Primary (1960)

Director
Robert Drew

Main cast
John F. Kennedy; Hubert Humphrey

Genres
Documentary

Description
Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occuring.


Similar movies

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the Clinton for President campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.
In Alex Jones' 11th feature documentary, made in 2004, Alex documents the major candidates in the staged 2004 United States presidential election.
Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Square, a new film by Jehane Noujaim (Control Room; Rafea: Solar Mama), looks at the hard realities faced day-to-day by people working to build Egypt’s new democracy. Catapulting us into the action spread across 2011 and 2012, the film provides a kaleidoscopic, visceral experience of the struggle. Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the heart and soul of the film, which follows several young activists. Armed with values, determination, music, humor, an abundance of social media, and sheer obstinacy, they know that the thorny path to democracy only began with Hosni Mubarek’s fall. The life-and-death struggle between the people and the power of the state is still playing out.
A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. Best of Enemies delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, 'What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?'
A filmmaker is granted unprecedented access to a political candidate and his family as he runs for President.
By the People: The Election of Barack Obama is a documentary film produced by Edward Norton broadcast in November 2009 on HBO, which follows Barack Obama and various members of his campaign team, including David Axelrod, through the two years leading up to the United States presidential election on November 4th, 2008.
The story of João "Jango" Goulart, the Brazilian left-wing president deposed by the military.
A leftist revolutionary or a reformist democrat? A committed Marxist or a constitutionalist politician? An ethical and moral man or, as Richard Nixon called him, a "son of a bitch"? In SALVADOR ALLENDE, acclaimed Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán (The Battle of Chile and Chile, Obstinate Memory) returns to his native country thirty years after the 1973 military coup that overthrew Chile's Popular Unity government to examine the life of its leader, Salvador Allende, both as a politician and a man.
Comprised of two interviews with President Barack Obama conducted both before and after the 2016 Presidential election, The 44th President: In His Own Words is the President’s first-hand account of his time in office–his successes, his failures, his unfinished business–and what he hopes will be his legacy. Including additional interviews with members of his staff, Congress, and the press, The 44th President: In His Own Words is a unique examination of the Obama presidency from the inside out, and a profound and candid historical record that will stand for generations.
A film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda.
Actor Stephen Tobolowsky has acted in over 200 TV shows and films over the past 40 years, possessing one of the most dazzlingly diverse filmographies on the planet. But even more compelling than the stories he's been apart of onscreen are those he tells offscreen. In 'The Primary Instinct,' Stephen plays himself and uses the art of storytelling to take the audience through a riveting and moving journey about life, love, and Hollywood. Along the way, he just may answer one of the questions that's dogged humanity since the beginning of time: Why do we tell stories in the first place?
ON JUNE 4th 1989, CHINA WAS CHANGED FOREVER. Beijing, May, 1989. the world watched as a hundred students became a thousand, as thousands became a million - and a nation starved of freedom, cried out for a taste of democracy. In this compelling film, director Michael Apted (Nell, Gorillas in the Mist), captures the power and passion of the Tiananmen Square uprising through a unique combination of newsreel footage, dramatic re-enactments and extensive input from the actual student leaders. Exploring their personal histories, reflections and thoughts on the future. MOVING THE MOUNTAIN paints a portrait of courage, conviction, and commitment that the NEW YORK POST calls, "A soaring - and sobering - tribute to the human spirit."
The film MISS REPRESENTATION exposes how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. Explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths.
The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way, unleashing unlimited creative opportunites. But does democratized culture mean better art, film, music and literature or is true talent instead flooded and drowned in the vast digital ocean of mass culture? Is it cultural democracy or mediocrity? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.
A fictional investigative documentary looks back on the "assassination" of George W. Bush and attempts to answer the question of who committed the murder. Perhaps less morbid and disturbing to watch now than during Bush's presidency, the film doesn't address Bush's policies at all, instead focusing on the way a nation assigns blame in a time of crisis.
Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity.
Koch Brothers Exposed is a hard-hitting investigation of the 1% at its very worst. This full-length documentary film on Charles and David Koch—two of the world’s richest and most powerful men—is the latest from acclaimed director Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed, Rethink Afghanistan). The billionaire brothers bankroll a vast network of organizations that work to undermine the interests of the 99% on issues ranging from Social Security to the environment to civil rights. This film uncovers the Kochs’ corruption—and points the way to how Americans can reclaim their democracy.
