Showcases incidents based on the life of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This mostly accurate privately produced biography of FDR is a cinema and political curiosity. Its lavish praise for the new president who had been in office for less than a month indicates how desperate the nation was for hope and change. The projections of FDR's future accomplishments and powerful leadership likewise were based more on hope than prior knowledge. Fortunately many of these projections proved to be accurate. Another oddity is about 1/3 of this biopic is devoted the life of the UK's Labor ex-PM Ramsey MacDonald.
Over a 50-year career and more than a hundred movies, filmmaker John Ford (1894-1973) forged the legend of the Far West. By giving a face to the underprivileged, from humble cowboys to persecuted minorities, he revealed like no one else the great social divisions that existed and still exist in the United States. More than four decades after his death, what remains of his legacy and humanistic values in the memory of those who love his work?
A feature-length documentary that delves into the life of an old spinster who, by convention, must be called señorita. Bound by rigid moral and family precepts, well-born ladies do not usually tell intimacies. However, the virgin - as the people of Xalapa have always called her - has agreed to confess and show her personal refuge, marked by solitude and the daily fulfillment of a sacrificial ritual.
A documentary that captures the sensational trial of infamous gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, using the legal proceedings as a springboard to explore allegations of corruption within the highest levels of law enforcement. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger examines Bulger's relationship with the FBI and Department of Justice that allowed him to reign over a criminal empire in Boston for decades.
Vienna, Austria, 1910. The young painter Egon Schiele is a rising artist, provocative and free, whose work, characterized by eroticism, shocks as much as it fascinates art lovers.
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.
In 1943, as Hitler continues to wage war across Europe, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement in Munich. Dedicated expressly to the downfall of the monolithic Third Reich war machine, they call themselves the White Rose. One of its few female members, Sophie Scholl is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets on campus with her brother Hans. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to the White Rose, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility.
January, 1947. The public receives the news of Al Capone's death with indifference, although twenty years earlier he had ruled Chicago's crime underworld with brute force and corrupting many touchable individuals. Until the day the head of the Untouchables Brigade, Eliot Ness, entered the scene. Since then, a cruel battle between the two of them began, a battle that ended in trial, conviction, disease, insanity and death.
In honor of his 95th birthday, a look at Sir David Attenborough’s life and contributions to broadcasting and the natural world. Presented by BBC.
From Quai des brumes to Goupi Mains Rouges through La Bandera or L'Assassinat du Père Noël, Robert Le Vigan was one of the mythical supporting characters of French cinema. Best friend of the writer Louis- Ferdinand Céline, he was involved in the collaboration during the Second World War. Sentenced to ten years in prison upon liberation, he ended his days in exile in Tandil, South America.
The crazy rise and fall of Jacques Tati, comedy genius, actor, director and athlete of laughter. Or how the inventor of the mythical Mr. Hulot made France laugh, then the world, flying from success to success, rising higher and higher, until he came a little too close to the sun.
In the half-hour tribute, friends and colleagues remember the three-time Emmy winner, who died June 19 at age 51. The special features clips of Gandolfini’s work as well as behind-the-scenes footage.
A moving and very funny portrait of the personal and professional life of the magnificent French comedian Louis de Funès (1914-83), as well as a detailed analysis of his masterful acting technique.
Gil Scott-Heron, one of rap's earliest (and unfortunately unknown) pioneers, gets his full due in Black Wax, the 1982 documentary recently reissued on video. Interspliced between performance footage of Scott-Heron and his Midnight Band are vignettes of him walking around Washington D.C., spouting his views on then-President Reagan (dubbed "Ray-Gun") and generally dropping knowledge. The live performance features many of Scott-Heron's best-known hits, including "Johannesburg," "Winter in America," and "Angel Dust," among others. Warm, intelligent, and insightful throughout, Scott-Heron is clearly enjoying himself and the opportunity to espouse his views. A must for any fan of Scott-Heron's, and definitely worth a look for fans of the funkier jazz music of the mid to late 1970's.
Brazilian singer Rita Lee narrates moments about her life, from her childhood to the meeting with Roberto de Carvalho. The documentary is permeated with excerpts from the singer's concerts, with songs sung entirely.
A world of strong colours between documentary and fiction, centered on the life and work of modernist painter Amadeo de Souza Cardoso.
Domestic service worker Lera is accused of a crime. In a cell in the premises of a Civil Guard barracks, she meets Mihaela and Julia, two prostitutes with whom she shares the story of Santa Vicenta María, founder of the Religious of Mary Immaculate, which she says saved her life.
A feature that not only celebrates the 1986 classic "Flight of the Navigator", but also looks at the life of its child star, Joey Cramer, and his roller-coaster life since that breakthrough role.