On a Hot Summer day, there may be no better place on earth than a traditional amusement park. A place where you can hop on a classic wooden coaster, reach for the ring as you whirl by on the merry-go-round, or cool down on the Caterpillar. In this documentary, you get to visit some of America's most charming parks from Lake Compounce in Connecticut to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in California. You get to gallop on the Derby Racer at Playland, go with the flow on the Boat Chute at Lake Winnepesaukah, and rock on Deno's Wonder Wheel at Coney Island. And of course there are coasters, including the Thunderbolt at Kennywood, the Cyclone at Astroland, the Raven at Holiday World, and San Diego's Giant Dipper!
Vienna’s Prater is an amusement park and a desire machine. No mechanical invention, no novel idea or sensational innovation could escape incorporation into the Prater. The diverse story-telling in Ulrike Ottinger’s film “Prater” transforms this place of sensations into a modern cinema of attractions. The Prater’s history from the beginning to the present is told by its protagonists and those who have documented it, including contemporary cinematic images of the Prater, interviews with carnies, commentary by Austrians and visitors from abroad, film quotes, and photographic and written documentary materials. The meaning of the Prater, its status as a place of technological innovation, and its role as a cultural medium are reflected in texts by Elfriede Jelinek, Josef von Sternberg, Erich Kästner and Elias Canetti, as well as in music devoted to this amusement venue throughout the course of its history.
An early morning phone call in 2017 changed the lives of two teenage brothers bonded by their love of percussion. One died tragically in a car accident while the other determined to make sense of his loss through music.
Before there was Disneyland, there was Coney Island. By the turn of the century, this tiny piece of New York real estate was internationally famous. On summer Sundays, three great pleasure domes--Steeplechase, Luna Park and Dreamland--competed for the patronage of a half-million people. By day it was the world's most amazing amusement park, by night, an electric "Eden".
Dwarves Kingdom is a documentary film about a theme park featuring performances by little people with dwarfism who live in a fantasy recreation of a magical empire. Built by a wealthy Chinese businessman, this other-worldly kingdom, officially called World Ecological Garden of Butterfly and Little People Kingdom, is located in the mountains surrounding the city of Kunming in Western China.
Everybody loves ice cream. It’s cool, sweet and delicious. It’s also the tantalizing topic of this happy documentary program that takes viewers to ice cream places across America from Vermont to Hawaii, highlighting outstanding places to get a cone or a bowl. An Ice Cream Show features mostly small ice cream lovers – from makers and eaters to collectors and cone-makers.
10 years before the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri dreamed up a contest pitting barroom bigmouths against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers and brawlers, billed as no-holds-barred new type of competitive fighting. When the fights succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, they were swept up in a chain of events that ended in the first mixed-martial arts ban in the nation. “Tough Guys” chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Viola’s first bouts and the colorful, crazy cast of fighters who made them a hit as well as the politicians who brought it all crashing down. The film brings to life a moment when the national martial arts craze was building to a crescendo as the economies of Pennsylvania steel towns were plummeting to levels of unemployment never seen, breeding desperate men looking for a chance to prove their worth and make some money in the ring.
If you grew up in Wichita, Joyland was an important part of your childhood. This documentary tells the epic story of the rise and fall of Wichita’s most famous amusement park, Joyland. Viewers will see historic, never-before-broadcast film clips of the park in its heyday. And learn the story behind the story of this once-great destination that helped define childhood for generations of Kansans. You’re sure to experience a roller coaster of emotions as you watch this dramatic, fun, and heartfelt ode to one of the most-fondly remembered places in Wichita history.
Class Action Park explores the legend, legacy, and truth behind the 1980s water park in Vernon, New Jersey that long ago entered the realm of myth. Known for its dangerous, unsupervised rides and lack of regulation, guests of Action Park expected to walk away with injuries and were lucky if they made it out alive. Shirking the trappings of nostalgia, the film uses investigative journalism, original animations, recordings, and interviews with the people who lived it to reveal the true story of Action Park.
Few amateur films with sound were produced in the 1930s and fewer remain extant. A charming artifact that demonstrates the expressive possibilities and technical limitations of amateur talkies, "The Spider and the Fly" includes a backyard Labor Day gathering, a trip to the Riverview Amusement Park, and a homemade Halloween parade of witches and ghouls.
A documentary profiling cemeteries and cemetery-related businesses and events across the United States.
For over 85 years, steamship Ste. Claire transported generations of Detroiters to Boblo Island, an amusement park nestled in the waters between the US and Canada. When the vessel comes under threat of ruin, a doctor, psychic and amusement park fanatic unite to save their beloved steamship from the scrapyard. Interweaving local lore and mythology, "Boblo Boats" explores the whitewashed history of amusement parks and one crew's crusade to bring back the memories.
A summer on an island of leisure in the Paris region. Land of Adventures, dredge and transgression for some, place of refuge and escape for the other. Its pay range to its hidden nooks, the exploration of a Kingdom of childhood, in resonance with the bustle of the world.
The story of Six Flags New Orleans, a theme park devastated by Hurricane Katrina that has become a holy grail of sorts for urban exploration and the efforts to restore the park to its former glory.
This documentary explores the wonders of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rick Sebak narrates while you are taken on a nostalgic journey through downtown Pittsburgh's rich history as a bustling American urban center. The film explores downtown Pittsburgh's culture, history, architecture, and secrets. With new and archival footage.
People love going to the beach for lots of different reasons. The sun. The sand. The salt-water taffy. In this slightly wacky documentary, we consider all kinds of things that draw people to the coast: board walks, seafood, lifeguards, even metal-detectors and roller skates. From Nantucket to Venice Beach, people relax and bounce in the waves. From the Outer Banks to Oahu, beachgoers bring along their fishing gear and hope to catch some dinner.
70 is definitely the new 20 in this heart-warming 1960s documentary portrait of the Darby and Joan Club for elderly Cockneys.
Enjoy an all-American celebration of what may be the country's most popular fast food. From Connecticut to South Carolina to California, Rick Sebak visits some of the nation's coolest hot dog places, taking viewers inside a giant hot dog-shaped building, stopping at some crazy late-night stands, and looking at how hot dogs are made. Wonder how and when hot dogs became so popular-or what toppings are tops these days? Tune in and find out.
What made more money than the entire American movie industry through the 50s and 60s? Pinball. Special When Lit rediscovers the lure of a lost pop icon. A product of the mechanical and electrical age, the American invention swept the world and defined cool. Now it is relegated to a nostalgic footnote deserving a better fate. Joining the fans, collectors, designers and champion players from across the globe who share a world many of us didn't know still existed.
A Flea Market Documentary is a new PBS special and an all-American celebration of open-air shopping across the country. On any weekend, there may be no better place to find out what makes America great than at a flea market. A Flea Market Documentary is an unabashed celebration of the unusual people and the enticing things that can be found in parking lots, fairgrounds, drive-ins, sidewalks, and wherever else someone has posted a sign saying "Flea Market." It's capitalism mixed with craziness. It's amazing old stuff, great salespeople, the ancient tradition of the open-air market, and the possibility of finding a bargain, all uniting shoppers across the nation. Produced by WQED Pittsburgh, A Flea Market Documentary travels from the gigantic Rose Bowl Market in Pasadena, California, to the busy but modest- sized Eastern Market in Washington, DC, talking with organizers, vendors, food merchants and shoppers.
French documentary on Walt Disney's relationship with France through his personal and professional life.