In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed ceramics workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act - the take - has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. Armed only with slingshots and an abiding faith in shop-floor democracy, the workers face off against the bosses, bankers and a whole system that sees their beloved factories as nothing more than scrap metal for sale.
A look at the work of two stand-up comics, Jerry Seinfeld and a lesser-known newcomer, detailing the effort and frustration behind putting together a successful act and career while living a life on the road.
Wild Man Blues is a 1998 documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple, about the musical avocation of actor/director/comic Woody Allen. The film takes its name from a jazz composition sometimes attributed to Jelly Roll Morton and sometimes to Louis Armstrong and recorded by both (among others). Allen's love of early 20th century New Orleans music is depicted through his 1996 tour of Europe with his New Orleans Jazz Band. Allen has played clarinet with this band for over 25 years. Although Allen's European tour is the film's primary focus, it was also notable as the first major public showcase for Allen's relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.
The Comedians of Comedy is an occasional stand-up comedy tour featuring Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford that was documented in a 2005 film and 2005 Comedy Central television series of the same name, both directed by Michael Blieden.
No film-maker has ever before been given permission to follow a Dutch election campaign with the camera. On the basis of a few contractual conditions, film-maker Niek Koppen was given a glimpse into the 'kitchen' of the Labour Party election campaign in 1998. From the making of the publicity photos by Anton Corbijn to the celebration of the election victory on 6 May 1998. In the Prime Minister's residence, Koppen recorded how decisions were taken during intimate discussions, phone calls and meals. The film focuses on the arduous cooperation between the veterans Wim Kok and Jacques Wallage and the much younger campaign director Karin Adelmund. De keuken van Kok (Working for Labour) provides a picture of the emotions, ambitions, tactics and the ups and downs of a long and tiring process. (filmcommission.nl)
Courageous democracy activists in five countries (Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe) risk it all to bring freedom to their people.
German national election campaign 2002: Henrick Wichmann from the conservative party is fighting a lost battle in the Uckermark.
Russian hints that the country could hand over America's most wanted whistle blower as a favor to Donald Trump place Edward Snowden in even greater danger than before. A secret meeting between global freedom and civil rights campaigners Snowden, Birgitta Jonsdottir and Larry Lessig turns into a freewheeling discussion about the future of democracy.
The documentary's title translates as "to be and to have", the two auxiliary verbs in the French language. It is about a primary school in the commune of Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France, the population of which is just over 200. The school has one small class of mixed ages (from four to twelve years), with a dedicated teacher, Georges Lopez, who shows patience and respect for the children as we follow their story through a single school year.
THE ELECTION CAMPAIGNERS tries to analyse the phenomenon of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ). The party’s great success is generally regarded as a result of its leader’s demonic charisma. But this film doesn’t focus on Jörg Haider. Instead it gives a face to the people who make Haider’s election victories possible, taking a clear stance, yet refraining from commentary or judgement. It is up to the viewers to draw their own conclusions.
During a two-day period before and after the University of Alabama integration crisis, the film uses five camera crews to follow President John F. Kennedy, attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, Alabama governor George Wallace, deputy attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach and the students Vivian Malone and James Hood. As Wallace has promised to personally block the two black students from enrolling in the university, the JFK administration discusses the best way to react to it, without rousing the crowd or making Wallace a martyr for the segregationist cause.
Kevin Spacey, Sam Mendes and the Bridge Project Company go on the road in NOW: in the Wings on a World Stage. In over 200 performances, and across 3 continents, Kevin and the troupe reveal some of the most intimate moments behind the scenes of their staging of Shakespeare's classic tragedy, "Richard III." Their story and experiences weave around, and reflect on, excerpts from the play from their various locations, from Epidaurus to Doha, and provides a great opportunity for those who have never experienced Spacey on stage to witness his immerse and captivating interpretation of Richard III. NOW chronicles the first collaboration between Spacey and Mendes since both won Academy Awards® for their work on American Beauty.
This moving portrait of legendary comedian Richard Pryor chronicles his life from his troubled youth in Peoria, Illinois, to his meteoric rise as one of the most respected comic actors of the 20th century. Often misunderstood during the height of his celebrity, the late superstar has never been profiled this extensively. Marina Zenovich’s revealing and entertaining film lays bare the demons with which he struggled and reminds us just how daring and dangerous artistic freedom can be.
A road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.
All Together Now details the story behind the unique partnership between The Beatles & Cirque du Soleil that resulted in the creation & launch of "LOVE," the stage production still wowing audiences at The Mirage in Las Vegas, & the double Grammy®-winning album of the same name. Program contents include All Together Now documentary, Changing The Music: A behind-the-scenes look at the decision making process for the "LOVE" concept and music production, Music In The Theatre: A look at the process of creating the "LOVE" show's unique audio design, and Making 'LOVE:' A backstage pass to explore the design of "LOVE," including the art direction, costumes, props, screen imagery and the use of The Beatles' voices in the "LOVE" stage production and its soundtrack.
