Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston (2011)
Director
Whitney Smith
Main cast
Patricia Altschul; Phillip Bloch; Thom Browne; Stephen Burrows; Pat Cleveland
Genres
Documentary
Description
A glowing, prismatic portrait of the rise and fall of America's first celebrity designerâHalstonâthe man who was synonymous with fashion in the 1970s, and became the emperor of NYC nightlife. Interviews with friends and witnesses (including Liza Minnelli, Diane Von Furstenberg, André Leon Talley, Anjelica Huston, Bob Colacello, and Billy Joel, among others) round out this glittering evocation of the man who defined the most beautiful and decadent era of recent memory.
Whitney Smith
Main cast
Patricia Altschul; Phillip Bloch; Thom Browne; Stephen Burrows; Pat Cleveland
Genres
Documentary
Description
A glowing, prismatic portrait of the rise and fall of America's first celebrity designerâHalstonâthe man who was synonymous with fashion in the 1970s, and became the emperor of NYC nightlife. Interviews with friends and witnesses (including Liza Minnelli, Diane Von Furstenberg, André Leon Talley, Anjelica Huston, Bob Colacello, and Billy Joel, among others) round out this glittering evocation of the man who defined the most beautiful and decadent era of recent memory.
Similar movies
Valentino: The Last Emperor is an intimate and engaging fly-on-the- wall exploration of the singular world of one of Italy's most famous men. It is a portrait of an extraordinary partnership, the longest running in fashion, and a dramatic story about a master confronting the final act of his celebrated career.
Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans interweaves stunning newly discovered footage and voice recordings with original interviews. It is the true story of how a cinema legend would risk almost everything in pursuit of his dream.
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year is a once-over-lightly evocation of a slate of classic films unmatched before or since. In a year permitting 10 Best Picture nominees, the final cut included Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Dark Victory, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, Wuthering Heights, Love Affair. Shut out: The Roaring '20s, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Intermezzo, Destry Rides Again, Idiot's Delight, Young Mr. Lincoln, Gunga Din. This hour-long film finds room to acknowledge a few of these non-starters, but its brevity means a lot gets left out. This includes the absence of anything that doesn't celebrate the studio system, including the practices of the shrewd tyrants who ran them, seen in brief archival footage.
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.
Dan Cruickshank explores the rich aesthetic of Ludwig II - from the mock-medievalism of Neuschwanstein the iconic fairytale castle, which became the inspiration for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle, to the rich Baroque splendour of Herrenchiemsee, Ludwig's answer to Versailles. Dan argues that Ludwig's castles are more than flamboyant kitsch and are, in fact, the key to unravelling the eternal enigma of Ludwig II.
This documentary follows painter and musician Lyn Foulkes from age 70 to 77 as he labors to complete two astonishing tableaux that demonstrate his outsider's perspective and eye for evocative imagery. As his reworking of one piece stretches into its second decade, we watch Foulkes' righteous contempt for the establishment erode, replaced by a yearning for the recognition he's due.
When Steve Jobs died the world wept. But what accounted for the grief of millions of people who didnât know him? This evocative film navigates Jobs' path from a small house in the suburbs, to zen temples in Japan, to the CEO's office of the world's richest company, exploring how Jobsâ life and work shaped our relationship with the computer. The Man in the Machine is a provocative and sometimes startling re-evaluation of the legacy of an icon.
In the history of sports, few names are more recognizable than that of Evel Knievel. Long after the man hung up his famous white leather jumpsuit and rode his Harley into the sunset, his name is still synonymous with the death-defying lifestyle he led. Notoriously brash, bold, and daring, Knievel stared death in the face from the seat of his motorcycle, but few know the larger-than-life story of the boy from Butte, Montana.
Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus were two movie-obsessed cousins from Israel who became Hollywoodâs ultimate gate-crashers. Following their own skewed version of the Great American Dream, they bought an already low-rent brand â Cannon Films â and ratcheted up its production to become so synonymous with schlock that the very sight of its iconic logo made audiences boo throughout the 1980s. And yet who could have foreseen how close they came to nearly taking over Hollywood and the UK film industry?
Werner Herzogâs documentary film about the âGrizzly Manâ Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one manâs 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 atomic bomb, the specter of a global nuclear holocaust, and disasters like Fukushima have made nuclear energy synonymous with the darkest nightmares of the modern world. But what if everyone has nuclear power wrong? What if people knew that there are reactors that are self-sustaining and fully controllable and ones that require no waste disposal? What if nuclear power is the only energy source that has the ability to stop climate change?
