Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas (2005)
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Delving into our collective nightmares, this horror-documentary investigates the origins of our most terrifying urban legends and the true stories that may have inspired them.
Documentary about Nostradamus's quatrains.
Did you know that 1% of the white noise you see on old televisions is background radiation from The Big Bang? That the gold on a wedding ring comes from a star that exploded 5 billion years ago? And, that we're connected to the salt water of the first oceans through the water in our bodies? Our human story is actually 14 billion years old and the clues are all around us. This CGI-driven special will tell the history of our world in two hours, an ambitious story that will give surprising connections to our daily lives. From the formation of the earth and the emergence of life, to the advance of man and the growth of civilization, itâs a rapid-fire view of our unforgettable story.
A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
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.
A 1988 documentary film directed by Alexander Sokurov, about the later life and death of Soviet Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was originally intended to mark the 50th birthday of Tarkovsky in 1982, which would have been before his death. Controversy with Soviet authorities about the film's style and content led to significant delays in the production.
Four men from a nomadic Tibetan tribe undertake their annual, ritualistic pilgrimage to a sacred salt lake. Salt gathered in this traditional fashion will be sold to provide the economic livelihood of the tribe for the coming year. The journey, necessary for the group's survival, also incorporates a number of rituals necessary for their culture to survive in the modern world.
A BBC/Discovery Channel co-production, this docu-narrative film describes the life of Siddharta Gautama, the process by which he arrived at the fundamentals of Buddhism and the archaeological findings confirming the traditional accounts of his life. In addition it also gives a glimpse of Buddhism today and features interviews by the Dalai Lama and other notable Buddhists.
Portrays the lives of nine desperate teenagers. Thrown too young into a seedy grown up world, these runaways and castaways survive, but just barely. Rat, the dumpster diver. Tiny, the teen prostitute. Shellie, the baby-faced blonde. DeWayne, the hustler. All old beyond their years. All underage survivors fighting for life and love on the streets of downtown Seattle.
A historian, Tom Holland, looks at the origins of Islam and questions it's history and authenticity.
Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie OâDonnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.
A behind-the-scenes look at the popular boy band, Backstreet Boys.
A documentary film based on the life of scientist Steven Hawking. The film explores the intimate life of Steven Hawking through him, his friends and his family, as he goes through school, is diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and discovers revolutionary theories about time, black holes, and the origin of the universe. A visually interesting and at times funny film about a extraordinary life.
The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, Nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture.
Performing at the Celebrity Star Theater in Phoenix on July 23, 1978, Carlin mesmerizes his audience in the second of his 12 HBO specials. The show was originally planned as part of a concert/sketch movie, The Illustrated George Carlin, that never came to fruition.The routines include: Death, Kids & Parents, Newscast #2, Time and Al Sleet, the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman. -- From Amazon.com
Hawkwind plays the final Peoples' Free Festival at Stonehenge during the Summer Solstice and this tiny snippet of film is an amazing yet important document of a time when there was still the free spirit of independence and nonconformity. Blasting its audience into deep space with their high-octane space rock and surreal theatrics of it lead-singer, it really is time to buckle your seat belts and take a trip into times' long gone past.
Award-winning musician Björk and legendary broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough have admired each other's work for years but this is the first time they have discussed their mutual love of music and the natural world on screen. In this remarkable documentary, Björk explores our unique relationship with music and discovers how technology might transform the way we engage with it in the future.
A historical analysis of how groups such as the Naziâs may use language, symbols, and religious connotation in order to come to power. It raises questions that deserve in depth analysis and consideration. Questions include: Where do legends expand our thinking and where do they bury it? When does spiritual pursuit suddenly turn into fanaticism and violence? Last, have we as a society learned from our past, and if so have forgotten the lessons of the 20th Century? Are we now embarking on a new level only to learn the same old lessons about humanity again? In addressing these questions we are taken into the back drop of the history of Germany beginning in the late 1800âs through the late 20th Century at the eve of the 21st. âA society that does not take archetypes, myths, and symbols seriously will possibly be jumped by them from behind.â
At the Winter Olympics of 1980, after two tense weeks amidst growing Cold War fears, the U.S. Olympic hockey team found themselves playing improbably against the legendary unbeatable Soviet Army hockey team for Olympic Gold. From the live footage taken at Lake Placid, NY, and through interviews beginning with the team's assembly through the experience of winning the gold medal.
Out of the grieving thousands left behind on September 11th, a small group of activist families emerged to demand answers. In '9/11 Press For Truth', six of them (including three of the famous "Jersey Girls") tell for the first time the powerful story of how they took on the powers in Washington and won! compelling an investigation, only to subsequently watch the 9/11 Commission fail in answering most of their questions.
Sex Positive explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M hustler turned AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited. Mr. Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic demanding a solution to the problem before the outside world would take heed. Now destitute and alone, Mr. Berkowitz tells his story to a world who never wanted to listen.
Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog returns with INTO THE ABYSS: A TALE OF DEATH, A TALE OF LIFE, a riveting examination of a horrible crime which probes the human psyche to explore why people kill--and why the state kills. In intimate conversations with those involved, including 28-year-old death row inmate Michael Perry (who was scheduled to die eight days after his interview with Herzog), the filmmaker achieves what he describes as "a gaze into the abyss of the human soul." As he's so often done before, Herzog's investigation unveils layers of humanity, making an enlightening trip out of ominous territory.
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
Filmmaker Adam Scorgie explores the illegal marijuana industry in British Columbia, revealing how the international business is most likely more profitable than it would be if it was lawful in this enlightening documentary. Marijuana growers, law enforcement officials, physicians, politicians, criminologists, economists and celebritiesâincluding comedian Tommy Chongâshed light on this topical subject in a series of compelling interviews.
In this documentary Istanbul is unveiled and the real Istanbul is shown by way of the back door, the philosophy behind the culture is revealed.
Shamrock: Bound by Blood, a gripping 65-minute documentary that airs Thursday on Spike (11 p.m. ET), stirs up a few ghosts still haunting the MMA personality. There's a lot of story to tell (Spike producers said they bandied the fighter's 2012 memoirs around the office to begin), but wisely, Shamrock focuses mostly on Frank's deteriorated relationship with his iconic brother Ken. Frank and Ken, a weathered UFC Hall of Famer still trying to ply his trade at age 49, haven't spoken in nearly 15 years.
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For MMA enthusiasts, Shamrock will be an enlightening hour. It also takes a more serious tone than Spike's previous MMA programming. But at its heart, Shamrock is not about MMA. It's about love and hurt, and finding forgiveness and acceptance in the face of dysfunction. For Frank, on his own road of self-improvement, it was about finding peace.
Jeff gives the most dangerous â and enlightening â roast of his life from behind the walls of the Brazos County Jail in Bryan, Texas. In this special he touches on topics surrounding incarceration such as race, solitary confinement and the death penalty.
Eight years in the making, The Joe Show is a shocking and wildly entertaining documentary about Americaâs most controversial Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, and his ringmasterâs 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 â even Obamaâs birth certificate â 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 Joeâs 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.
The discovery of the mutilated body of a mentally challenged young mother begins a journey into madness that is so unbelievable the mastermind behind the crime ultimately got away with murder. Revealing for the first time how and why it happened filmmaker J. David Miles ventures into the insane mind of a small town crime family's matriarch and uncovers a conspiracy that continues to elude law enforcement to this very day. By going straight to the murderers themselves for interviews it is a true crime investigation like you have never seen, unveiling an alternate motive to what was presented in the courtroom that is as bizarre as it is heartbreaking. Written by Anonymous
Unveiling the lives and careers of AFL Head coaches, The Chosen Few includes interviews from some of the game's greatest coaches, both past and present.
A filmmaker sets out to discover the life of Joyce Vincent, who died in her bedsit in North London in 2003. Her body wasn't discovered for three years, and newspaper reports offered few details of her life - not even a photograph.
Lush jungle and a building in ruins are the ideal stage for a film-confession that defies storytelling and goes beyond conversation on cinema. Tsai Ming-Liang and his actor Lee Kang-sheng confess and put on stage a pièce in which attention and slowness are in tune with the rhythm of memory. The unveiling of Tsai Ming-liangâs filmmaking: from Stray Dogs to the most intimate notes of the director-actor relationship.
A documentary about Caroll Spinney who has been Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969. At 78-years-old, he has no intention of stopping.
In the early 70âs, Rock photographer Bob Gruen and his wife Nadya purchased a portable Video Recorder. In a period of three years they shot over 40 hours of New York Dolls footage. Now for the first time ever this footage is unveiled. This feature length documentary captures the band during early performances in New York at Kennyâs Castaways and Maxâs Kansas City, then follows the Dolls on their tour of the West Coast, including footage from the Whisky A Go Go, the Real Don Steele Show, Rodney Bingenheimerâs E Club and much more. Intercut with revealing interviews, backstage banter and late night debauchery, this is THE definitive document of the New York Dolls.
Discover what it really takes to strike out on your own and become the next big name in graphic novels. Twenty-four respected creators unveil the secrets of the artistic mind, by talking about their favorite medium, the lowest of low-brow arts: Comic Books.
Geologist Ian Stewart explain in three stages of natural history the crucial interaction of our very planet's physiology and its unique wildlife. Biological evolution is largely driven bu adaptation to conditions such as climate, soil and irrigation, but biotopes were also shaped by wildlife changing earth's surface and climate significantly, even disregarding human activity.
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
In WikiRebels, we learn about the early hacker life of Julian Assange, and his later decision to form an organization where whistleblowers can anonymously pass information that documents crime and immorality. His stated goal is to expose injustice, and nothing exemplifies this more than the leaked film entitled âCollateral Murder.â WikiRebels shows other films released by WikiLeaks, and catalogs the most significant leaks since its 2006 inception, including the Iceland banking scandal, Kenya corruption and death squads, and toxic dumping in Cote DâIvoire.
