1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009)
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While silent-film star Charlie Chaplin may have charmed American audiences with the onscreen antics of his lovable "Tramp" character, the actor's private life was marred by a series of public scandals that eventually pushed him into exile. In addition to his penchant for much younger women, Chaplin was unjustly hounded by Senator Joe McCarthy's notorious anti-Communist witch hunts, for which the U.S. revoked his visa in 1952. A bitter and disenchanted Chaplin responded by moving his family to Switzerland, where he remained until his death in 1977. This documentary chronicles Chaplin's life and career during those so-called "forgotten years" (during which he became a prolific and highly respected film-score composer) through previously unreleased archival footage and intimate interviews with his friends and family, including his children Geraldine, Michael, and Eugene.
A filmed account of a bitterly violent miner strike.
Academy Award Winning Director, Daniel Junge (Saving Face) and director Bryan Storkel (Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians) team up with producers Eben Kostbar and Joseph McKelheer (The Hammer) for a feature documentary about the confluence of Christianity and mixed martial arts, including ministries which train fighters. The film follows several pastors and popular fighters in their quest to reconcile their faith with a sport that many consider violent and barbaric. Faith is tried and questions are raised. Can you really love your neighbor as yourself and then punch him in the face?
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1993) is a documentary film about Aileen Wuornos, made by Nick Broomfield. It documents Broomfield's attempts to interview Wuornos, which involves a long process of mediation through her adopted mother Arlene Pralle and lawyer, Steve Glazer.
In the 20th century, no artistic medium in North America with so much potential for creative expression has had a more turbulent history plagued with less respect than comic books. Through animated montages, readings and interviews, this film guides us through the history of the medium from the late 1930s and 1940s with the first explosion of popularity with the superheroes created by great talents like Jack Kirby and hitting its first artistic zenith with Will Eisner's "Spirit". It then shifts to the post war comics world with the rising popularity of crime and horror comics, especially those published by EC Comics under the editorshiop of William B. Gaines until it came crashing down the rise of censorship with the imposition of the Comics Code. In its wake of the devastation of the medium's creative freedom, we also explore EC's defiant survival with the creation of the singular "Mad Magazine" by Harvey Kurtzman.
Filmmaking partners Rupert Kathner and Alma Brooks are determined to get their films made by almost any means necessary. Set in the 1930s, this docudrama relates the moviemakers struggles to jump-start Australia's film industry.
Darwin meets Hitchcock in this documentary. Directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have created a parable about the search for paradise, set in the brutal yet alluring landscape of the Galapagos Islands, which interweaves an unsolved 1930s murder mystery with stories of present day Galapagos pioneers. A gripping tale of idealistic dreams gone awry, featuring voice-over performances by Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger, and Gustaf Skarsgard.
The Narrator (Woody Allen) tells us how the radio influenced his childhood in the days before TV. In the New York City of the late 1930s to the New Year's Eve 1944, this coming-of-age tale mixes the narrator's experiences with contemporary anecdotes and urban legends of the radio stars.
A con artist poses as a film director in a village with the intention of executing a caper with the unwitting help of the villagers.
Fleeing 1930s New York and leaving behind a chequered past, the giltzy divorcee Mrs Stella Erlynne travels to Italy's sun-dappled Amalfi coast. Mrs Erlynne's appearance causes a stir amongst the visiting aristocracy. Based on the Oscar Wilde play Lady Windemere's Fan
An actor at the pinnacle of his Hollywood career finds himself buckling to temptation after he accepts the lead in a classic tale of good versus evil. Michael Steele has just been nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. In the wake of that announcement, Michael is cast in what may be the role of a lifetime.
He's set to play the lead in an incredible story of monumental conflict, but will all of the swirling gossip around Michael cause him to stumble on the path of righteousness? His marriage is in jeopardy and his career is on the line. This man who has always tried to do the right thing must find the courage and conviction needed to set his life straight.
A biography of Woody Guthrie, one of America's greatest folk singers. He left his dust-devastated Texas home in the 1930s to find work, discovering the suffering and strength of America's working class.
Little Miss Sunshine is a comedy about a family of six who are all having a mental breakdown at the same time. To ease their mental lows they decide to take a cross country road trip to a âLittle Miss Sunshineâ contest that their daughter has qualified for. An Academy Award winning comedy with memorable performances from its all actors.
In the 1930s the family of old Sinas Cavinder, gathered for the reading of his will, find themselves being murdered by a mysterious phantom while two rival reporters compete for the story.
A former Secret Service agent grudgingly takes an assignment to protect a pop idol who's threatened by a crazed fan. At first, the safety-obsessed bodyguard and the self-indulgent diva totally clash. But before long, all that tension sparks fireworks of another sort, and the love-averse tough guy is torn between duty and romance.
