The Man Who Saved Ben-Hur explores the filmmakers relationship with his 89-year old second cousin, Johnny Alarimo, at the end of his life. A charismatic loner, Johnny spent a dazzling career behind the scenes in show business without never forming any lasting relationships. Destine to die that way, the film is a subtle dance between a subject who wants to control his legacy, and a filmmaker/family-member who simply wants to know him.
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga (1983)
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga is a 1983 television documentary special that originally aired on PBS. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the original Star Wars trilogy, with particular emphasis on the final film, Return of the Jedi. Narrated by actor Mark Hamill, the documentary was written by Richard Schickel who had written the previous television documentaries The Making of Star Wars (1977) and SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Salò: Yesterday and Today (2002)
A thirty-three-minute documentary featuring interviews with director Pier Paolo Pasolini, actor-filmmaker Jean-Claude Biette, and Pasolini friend Ninetto Davoli.
Highly Classified: The World of 007 (1998)
His world is full of glamour, mystery and intrigue and now you get to be a part of it! Let gadget wizard Q (Desmond Llewelyn) be your guide to the ubiquitous lifestyle and thrilling adventures of the world's most notorious secret agent. The undercover team will take you behind-the-scenes as they infiltrate the highly classified worlds of the man everyone knows as Bond -- James Bond. Hosted by Desmond Llewelyn who plays Secret Service gadget master Q. Boasts rare behind-the-scenes footage of spectacular stunts and explosive action sequences. Reveals the special effects magic behind the remotely-driven BMW, the rooftop motorcycle chase and death-defying skysrcaper jump. Interviews with Tomorrow Never Dies' director Roger Spottiswoode and stars Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher and Judi Dench.
The Cyberpunk Educator (2003)
A 2003 documentary study of mainstream Cyberpunk films of the 1980s created by director Andrew J. Holden. The film uses the structure of literary theorist Northrop Frye to describe the common, repeating stories in Western culture, and how Cyberpunk can be defined and understood according to that analysis, with a focus toward American film industry portrayal of race, gender, and government.
John Ford: The Man Who Invented America (2019)
Over a 50-year career and more than a hundred movies, filmmaker John Ford (1894-1973) forged the legend of the Far West. By giving a face to the underprivileged, from humble cowboys to persecuted minorities, he revealed like no one else the great social divisions that existed and still exist in the United States. More than four decades after his death, what remains of his legacy and humanistic values in the memory of those who love his work?
40 Days to Learn Film (2020)
For just forty days, filmmaker and writer Mark Cousins embarks on a peculiar journey in order to explore topics as the passion for cinema and certain aspects related to making films as style, ideas, emotions and practicalities; an ambitious exploration of the universal language of cinema by analyzing pieces of work that cross every artistic and cultural boundaries.
Portrait of Carlos Saura (2004)
A documentary on the life and career of the Spanish auteur Carlos Saura.
Trespassing Bergman (2013)
In the sixties, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) built a house on the remote island of Fårö, located in the Baltic Sea, left Stockholm and went to live there. When he died, the house was preserved. A group of very special cinephiles, came from all over the world, travel to Fårö in search of the genius and his legacy. (An abridged version of Bergmans video, 2012.)
Auge in Auge - Eine deutsche Filmgeschichte (2008)
This is not merely another film about cinema history; it is a film about the love of cinema, a journey of discovery through over a century of German film history. Ten people working in film today remember their favourite films of yesteryear.
Laurel & Hardy: Their Lives and Magic (2011)
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.
Chaplin Today: 'Modern Times' (2003)
Award-winning filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne profess their love for the classic "Modern Times." The directors expose their views on the many aspects of the film, Chaplin's brilliancy and they also provide interesting details about the making of Chaplin's masterpiece.
His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (2010)
A retrospective documentary about the groundbreaking horror series, Friday the 13th, featuring interviews with cast and crew from the twelve films spanning 3 decades.
Paparazzi (1964)
Paparazzi explores the relationship between Brigitte Bardot and groups of invasive photographers attempting to photograph her while she works on the set of Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris (Contempt). Through video footage of Bardot, interviews with the paparazzi, and still photos of Bardot from magazine covers and elsewhere, director Rozier investigates some of the ramifications of international movie stardom, specifically the loss of privacy to the paparazzi. The film explains the shooting of the film on the island of Capri, and the photographers' valiant, even foolishly dangerous, attempts to get a photograph of Bardot.
Life Itself (2014)
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.
The Pixar Story (2007)
A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.
Making Dazed (2005)
This documentary reunites the cast of the 1993 film "Dazed and Confused", and features behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film. A decade after the hit comedy's release, director Richard Linklater reunited the cast -- Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey and Adam Goldberg -- to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the film that helped launch their careers. Now you can watch the cast look back on the movie that changed their lives and on the decade that has passed since.