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  1. DISPLAYTITLE RATING VOTES PLOTSUMMARY
  2. Planet Earth (2006) 9.7 16811 null
  3. Top Gear (1978) 9.4 10500 null
  4. Long Way Round (2004) 9.1 3634 This documentary series follows actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on a motorcycle trip around the world. The two friends will travel through such places as Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Alaska, before finally ending the journey in New York. The filming will be done by on board cameras and one ride along cameraman.
  5. MythBusters (2003) 8.9 11778 Mythbusters takes myths, tall tales and urban legends and gives them the scientific treatment to determine their validity. Myths are proved true, probable, possible, improbable or busted. Often after the real-world practical tests have proved or debunked a Myth, the team will take the experiment to the extreme, many times using more modern technology than the myth could have used or upping the black powder for impressive explosions.
  6. Senna (2010) 8.8 4043 The story of the monumental life and tragic death of legendary Brazilian motor-racing Champion, Ayrton Senna. Spanning the decade from his arrival in Formula One in the mid 80's, the film follows Senna's struggles both on track against his nemesis, French World Champion Alain Prost, and off it, against the politics which infest the sport. Sublime, spiritual yet, on occasion, ruthless - Senna conquers and transcends Formula One to become a global superstar. Privately, he is humble, almost shy, and fiercely patriotic, donating millions to his native Brasil and contemplating a life beyond motor-racing. Yet he is struck down in his prime on the blackest weekend in the history of the sport, watched live on television by 300 million people. Years on he is revered in Formula One as the greatest motor racing driver of all time - and in Brasil as a Saint.
  7. Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (2003) 8.7 4712 Using a combination of set ups, descriptions, rants and film of practitioners, Penn & Teller show the bullshit that's everywhere. The initial show covers mediums or Talkers to the Dead. Penn Jillette explains in the first program that while calling someone a liar or a con man is actionable, "bullshit" is safe. Each show has a topic such as Mediums, Feng Shui, Medical devices or Penis Enlargement. Using humor and experts, they debunk the bullshit.
  8. Nuit et brouillard (1955) 8.7 6080 One of the most vivid depictions of the horrors of Nazi Concentration Camps. Filmed in 1955 at several concentration camps in Poland, the film combines new color and black and white footage with black and white newsreels, footage shot by the victorious allies, and stills, to tell the story not only of the camps, but to portray the horror of man's brutal inhumanity.
  9. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) 8.6 4599 In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child. Friends, relatives, and colleagues say warm and loving things about Andrew, home movies confirm his exuberance. Andrew's parents, Kathleen and David, move to Labrador where the ex-girlfriend has gone. They await an arrest and trial of the murderer. They negotiate with the ex-girlfriend to visit their grandchild, Zachary, and they seek custody. Is there any justice; is Zachery a sweet and innocent consolation for the loss of their son?
  10. Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999) 8.6 4498 Executive transvestite Eddie Izzard takes his show to San Francisco to give a brief history of pagan and Christian religions, the building of Stonehenge, the birth of the Church of England and of Western empires, and the need for a European dream. Along the way, he dramatizes Dr. Heimlich's search for a maneuver, the naming of Engelbert Humperdinck, Scooby and Shaggy as archetypes, Neil Armstrong on the moon, society's tolerance of mass murderers, how we sing anthems and carols, Hollywood adapting British films, JFK's trip to Berlin, thoughts on puberty, and how to work schoolbook-French phrases into Parisian conversation. Closeups catch the glint in his eye and his carefully-applied make-up.
  11. Heima (2007) 8.6 4020 In the summer of 2006, Sigur Rós returned home to play a series of free, unannounced concerts for the people of Iceland. This film documents their already legendary tour with intimate reflections from the band and a handful of new acoustic performances.
  12. Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008) 8.6 6342 Zeitgeist Addendum, attempts to locate the root causes of this pervasive social corruption, while offering a solution. This solution is not based on politics, morality, laws, or any other "establishment" notions of human affairs, but rather on a modern, non-superstitious based understanding of what we are and how we align with nature, to which we are a part. The work advocates a new social system which is updated to present day knowledge, highly influenced by the life long work of Jacque Fresco and The Venus Project.
