Behind the Action in 'Biker Boyz'(2003)

Spanish Bullfight(en)

With a crowded arena in the background, a stationary camera records a bull charging a picador astride his horse. An attendant on foot throws stones at the rump of the horse to get it to move. Various toreadors run past the bull to try to get him to charge or at least run about.

The Derby(en)

Tommy Tucker's Tooth(en)

Tommy Tucker's Tooth is a live-action short film by Walt Disney at his short-lived Laugh-O-Grams studio in Kansas City from 1922. The film was one of two commissioned by Kansas City Dentist Thomas B. McCrum. It earned the Laugh-O-Gram studio $500.

Capital Stirred by Biggest Hooch Raid(en)

Several prohibition agents display cans and bottles of seized liquor for the camera. They are then shown dumping the goods at a junk yard.

The Acrobatic Fly(en)

Propped upon the tail-end of a match, a housefly performs astonishing feats, alternately juggling a series of objects - a blade of grass, a cork, a miniature dumbbell… Most extraordinary of all is the sequence in which the fly spins a ball twice its own size, while a second fly perches on top. In the final sequence, the fly repeats some of its earlier tricks while apparently seated on a tiny chair.

McKinley at Home, Canton, Ohio(en)

“This view was taken upon Mr. McKinley's lawn at his home in Canton, Ohio. Mr. McKinley appears walking across the lawn in company with his Secretary, who hands him a telegram, which he reads with apparent satisfaction. The characteristic walk and gestures of Mr. McKinley will be noted with interest by his friends.” (AMB Picture Catalogue)

Pack Train at Chilkoot Pass(en)

During the Alaska gold rush, one way to reach the Klondike was over the Chilkoot Pass. A stationary camera is placed to see a ways down the curving trail. A pack train comes into view and passes in front of us, led by a man on horseback. Eight loaded mules follow, then another cowboy on horseback and a man walking, then eight more laden mules, another cowboy, then nine more mules, a cowboy, and still the pack train stretches as far as the eye can see. A solitary man watches from atop a hillock.

The Georgetown Loop (Colorado)(en)

Georgetown, 1901. A silver-mining town at 8,500 feet near the crest of the Rockies. Hooked somehow to the rear of a four-car passenger train is a camera that pans the scenery and, when the train goes around curves, looks ahead to see the engine and passenger cars: the passengers wave hundreds of white handkerchiefs out of the train's left-side windows for the benefit of the camera. The town comes into view; the tracks are above the town, so the camera looks down on dozens of modest rooftops as it pans the area. (AMB 1901, copyrighted 1903.)

San Francisco: Aftermath of Earthquake(en)

Footage shot not long after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco is edited together so that more than one scene and more than one vantage are included. We see fire raging. We see burned-out buildings, piles of rubble, and buildings with only one wall standing. People stand and watch; others walk purposely through the debris. A carriage passes; the camera pans the desolation. A horse-drawn cart is laden with a family's remaining possessions. A sign hangs outside one building: "A little disfigured but still in business. Men Wanted."

From Show Girl to Burlesque Queen(en)

The film opens on a dressing room set with a mirror, dressing table, and chair center stage and a folded dressing screen on the left. A smiling, dark-haired woman enters through the door on stage right, unbuttoning a full-length polka-dot costume. As she undresses, she frequently looks directly at the camera and smiles. She removes her sash or cummerbund, the top with its trailing sleeves, and her skirt, leaving her clothed only in a sleeveless chemise. Smiling directly at the camera, she mischievously slips a strap of the garment off one shoulder, then ducks behind the screen.

Poultry-Yard(fr)

Two girls do one of their chores. Standing alongside a tree-lined farmhouse, two children who are about ten and four years old toss grain to a flock of about 50 domesticated ducks. A woman watches them briefly and then moves on. The older girl has her grain in a bucket, the younger one's grain is in her apron. The children stay in one spot, as does the camera; it's the ducks that move around. Chickens are in the background; only one braves the ducks' territory.

Arab Cortege, Geneva(fr)

A stationary camera looks across a busy corner toward a store front marked "The Divan." The words "des fees" are beneath. A cortege of Arabs, about 20 persons in the party, walk past; the dignitaries are in front, attended by men with horns and drums. Coming in the other direction are local Swiss, who pay little attention, and a group of native-garbed Africans. The dozen or so well-dressed denizens of Geneva who are sitting on the steps of the Divan take it all in.

The Outcasts(en)

Roaring through the streets in dirty denims and leather, The Outcasts present a menacing appearance to the respectable folk of East Anglia. Theirs is an alternative world of wild parties, arrest and sudden death. This film shows a group most people would cross the street to avoid. It's a life which borders on the edge of society and the law, but one which is governed by strict rules and traditions. There are two faces to The Outcasts. One exists in the pounding of heavy metal music and the exhaust fumes of powerful customised motorbikes. The other lies in the day-to-day grind, where even Outcasts have livings to earn, children to feed and bills to pay.

Pen Point Percussion(en)

A documentary showing Norman McLaren working on the hand-drawn sound process he uses for his short film, Loops.

12 O'Clock Boys(en)

Pug, a wisecracking 13 year old living on a dangerous Westside block, has one goal in mind: to join The Twelve O'Clock Boys; the notorious urban dirt-bike gang of Baltimore. Converging from all parts of the inner city, they invade the streets and clash with police, who are forbidden to chase the bikes for fear of endangering the public. When Pug's older brother dies suddenly, he looks to the pack for mentorship, spurred by their dangerous lifestyle. Pug's story is coupled with unprecedented, action-packed coverage of the riders in their element. The film presents the pivotal years of change in a boy's life growing up in one of the most dangerous and economically depressed cities in the US.

Bicyclist(fr)

Francis Doublier does bicycle tricks in the street.

Planet Dinosaur: Ultimate Killers(en)

Adapted from the multi-award winning BBC1 series, Planet Dinosaur 3D recreates the lost world of the dinosaurs in a groundbreaking stereoscopic production. This is one of the most ambitious animated programmes ever attempted for broadcast TV, recreating every detail of these extraordinary animals in an entirely digital production that stretches the boundaries of broadcast 3D with a scale and ambition normally reserved for Hollywood feature films. Planet Dinosaur 3D is a thrilling and immersive journey into a lost world. Pulling together cutting edge research from around the world this programme uses the latest, stunning fossil evidence to chart the rise and fall of the 'Ultimate Killers'; from the iconic Spinosaurus, the largest predator ever to walk the Earth, to Microraptor and the feathered, flying dinosaurs from China. At last, thanks to the advances in technology, and for the first time ever, these monsters can be experienced in all their full, magnificent wonder.

Mechanical Principles(en)

Close up we see pistons move up and down or side to side. Pendulums sway, the small parts of machinery move. Gears drive larger wheels. Gears within gears spin. Shafts turn some mechanism that is out of sight. Screws revolve and move other gears; a bit rotates. More subtle mechanisms move other mechanical parts for unknown purposes. Weights rise and fall. The movements, underscored by sound, are rhythmic. Circles, squares, rods, and teeth are in constant and sometimes asymmetrical motion. These human-made mechanical bits seem benign and reassuring.

Storstrøm Bridge(da)

A wordless ode to the Storstrom bridge.

The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen(en)

A follow-up special to ABC's 1987 "The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson." The program includes clips of great stunts, interviews with celebrities and profiles of legendary stuntpeople.