A probing investigation into the lies, greed and corruption surrounding D.C. super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his cronies.
A documentary about the 1992 U.S. presidential election based on pirated satellite feeds.
Eight years in the making, The Joe Show is a shocking and wildly entertaining documentary about America’s most controversial Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, and his ringmaster’s approach to modern media, politics and law enforcement. Joe's desire for fame changes democracy forever and the voters cheer as ratings soar. The Joe Show explores how Joe uses media and his role as Sheriff to make himself the most famous law enforcement officer in the world. Racism, sex crimes, illegal immigration, first amendment rights, deaths at the hands of his employees – even Obama’s birth certificate – are all issues Joe faces and spins. Featuring Larry King, Steven Seagal, Hugh Downs, Ted Nugent, Dan Ariely and Noam Chomsky A movie that will engage and enlighten both Joe’s detractors and supporters, the Joe Show takes a hard yet balanced look at how democracy can survive when persuading voters becomes more important than protecting them.
There are limits to jokes? What is the politically incorrect humor? A joke has the power to offend? It is these issues that 'Laughter of Others' discusses interviewing personalities such as comedians Danilo Gentili and Rafinha Bastos, cartoonist Laerte and Congressman Jean Wyllys, among others. The documentary delves into the world of Stand Up Comedy to discuss the fine line between comedy and offense, between legal and what creates endless lawsuits.
João Moreira Salles, perhaps the finest documentary filmmaker of his generation, had complete access to Lula during the hectic 2002 campaign season. Salles fills his film with intimate behind-the-scenes footage of the campaign trail, focusing on the “intermissions” between the big public events that dominate campaign coverage. Lula’s candor and charisma comes across whether he’s bantering at his regular barbershop or debating with his campaign team on a cramped private plane. Intermissions not only provides great insight into one of the most fascinating world leaders of our time—Esquire named him “one of the most influential people of the 21st century”—but it ranks alongside The War Room as one of the most perceptive and candid political documentaries ever. -Description via Wexner Center Film/Video
The story of Myo Myint, a political prisoner, who made the transformation from being a soldier in Burma's junta to a pro-democracy activist.
It is well known in economics academia that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum in 1900 is loaded with powerful symbols of monetary reform which were the core of the Populist movement and the 1896 and 1900 president bid of Democrat William Jennings Bryan. The yellow brick road (gold standard), the emerald city of Oz (greenback money), even Dorothy’s silver slippers (changed to ruby slippers for the movie version) were the symbol of Baum’s and Bryan’s belief that adding silver coinage to gold would provide much needed money to a depression-strapped, 1890s America. We believe Baum’s symbols represent the only solution to relieve the growing economic hardship here in America – and the rest of the world. Practically speaking, 2009 marks the 70th anniversary of the 1939 MGM release of the The Wizard of Oz movie, so interest will be very high. Even Oz websites put up by kids get millions of hits.
One hundred superstar comedians tell the same very, VERY dirty, filthy joke--one shared privately by comics since Vaudeville.
A filmed account of a bitterly violent miner strike.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Filmed over the last six months of the 2000 Presidential election, Phillip Seymour Hoffman starts documenting the campaign at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, but spends more time outside, in the street protests and police actions than in the orchestrated conventions. Hoffman shows an obvious distaste for money politics and the conservative right. He looks seedier and more disillusioned the campaign progresses. Eventually Hoffman seems most energized by the Ralph Nader campaign as an alternative to the nearly indistinguishable major parties. The high point of the film are the comments by Barney Frank who says that marches and demonstrations are largely a waste of time, and that the really effective political players such as the NRA and the AARP never bother with walk ins, sit-ins, shoot-ins or shuffles. In the interview with Jesse Jackson, Hoffman is too flustered to ask all of his questions.
An in-depth look at the Canadian rock band Rush, chronicling the band's musical evolution from their progressive rock sound of the '70s to their current heavy rock style
In the spirit of the old west variety shows, Vaughn played host to the ensemble of comedians and performed improvisational sketches with surprise celebrity and musical guests. The film chronicles the journey of Vaughn and the comedians as travel over 6,000 miles and perform 30 shows in 30 consecutive nights in cities across the nation.
In this tour de force filmed lecture, Slavoj Žižek lucidly and compellingly reflects on belief - which takes him from Father Christmas to democracy - and on the various forms that belief takes, drawing on Lacanian categories of thought. In a radical dismissal of todays so called post-political era, he mobilizes the paradox of universal truth urging us to dare to enact the impossible. It is a characteristic virtuoso performance, moving promiscuously from subject to subject but keeping the larger argument in view.
Forty years before WikiLeaks and the NSA scandal, there was Media, Pennsylvania. In 1971, eight activists plotted an intricate break-in to the local FBI offices to leak stolen documents and expose the illegal surveillance of ordinary Americans in an era of anti-war activism. In this riveting heist story, the perpetrators reveal themselves for the first time, reflecting on their actions and raising broader questions surrounding security leaks in activism today.