A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowing and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.
A biographical film looking back at the life, work and significance of the genius of world cinema. It reveals the inspiration sources of his work and looks into the kitchen of the film tricks pioneer. As an absolute solitaire in his field, he created his own world based purely on his imagination. He was a complete autodidact and is therefore not easily classifiable into any film wave or direction. This extremely hardworking, resourceful man and a perfectionist, yet always preserving the ability to see the world from a child's perspective is without any doubt one of the most successful and celebrated Czech filmmakers in the world. Thanks to their inner poetry and sincerity, his films do not age.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
This documentary by Theo Kamecke from 1970 gives an indepth and profound look at the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. NASA footage is interspersed with reactions to the mission around the world as the film captures the intensity as well of the philosophical significance of the event. Won special award at Cannes. Written by Adam Bernstein .
Documentary about Charles Olson, exploring his life and the significance of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Growing up in Granada, Spain, young David Fandila always dreamed of being a matador. This documentary captures the rise of "El Fandi," one of Spain's most renowned bullfighters, who first entered the ring at age 14. While it's never in doubt that Fandila is at the top of his game, filmmakers Stephen Higgins and Nina Gilden Seavey weigh the significance of bullfighting as a cultural tradition against its inherent danger and cruelty.
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.
Louis Theroux spends time with a small and very committed subculture of ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers. He discovers a group of people who consider it their religious and political obligation to populate some of the most sensitive areas of the West Bank, especially those with a spiritual significance dating back to the Bible. Throughout his journey, Louis gets close to the people most involved with driving the extreme end of the Jewish settler movement - finding them warm, friendly, humorous, and deeply troubling.
Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz achieved groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing. His passion for open access ensnared him in a legal nightmare that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26.
Videograms of a Revolution is a 1992 documentary film compiled by Harun Farocki and Andrei UjicÄ from over 125 hours of amateur footage, news footage, and excerpts from the Bucharest TV studio overtaken by demonstrators as part of the December 1989 Romanian Revolution. In 2004 the Austrian Film Archive selected the documentary as part of its Die Utopie Film program for The Best 100 in Film History list.
Set 70 million years ago in the Cretaceous period in North America, this animated docu/drama follows the journey of a young Edmontosaurus named Scar and his herd as they migrate south for the winter. This film depicts recent findings about Dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurs with feathers.
The Winter War was an epic life and death struggle that changed the course of World War II, and saved a democracy. Fire and Ice documents this timeless story of courage against all odds by a people united to preserve their freedom.
The Endless Summer, by Bruce Brown, is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all times. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during Californiaâs winter (which back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and an endless summer.
Drama, controversy, and hilarity abound as uniquely talented and passionate pizza makers battle it out as they attempt to go for the gold against their international counterparts. Their quest is followed while exploring the pizza industry. The amazing and highly competitive world of acrobatic pizza-dough tossing is examined as competitors vie for spots on the U.S. Pizza Team and the chance to compete for the gold medal at the World Pizza Championship in Italy where teams perform choreographed dough-tossing routines to music while being scored by a panel of judges.
Senior love lives abound in The Mayor, the true story of an 88-year-old tailchaser, an adoring widow, and a raunchy gossip queen living it up in a retirement home in Texas.
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
Bizarre, unusual and horrifying, Sex Rituals Of The Occult will shock and delight you. Travel with us to this side of hell and learn the sensual secrets kept by the worshippers of Satan. Witness the modern masters of the dark arts as they undertake hideous violations of the flesh and soul.
A notorious mondo film depicting unbelievable and bizarre rituals, animal killing and cruelty, and people being killed and eaten, all by either animals or humans against each other or themselves.
Some of the most amazing cars ever built race across Spain and head south into Africa in the 6th Annual Gumball 3000 Rally. This film captures the 2004 race, which featured Ferrari Enzos, Hummers, Caterhams, Aston Martins and other rare autos driven by an eccentric mix of skateboard pros, supermodels, Saudi royals and billionaires. The thrills abound as racers evade the law to be the first to cross the finish line at the Cannes Film Festival.
This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddhaâs life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the worldâs greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddhaâs life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddhaâs teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.
From the creators of You Can Heal Your Life: The Movie comes a compelling portrait of three modern lives in need of new direction and new meaning. In his first-ever movie, Wayne Dyer explores the spiritual journey in the second half of life when we long to find the purpose that is our unique contribution to the world. The powerful shift from the ego constructs we are taught early in life by parents and societyâwhich promote an emphasis on achievement and accumulationâare shown in contrast to a life of meaning, focused on serving and giving back. Filmed on coastal Californiaâs spectacular Monterey Peninsula, The Shift captures every personâs mid-life longing for a more purposeful, soul-directed life.
The film takes the viewer on a spiritual road trip from ancient Europe to modern Israel in a feature documentary that covers the terrain touched upon in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Interviews were done with many of the leading teachers, art historians and spiritual guides of our time.
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