This story began with a blind, bull elephant called Pla-Ra. Paul Barton took his piano to ElephantsWorld, a Sanctuary on the banks of the River Kwai in Thailand and began playing to the elephants while they were eating. "They were all having Barna Grass and it was that time of the day, when the elephants get to eat a lot and they don't waste a moment because they know that moment won't last forever," Paul recalls. "Pla-Ra was behind the piano with a mouthful of barna grass and I started to play Beethoven. Pla-Ra was chewing, and as soon as I played the first chords, he stopped eating with stalks of Barna grass protruding from each side of his mouth, and that's the way he stayed until the end of the piece." "Each time I played music for Pla-Ra, whether flute or piano, there was an identical reaction. Pla-Ra would stand for a while, and then he would curl his trunk and hold his trunk in his mouth until the piece was over. No matter how long that piece was, he would stay like that." ...
Himself
This story began with a blind, bull elephant called Pla-Ra. Paul Barton took his piano to ElephantsWorld, a Sanctuary on the banks of the River Kwai in Thailand and began playing to the elephants while they were eating. "They were all having Barna Grass and it was that time of the day, when the elephants get to eat a lot and they don't waste a moment because they know that moment won't last forever," Paul recalls. "Pla-Ra was behind the piano with a mouthful of barna grass and I started to play Beethoven. Pla-Ra was chewing, and as soon as I played the first chords, he stopped eating with stalks of Barna grass protruding from each side of his mouth, and that's the way he stayed until the end of the piece." "Each time I played music for Pla-Ra, whether flute or piano, there was an identical reaction. Pla-Ra would stand for a while, and then he would curl his trunk and hold his trunk in his mouth until the piece was over. No matter how long that piece was, he would stay like that." ...
2014-12-23
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Music for Elephants is a unique and moving documentary about a British concert-pianist playing music to blind, injured and orphaned elephants with extraordinary results.
7.7Disneynature’s Elephant follows African elephant Shani and her spirited son Jomo as their herd make an epic journey hundreds of miles across the vast Kalahari Desert. Led by their great matriarch, Gaia, the family faces brutal heat, dwindling resources and persistent predators, as they follow in their ancestors’ footsteps on a quest to reach a lush, green paradise.
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.
7.5One Life captures unprecedented and beautiful sequences of animal behaviour guaranteed to bring you closer to nature than ever before, as well as a second disc packed full of never before seen extras including an exclusive making of featurette narrated by Daniel Craig.
7.2Embark on an epic journey of family, courage, and coming home in this feature-length documentary. Join Athena, the majestic matriarch, as she leads her elephant herd across an unforgiving African landscape filled with vibrant wildlife.
7.4African Cats captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. The story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a once banished lion.
6.7A coming of age story following a young meerkat pup, Kolo, growing up in the Kalahari desert; and an inspiring look at how one family's connection to each other and their surroundings is a model of resilience and fortitude for us all. Shot using ground-breaking techniques, this dramatised documentary is a one-of-a-kind presentation from The Weinstein Company and the BBC, featuring narration by Paul Newman.
6.8Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
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.
6.1A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
6.2Faced with a holiday cheer crisis, the North Pole knows there's only one person who can save the day: Santa's great friend Mariah Carey. The Queen of Christmas creates a fabulous and star-studded spectacular to make the whole world merry!
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.
6.6The film chronicles George's adventures as he befriends Kayla, a baby elephant, at a magic circus show and helps her travel across the country to be reunited with her family.Accompanied by his friend, the Man with the Yellow Hat, George travels by foot, train, and truck to reach Kayla's brother and sister in California, only to be accused of elephant-napping and brought all the way back to New York.
8.4A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
6.7Set in the African savannah, the film follows Kion as he assembles the members of the 'Lion Guard'. Throughout the film, the diverse team of young animals will learn how to utilize each of their unique abilities to solve problems and accomplish tasks to maintain balance within the Circle of Life, while also introducing viewers to the vast array of animals that populate the prodigious African landscape.
7.2In Botswana's Okavango Delta, an ostracized lioness and her two cubs must fight alone to survive - overcoming all manner of hazards. Their only defense is to escape to Duba Island -- and with that, an unknown future. The setting for this epic tale is one of the last regions where lions can live in the wild. Faced with dwindling land and increasing pressure from hunting, lions - like our lone lioness and her cubs - are approaching the brink of extinction.
7.3In the remote and forgotten wilderness of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and death of a million crimson-winged flamingos.
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.
8.1A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
Slow Southern Steel is a film about heavy music in the modern American South, as told by the very people who have created this music during the last two decades. Shot in back alleys, parking lots, and the seedy green rooms of the dirtiest clubs that the Bible Belt failed to snuff out, these diehard musicians discuss their love of music and the south, as well as the difficulties, contradictions, and insanity that haunt every southern artist. There are no illusions here, no apologies, no distractions - only the straight truth as told by those who would know the difference. Narrated by the notorious Dixie Dave Collins (Weedeater, Buzzov-en, Bongzilla), Slow Southern Steel is an authentic and honest and thorough look at one of the most remarkable music communities ever spawned on the continent.
