The lives of Stan Laurel (1890-1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892-1957), on the screen and behind the curtain. The joy and the sadness, the success and the failure. The story of one of the best comic duos of all time: a lesson on how to make people laugh.
A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.
Jean Painlevé is interested here, with the help of Eli Lotar, in crabs and shrimps. He is particularly interested in detailing their anatomy and observing their mating and fighting behavior.
This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.
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.
Just what will motoring be like in a post apocalyptic world that's been blown to bits by nuclear bombs or a massive comet? It's a burning question that's on literally nobody's mind, and we give you all the answers in this brand new, incredibly cheerful Top Gear DVD. Embarking on a terrifying journey into the future, we show you how to drive to work in the perpetual darkness of a Nuclear Winter, how to make motor sport exciting when there's only two racing drivers left alive, and, in a world where all cars are bristling with weapons, how to survive the savage, explosive fury of a Doomsday M.O.T test. And amongst all the nuclear carnage, we also tackle the ultimate petrolhead's dilemma - what cars would you take for a final drive if there was only one barrel of petrol left on the planet? The explosions are huge, the cars are superb, so relax and enjoy. PS. This frightening vision of a post nuclear world is backed up by top scientists, in case you think it's us just cocking about.
On 4 September Frederick Albert Cook (1865-1940) arrived in Copenhagen on the ship 'Hans Egede'. He received a hero's welcome as the first man to set foot on the North Pole. He was greeted by the king, and given an honorary doctorate at the University of Copenhagen. Only a few days later, however, his endeavour was questioned, and in December the University rejected Cook's documentation. Carl Th. Dreyer is seen as one of the journalists taking notes. (DFI)
Documentary featuring a cavalcade of Northern comedy stars including the great Frank Randle, George Formby, Arthur Askey, Norman Evans and many more. The North of England has always enjoyed its own very particular brand of comedy, best seen today in Coronation Street. 80 years ago however Mancunian Studios produced feature films for the northern masses. Funny Up North tells the story of the Mancunian Studios, its eccentric owner John E Blakeley and its cavalcade of stars including such household names as Arthur Askey, Jimmy Jewell, George Formby and the legendary Frank Randle. Hosted by Professor Chris Lee, the authority on northern cinema, Funny Up North takes you on a journey from its humble beginnings to its sad demise in the 1960s.
A film by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, shot in late October 1888, showing pedestrians and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge.
A silent succession of black-and-white photographs of the city of Montreal.
The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman to appear in a motion picture within the United States. In the film, Carmencita is recorded going through a routine she had been performing at Koster & Bial's in New York since February 1890.
A group of Macedonian women are shown hard at work.
A hunter and his native helpers set up a trap, then taunt and shoot a panther. Next we see the locals skin the animal.
A new film compiled from the BFI National Archive's unparalleled holdings of early films of China, features films from 1900-48 filmed across China. The cinematic journey of Around China with a Movie Camera contains many films which may never have been seen in China, or at the very least not for over 70 years. These travelogues, newsreels and home movies were made by a diverse group of British and French filmmakers, some professionals, but mainly enthusiastic amateurs, including intrepid tourists, colonial-era expatriates and Christian missionaries.
The opening of the Kiel Canal in Germany by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 20 June 1895.
Footage of the German airship Hansa over Copenhagen.
A day-in-the-life documentary with Garry Marshall. Marshall was an executive producer for ABC and was responsible for such hit shows as Laverne and Shirley, Happy Days, and Mork and Mindy. This tape features several behind the scenes segments from these shows' productions. Marshall is also interviewed about the nature of television production and comedy.
Documentary footage of the author and his two daughters at home.
The film uses stop-frame animation to create maps on the screen, and showed the then-current military situation in the Dardanelles, using various maps to assist understanding. Small cardboard cut-outs show the deployment of men and ships. Intertitles explain tactics, and shelling explosions are illustrated by clouds of cotton wool.
“Getting to the top matters,” or so says veteran alpinist Mark Richey as he prepares to climb Saser Kangri II, at 7,518 meters the world’s second highest unclimbed mountain. In “The Old Breed”, co- director and climber Freddie Wilkinson takes the audience with him on a journey to the heart of one of the last unexplored patches of mountain wilderness: the war-inflicted eastern Karakoram range. As Richey and Steve Swenson, both in their 50s, push the limits of physical health and will power to be the first to claim this final summit, a gripping psychological thriller unfolds.