

Seal Island is a 1948 American documentary film directed by James Algar. It won an Academy Award in 1949 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).


Seal Island is a 1948 American documentary film directed by James Algar. It won an Academy Award in 1949 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).
1948-12-21
7.25
True-Life Adventures
6.1A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
7.6When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
7.8An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles.
6.8The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
6.9Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
7.3Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
6.5A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
8.4A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
7.7A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
7.4The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
6.8JB Smoove and Martin Starr host a celebration of 20 years of "Spider-Man" movies, from the Sam Raimi trilogy to Marc Webb's movies and the trio from Jon Watts.
7.8Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
7.5A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
7.0The most comprehensive retrospective of the '80s action film genre ever made.
5.9Serial killer Dennis Nilsen narrates his life and horrific crimes via a series of chilling audiotapes recorded from his jail cell.
7.6This documentary follows superstar Bret Hart during his last year in the WWF. The film documents the tensions that resulted in The Montreal Screwjob, one of the most controversial events in the history of professional wrestling, in which Vince McMahon, Shawn Micheals, and others, legitimately conspired behind the scenes to go against the script and remove Bret Hart as champion.
7.1A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
7.2An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
7.8Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
7.4The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
0.0Askania-Nova is the largest steppe wildlife sanctuary in Europe. It is located in south part of Ukraine, not far from Crimea peninsula. In order to underline this unique beauty we created a documentary musical film about life of animals and people in wildlife sanctuary of Askania-Nova. The movie reveals stories of a three protagonists, whose destinies were entangled because of wildlife sanctuary.
7.5In an increasingly technologically advanced world, only the bravest dare to live life in a simpler way. In this masterpiece, Carlos, better known as "Legendboy", documents his thrilling journey from his quarters to his friends' house, recounting all the ups and downs and unique moments along the way. Special commentary by "Morais".
7.1Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They walk, marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. This amazing, true-life tale is touched with humour and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader... to adventure!!
7.0A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
0.0For two-thirds of the year, the Little Rann is a desert. Suddenly, in August, monsoon winds whip up the Arabian Sea and carry it 100 km inland. The desert and these mounds soon become islands and homes to high concentrations of rarely-seen, endangered and spectacular wildlife.
0.0Chasing the Light: Norfolk Island with Ray Martin is a visual feast, rich in land and sea cinematography and photography by some of the best in the business, while at the same time telling the unique, exotic and often surprising story of one of Australia’s great treasures: Norfolk Island. World famous landscape photographer Ken Duncan chases the light in an odyssey to get the perfect shot on the spectacular island gifted by Queen Victoria to the Pitcairn Islanders, mutineers from the Bounty, their Tahitian wives and their families and descendants. Ken, the master, has his sidekick and protégé Ray Martin along with him and they link up with local photographer and underwater specialist Zach Sanders. Capturing their chase is one of Australia’s most awarded cinematographers Andy Taylor. Andy turns his own lens on the lensmen and Norfolk’s unforgettable scenery, characters, culture, and customs.
7.5Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
9.0In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.
7.6A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.
0.0Comedy legends Bob Odenkirk and David Cross tackle one of the world's toughest hikes — and each other — in this high-altitude, coca-fueled meditation on friendship, mortality, and profoundly absurd comedy from two icons still magnificently in sync.
0.0It may be the largest and most densely populated city on Earth, but Tokyo’s 14 million human residents share their home with an astonishing array of wildlife. From jewel beetles and goshawks in the city’s shrines to the forests of Okutama where bears, monkeys and tanuki feast, this film reveals the power of nature in Japan’s capital.
7.3A vivid journey into the mysterious subterranean world of mycelium and its fruit— the mushroom. A story that begins 3.5 billion years ago, fungi makes the soil that supports life, connecting vast systems of roots from plants and trees all over the planet, like an underground Internet. Through the eyes of renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, professor of forest ecology Suzanne Simard, best selling author Michael Pollan, food naturalist Eugenia Bone and others, we experience the power, beauty and complexity of the fungi kingdom.
8.3Our world is the home of millions of plant as well as animal species and provides several territories, each with its own geological and climatic conditions: steep mountains, deep forests, wide oceans and arctic ice deserts. The inhabitants have adapted to its different conditions and are still developing new strategies to survive. “Wonderful World 3D” not only takes a look at the interesting creatures of our planet, but also highlights cosmological circumstances, which made our world unique, diversified and above all so adorable.
5.5Lost Worlds looks at untouched aspects of nature in parts of the world where humans rarely tread. From plants, to animals, to geology, this artfully photographed documentary presents facets of the biological world that you are not likely to see anywhere else.
5.0Follows life of Malika, a lioness in South Africa’s Kruger National Park as she battles to survive.
0.0Thanks to sophisticated equipment, marine biologists have managed to capture unprecedented scenes of the intimate life of humpback whales off the Australian coast. A spectacular immersion in the intimate life of this mysterious species. Off the coast of the Kimberley in northwestern Australia is a major breeding ground for humpback whales. Thanks to sophisticated equipment, such as aerial cameras on board quadrotors or innovative night vision technologies, Curt and Micheline Jenner, whale researchers, capture unprecedented scenes revealing the behavior of cetaceans.
7.0Spreading about 400 km in parallel to the Cantabric Sea, the Cantabrian Mountains, located North to Spain are a natural top wall full of animal and vegetable life that live in an extreme conditions across any year. Making a review along the four seasons, the documentary examines the situation and the relation of the different species, focusing in the brown bear's life in addition with the salmons travel along of thousand kilometers to return home to spawn, showing too the difficult of a landscape where danger is everywhere, including in the smallest size. A fascinating travel for revealing the wonder of nature.
9.0There are few places on earth that have such a diverse variety of terrain and range of climates concentrated in a relatively small area - temperate coastline, scorching arid deserts and tundra, tropical rainforests and frozen snowcapped mountains. And there are few places that are as heavily exploited by humans, yet remain a wilderness.