Released in 1999, The Devil's Picturebook is a stunning collection of card material that was years ahead of its time. The card magic that Derren performs and teaches offers a rare glimpse into how he thinks about his magic, and how he constructs routines. Then, as now, the audience's emotions are always Derren's primary focus. Over the course of three hours, The Devil's Picturebook gives the audience a detailed insight into this rare Derren Brown material. The first half explains in detail some classic card routines from his early career as a conjurer, all of which rely on sleight of hand, misdirection, and audience management. The second half features his incredible, pioneering psychological card routines and shows a distinct move towards the mentalism for which he is now known.
Interviewer
If you haven't come across Derren Brown before then Inside your Mind is a great introduction to the considerable skills of the only living Jedi Master. His show, Mind Control debuted on Channel 4 in the wake of a resurgence of interest in magic spearheaded by David Blaine. But what Derren Brown does hardly falls into the category of sleight-of-hand--his "magic" is firmly grounded in the workings of the mind and psychology. The result is a fascinatingly mysterious, but definitely not psychic, phenomenon.
This 135-minute documentary offers to reopen this magical parenthesis which has seen the birth of a whirlwind of artists with very different styles. From Chantal Goya to Annie Cordy, from Pierre Perret to Carlos. They knew how to bring each in their own way generations of children into their poetic universe.
2015 was a momentous year for novelist Marlon James. He became the first Jamaican writer to win the Man Booker prize for his magisterial novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, about the events surrounding the attempted assassination of Bob Marley and their aftermath. He also chose to come out as gay in an article for the New York Times - a brave move for a man born in what has been called the world's most homophobic country. Alan Yentob accompanies the charismatic and provocative James back to Jamaica and finds in his three highly praised novels a complex portrait of the turbulent history of his native country.
Louis Theroux sets out on a personal quest to meet the ultimate pop idol - Michael Jackson - and examine the often bizarre world that surrounded him and those that worshipped at his altar. The journey began in the summer of 2002 with a simple phone call to Uri Geller - a personal friend of Jackson's - to fix a meeting for Louis. What happened next resulted in a fantastical trek into a weird world of characters who orbited around the 'King of Pop'. Majestic Magnificent, Michael's personal magician, could be the gatekeeper to a meeting or just a fraud. Would Louis, a lifelong fan of Jackson, eventually meet his hero?
The National Library of France is the guardian of priceless treasures that tell our history, our illustrious thinkers, writers, scholars and artists. Telling the story of the exceptional treasures of the National Library of France is like opening a great history book rich in many twists and turns. Without the love of the kings of France for books and precious objects, this institution would never have seen the light of day. The story begins in the 14th century under the reign of a passionate writer, Charles V, who set up a library in his apartments in the Louvre. But it was not until the 17th century, and the reign of Louis XIV, a lover of the arts and letters, that the royal library took over its historic quarters in the rue Vivienne in Paris, which it still occupies.
Highlights Rajamouli’s influence on Indian and international cinema, with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.
The first feature-length documentary that fully explores how the toxic social and political Canadian context after 1968 created some of the most nihilistic and imaginative Canadian cult films of the 1970s and 80s and beyond.
When Francois Truffaut approached Alfred Hitchcock in 1962 with the idea of having a long conversation with him about his work and publishing this in book form, he didn't imagine that more than four years would pass before Le Cinéma selon Hitchcock finally appeared in 1966. Not only in France but all over the world, Truffaut's Hitchcock interview developed over the years into a standard bible of film literature. In 1983, three years after Hitchcock's death, Truffaut decided to expand his by now legendary book to include a concluding chapter and have it published as the "Edition définitive". This film describes the genesis of the "Hitchbook" and throws light on the strange friendship between two completely different men. The centrepieces are the extracts from the original sound recordings of the interview with the voices of Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut, and Helen Scott – recordings which have never been heard in public before.
For ten years, Raymond Depardon has followed the lives of farmer living in the mountain ranges. He allows us to enter their farms with astounding naturalness. This moving film speaks, with great serenity, of our roots and of the future of the people who work on the land. This the last part of Depardon's triptych "Profils paysans" about what it is like to be a farmer today in an isolated highland area in France. "La vie moderne" examines what has become of the persons he has followed for ten years, while featuring younger people who try to farm or raise cattle or poultry, come hell or high water.
Retrospective featurette included with the 2014 Blu-ray by Arrow Video.
Retrospective interview with Joe Pantoliano included with the 2014 Blu-ray by Arrow Video.
Retrospective interview with Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly included with the 2014 Blu-ray by Arrow Video.
When Harvard PhD student Jennifer Brea is struck down at 28 by a fever that leaves her bedridden, doctors tell her it’s "all in her head." Determined to live, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her story—and four other families' stories—fighting a disease medicine forgot.
From Ross Lipman's "personal ethnographies" series, an informal visit with legendary filmmaker Bruce Baillie at his home on Camano Island in Washington State.