired him to get into natural history.
Self - Science Museum, London
Self - Film Archivist
Self - Entomologist
Self - Curator, Silent Film, BFI
Self - Film Archivist
Self - National Media Museum
Self - archive footage
Self - Scientist & Collector
After inheriting the family mortuary, a pyrophobic mortician accidentally exposes hundreds of un-cremated bodies to toxic medical waste. As the corpses re-animate, the mortician's inheritance-seeking younger brother unexpectantly shows up, stumbling upon a full zombie outbreak!
A killer for the Russian Mafia in Vienna wants to retire and write a book about his passion - cooking. The mafia godfather suspects treason.
In a desolate place called the Badlands, four men stand off with guns drawn, their fingers ready at the trigger. Among them are a fugitive seeking redemption, a son out to avenge his father's murder, a loyal servant with a secret and a murderous criminal hired to kill with a vengeance. This is their story...in a place where revenge, deception and cruelty are a way of life.
The boss of the Hung Hing gang, Tian Sang, has died. Ho Nam and Hon Bun find Sangs younger brother, Yang to lead the gang. Meanwhile, Hon Bun receives news that his younger brother, a leader of the Tuen Mun gang has been assasinated. They travel to Hong Kong to settle the matter.
A teacher and a famous TV host must hide their not-so-merry romance from the public when they present a Christmas special live on-air.
The world's first channel-surfing horror film, unfolding on a television screen as we switch between different channels and slowly realise that each of these channels is actually telling different aspects of the same horrific narrative.
It is 200 years before the birth of Christ and Rome is the new superpower of the ancient world. She believes she is invincible - but one man is destined to change that. He is a man bound by oath to avenge the wrongs inflicted on his home and, in pursuit of revenge, he will stop at nothing. Hannibal explores the man behind the myth, revealing what drove the 26-year-old to mastermind one of the most audacious military moves in history. With 40,000 soldiers and 37 elephants, he marched 1,500 miles to challenge his enemies on their own soil. It was an act so daring that few people believed it possible.
When a team of unlikely heroes hijacks a steam-powered battle wagon, a daring young wizard (Marek) steals the final piece of the all-powerful Darkspore and embarks on a desperate quest to deliver the cursed artifact to the gods for safe keeping; but when they are caught in a death race between a ruthless team of elite mercenaries and a trinity of demons, Marek must learn to believe in herself before her friends are killed and the Darkspore is lost, to stop the evil necromancer (Szorlok) from uniting the Darkspore and flooding the living world with his legions of undead.
A local gangster in Madurai bids adieu to his past life. Years after, in his mid-50s, he falls in love with a young girl, which changes his life.
This movie tells the story of Hong Kil Dong, a legendary 15th century Korean Robin Hood figure.
STOP + Cop = "Stop" or "Slow down" ? Make the right choice. An interactice movie by Ken Arsyn.
The fate of Illarion Groza was tragic. Many years ago, upon returning from the front, he learned that his wife had given birth to a daughter by an Italian officer, and he shot her with his machine gun. But even now, Illarion cannot forget his wife, forgive her betrayal, or justify his cruelty. And that is why his relationship with his daughter Yulka is so dramatic and tense... The artist Bogutovsky, who lives in the captivity of false pompous art, carries the burden of past years... After hearing Illarion's story, the writer Iskra destroys the manuscript of his play: life turns out to be much more complicated than he imagined.
Over the course of her stay at the remote residence, Ana becomes more and more familiar with Holden’s idiosyncratic methods that require the participating artists to abandon their own identities and live emotionally and psychologically as their characters. Captivated by her artistic investigation, Ana immerses herself wholly into the method and starts living as Violeta, until her fiction loses control.
The young Flem Mascaslim it be a hindrance to Bill Warner and, like his father did, try to get rid of it to take over his ranch. Along with his manager devises a plan: will be arrested on suspicion of robbing a bank and present false witnesses to his sentence. But the Fox manages to free the boy, putting him safely home of a friend and her daughter.
After causing a commotion with his last assignment, Falk has been given a desk job, which hardly agrees with his personality, and he ends up accepting an offer from an old friend to buy into a private investigation agency. Another friend of Falk's, Sven, purchased a business in Estonia, and when local gangsters attempted to pressure him into paying protection money, Sven retained the services of Nikolaus Lehmann, a burly private eye, to throw them off his trail. However, Lehmann does his job all too well, murdering the racketeers, and then threatening Sven and his family. With no where else to turn, Sven asks Falk to help him deal with the crazed Lehmann; Falk agrees, but soon realizes he's dealing with a more dangerous man than he imagined when Lehmann kidnaps Falk's wife Jeanette, and then releases her with a time bomb locked around her neck, demanding that Falk hand over ownership of his detective agency to Lehmann.
