Celebrating the splendor and grandeur of the great cinemas of the United States, built when movies were the acme of entertainment and the stories were larger than life, as were the venues designed to show them. The film also tracks the eventual decline of the palaces, through to today’s current preservation efforts. A tribute to America’s great art form and the great monuments created for audiences to enjoy them in.
The Dinosaur and the Baby (1967)
An hour-long discussion between Fritz Lang and Jean-Luc Godard in which they discuss a variety of art forms, the role of the cinema, their collaboration together, and much more. (Filmed in 1964 but released for TV in 1967.)
The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)
A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.
Blood of 1000 Virgins (2013)
The question of "who hunts virgins" and more will be stripped down and explored in the sexiest trailers hosted by Playboy's Nikki Leigh.
Grizzly Man (2005)
Werner Herzog's documentary film about the "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one man's attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
The Power of Utopia: Living with Le Corbusier in Chandigarh (2023)
With the construction of the Indian planned city of Chandigarh, the Swiss and French architect Le Corbusier completed his life's work 70 years ago. Chandigarh is a controversial synthesis of the arts, a bold utopia of modernity. The film accompanies four cultural workers who live in the planned city and reflects on Le Corbusier's legacy, utopian urban ideas and the cultural differences between East and West in an atmospherically dense narrative.
Cinema in Russia (1979)
Documentary film about early years of Russian cinema: its first directors, cameramen, producers and actors. Includes rare fragments of pre-revolutionary feature films, newsreels and Starewicz's animation.
In Search of Tomorrow (2022)
A nostalgic journey through ’80s Sci-Fi-films, exploring their impact and relevance today, told by the artists who made them and by those who were inspired to turn their visions into reality.
Apollo: The Forgotten Films (2019)
Recently discovered footage reveals the secret history of NASA's first landing on the moon, and using this brand-new evidence, former astronauts and experts challenge everything known about the Apollo missions.
Robert De Niro: Hiding in the Spotlight (2023)
Robert De Niro is famous for his award-winning portrayals of gangsters, criminals and socially disturbed men who show surprising traces of vulnerability. By analyzing his astonishing roles in iconic films through the years, the documentary reveal the complex actor behind these extreme characters. Because the public knows little about the man who is largely silent about his own life and emotions, this film tries to unwraps one of the most fascinating and enigmatic American actors of all time for the audience. For this the filmakers use clips from his feature films, archive footage of his sparse interviews and probe into his background to illustrate De Niro’s methods for becoming the characters he plays and the reasons he’s able to do so. All of this culminates in a rare exposé of the genesis of the hidden pain that enables the masterful actor to bring such intensity to the big screen.
The Memory of Cinema: A Film About Fernando Méndez-Leite (2023)
A look at the life and work of Spanish filmmaker and film critic Fernando Méndez-Leite, as he writes his memoirs and a novel with autobiographical resonances.
Fulci Talks (2021)
Rome, Italy, June 1993. Antonietta De Lillo and Marcello Garofalo interview legendary Italian film director Lucio Fulci (1927-96).
Straight to VHS (2021)
Act of Violence Upon a Young Journalist is a film shot in 1988 and released on VHS in 1989; a mysterious cult work of Uruguayan cinema surrounded by strange theories about Manuel Lamas, its unknown creator. Until now.
Electronic Poem (1958)
Poème Électronique is an 8-minute piece of electronic music by composer Edgard Varèse, written for the Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. The Philips corporation commissioned Le Corbusier to design the pavilion, which was intended as a showcase of their engineering progress. The pavilion was shaped like a stomach, with a narrow entrance and exit on either side of a large central space. As the audience entered and exited the pavilion, the electronic composition Concret PH by Iannis Xenakis (who also acted as Le Corbusier's architectural assistant for the pavilion's design) was heard. Poème électronique was synchronized to a film of black and white photographs selected by Le Corbusier which touched on vague themes of human existence.
Handbook of Movie Theaters' History (2021)
Handbook of Movie Theaters' History is a documentary about the history, the development in the present days and the future of movie theaters in the city of Turin, Italy. It mixes the documentary language with comedy and fiction, and is enriched by interviews to some of the most important voices of Turin cinematography. The film follows the evolution of movie theaters by enlightening its main milestones: the pre-cinema experiences in the late 19th Century, the colossals and the movie cathedrals of the silent era, the arthouse theaters, the National Museum of Cinema, the Torino Film Festival, the movie theaters system today and the main hypothesis about its future. The mission of Handbook of Movie Theaters' History is to explore and give back to the audience a deep reflection about the identity and the value of movie theater, in its social and anthropological role and as a mass media, and to analyze the experience of the viewer.
Hannibal Lecter, l'icône du mal par excellence (2010)
Everyone knows his name. The novels on the life and crimes of Hannibal Lecter are a worldwide phenomenon, and so are the movies and the TV show. Not mentionning the parodies, the plays... and even a wine named after him! He has become an icon of evil, but also of intelligence and refinement. Let's look back on the incredible Hannibal Lecter phenomenon.
Public Enemies (2009)
Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis, the task of bringing him in dead or alive.
Passion Fanny Ardant (2023)
A portrait of the famous French actress Fanny Ardant, who has worked with great figures of cinema such as Agnès Varda, Alain Resnais, Michelangelo Antonioni, Sydney Pollack and, above all, François Truffaut (1932-84), with whom she had a sentimental relationship and whose death marked the rest of her life.