  13. An Evening with Kevin Smith (2002) 8.5 3789 An Evening With Kevin Smith documents the director's 2001/2002 speaking tour through 5 stops, including Cornell University, Indiana University, Kent State University, University of Wyoming, and Clark University. Students from all 5 schools ask Kevin about anything ranging from his takes on religion to his relationship with Jason Mewes.
  14. Earthlings (2005) 8.5 3042 null
  15. Home (2009/I) 8.5 7272 null
  16. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005) 8.5 6990 Portrait of an artist as a young man. Roughly chronological, using archival footage intercut with recent interviews, a story takes shape of Bob Dylan's (b. 1941) coming of age from 1961 to 1966 as a singer, songwriter, performer, and star. He takes from others: singing styles, chord changes, and rare records. He keeps moving: on stage, around New York City and on tour, from Suze Rotolo to Joan Baez and on, from songs of topical witness to songs of raucous independence, from folk to rock. He drops the past. He refuses, usually with humor and charm, to be simplified, classified, categorized, or finalized: always becoming, we see a shapeshifter on a journey with no direction home.
  17. The Cove (2009) 8.5 13327 'Richard O'Barry' (qv) was the man who captured and trained the dolphins for the television show _"Flipper" (1964)_ (qv). O'Barry's view of cetaceans in captivity changed from that experience when as the last straw he saw that one of the dolphins playing Flipper - her name being Kathy - basically committed suicide in his arms because of the stress of being in captivity. Since that time, he has become one of the leading advocates against cetaceans in captivity and for the preservation of cetaceans in the wild. O'Barry and filmmaker 'Louie Psihoyos' (qv) go about trying to expose one of what they see as the most cruel acts against wild dolphins in the world in Taiji, Japan, where dolphins are routinely corralled, either to be sold alive to aquariums and marine parks, or slaughtered for meat. The primary secluded cove where this activity is taking place is heavily guarded. O'Barry and Psihoyos are well known as enemies by the authorities in Taiji, the authorities who will use whatever tactic to expel the two from Japan forever. O'Barry, Psihoyos and their team covertly try to film as a document of conclusive evidence this cruel behavior. They employ among others Hollywood cameramen and deep sea free divers. They also highlight what is considered the dangerous consumption of dolphin meat (due to its high concentration of mercury) which is often sold not as dolphin meat, and the Japanese government's methodical buying off of poorer third world nations for their support of Japan's whaling industry, that support most specifically at the International Whaling Commission.
  18. Zeitgeist (2007) 8.5 21182 Extremely controversial documentary split into three parts, first producing information discrediting religion, particularly Christainity through showing the similarities of major religious figures. Part 2 describes the problems with what was told to us about the events surrounding Sept. 11 and and provides evidence to show who the writers believe really was responsible for the attacks. The third part deals with banks and resulting theories of World leaders plans to create one world bank. Also touches on the people responsible for the Great Depression. A documentary that calls for vigilance and the search for truth, using a rigged comparison against Christianity it proves its point to all who are influenced by the message it sends forth. It goes on by putting forth a view that totalitarianism will be the demand of the uncritical majority. Claiming that religion, state, media and more all work towards this end. This film gathers information from many sources and puts it together in a way that shows it is possible for people to be manipulated by large institutions, governments and economic powers. It is divided into 3 parts. 1. Religion: Pagan astrological beliefs compared to modern and ancient religions. (9:35-35:53) 2. 9/11: An overview of the numerous questionable aspects of this immensely important event. (35:54-1:09:16) 3. The Federal Reserve Bank: A history of its formation and ability to control the economy. (1:09:17-1:56:23) With many news clips from tragic events in history, audio excerpts from those who believe people are being misled about the level of freedom they have, this riveting documentary will anger those who agree with it as well as those who do not. A very timely and important piece of work that all free thinking people should see. Viewer Content Warning: This film contains stock photos and film of war and September 11th scenes that may not be suitable for all viewers. (18 or older) This documentary is not for the faint-hearted. it dissects the origins of the christian religion and gives an interesting view on how a few american banks (and thus a few very powerful people) have seized worldpower at the beginning of the 20th century. it also related these topics to the big wars that have been fought in the 20th century and are still being fought today!
  19. Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011) 8.5 5153 A feature length documentary work which presents a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. This subject matter will transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical "life ground" attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a "Resource-Based Economy".