Starting in 1927 when the first film, The White Sheik, was made there, Elstree Story features excerpts from over forty productions â including Hitchcockâs Blackmail, the first feature-length British talkie ever shown â with early appearances by some of cinemaâs greatest stars; it is a most memorable and evocative journey through the years.
March 1989: two respected chemists from the University of Utah stand in front of a wall of reporters. Flashbulbs pop as they announce they have solved the world's energy problems using seawater, batteries and a mysterious glass contraption. 'Cold Fusion' is born. Within days, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann are on the cover of Time Magazine. But three short months later, their careers in tatters and their reputations ruined, they flee the US as Cold Fusion becomes synonymous with 'bad science.' Twenty-two years later, despite continued disdain from mainstream science, a group of scientists, entrepreneurs and one high school student are confident that Cold Fusion will save the world, and that we're closer than ever to the Holy Grail of civilization. They're The Believers.
In 1984, American heavy metal band Twisted Sister became a global sensation. For 30 years, they been synonymous with hairspray, women's clothing and tasteless album covers. Until now. Ten years ago, director Andrew Horn was granted access to the archives of Twisted Sister founder Jay French and in We are Twisted fucking Sister he explores the decade that preceded their breakthrough.
For 200 years, the United States Congress has been one of the country's most important and least understood institutions. In this elegant, thoughtful and often touching portrait, Ken Burns explores the history and promise of this unique American institution. Using historical photographs and newsreels, evocative live footage and interviews with David Broder, Alistair Cooke, Cokie Roberts, Charles McDowell and others, the award-winning film chronicles the personalities, events and issues that have animated the first 200 years of Congress and, in turn, our country.
Maestro Jascha Heifetz, becomes Professor Heifetz in these rare filmed master classes from the early 1960s. Taken from his legendary sessions at USC, Los Angeles, this brilliant musician can be seen demonstrating, cajoling, inspiring and occasionally-terrifying his pupils as he imparts his unquestioned genius and lifetime of musical experience. Learn the secrets of intonation, phrasing and vibrato from the man whose name has become synonymous with the violin.
On Valentines Day, 1931, Universal Pictures released the film Dracula - the first true horror movie. Its worldwide success catapulted the film's lead actor, Romanian-born Bela Lugosi, to overnight stardom. "Bela Lugosi: The Fallen Vampire" traces the life and career of this mysterious man whose name became synonymous with the evil, yet magnetically compelling Count Dracula. Using archival still and film clips as well as interviews with film historians, actors and Lugosi himself, the special chronicles the meteoric rise and then precipitous decline of a talented yet tragic man who forever changed the face of horror films.
Comedian Rich Hall hits the road as he takes us on his personal journey through the road movie, which, from the earliest days of American cinema has been synonymous with American culture. With his customary wit and intelligence, Rich takes us through films such as Bonnie and Clyde, The Grapes of Wrath, Thelma and Louise, Vanishing Point, Five Easy Pieces and even The Wizard of Oz. He explores what makes a road movie and how the American social, economic and political landscape has defined the genre.
This British documentary shows the complex layers of legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, who was a major innovator in post-bop, cool jazz, hard-bop and fusion. Davis's raw-edged trumpet tones were some of the most evocative sounds ever heard. This profile captues the magnificent and mercurial artist -- one of the most identifiable and misunderstood pop icons of the 20th century -- through rare footage and interviews.
Jean-Christophe Rosé directs this documentary tracing the history of the world's most famous cycle race. Celebrating the event's centenary year, the film highlights the tour's enduring relationship with the public by looking back at the legendary riders whose names have become synonymous with the race, including Fausto Coppi, Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil, Raymond Poulidor, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Bradley Wiggins and Lance Armstrong.
In the week when Hindus celebrate the holy festival of Diwali, this documentary tells the story of one of their faith's most sacred symbols - the swastika. For many, the swastika has become a symbol synonymous with the Nazis and fascism. But this film reveals the fascinating and complex history of an emblem that is, in fact, a religious symbol, with a sacred past. For the almost one billion Hindus around the world, the swastika lies at the heart of religious practices and beliefs, as an emblem of benevolence, luck and good fortune.