6.8Copyright Criminals examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. This documentary traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry. For more than thirty years, innovative hip-hop performers and producers have been re-using portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. When lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s founding figures like Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital Underground—while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers, Ninja Tune, and more.
0.0In this graceful study of the balance between solitude and community, artist and chef Jim Denevan roams across the US, transforming landscapes into breathtaking, sustainable dining experiences framed by ephemeral installation art.
7.3In the remote and forgotten wilderness of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and death of a million crimson-winged flamingos.
10.0Murder, rape, satanism and necrophilia is the staple diet of millions of teenagers who listen to the lyrics of extreme heavy metal music. This World investigates the potential links between "death metal" and a series of gruesome crimes around the world. In Italy a group of young death metal fans formed a satanic cult called the Beasts of Satan. At least four gruesome killings resulted. But death metal musicians deny that they have any responsibility for the actions of people who profess to be their fans. With exclusive access to the families, one of the killers and graphic police footage, the film tells the inside story for the first time. We hear from the musicians, the children and the parents from Oslo to California and ask just how far can music go in its ability to shock, and just how damaging might it be?
7.0Ocean Voyagers explores the familiar themes of motherhood and parenting in a world as unfamiliar as it is breathtaking. Featuring a precocious newborn humpback calf and his enormous 40 ton mother, we are taken on a journey of discovery into their world.
7.2Ashes and Snow, a film by Gregory Colbert, uses both still and movie cameras to explore extraordinary interactions between humans and animals. The 60-minute feature is a poetic narrative rather than a documentary. It aims to lift the natural and artificial barriers between humans and other species, dissolving the distance that exists between them.
6.0People go and search for the legendary Bigfoot creature.
0.0A stunning and intimate portrait of the Arhuaco indigenous community in Colombia. In 1990, in a celebrated BBC documentary, the Arhuaco made contact with the outside world to warn industrialized societies of the potentially catastrophic future facing the planet if we don’t change our ways. Now, three decades later, with the advances of audio/visual technology, we go back to the Snowy Peaks of Sierra Nevada de Santa Maria to illuminate their ethos against the backdrop of an increasingly fragile world.
10.0Sangduen Chailert, or Lek, as she is generally known, has already rescued over 200 elephants. She has dedicated her life to saving the Asian elephant and founded a special camp, The Elephant Nature Park to protect them. We follow this winner of Time Magazine’s “Asian Hero of the Year” Award in her work. Lek is on a mission to save the Asian elephant in her native Thailand. This film looks at the plight of the Asian elephant, as it goes from being a widely used domestic animal, to becoming a burden on modernizing communities. With experts predicting its extinction within four decades, Lek’s work is needed now more than ever and she has gathered a large group of supporters and volunteers in her quest for a better future for the Asian elephant. This moving film demonstrates Lek’s natural understanding of and rapport with these huge animals and will stir the viewers emotions as it highlights the often desperate state some elephants are kept in.
7.7Heavy metal band Iron Maiden's 2008 Somewhere Back in Time World Tour. This concert recording accompanies the documentary film "Iron Maiden: Flight 666". The 16 songs performed were filmed live in 16 different cities giving you the full experience of the live power of Maiden and their fans all around the globe.
8.0Retrospective documentary about the British rock band "Queen", from the 1970s till the death of Freddie Mercury, victim of AIDS. Includes interviews with the band members, friends and fans, behind the scenes material, the making of music videos, concerts and lots of music.
8.0Bay Area rapper Mac Dre began his career at 18 and quickly became an influential force in early west coast hip-hop. In 1992 he was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank robbery when his lyrics were used against him in court. He left prison with a new lease on life, founded an independent record company, and then was murdered just when he began to emerge as a star. For the first time ever, his mother Wanda reveals the true experiences of a hip-hop legend.
6.0This documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at Björk and her touring entourage for the 2001 Vespertine tour. It includes interviews with harpist Zeena Parkins, the Inuit choir from Greenland, electronic duo Matmos, and an ongoing conversation with Björk herself about her recordings and her tours. The documentary is interspersed with live footage of songs from the tour shot by Ragnheidur Gestsdóttir, which themselves correspond to the performances chosen for the Vespertine Live album.
7.6The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, Nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture.
5.0A humorous ode to the world of classical music and some of its star musicians.
10.0Toronto filmmaker Charles Officer profiles the young people of Villaways Park, a housing project on brink of historic change.
9.0The Road Forward is an electrifying musical documentary that connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Interviews and musical sequences describe how a tiny movement, the Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, grew to become a successful voice for change across the country. Visually stunning, The Road Forward seamlessly connects past and present through superbly produced story-songs with soaring vocals, blues, rock, and traditional beats.
8.6On tour promoting their 2002 studio album 'By the Way', Los Angeles-based funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers performs a sold-out live show to 80,000 people at Slane Castle in County Meath, Ireland on August 23, 2003.
8.7Director Mirjam Leuze’s The Whale and The Raven illuminates the many issues that have drawn whale researchers, the Gitga’at First Nation, and the Government of British Columbia into a complex conflict. As the people in the Great Bear Rainforest struggle to protect their territory against the pressure and promise of the gas industry, caught in between are the countless beings that call this place home.