  20. Chelovek s kino-apparatom (1929) 8.4 6030 This playful film is at once a documentary of a day in the life of the Soviet Union, a documentary of the filming of said documentary, and a depiction of an audience watching the film. Even the editing of the film is documented. We often see the cameraman who is purportedly making the film, but we rarely, if ever, see any of the footage he seems to be in the act of shooting!
  21. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) 8.4 3663 Berlinger and Sinofsky's documentary of a gruesome triple murder in West Memphis, Arkansas and the subsequent trials of three suspects, takes a hard look at both the occult and the American justice system in 'small-town' America. Three teenagers are accused of this horrific crime of killing three children, supposedly as a result of involvement in Satanism. As in their previous documentary, things turn out to be more complex than initial appearances and this film presents the real-life courtroom drama to the viewer, as it unfolds.
  22. 9/11 (2002) 8.3 3797 On September 11, 2001, filmmaker James Hanlon and Jules and Gedeon Naudet were filming a documentary on a rookie New York City firefighter when they noticed a plane overhead. That plane would hit the World Trade Center. They rushed immediately to the scene. James Hanlon and the Naudets filmed throughout Sept. 11 and the days afterward from the firemen's perspective, as it became clear to them that this was the only known footage from inside the Twin Towers that day.
  23. Baraka (1992) 8.3 11763 Without words, cameras show us the world, with an emphasis not on "where," but on "what's there." It begins with morning, natural landscapes and people at prayer: volcanoes, water falls, veldts, and forests; several hundred monks do a monkey chant. Indigenous peoples apply body paint; whole villages dance. The film moves to destruction of nature via logging, blasting, and strip mining. Images of poverty, rapid urban life, and factories give way to war, concentration camps, and mass graves. Ancient ruins come into view, and then a sacred river where pilgrims bathe and funeral pyres burn. Prayer and nature return. A monk rings a huge bell; stars wheel across the sky.
  24. No End in Sight (2007) 8.3 4503 Chronological look at the fiasco in Iraq, especially decisions made in the spring of 2003 - and the backgrounds of those making decisions - immediately following the overthrow of Saddam: no occupation plan, an inadequate team to run the country, insufficient troops to keep order, and three edicts from the White House announced by Bremmer when he took over: no provisional Iraqi government, de-Ba'athification, and disbanding the Iraqi armed services. The film has chapters (from History to Consequences), and the talking heads are reporters, academics, soldiers, military brass, and former Bush-administration officials, including several who were in Baghdad in 2003.
  25. Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (1972) 8.3 3295 Live versions of the songs, filmed in an old Pompeii amphitheater. Songs included are Echoes (split into 2 parts), Careful with that axe, Eugene, A saucerful of secrets, One of those days, Set the controls for the heart of the sun, Mademoiselle nobbs (Seamus, but with Rick's dog on vocals). "Careful" and "Set the controls" are shot at night with minimal lighting, setting a beautiful mood. And the live Saucerful just has to be seen, with Waters jumping around in the sunlight banging the huge gong. The 80-minute version features studio footage from the recordings of Dark side of the Moon, with alternate versions of Us and them, On the run and Brain Damage, as well as hilarious interviews with the band (don't miss Waters raving about the great economical collapse, and Nick whining about the crust on the pie). Pink Floyd filmed playing live in an ampitheatre in Pompeii. Several tracks from 'Meddle' as well as earlier LPs are included. Also includes interviews and clips of the band working at Abbey Road studios on what would become their landmark 'Dark Side Of The Moon' release.
  26. Bowling for Columbine (2002) 8.2 80888 The United States of America is notorious for its astronomical number of people killed by firearms for a developed nation without a civil war. With his signature sense of angry humor, activist filmmaker 'Michael Moore (II)' (qv) sets out to explore the roots of this bloodshed. In doing so, he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns, violent national history, violent entertainment and even poverty are inadequate to explain this violence when other cultures share those same factors without the equivalent carnage. In order to arrive at a possible explanation, Michael Moore takes on a deeper examination of America's culture of fear, bigotry and violence in a nation with widespread gun ownership. Furthermore, he seeks to investigate and confront the powerful elite political and corporate interests fanning this culture for their own unscrupulous gain.