Naive Iowa farm boy Lewis Tater dreams of being a famous Western novelist like his hero, Zane Grey. He leaves home to answer a writing correspondence course's ad for on-campus classes, only to discover that the school consists of a row of postboxes at an isolated Nevada train depot. On the run from the con men responsible, Lewis stumbles across "real" cowboys shooting a movie in the desert. The would-be writer soon finds himself instead acting in Westerns, for the rundown Tumbleweed Productions, in silent-era Hollywood.
Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One of them an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, the other only days away from walking down the aisle. Both meet two beautiful women on their trip and become romantically involved with them.
In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running "the numbers". When, Madam Queen, the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem, is arrested. Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson takes over the business and must resist against the invasion from merciless mobster Dutch Shultz.
A young, once-great Hollywood film director refuses to accept changing times during the early 1930s, and confines himself to his decaying mansion to make silent porn flicks.
Young Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter," before it's even written. When a lovely noblewoman auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love -- and his play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship progresses, Shakespeare's comedy soon transforms into tragedy.
Jackie Chan's Hong Kong variation of Frank Capra's "A Pocketful of Miracles" set in the 1930s. Jackie plays a country boy who rescues a gang boss. He becomes the head of a gang through the purchase of some lucky roses from an old lady. Jackie and a singer at the gang's nightclub try to do a good deed for the old rose-seller when her daughter comes to visit, all this while battling a rival gang.
The Queen is an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.
Set in the 1930s, an honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.
A young girl named Juno gets herself pregnant and tries to stand on her own. She soon learns a few lessons about being grown up.
A comedic biopic focused on the life of fictional jazz guitarist Emmett Ray. Ray was an irresponsible, free-spending, arrogant, obnoxious, alcohol-abusing, miserable human being, who was also arguably the best guitarist in the world.
The story concerns the funeral of one of three brothers in a family of gangsters that lived in New York in 1930s. Details of the past of the brothers and their families are shown through a series of flashbacks, climaxing in a shocking ending.
The story, set in Kansas during the 1920's, covers less than a year in the life of a black teenager, and documents the veritable deluge of events which force him into sudden manhood. The family relationships and enmities, the fears, frustrations and ambitions of the black teenager in small-town America are explored with a strong statement about human values.
Nicholas Garrigan, a young doctor from Scotland, decides it is time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education. He decides to try his luck in Uganda. He arrives during the downfall of president Obote. General Idi Amin comes to power and asks him to become his personal doctor. When will Nicholas realize Amin is not the friend of the nation, but a brutal dictator?
A headstrong young teacher in a private school in 1930s Edinburgh ignores the curriculum and influences her impressionable 12 year old charges with her over-romanticized world view.
"The Journey of Jared Price" is a gay-themed coming-of-age 2000 film written, produced and directed by Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black. Black won the Oscar award for Best Original Screenplay for "Milk". The Journey of Jared Price was Black's first feature film. A hustler for a roommate, a wealthy Hollywood executive for a boss, a lonely blind woman and a loveable new best friend make "The Journey of Jared Price" an adventure you will never forget. Jared Price is a small town boy who arrives in Hollywood with a few hundred bucks and a lifetime of dreams. See how he handles each situation he gets into and grows in his understanding of who he is. When what he thinks is his first love turns out to be false, see how he is helped and given the strength to stay in L.A. and try again. This film will remind you that love is worth waiting for and that there is always hope.
Cheryl, a young black lesbian, works a day job in a video store while trying to make a film about a black actress from the 1930s known for playing the stereotypical "mammy" roles relegated to black actresses during the period. It was the first feature film directed by a black lesbian.
An expatriate Russian dancer is on a plane forced to land on Soviet territory. He is taken to an apartment in which a black American who has married a Russian woman lives with her. He is to become a dancer for the Bolshoi again, but he wishes to escape, but can he trust the American?
Fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920s due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. Clever editing places Zelig in real newsreel footage of Woodrow Wilson, Babe Ruth, and others.
Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking heâs applying for a job at a travel agency he finds heâs being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature â as an undertakerâs assistant.
Kopfrkingl enjoys his job at a crematorium in Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s. He likes reading the Tibetan book of the dead, and espouses the view that cremation relieves earthly suffering.
Chirammal Enashu Francis, a.k.a. Pranchiyettan (Mammootty), is a successful businessman based in Thrissur. He is a devotee of Saint Francis of Assisi and often has imaginary conversations with the saint. His ancestors were rice traders, but he has grown beyond the small rice shop to expand his business into jewellery, real estate, finance, shopping complexes and lot more. Even though he is successful and wealthy, he is not well-educated and he is unhappy with his name and also wants to become a celebrity. He is called Ari ("rice") Pranchi by everybody, citing his ancestors' business as a colloquial taunt. He wants to change his image from Ari Pranchi to something great and is ready to spend a fortune for it. The film deals with how Pranchi tries to get a good name and what changes that brings to his life.
