A celebration of the Irish punk/poet Shane MacGowan, lead singer and songwriter of The Pogues, that combines unseen archive footage from the band and MacGowan’s family with original animations.
Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz achieved groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing. His passion for open access ensnared him in a legal nightmare that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26.
The surprising and entertaining life of renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert (1942-2013): his early days as a freewheeling bachelor and Pulitzer Prize winner, his famously contentious partnership with Gene Siskel, his life-altering marriage, and his brave and transcendent battle with cancer.
Cicely Tyson was Emmy-nominated as Outstanding Actress for her portrait of a Chicago schoolteacher whose remarkable achievements with black children labelled "unteachable" were spotlighted in a 1979 "60 Minutes" segment about how she became disillusioned with the traditional school system and decided to work outside of it, transforming her students into young scholars through her unique teaching style.
Explore the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together.
Danton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies.
Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD, then worked for decades counseling drug abusers. Dock's soulful style defined 1970s baseball as he kept hitters honest and embarrassed the establishment. An ensemble cast of teammates, friends, and family investigate his life on the field, in the media, and out of the spotlight.
Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.
After an absence of five years, six times Mr Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a comeback and attempts to take the World Body Building Championship for the 7th time.
You've never heard of Jonathan Hoefler or Tobias Frere-Jones but you've seen their work. They run the most successful and respected type design studio in the world, making fonts used by the Wall Street Journal to the President of the United States.
The film tells the story of an intuitive, adventurous man who loved his country and being Brazilian. This man fought to be loyal to himself. His music is a transparent portrait of his genius, intuition, freedom, adventure and passion for Brazil.
The year 1901, a psychiatric hospital in the Russian partition. One of the patients is a political prisoner - Józef Piłsudski. The Polish underground independence movement is preparing their mission to rescue the famous activist. Piłsudski is freed, but he will not get back his idyll family life that he once knew. Uncertain years are coming, marked by revolutionary events, violence and betrayal. Pilsudski must find a way to man oeuvre on the boggy ground - between the conservative passivity of the Polish Socialist Party and the aggression against the invaders, resulting in retaliation. The year 1914 is coming, and the chance for restoring an independent country, independent Poland, is now or never.
Bob Robinson (1927-1996) and American photographer living and working in many parts of the world. Norway was one place. His book "Captured by the Norwegians" was published in 1958. Founding member of Manité - a photographic collective. Made the film about Sylvie Becker from East Berlin.
The film reconstructs with care and tactile and optical sensuality the path and legacy of a unique figure of woman and artist: from the turn of the sixties with the "Looms", the "Sewn Canvas", the "Breads", the "Scriptures", the collective action carried out with the citizens of Ulassai in 1981 ("Tying to the mountain"), which anticipates relational art, one of the main artistic currents of the late twentieth century, by a decade. The repertoire materials and landscapes integrate the chorus of testimonies from friends, collaborators, artists, and critics with the same mysterious serenity of the artist's voice.
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.
The Spanish sculptor meditates about his life and work
The life and times of sailor and adventurer Sir Peter Blake, one of New Zealand's favourite sons.
An overview of Cole Porter’s musical contributions to the film Broadway Melody of 1940.