  27. Hoop Dreams (1994) 8.2 10054 This documentary follows two inner-city Chicago residents, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later, as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men, still retaining their "Hoop Dreams". Both are recruited into the same elite high school as their idol, former Detroit Piston superstar Isaiah Thomas. Only one survives the first year; the other must return to a high school closer to his home. Along the way, there is much tragedy, some joy, a great wealth of information about inner city life, and the suspense of not knowing what will occur next. This is not a "by-the-numbers" film.
  28. Inside Job (2010) 8.2 10759 'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China.
  29. Koyaanisqatsi (1982) 8.2 13580 Koyaanisqatsi is a documentary (of sorts). It is also a visual concert of images set to the haunting music of 'Phillip Glass' (qv). While there is no plot in the traditional sense, there is a definate scenario. The film opens on ancient native American cave drawings, while the soundtrack chants "Koyaanisqatsi" which is a Hopi indian term for "life out of balance". The film uses extensive time lapse photography (which speeds images up) and slow motion photography to make comparisons between different types of physical motion. In one of the first examples, we see cloud formations moving (sped up) intercut with a montage of ocean waves (slowed down) and in such a way we are able to see the similarities of movement between these natural forces. This technique of comparison exists throughout the film, and through it we learn more about the world around us. The film progresses from purely natural environments to nature as affected by man, and finally to man's own manmade environment, devoid of nature yet still following the patterns of natural flow as depicted in the beginning of the film, yet in chaos and disarray. Through this the film conveys its key message, which is Koyaanisqatsi: life out of balance; crazy life; life in turmoil; life disintegrating; a state of life that calls for another way of living. This movie was designed to have no plot. Meaning is to be created by the viewer, and only the viewer can give value to the images and music. That said, there is a central idea behind the movie, and according to the director it is this: The greatest event in the history of mankind has occurred recently, and has been largely missed by both the media and academia. Beyond the headlines and every day crises of international events, a deeper shift in human affairs has occurred: Humanity no longer exists in the natural world, we are no longer connected to it. It is not that we are now users of technology, but rather that we exist within technology, we are part of it and it is part of us. The natural world now exists only to support the artificial one in which we live.
  30. Sicko (2007) 8.2 43510 Documentary look at health care in the United States as provided by profit-oriented health maintenance organizations (HMOs) compared to free, universal care in Canada, the U.K., and France. Moore contrasts U.S. media reports on Canadian care with the experiences of Canadians in hospitals and clinics there. He interviews patients and doctors in the U.K. about cost, quality, and salaries. He examines why Nixon promoted HMOs in 1971, and why the Clintons' reform effort failed in the 1990s. He talks to U.S. ex-pats in Paris about French services, and he takes three 9/11 clean-up volunteers, who developed respiratory problems, to Cuba for care. He asks of Americans, "Who are we?" In this documentary, the director/writer Michael Moore exposes the dysfunctional North American health care system, oriented to huge profits and not for their mission of saving lives. Further, he shows the corruption in the political system, with members of government and congress "bought" by the corporations and the situation of the average American citizens, including those that volunteered to work in the rescue mission of the September 11th. Then he travels to Canada, Great Britain and France to compare their systems showing their hospital, doctors, staffs and patients. Last but not the least, he shows that the prisoners in Guantanamo have better medical treatment than the common people in USA, and he ends getting free treatment to the Americans that participate along the documentary in Cuba. A former insurance employee confides to film-maker Michael Moore that he had been instructed to process claims not for the benefit of ailing claimants - but instead find ways of dismissing them. Moore then compares health-care with other countries like Canada, Britain, France, and even Cuba. Further he goes on to expose corrupt U.S. senators who have been bought by powerful vested interests, while prisoners, including alleged terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, have total access to free medical aid, while in sharp contrast premium-paying clients and those on social security have little or no access at all.
  31. The Corporation (2003) 8.2 10207 Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.
  32. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003) 8.2 11229 Documentary about Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, who subsequently became president of the World Bank. The documentary combines an interview with Mr. McNamara discussing some of the tragedies and glories of the 20th Century, archival footage, documents, and an original score by Philip Glass. Robert S. McNamara discusses his experiences and lessons learned during his tenure as Secretary of Defense under John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. He talks about his work as a bombing statistician during World War II, his brief tenure as president of Ford Motor Company, and the Kennedy administration's triumph during the Cuban Missle Crisis. However, the film focuses primarily on his failures in Vietnam. The theme of the film are his "eleven lessons" learned during this time. Some of these include improving military efficiency, understanding your enemy, and the frustrations of trying to deal with (and unsuccessfully trying to change) human nature.
