Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the “DP” (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
You May Also Like
Twenty years ago, a young American hiker named Chris McCandless, the accomplished son of successful middle class parents, was found dead in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness and became the subject of the best-selling book and movie “Into the Wild.” Now, PBS retraces Chris McCandless’ steps to try to piece together why he severed all ties with his past, burnt or gave away all his money, changed his name and headed into the Denali Wilderness. McCandless’ own letters, released for the first time, as well as new and surprising interviews, probe the mystery that still lies at the heart of a story that has become part of the American literary canon and compels so many to this day.
Scottish animators Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson star in and co-direct this inventive documentary. Albeit framed as a film for Will’s mother, we too are invited to witness how Will deals with the grief of his mother’s cancer. The duo work on their animations and face the frustrations of trying to make this documentary. Whilst alone, Will turns to DOM, the animated cat that lives on his laptop screen.
Based on his book, Michael Waltrip recounts the 2001 Daytona 500 and the lighting-fast transition from elation to mourning – as he took the checkered flag to win while Dale Earnhardt, his friend and team owner, crashed in Turn 4 behind him. Earnhardt’s death and the events of the race had a profound effect on Waltrip, shown in this documentary.
The making of a serious, Canadian art house film descends into Hollywood farce when its producer is forced to compromise his vision to accommodate his drug-addled star, his leading lady and his venal backers.
100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe Cross is at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. In the mirror he saw a 310lb man whose gut was bigger than a beach ball and a path laid out before him that wouldn’t end well— with one foot already in the grave, the other wasn’t far behind. FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD is an inspiring film that chronicles Joe’s personal mission to regain his health.
The answer to feeding the world’s expanding population may be smaller than you think.
A thrilling concert film that documents Jeff Lynne’s ELO playing their triumphant concert for a massive audience at Wembley Stadium on June 24, 2017. We see Lynne and his remarkable musical ensemble filling Wembley Stadium with one of the greatest rock & roll spectacles of all time, complete with bells, whistles and spaceships, and most importantly, many of the most beloved songs of our lifetime.
How do you grasp an event as enormous as September 11? At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, you start small: A briefcase, a Blackberry, a victim’s sweatshirt, and a hero’s nametag. Simple objects that tell personal stories, recounted in the donors’ own words. Stories from New York, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA remind us that the legacy of 9/11 is not fear — it’s friendship, courage, and ordinary people pushed by extraordinary circumstances.
From 2011 to 2013, hundreds of regulations were passed restricting access to abortion in America. Reproductive rights advocates refer to these as “TRAP” laws, or Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers. TRAP laws have swept across the country, especially the South, where most clinics are in a desperate battle for survival. In the trenches of this war on women’s rights are the doctors, clinic owners, and resolute staff who refuse to give up. Trapped interweaves the personal stories of a fearless physician who crisscrosses the country assuring that medical services are available, the stalwart women and men who run the clinics, the lawyers leading the charge to eradicate these laws, and ultimately to the women they are all determined to help
On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York’s World Trade Center twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit’s “highest” achievement.
Why is it we never actually see a ghost in the dozens of documentaries out there, yet people claim they see them daily. A non believer, and his film friends seek out to find the truth.
Not Available right now