Orlando Baxter exploded onto the Boston comedy scene in 2005, and quickly established himself as one of the areas hottest young comics. In 2007 Orlando was a finalist in NBC’s Stand Up for Diversity Showcase. His fresh perspective and unique relatability quickly solidified this high school teacher into a fan favorite. In 2010, he became a finalist in both the New York Comedy Contest and the Boston Comedy festival. And in 2012 he toured across the country with national headliner Jo Koy, as the opening act in the Lights Out tour. In 2014 Orlando made his second TV appearance on AXS TV’s Gotham Live. He was also a finalist at the prestigious Montreux Comedy festival in Switzerland. In 2018, he performed stand-up on TBS’ Conan. Orlando is a regular headliner at numerous comedy clubs throughout New England, and performs all over the country.
The musical adventure film goes back to the early eighteenth century, the times of the battles between the Hungarian insurrectionists and the pro-Austrians. Palkó and Jankó are about to join the insurrectionist army when they clash with a pro-Austrian troop. Jankó is captured and put in Count Koháry's prison.
Stranded at the side of the road after a tire blowout, a group of friends become targets for an enigmatic sniper.
A strange wire-fingered homunculus navigates through his dreams of different faces and faces, traversing a subliminal and endless variety. They are all different faces, but all have huge eyes that are questioned as to what keeps them apart, perhaps left broken by an impossible love.
Documentary about the making of Juzo Itami's film "Tampopo" (1985).
Co-curated by Jenni Olson and the late Black gay activist Karl Knapper, this entertaining showcase of vintage movie trailers traces the evolution of African American cinema through its most crucial period, 1952-1976. Filled with insights on race and social dynamics, this fascinating compendium of coming attractions explores an extensive range of stylistic approaches—Blaxploitation, Comedy, Music Bio, Plantation Drama and more—offering an outrageous joyride through motion picture history. Beyond mere camp, these marvelously condensed gems crystallize a range of African American identities and personalities, tracking the meteoric careers of Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Pam Grier and others through their bold performances in movies both hugely popular and practically forgotten. Afro Promo provides a compact glimpse at the representation of African Americans through twenty-five dynamic years of American cinema history.
In a series of four documentaries, Marcel Ophuls pays tribute to his father Max, and in this last one discusses his role as an assistant director on "Lola Montès".
A journey through the professional life of innovative film director Richard Linklater: 21 years creating films, carving his signature in pop culture; an analysis of his style and motivations, through the funny and moving testimonies of close friends and collaborators, actors and other filmmakers.
A 60-minute salute to American International Pictures. Entertainment lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff founded AIP (then called American Releasing Corporation) on a $3000 loan in 1954 with his partner, James H. Nicholson, a former West Coast exhibitor and distributor. The company made its mark by targeting teenagers with quickly produced films that exploited subjects mainstream films were reluctant to tackle.
Actress Sally Field looks at the dramatic life and successful career of the superb actress Barbara Stanwyck (1907-90), a Hollywood legend.
A documentary incorporating footage of Montgomery Clift’s most memorable films; interviews with family and friends, and rare archival material stretching back to his childhood. What develops is the story of an intense young boy who yearned for stardom, achieved notable success in such classic films as From Here to Eternity and I Confess, only to be ruined by alcohol addiction and his inability to face his own fears and homosexual desires. Montgomery Clift, as this film portrays him, may not have been a happy man but he never compromised his acting talents for Hollywood.
We all have hobbies regarding the world of insects, they are very annoying with their buzzing, their pecking and even their horrifying appearance, but without these invertebrates man would have problems.
Documentary about the making of Alfred Hitchcock's 'Frenzy'.
A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.
How are the sex scenes filmed? What tricks are used to fake the desire? How do the interpreters prepare and feel? Spanish actors and directors talk about the most intimate side of acting, about the tricks and work methods when narrating exposed sex. In Spain the general rule is that there are no rules. Each film, each interpreter, faces it in very different ways.
Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.
A scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.
Here and Elsewhere takes its name from the contrasting footage it shows of the fedayeen and of a French family watching television at home. Originally shot by the Dziga Vertov Group as a film on Palestinian freedom fighters, Godard later reworked the material alongside Anne-Marie Miéville.
The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a short feature, roughly 48 minutes long, from Paramount Pictures made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. It was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release and includes a brief history of Paramount, interviews with various actors, and clips from upcoming projects (some of which never came to fruition). The title comes from a biography of Paramount founder Adolph Zukor, The House That Shadows Built (1928), by William Henry Irwin.
Documentary about the making of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
When looking at Pedro Almodóvar’s filmography, it becomes evident that women are everywhere; in fact, his work revolves around them. His divas are the best to create a real portrait of Almodóvar and evoke the emotional power of his films. These women are the ideal observers of a cinematic career that, from La Mancha to Hollywood, has changed the image of Spain in the world.
This documentary is featured on the two-disc Chaplin Collection DVD for "The Kid" (1921), released in 2004.
Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.
A tribute to the late, great French director Francois Truffaut, this documentary was undoubtedly named after his last movie, Vivement Dimanche!, released in 1983. Included in this overview of Truffaut's contribution to filmmaking are clips from 14 of his movies arranged according to the themes he favored. These include childhood, literature, the cinema itself, romance, marriage, and death.