Danger. Reward. Adrenaline. Freeride mountain biking is synonymous with pushing the known boundaries of the sport. Cam Zink sits atop the Freeride world having won its most coveted titles, the Red Bull Rampage, Crankworx Slopestyle, and the Freeride World Tour, yet those accolades have not come without a physical price. He has transcended cycling media, and his super-human feats have become broadcast television and Internet sensations. "Reach For The Sky" takes a dramatic behind-the-scenes look into Cam Zink's life, with the story bookended by 2013 and 2014 Red Bull Rampage campaigns in Virgin, Utah. Plus, features a one-of-a-kind portrayal of his world-record- breaking 100-foot backflip attempt at Mammoth Mountain-showcasing 100% never-before-seen footage...
Shot in high definition, VISIONS® OF ITALY: Northern Style offers the ultimate vacation
postcard of Italy â the sights and scenes immortalized in literature, movies, and art for
centuries â seen as never before. Stunning aerial footage and evocative Italian music
from Luciano Pavarotti to Connie Francis showcase unprecedented views of Siena, Florence,
Pisa, Venice, Lake Como, the Alps and more.
First Descent is a 2005 documentary film about snowboarding and its beginning in the 1980s. The snowboarders featured in this movie (Shawn Farmer, Nick Perata, Terje Haakonsen, Hannah Teter and Shaun White with guest appearances from Travis Rice) represent three generations of snowboarders and the progress this young sport has made over the past two decades. Most of the movie was shot in Alaska.
An action-adventure documentary chronicling the most notorious and dangerous race in the world--the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Rivaling the Indy 500 and 25 Hours of Daytona, the race across Baja's peninsula is unpredictable, grueling and raw--just like the uncharted American West of yesteryear.
The story of Robert Flanagan, a man who was born with cystic fibrosis and told he wouldn't live past 20, who through a unique odyssey of masochism, art and love found a way to live decades past his expiration date.
'Pan Play Decadence' tells the story of the poignant lives of people united by their passion for 'transgression'. Felico, a hockey champ in a wheelchair, Kraian, a school teacher fond of S & M, Federicona, a romantic fifty year old transsexual that works in the streets, still in love with the man with whom she was engaged to twenty years ago. These are just some of the stories that intersect in this living fresco: 'Pan Play Decadence' is a film in the making, a document of a contemporary world, ranging from little-known instances of collective and individual needs, the search for touching paths of intimate salvation.
Line Of Sight is a rare view into underground bicycle messenger racing which has become a global phenomenon. For over a decade Lucas Brunelle has been riding with the fastest, most skilled urban cyclists around the world while capturing all the action with his customized helmet cameras to bring you along for the ride. This is bike riding like you've never seen before, in gripping first-person perspective through the most hectic city streets, on expressways in Mexico City, over the frozen Charles River, under the Mediterranean Sea, across the Great Wall of China and deep into the jungles of Guatemala. Directed and Edited by Benny Zenga, Line of Sight is 60 minutes of the best Lucas Brunelle footage from a decade of Alleycat races around the world. "Lucas Brunelle goes for it. If you want to see what it's like to play a live game of 'frogger', on a bike, with only one life, check out Line Of Sight." -Mat Hoffman, Professional BMX Rider
WHITEY: United States of America v. James J. Bulger captures the sensational trial of infamous gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, using the legal proceedings as a springboard to explore allegations of corruption within the highest levels of law enforcement. Embedded for months with Federal Prosecutors, retired FBI and State Police, victims, lawyers, gangsters and journalists, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger examines Bulger's relationship with the FBI and Department of Justice that allowed him to reign over a criminal empire in Boston for decades. Pulling back the curtain on long-held Bulger mythology, the film challenges conventional wisdom by detailing shocking, new allegations. With unprecedented access, Berlinger's latest crime documentary offers a universal tale of human frailty, opportunism, deception, and the often elusive nature of truth and justice.
A retrospective documentary about the groundbreaking horror series, Friday the 13th, featuring interviews with cast and crew from the twelve films spanning 3 decades.
The third film of Frank Capra's 'Why We Fight" propaganda film series, dealing with the Nazi conquest of Western Europe in 1940.
The 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games were a grueling five-day, 15-event test to find the fittest man and woman on Earth. "Fittest on Earth: A Decade of Fitness" follows the dramatic story of the top athletes who qualified and competed and offers an inside look at what it takes to be among the world's elite athletes, both in training and on the competition floor. The CrossFit Games challenge competitors to perform intense physical tasks, but the hardest part is sometimes mental. Athletes often learn the details of the events only minutes before they begin, and everyone handles the pressure differently. Which of these fierce competitors will rise to the top and earn the title of Fittest on Earth?
Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.
For hundreds of years, Africa has existed in a state of despair. Famine, civil wars and rampant disease have left the continent without hope, but for the efforts of Western do-gooders. At first, they arrived with food, bibles and the magic of penicillin; more recently they have hosted rock concerts and sent plane loads of grain. And in the last decade of the 20th century they arrived and took babies home with them. First there was Angelina, then Madonna, and now...Pauly Shore! The film builds its comedy foundation on the international interest in Celebrity Adoptions, and the debate that surrounds these transactions on both sides of the Atlantic. Sometimes politically incorrect and never scared to tread on manicured toes.
For several decades, gifted and incredibly prolific forger Mark Landis compulsively created impeccable copies of works by a variety of major artists, donating them to institutions across the country and landing pieces on many of their walls. Art and Craft brings us into the cluttered and insular life of an unforgettable character just as he finds his foil in an equally obsessive art registrar.
The story of the battle to free Debbie Peagler, an incarcerated survivor of brutal domestic violence. Over 26 years in prison cannot crush the spirit of this determined African-American woman, despite the injustices she has experienced, first at the hands of a duplicitous boyfriend who beat her and forced her into prostitution, and later by prosecutors who cornered her into a life behind bars for her connection to the murder of her abuser. Her story takes an unexpected turn two decades later when a pair of rookie land-use attorneys cut their teeth on her case -- and attract global attention to the troubled intersection of domestic violence and criminal justice.
A visit to the Louvre in Paris commentated by an actor reading Cézanne.
Elena, a young Brazilian woman, travels to New York with the same dream as her mother, to become a movie actress. She leaves behind her childhood spent in hiding during the years of the military dictatorship. She also leaves Petra, her seven year old sister. Two decades later, Petra also becomes an actress and goes to New York in search of Elena. She only has a few clues about her: home movies, newspaper clippings, a diary and letters. At any moment Petra hopes to find Elena walking in the streets in a silk blouse. Gradually, the features of the two sisters are confused; we no longer know one from the other. When Petra finally finds Elena in an unexpected place, she has to learn to let her go.
Ozzy Osbourne's four decade track record as a culturally relevant artist is unprecedented, but his personal struggles have been shrouded in secrecy, until now. Featuring never before seen footage uncovered from the archives and interviews with Paul McCartney, Tommy Lee and others, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is the first documentary to take viewers inside the complex mind of rock's great icon. Emerging from a working class family in war torn England, Osbourne and his neighborhood friends formed Black Sabbath and invented heavy metal. Plagued by self doubt, Osbourne the solo superstar went on a binge that lasted 40 years. God Bless Ozzy Osbourne will relive the highs of his triumphs as well as his journey to sobriety, which Ozzy regards as his greatest accomplishment.
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.
A documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue.
Using a variety of cinematographic techniques, the world of high- profile fashion designer Issac Mizrahi is portrayed as being driven by excitement and creativity, despite the concomitant chaos and cacophony. Mizrahi's frenzied genius and rollercoaster emotions paint a humorous and personal portrait of a brilliant designer. Famous "SuperModels", actors, and actresses populate Issac's rarified world, but Douglas Keeve's cameras capture the stress and turbulence beneath the placid coolness of glamour. Written by Tad Dibbern
The legendary photographer William Klein has designed this fascinating book on fashion photography, with a selection of images from throughout his career, including material from his films. Though Klein claims roots in areas as diverse as painting, street photography, the tabloids, and B movies, his fashion work has been known since the fifties and sixties and has been a constant in his career.
This documentary on the nightlife of Las Vegas was filmed primarily at the Topicana and Dunes Hotels, respectively, in 1962-63. Musical numbers performed by the film's stars aside, "Spree" also includes scenes of gambling casinos, cock fights and boxing.
This intimate and loving portrait of the legendary arbiter of fashion, art and culture illustrates the many stages of Vreeland's remarkable life. Born in Paris in 1903, she was to become New York's "Empress of Fashion" and a celebrated Vogue editor.
The '40s and '50s were a classic period in New York City nightlife, when the saloonkeeper was king and regular folks could drink with celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason. In this documentary, Kristi Jacobson profiles her grandfather, the king of kings: Toots Shor of the eponymous restaurant and saloon, which was once the place to be seen in Manhattan.