Martinique, in the early 1930s. Young José and his grandmother live in a small village. Nearly everyone works cutting cane and barely earning a living. The overseer can fine a worker for the smallest infraction. The way to advance is to do well in school. José studies hard and succeeds in an exam allowing him to attend school in the capital. With only a partial scholarship, the tuition is very costly. José and his grandmother move to Fort-de-France to make José's studies easier...
Three young women - Deena Jones, Effie White, and Lorrell Robinson - desire to become pop stars and get their wish when they're picked to be backup singers for the legendary James "Thunder" Early. Then they're set free for leads, but Curtis Taylor and Effie's brother C.C. decide for Deena to be lead which upsets Effie.
A black jazz band becomes entangled in the aristocratic world of 1930s London as they seek fame and fortune.
A washed-up movie queen finds romance, but still desires a come-back.
In 1930s Poland Christian boy Ivan goes to live with a Jewish family to learn a trade. He becomes friends with Abraham, the son of the family. However, anti-Semitism is rife in their environment, and they flee to escape an upcoming conflict. Journeying together, they demonstrate their inseparability.
The movie show us how life was in Argentina for dissident people, in the seventies, under the military government.
Lavish biography of Flo Ziegfeld, the producer who became Broadway's biggest starmaker.
All The King's Men is the story of the rise of politician Willie Stark from a rural county seat to the governor's mansion.
Boris Karloff stars as the villainous Dr. Fu Manchu in a race with a team of Englishmen to find the tomb of Ghengis Khan. Fu Manchu wants to use the relics to cause an uprising in the East to wipe out the white race.
Passengers on a ship traveling from Mexico to Europe in the 1930s represent society at large in that era. The crew is German, including the ship's Dr. Schumann, who falls in love with one of the passengers, La Condesa. A young American woman, Jenny, is traveling with the man she loves, David. Jenny is fascinated and puzzled by just who some of the other passengers are.
Fun-loving young Shaolin initiates get the better of two bungling assassins hired to chop off the right hand of their crochety master, who commands magical kung-fu powers.
James "Brick" Davis, a struggling attorney, owes his education to a mob member named McKay, but refuses to get involved with the underworld. When his friend Eddie Buchanan is gunned down by gangster Brad Collins while on assignment for the Justice Department, Brick decides to give up the law for a career with the Department.
In Hamburg, Ibrahim "Ibo" Secmez, of Turkish descent, wants to direct the first German kung-fu movie. For now, he makes commercials for his uncle's kebab restaurant. Titzie, an aspiring actress and Ibo's German girlfriend, finds she's pregnant. Ibo is uncertain about fatherhood - compounded by his father's disowning him for getting a German girl pregnant - so Titzie sends him packing. He makes attempts at getting it right, but as the birth approaches, he's still not ready. In the background are three thugs in search of good tripe soup and a Capulet-Montegue feud between the kebab joint and a Greek taverna across the street. Can Ibo be the glove upon that hand?
A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.
Hobos encounter a sadistic railway conductor that will not let anyone "ride the rails" for free.
A love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle. Based on Dodie Smith's 1948 novel with the same name.
Four friends go into a haunted mansion on a whim but they do not realize that they have returned home with an evil spirit, from which escape might be impossible.
In the 1810s, an old maid poses as her own niece in order to teach her onetime beau a lesson.
Arjun and Karna, two happy-go-lucky friends who have resigned from their jobs, start a bad news delivery service and one of their assigments ends up in a marriage getting cancelled. And the bride happens to be the sister of Arjunâs girlfriend Anjali! Can they undo the damage?
A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the big earthquake.
Three bumbling underlings who are tasked with smuggling cocaine get into problems during their journey.
Silver-screen icons Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney star in this classic drama as Nick and Jack Venizelos, two brothers whose fateful trip to the big city to do a little gambling results in a tragic turn of events. Directed by filmmaker Alfred E. Green, this film marks the only time in Robinson and Cagney's historic careers that the pair would team up on-screen.
An Ancient Egyptian priest called Imhotep is revived when an archaeological expedition finds Imhotep's mummy and one of the archaeologists accidentally reads an ancient life-giving spell. Imhotep escapes from the archaeologists and prowls Cairo seeking the reincarnation of the soul of his ancient lover, Princess Ankh-es-en-amon.
Apoorva Sagodharargal is about Sethupathy, an honest and upright police officer.
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