In the silent film era, movies were never really silent. In the background of films that made figures like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton into cultural icons, were the musical giants whose compositions defined the very films that captivated a generation of movie-goers. Arthur Kleiner converses with the still-living legends from that bygone golden age of cinema.
Related Movies
Binka: To Tell a Story About Silence (2007)
A film pioneer, Binka Zhelyazkova was at the forefront of political cinema under Bulgaria's Communist dictatorship. Though she remained faithful to the communist ideals she became an avid critic of the regime and brought upon herself the wrath of its censorship. As a result four of her nine films were shelved and released to the public only after the fall of the regime in 1989, and Binka Zhelyazkova became known as the bad girl of Bulgarian cinema. A provocative portrait that reveals the pressures and complexities that arise when art is made under totalitarianism.
The Longing of Michael Dudok de Wit (2016)
Michael Dudok de Wit was asked by the famous Japanese animation studio Ghibli, to create his first feature length animated film. This would be Ghibli's first international co-production ever. Maarten Schmidt and Thomas Doebele followed Dudok de Wit and his team during the complex creative process for over two years. He is a perfectionist that is used to making his own hand drawn animated films by himself. For this new and timely production, he was assisted by a team of 20 to 30 artists from all over Europe.
A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2011)
George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back at The Empire Strikes Back 30 years later.
The Ability Exchange (2016)
A documentary about an innovative Disability Studies class at NYU Tandon School of Engineering where engineering students and adults with cerebral palsy learn to communicate, connect, and cultivate their abilities by making movies.
The Five Obstructions (2003)
Lars von Trier challenges his mentor, filmmaker Jørgen Leth, to remake Leth’s 1967 short film The Perfect Human five times, each with a different set of bizarre and challenging rules.
Ziegfeld Follies: An Embarrassment of Riches (2006)
A short documentary on the making of the 1946 film Ziegfeld Follies.
Till The Clouds Roll By: Real to Reel (2006)
A short documentary on Jerome Kern and the making of Till the Clouds Roll By.
Three Little Words: Two Swell Guys (2006)
A short documentary on the lives of songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby and the making of the film, Three Little Words.
The Invisible Subtitler (2013)
The Invisible Subtitler is an independent documentary about the use of subtitles in cinema and the life of subtitlers themselves, focusing on the economic issues faced by the subtitlers and how they are currently invisible in the globalized business of the film industry.
The Man Who Makes the Difference (1968)
Promotional documentary for the MGM film "Ice Station Zebra" focusing on the career and cinematographic innovations of cameraman John Stephens.
Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film (2000)
A short documentary about the Making Of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943).
It's Getting Weirder! The Making of "House II" (2017)
Retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Ethan Wiley, Sean S. Cunningham, Arye Gross and Jonathan Stark, among others.
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Ça c'est l'amour (2003)
This documentary short subject for DVD gives a look at the making of Cole Porter's MGM classic, "Les Girls". Hosted by Finnish film legend and star of "Les Girls", Taina Elg tells of working with Gene Kelly, Kay Kendall and George Cukor on one of the last great MGM musicals.
F. You All: The Uwe Boll Story (2018)
Honing his craft as an indie filmmaker in Germany in the early 90s, Uwe Boll never could have imagined the life that lay before him. From working with Oscar-winning actors and making films with US$60million budgets to having actors publicly disparage him and online petitions demanding he stop making films, Boll continued to work; he has a filmography of 32 features, a career that has led to his new life as a successful high-end restauranteur. Already a cult legend, he will be remembered forever in the film world; for some, as a modern-day Ed Wood, who made films so bad, they're good, while for others, a prolific filmmaker who came from a small town in Germany and never compromised his integrity while forging his own unique Hollywood trajectory.
That Guy Dick Miller (2014)
Documentary about veteran character actor Dick Miller, whose career in and outside of Hollywood has spanned almost 200 films across six decades, featuring a diverse range of interviews with directors, co-stars, and contemporaries.
Mickey Reece’s Belle Île (2020)
Against a collage of excerpts that span thirty-four films, a filmmaker reflects on the community he has built over more then a decade of low-budget movie making in Oklahoma City.
All the Colors of Giallo (2019)
'Giallo' is Italian for 'yellow', the color of the lurid pulp novels that inspired one of the most intense, extreme and influential genres in movie history. In this unprecedented collection, experience the full chronological evolution of giallo with more than 100 rare and classic trailers from such masters as Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino, Antonio Margheriti, Umberto Lenzi and many more. Then slip on black leather gloves and set the mood with a Bonus CD of legendary soundtrack music from composers that include Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani, Bruno Nicolai, Stelvio Cipriani and others, along with all-new featurettes that thrust even deeper into the genre. "But be warned," says Gizmodo.com, "Once you start going down the blood- slicked giallo rabbit hole, you may become dangerously obsessed."
Cinema Futures (2016)
Analog celluloid strips are disappearing. Is film dying, or just changing? Are the world's film archives on the brink of a dark age? Renowned filmmakers, museum curators, historians, and engineers help dramatize the future of film and the cinema in the age of digital moving pictures.
Heckler (2007)
HECKLER is a comedic feature documentary exploring the increasingly critical world we live in. After starring in a film that was critically bashed, Jamie Kennedy takes on hecklers and critics and ask some interesting questions of people such as George Lucas, Bill Maher, Mike Ditka, Rob Zombie, Howie Mandel and many more. This fast moving, hilarious documentary pulls no punches as you see an uncensored look at just how nasty and mean the fight is between those in the spotlight and those in the dark.