"Zona Rosa" is a documentary about the strippers who work in the gay clubs in Mexico City's famous district, the Zona Rosa. Christian Miranda gives us a tour though his professional and personal life while working as a cage-dancer stripper at one of Mexico City's famous gay nightclubs. Along with Christian we meet other strippers, patrons of the clubs and the club mangers. The nightlife, the scene, the money and the consequences are all on display as we tour through the notorious reality that gives the Zona Rosa its name.
The First Monday in May follows the creation of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's most attended fashion exhibition in history, "China: Through The Looking Glass," an exploration of Chinese-inspired Western fashions by Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton. With unprecedented access, filmmaker Andrew Rossi captures the collision of high fashion and celebrity at the Met Gala, one of the biggest global fashion events chaired every year by Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour. Featuring a cast of renowned artists in many fields (including filmmaker Wong Kar Wai and fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano) as well as a host of contemporary pop icons like Rihanna, the movie dives into the debate about whether fashion should be viewed as art.
Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of placesâthese are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.
In this documentary on the life of 'Joan Crawford' , we learn why she should be remembered as the great actress she was...
A behind-the-scenes look into the first major recording of Scott Wheeler's piano music, including several musical portraits. Wheeler, best known for his operas, started composing musical portraits while studying under Virgil Thomson. The pieces are performed by pianist Donald Berman. It is hosted by Katie Northlich. Wheeler, Berman, and music producer Adam Abeshouse are interviewed. This documentary also features interviews with some of the portrait subjects: author Megan Marshall, artist Shane Crabtree, director Fern R Lopez, soprano Nancy L. Armstrong, and organist James Woodman. Excerpts from their musical portraits are heard so you can decide for yourself the first question that inevitably comes to mind: Does the portrait sound like it's subject?
An intimate portrait of Anton Corbijn as he travels the world as a photographer, film maker and video artistâ¦
Affectionate portrait of Tim "Speed" Levitch, a tour guide for Manhattan's Gray Line double-decker buses. He talks fast, is in love with the city, and dispenses historical facts, architectural analysis, and philosophical musings in equal measures. He's reflective and funny about cruising: he loves it, got in it to meet women, and he'd quit work if he could. His personal life is disclosed in small
When he was cutting Phantom India, Louis Malle found that the footage shot in Calcutta was so diverse, intense, and unforgettable that it deserved its own film. The result, released theatrically, is at times shockingâa chaotic portrait of a city engulfed in social and political turmoil.
A homage to Bruce Weber's Favourite things, these being mixing film, photography and classic movies. With portraits of a lesbian jazz singer and a 16 year old wrestler.
J.R.R.T.: A Film Portrait of J.R.R. Tolkien is a 1996 documentary, narrated by Judi Dench, produced to celebrate the centenary of J.R.R. Tolkien's birth. It is sometimes called "J.R.R. Tolkien: A Portrait" and "J.R.R. Tolkien - An Authorized Film Portrait". It features archive footage and audio recordings of J.R.R. Tolkien, and interviews with three of his children Priscilla, John, and Christopher. It also includes interviews with Baillie Tolkien, Robert Murray, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Rayner Unwin, Tom Shippey, and Verlyn Flieger.
From the rain of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the music performer, from a prayer circle with the dancers before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.
Shot from 1987 through 1998 on super 8, 16mm and video, Instrument is composed mainly of footage of concerts, interviews with the band members, practices, tours and time spent in the studio recording their 1995 album, Red Medicine. The film also includes portraits of fans as well as interviews with them at various Fugazi shows around the United States throughout the years.
Stealing Klimt recounts the struggle by 90-year-old Maria Altmann to recover five Gustav Klimt paintings stolen from her family by the Nazis in Vienna. From the end of the War up until last year, these paintings hung in the Austrian National Gallery. The film covers Maria's early life in glittering fin-de-siècle Vienna, her dramatic escape from Nazi terror and her courageous fight to recover the five Klimt's against all the odds. Maria's fight to reclaim the paintings eventually took her to the United States Supreme Court and pitted her not just against Austria but also against the US Government which asked the Supreme Court to reject her case. After Maria finally emerged victorious in 2006, one of the paintings - the "Golden Portrait" of Maria's aunt, Adele Bloch Bauer - was sold to cosmetics tycoon Ronald Lauder for $135m, becoming the world's most expensive painting ever sold. The other four paintings were recently auctioned at Christie's for record prices.
© Valossa 2015–2024