  33. The King of Kong (2007) 8.2 16528 In the early 1980s, legendary Billy Mitchell set a Donkey Kong record that stood for almost 25 years. This documentary follows the assault on the record by Steve Wiebe, an earnest teacher from Washington who took up the game while unemployed. The top scores are monitored by a cadre of players and fans associated with Walter Day, an Iowan who runs Funspot, an annual tournament. Wiebe breaks Mitchell's record in public at Funspot, and Mitchell promptly mails a controversial video tape of himself setting a new record. So Wiebe travels to Florida hoping Mitchell will face him for the 2007 Guinness World Records. Will the mind-game-playing Mitchell engage; who will end up holding the record?
  34. Eddie Murphy Delirious (1983) 8.1 5857 Comedian Eddie Murphy brings his proudly raunchy comedy act to a sold-out stadium and pontificates in his own vulgarly hilarious fashion on such subjects as sexual orientation, puberty, dating, disciplinarian mothers, ice cream trucks, and the personality traits of certain singers.
  35. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) 8.1 14085 The story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work. Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. He fiercely guards his anonymity to avoid prosecution. An eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempts to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. Includes footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work, on walls and in interview. As Banksy describes it, "It's basically the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed." Los Angeles based Frenchman 'Thierry Guetta' (qv) gets the idea that he would like to film street artists in the process of creating their work. He tells them that he is making a documentary, when in reality he has no intention of editing the footage into one cohesive movie. Unaware of this latter fact, many street artists from around the world agree to participate. Thierry even gets into the act by assisting them in creating the art. One of the artists that participates is the camera-shy Brit 'Banksy' (qv), who refuses to be shown on screen unless he is blacked out. Banksy does convince Thierry to use the footage to make a movie. In Thierry doing so, Banksy comes to the realization that Thierry is a lousy filmmaker, but he is an interesting character in an odd yet appealing way. So Banksy decides to use the footage and add additional material to make his own movie about Thierry's journey in this project. Since Thierry spent so much time involved in the process of street art, Banksy also convinces Thierry to become a street artist himself. Thierry reinvents himself as street artist MBW, an acronym for "Mr. Brainwash". Banksy, in the end, may regret this suggestion.
  36. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991) 8.1 5998 Documents the sensational events surrounding the making of 'Apocalypse Now' (qv) and 'Francis Ford Coppola' (qv)'s struggle with nature, governments, actors, and self-doubt. Includes footage and sound secretly recorded by Elanor Coppola, wife of Francis.
  37. Stop Making Sense (1984) 8.1 4712 David Byrne walks onto the stage and does a solo "Psycho Killer." Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz join him for two more songs. The crew is busy, still setting up. Then, three more musicians and two back-up singers join the band. Everybody sings, plays, harmonizes, dances, and runs. They change instruments and clothes. Bryne appears in the Big Suit. The backdrop is often black, but sometimes it displays words, images, or children's drawings. The band cooks for 18 songs, the lyrics are clear, the house rocks. In this concert film, the Talking Heads hardly talk, don't stop, and always make sense.
  38. Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) 8.1 3868 Using the torture and death in 2002 of an innocent Afghan taxi driver as the touchstone, this film examines changes after 9/11 in U.S. policy toward suspects in the war on terror. Soldiers, their attorneys, one released detainee, U.S. Attorney John Yoo, news footage and photos tell a story of abuse at Bagram Air Base, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo Bay. From Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Gonzalez came unwritten orders to use any means necessary. The CIA and soldiers with little training used sleep deprivation, sexual assault, stress positions, waterboarding, dogs and other terror tactics to seek information from detainees. Many speakers lament the loss of American ideals in pursuit of security.
