In 2010 David Crowley, an Iraq veteran, aspiring filmmaker and charismatic up-and-coming voice in fringe politics, began production on his film Gray State. Set in a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government, the film’s crowd funded trailer was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning online community of libertarians, Tea Party activists and members of the nascent alt-right. In January of 2015, Crowley was found dead with his family in their suburban Minnesota home. Their shocking deaths quickly become a cause célèbre for conspiracy theorists who speculate that Crowley was assassinated by a shadowy government concerned about a film and filmmaker that was getting too close to the truth about their aims.
Mob Stories (1993)
They're the real 'goodfellas': 'Joe Dogs' Iannuzzi, Tommy DelGiorno, 'Big Dom' Lofaro. For the first time on television, Mafia turncoats give personal accounts of life inside the Mob. In this shocking documentary, five high-ranking informants tell tales of murder, brutality, greed and vanity--and why they broke the Sicilian code of honor. The first generation of the American Mafia stood on the foundation of loyalty and a code of silence. The second and third generations traded their Sicilian traditions for government protection and instant personal gain. MOB STORIES presents five chilling narratives from five members of the underworld, most of whom are overwhelmed with fear and paranoia with the exception of “Fat Jackie”, a loyal lifelong mobster. Father and son team, Alan and Marc Levin, direct and produce an honest and personal portrayal of the demise of the Mafia.
Emulsional Rescue: Revealing 'The Godfather' (2008)
We hear from Coppola, Spielberg, director of photography Gordon Willis, consulting restoration cinematographer Allen Daviau, film archivist Robert A. Harris, Paramount Post Production executive VP Martin Cohen, MPI senior technical advisor Daniel Rosen, MPI scanning technician Chris Gillaspie, senior digital artist Steven A. Sanchez, digital artist Valerie V. McMahon, and MPI technical director and senior colorist Jan Yarbrough as they offer interesting facts about the original cinematography, details on the restoration of the three films.
How Animated Cartoons Are Made (1919)
Wallace Carlson walks viewers through the production of an animated short at Bray Studios.
Takashi Murakami: The Art of Film (2015)
A behind the scenes look at the making of Jellyfish Eyes by first-time feature-film director, the world-renowned artist, Takashi Murakami.
The Making of Rock & Rule (1983)
Documentary on the making of the cult classic Nelvana animated film, "Rock & Rule." Featuring interviews with Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Iggy Pop, Maurice White, and Director Clive Smith.
Luchino Visconti (1999)
A chronological look at the creative life of Luchino Visconti (1906-1976). It examines his theatricality, role in the neorealist movement, use of melodrama, and relation to decadence. It touches on the impact of a fabulously wealthy childhood, his writing for "Cinema," his politics, his work with Renoir, his appreciation of Thomas Mann, and his deep knowledge of literature and the arts. Visconti moves constantly between film and the theater, staging plays provocatively, working with Maria Callas at La Scala, and shooting films in theaters. Clips from his films and interviews with actors, crew members, and critics provide details for this portrait of creativity.
Stale Popcorn & Sticky Floors (2023)
Take a front row seat as we sit down to chat with some of the creators and stars of the best and most beloved exploitation and grindhouse films of the 1970s and 80s. Featuring interviews with John Dugan (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Craig Reed (The Re-Animator), John Russo (Night of the Living Dead), Lynn Lowry (The Crazies), Carl Crew (Blood Diner), and many more independent horror veterans.
Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet at Work on a Film Based on Franz Kafka’s Amerika (1983)
This film is at once a self-portrait and an homage to Jean-Marie Straub, Farocki's role model and former teacher at the Film Academy.
Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022)
A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.
Making F.R.I.E.N.D.s: Behind-the scenes of 'Jellyfish Eyes' (2015)
Documentary giving an extensive look into the design and development of the creatures created for artist Takashi Murakami's first feature film, Jellyfish Eyes.
My Own Normal (2024)
Filmmaker Alexander Freeman who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of two, was raised by his loving and supportive parents but the one thing he has always wanted was to be in a loving relationship with a woman and to have a family of his own. When Alexander meets his life partner Orina by chance at a film screening his life changes forever for the better, especially when his daughter Maya is born. As Alexander and Orina raise Maya, have a commitment ceremony, start their lives together, and struggle with life's challenges, Alexander's parents learn to accept that Alexander can live a normal life independently and can be a great father despite their original views on the pregnancy.
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.
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.
Beyond the mall (2010)
Is there an audience for Latin American movies? These are some of the questions posed by an Ecuadorian filmmaker whose latest movie was a commercial flop. He embarks on a query to find answers to his questions and relief for his despair. His research leads him to a giant contraband market in the port city of Guayaquil, where pirated movies from all over the world are sold for one dollar each. Here, he discovers a number of Ecuadorian low budget movies produced by amateurs, with titles he had never heard of before: from action packed productions to evangelical melodramas.
Keep Smiling (1980)
Family picnics should not be like this; bugging devices, men with X-ray eyes. Mary doesn't understand what terrifies Simon, nor the bizarre events of the next six months.
Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film (2000)
A short documentary about the Making Of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943).
Love Kills (1991)
Glamorous fashion photographer Rebecca is getting even. Angered by her husband's infidelity, she takes a lover - a mysterious hunk she fist met during a photo shoot. He's exciting. He's handsome. And, after a night of lovemaking, he confesses he's a hit man hired by her husband to kill her. The stranger also says he's had a change of heart and wants to be Rebecca's protector. But Rebecca's husband, a renowned psychologist, insists the man is a former patient with a hidden, twisted agenda. Both men can't be right. Both could be lying. As the circle of suspense closes in on her, one thing is clear to Rebecca. Any choice she makes could be more than wrong...it could be fatal.
La Grotte aux loups (1980)
A postman in a small mountain village finds a woman and her son both dead in the "grotte aux loups" (cave of wolves). He soon begins to realize than it's not natural death, and that someone in the village in behind their murder, while tragic events occur.
A Roll of the Dice: The Capeman on Broadway (1998)
A made for TV documentary about the creation of Paul Simon and Derek Walcott's controversial and ultimately flop of a musical, "The Capeman". Explores the story of the production of the musical as well also the story of Salvador Agron and the Capeman murders.