This documentary details the case that the 1989 invasion of Panama by the US was motivated not by the need to protect American soldiers, restore democracy or even capture Noriega. It was to force Panama to submit the will of the United States after Noriega had exhausted his usefulness.
The Weight of Chains is a Canadian documentary film that takes a critical look at the role that the US, NATO and the EU played in the tragic breakup of a once peaceful and prosperous European state - Yugoslavia. The film, bursting with rare stock footage never before seen by Western audiences, is a creative first-hand look at why the West intervened in the Yugoslav conflict, with an impressive roster of interviews with academics, diplomats, media personalities and ordinary citizens of the former Yugoslav republics. This film also presents positive stories from the Yugoslav wars - people helping each other regardless of their ethnic background, stories of bravery and self-sacrifice.
This film, shot by 100 amateur camera operators, tells the story of the enormous street protests in Seattle, Washington in November 1999, against the World Trade Organization summit being held there. Vowing to oppose, among other faults, the WTO's power to arbitrally overrule nations' environmental, social and labour policies in favour of unbridled corporate greed, protestors from all around came out in force to make their views known and stop the summit. Against them is a brutal police force and a hostile media as well as the stain of a minority of destructively overzealous comrades. Against all odds, the protesters bravely faced fierce opposition to take back the rightful democratic power that the political and corporate elite of the world is determined to deny the little people.
From director John Frankenheimer ('The Manchurian Candidate') comes this powerful drama of soaring ambition and shattered dreams that takes a provocative insider's look at the way our country goes to war--as seen from inside the LBJ White House leading up to and during Vietnam.
American: The Bill Hicks Story is a biographical documentary film on the life of comedian Bill Hicks. The film was produced by Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas, and features archival footage and interviews with family and friends, including Kevin Booth. The filmmakers used a cut-and-paste animation technique to add movement to a large collection of still pictures used to document events in Hicks' life. The film made its North American premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. The film was nominated for a 2010 Grierson British Documentary Award for the "Most Entertaining Documentary" category. It was also nominated for Best Graphics and Animation category in the 2011 Cinema Eye Awards. Awards won include The Dallas Film Festivals Texas Filmmaker Award, at Little Rock The Oxford American's Best Southern Film Award, and Best Documentary at the Downtown LA Film Festival. On Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of the first 47 reviews counted were rated positive.
This 1970 concert documentary captures Elvis Presley midway through a fateful transition, seeking to reclaim his musical primacy after a decade of self-imposed exile from concert stages. Sidelined by his big-screen career, eclipsed by rock's mid-'60s transformations, the King had begun his return two years earlier with the relatively lean attack of his fabled network television appearance, '68 Comeback Special. Now the Memphis legend was poised to reposition his performing profile by pursuing the top rungs of headliner status in Las Vegas, a career choice that seems even more ephemeral in hindsight than it already did at the time. Elvis: That's the Way It Is follows the show's genesis from rehearsal to stage, with the performance footage that provides its inevitable climax shot over six nights. The rehearsal footage, expanded for this special edition, offers further proof that Presley's band was simply superb...
Digitalization has changed society. While data is becoming the "new oil", data protection is becoming the new "pollution control". This creative documentary opens an astonishing inside view into the lawmaking milieu on EU level. A compelling story of how a group of politicians try to protect todays society against the impact of Big Data and mass surveillance.
Directors Robert Townsend and Quincy Newell offer this comprehensive and hilarious examination of the history, evolution and cultural significance of African American comedy in America, from the earliest minstrel shows to the latest HBO special. Featuring interviews with cultural critics and loads of comedic clips, this program features appearances by a who's-who of black comedians including Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Whoopi Goldberg and many more.
It's a night of comic anarchy as 15 of today's edgiest comedians perform at Los Angeles' legendary Troubadour rock 'n' roll club! You're guaranteed to laugh, and occasionally gasp with shock, as new comic frontiers are crossed. Staring; Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Zach Galifianakis, Maria Bamford, David Cross, Sarah Silverman, and many more.
Fall Of The Republic documents how an offshore corporate cartel is bankrupting the US economy by design. Leaders are now declaring that world government has arrived and that the dollar will be replaced by a new global currency.
This documentary follows the 2002 mayoral campaign in Newark, New Jersey in which the Cory Booker attempted to unseat longtime mayor Sharpe James
Using film and television footage taken during the revolutionary movement of April 25, 1974 in Portugal, and mixing it with music and live interviews with common people, the director conveys a vivid account of the period in which a military coup evolved to a socialist revolution, then was tempered into a formal european style democracy. - IMDb

© Valossa 2015–2024