  39. The Thin Blue Line (1988) 8.1 5798 Errol Morris's unique documentary dramatically re-enacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas, Texas. Briefly, a drifter (Randall Adams) ran out of gas and was picked up by a 16-year-old runaway (David Harris). Later that night, they drank some beer, smoked some marijuana, and went to the movies. Then, their stories diverged. Adams claimed that he left for his motel, where he was staying with his brother, and went to sleep. Harris, however, said that they were stopped by police late that night, and Adams suddenly shot the officer approaching their car. The film shows the audience the evidence gathered by the police, who were under extreme pressure to clear the case. It strongly makes a point that the circumstantial evidence was very flimsy. In fact, it becomes apparent that Harris was a much more likely suspect and was in the middle of a crime spree, eventually ending up on Death Row himself for the later commission of other crimes. Morris implies that the DA's and the judge's desire for the death penalty in this case (for which Harris would have been ineligible because of his youth) made Adams a scapegoat on whom to pin this heinous crime.
  40. Why We Fight (2005) 8.1 6296 He may have been the ultimate icon of 1950s conformity and postwar complacency, but Dwight D. Eisenhower was an iconoclast, visionary, and the Cassandra of the New World Order. Upon departing his presidency, Eisenhower issued a stern, cogent warning about the burgeoning "military industrial complex," foretelling with ominous clarity the state of the world in 2004 with its incestuous entanglement of political, corporate, and Defense Department interests.
  41. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) 8.0 6435 At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal, " influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, despite never hitting the big time. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.
  42. Capturing the Friedmans (2003) 8.0 10159 In the late 1980's, the Friedmans - father and respected computer and music teacher 'Arnold Friedman (II)' (qv), mother and housewife 'Elaine Friedman' (qv), and their three grown sons, 'David Friedman (IX)' (qv), 'Seth Friedman (II)' (qv) and 'Jesse Friedman (II)' (qv) - of Great Neck, Long Island, are seemingly your typical middle class American family. They all admit that the marriage was by no means close to being harmonious - Arnold and Elaine eventually got divorced - but the sons talk of their father, while also not being always there for them, as being a good man. This façade of respectability masks the fact that Arnold was buying and distributing child pornography. Following a sting operation to confirm this fact, the authorities began to investigate Arnold for sexual abuse of the minor-aged male students of his computer classes, which he held in the basement of the family home. Based on interviews with the students, not only was Arnold charged with and ultimately convicted of multiple counts of sodomy and sexual abuse of these boys but so was eighteen year old Jesse, who was mentioned by many as the aggressor of the two in the acts. Arnold admitted that he is a pedophile, but that he did not abuse the boys in his class as charged and convicted. The trial process brought out the dysfunction that previously existed within the family. But the issue of Arnold and Jesse's guilt of these acts is hotly debated among the family, among the authorities, among the media and among the students of the computer classes. In the 80's, in the upper-middleclass district of Great Neck, the awarded Professor Arnold Friedman is arrested for possession of some magazines of child pornography. A further investigation of the police discloses that apparently Arnold and his eighteen years old son Jesse molested his young students during their private computer class. Their Jewish family tears apart with the situation and the sentences of Arnold and Jesse.
  43. Deliver Us from Evil (2006) 8.0 3416 Moving from one parish to another in Northern California during the 1970s, Father Oliver O'Grady quickly won each congregation's trust and respect. Unbeknownst to them, O'Grady was a dangerously active pedophile that Church hierarchy, aware of his predilection, had harbored for over 30 years, allowing him to abuse countless children. Juxtaposing an extended, deeply unsettling interview with O'Grady himself with the tragic stories of his victims, filmmaker Amy Berg bravely exposes the deep corruption of the Catholic Church and the troubled mind of the man they sheltered.
  44. In the Shadow of the Moon (2007) 8.0 3251 In the 1960s, US President John F Kennedy proposed landing a man on the moon before the decade was finished. This film has interviews with most of the surviving astronauts of the Apollo program who were making ready to make that great voyage with an army of experts determined to make the endeavor possible. Through training, tragedy and triumph, we follow the greatest moments of one of Humanity's great achievements.
  45. Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005) 8.0 4743 Sam Dunn is a 30-year old anthropologist who wrote his graduate thesis on the plight of Guatemalan refugees. Recenly he has decided to study the plight of a different culture, one he has been a part of since he was a 12-year old: the culture of heavy metal. Sam sets out on a global journey to find out why this music has been consistently stereotyped, dismissed and condemned and yet is loved so passionately by its millions of fans. Along the way, Sam explores metals' obsession with some of life's most provacative subjects - sexuality, religion, violence and death - and discovers some things about the culture that even he can't defend. Shot on location in the UK, Germany, Norway, Canada and the US, this documentary is the first of its kind. It is both a defense of a long-misunderstood art form and a window for the outsider into the spectacle that is heavy metal.
