An untraditional documentary portrait reveals the complicated personality of the Slovak music legend Jožo Ráž, the singer for the pop-rock group Elán. From recordings of everyday situations, playful moments, intimate conversations about God and death, and memories of the past, the director composes a complex image of a man loved by the masses, who, despite all his life successes, feels lonely.
Self
Emerging from the Detroit music scene of the 1970s in a flurry of long hair and sequins, Alice Cooper restored hard rock with a sense of showmanship, while simultaneously striking fear into the hearts of Middle America with the chicken-slaughtering, dead-baby-eating theatrics that would cement his identity as a glam metal icon. Meticulously crafted from rare archival footage, Super Duper Alice Cooper tells the story of the man behind the makeup, Vincent Furnier, the son of a preacher, who got caught in the grip of his own monster.
The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.
A chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.
A two disc amalgam of the final performances of 2001's Madison Square Gardens performances by one of the greatest bands in the world of some of the greatest music in the world. The atmosphere positively floods out of the screen to envelop you and the hairs on your neck will be standing on end before the first note has been struck. After watching this you'll believe that The Boss is incapable of putting a foot wrong. By the end, he's only just short of defying gravity.
This time-lapse documentary follows the last years of former President Václav Havel's life, creating a multi-layered portrait of a world-famous political icon and important playwright, but also an ordinary man plagued by health problems. Havel allows the filmmakers a glimpse behind the scenes of his life, revealing purely personal moments that present him in previously unrecognised contours. With a sense of humour, he reflects on his political legacy and universal human issues. The central motif is formed by the parallels between Havel's life and the successful play Leaving, which Havel always wanted to direct as a film adaptation.
John Mayer: Someday I'll Fly chronicles the musical evolution of one of the most influential solo artists of his generation. Featuring rare demos, interviews and live performances; it is told in it's entirety from Mayer's perspective. Centered mostly on his career and professional accomplishments, Someday I'll Fly strips away the typical gossip surrounding Mayer to provide an intimate look at the life and career of a lauded musician.
The life of Marcela, an ordinary Czech woman is explored throughout several decades of her life. We are engaged to struggle and fight back with Marcela as her tragic life unfolds before our eyes especially when dealing with her daughter’s unexpected death, which almost drives her to suicide. The film was initially part of a series about the fate of six married couples, but the events that happened throughout Marcela’s life were the reason why the director decided to focus solely on a documentary about her.
“You bet on someone in the beginning of the process and then you wait and see what life does with them.” This is how Czech director Helena Trestikova explains her long-term documentaries. Following on from the European Film Academy Award winning RENE (2008), Trestikova brings us KATKA – 14 years in the life of a drug addict. KATKA is an extraordinarily raw and uncensored character portrait of a troubled young woman living on the edge of human existence, desperately searching for love and salvation. Will she find it in the rehab? Will she find it in the arms of the man she loves? Or in the first cry of her long-desired baby? Tagging along with her through the back streets and squalors of Prague, Trestikova gets deep under the skin of a person most of us would cross the road to avoid, and shows us Katka’s profoundly human face. You might be angry with Katka, or your heart may go out to her. One thing is certain – you will never forget her.
A film about the first benefit rock concert when major musicians performed to raise relief funds for the poor of Bangladesh. The Concert for Bangladesh was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00 pm on Sunday, 1 August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of, and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide.
The last years of Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), rock legend and frontman of Queen, a band that conquered the world of music in the seventies and eighties: what was his lifestyle and the path that led him to a tragic death due to AIDS when he was only 46 years old.
In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever 40 years on. But it was no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. Queen had their share of kicks in the face, but they came through and this is how they did it, set against the backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe. In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Featuring brand new interviews with the band and unseen archive footage (including their recently unearthed, first ever TV performance), it is a compelling story told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humor and painful honesty.
Through words, music, and mischief, Bono pulls back the curtain on his deeply personal experiences that have shaped him as a son, father, husband, activist, and U2 frontman.
This documentary opens a new door to Springsteen's creative process for fans around the world, sharing fly-on-the-wall footage of band rehearsals and special moments backstage — as well as hearing from Springsteen himself.
Archive footage of interviews, concerts and personal material bring to light the solo performance work of Mercury, the lead singer of Queen.
It explores the last two years of Brazilian singer Cazuza's life, from his AIDS diagnosis until his death. Nilo Romero, Cazuza's music producer and the film's director, created a collection of rarely seen and controversial images.
With the help of more than 10,000 dedicated Zappa fans, this is the long-awaited definitive documentary project of Alex Winter documenting the life and career of enigmatic groundbreaking rock star Frank Zappa. Alex also utilizes in this picture thousands of hours of painstakingly digitized videos, photos, audio, writing, and everything in between from Zappa's private archives. These chronicles have never been brought to a public audience before, until now.
With Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page as successive lead guitarists, The Yardbirds were one of rock's greatest bands. Kicking into high gear in 1964 behind Eric Clapton's blistering lead guitar, the led the British blues revival, becoming the prototype for late-'60s psychedelia. When Clapton left, soon joining John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Jeff Beck stepped in. Then Jimmy Page joined, and he and Beck shared lead guitar in what was potentially the best rock band in the world. When Beck departed in 1966 (forming the Jeff Beck Group the following year), Page took the band into a heavier, more experimental direction that eventually became the genesis of Led Zeppelin. In this definitive documentary, the band performs all their classic tracks, and the members recall the explosive beginning of rock's second wave--when they were the most blues-wailing band in the land.
Anny follows the life of the titular, intriguing character for 16 years, from 1996 up until 2012. Living in the Czech Republic, Anny is a 46-year-old woman whose day-to-day life has consisted of several different occupations, from a bathroom attendant and a doorman, to occasional sex work. Her outlook on her jobs is fairly simple, you have to do the work if you want to eat, spoil your grandkids, or buy yourself new clothes.