  46. Shoah (1985) 8.0 3076 Claude Lanzmann directed this 9 1/2 hour documentary of the Holocaust without using a single frame of archive footage. He interviews survivors, witnesses, and ex-Nazis (whom he had to film secretly since though only agreed to be interviewed by audio). His style of interviewing by asking for the most minute details is effective at adding up these details to give a horrifying portrait of the events of Nazi genocide. He also shows, or rather lets some of his subjects themselves show, that the anti-Semitism that caused 6 million Jews to die in the Holocaust is still alive in well in many people that still live in Germany, Poland, and elsewhere.
  47. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) 8.0 4402 Narrated by Tom Cruise, "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" goes through each one of his movies and talks to various participants about their memories of working with Kubrick. For those who know very little about Kubrick, the documentary is an excellent career overview. Kubrick film clips include "Fear and Desire," "Killer's Kiss," "The Killing," "Paths of Glory," "Spartacus," "Lolita," "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange," "Barry Lyndon," "The Shining," "Full Metal Jacket" and "Eyes Wide Shut." Those appearing include: Arthur C. Clarke, Keir Dullea, Shelley Duvall, James B. Harris, Richard Schickel, Michael Herr, Nicole Kidman, Anya Kubrick, Christiane Kubrick, Gert Kubrick, Katharina Kubrick, Paul Mazursky, Jack Nicholson, Malcolm McDowell, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Douglas Trumbull, Marie Windsor, Matthew Modine, Sydney Pollack and Peter Ustinov.
  48. The Last Waltz (1978) 8.0 7341 Thanksgiving, 1976, San Francisco's Winterland: the Band performs its last concert after 16 years on the road. Some numbers they do alone, some songs include guest artists from Ronnie Hawkins (their first boss, when they were the Hawks) to Bob Dylan (their last, when as his backup and as a solo group, they came into their own). Scorsese's camera explores the interactions onstage in the making of music. Offstage, he interviews the Band's five members, focusing on the nature of life on the road. The friendships, the harmonies, the hijinks, and the wear and tear add up to a last waltz. Concert film of The Band's last concert, with a "few friends" and a full brass band showing up to help them out. Concert footage is interspersed with a few studio sessions (Emmylou Harris, The Staples) and candid interviews of Band members by a series of hopelessly-inarticulate reporters. Muddy Waters plays a full-grown, natural-born lover's man, Neil Young plays a helpless (and legless) dope fiend, Robbie Robertson plays a cocky upstart who challenges Eric Clapton for guitar bragging rights (no spoilers here - you'll have to watch to see who won).
  49. Touching the Void (2003) 8.0 13155 In the mid-80's two young climbers attempted to reach the summit of Siula Grande in Peru; a feat that had previously been attempted but never achieved. With an extra man looking after base camp, Simon and Joe set off to scale the mount in one long push over several days. The peak is reached, however on the descent Joe falls and breaks his leg. Despite what it means, the two continue with Simon letting Joe out on a rope for 300 meters, then descending to join him and so on. However when Joe goes out over an overhang with no way of climbing back up, Simon makes the decision to cut the rope. Joe falls into a crevice and Simon, assuming him dead, continues back down. Joe however survives the fall and was lucky to hit a ledge in the crevice. This is the story of how he got back down. Joe Simpson and Simon Yates set out to climb the west face of the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. It was 1985 and the men were young, fit, skilled climbers. The west face, remote and treacherous, had not been climbed before. Following a successful three-and-a-half-day ascent, disaster struck. Simpson fell a short distance and broke several bones in his leg. With no hope of rescue, the men decided to attempt descent together with Yates lowering Simpson 300 feet at a time in a slow, painful process that could have potentially been deadly for both. One further misstep led to Yates unknowingly lowering his injured partner over the lip of a crevasse. With the gradient having gone from steep to vertical, he was no longer able to hold on. Certain they were about to be pulled jointly to their deaths, the only choice was to cut the rope. How Simpson survived the fall, and made it back to base camp is a story that will astound and inspire. In Touching the Void, Yates and Simpson return to the Siula Grande for the first time to retell their story.
  50. Cocaine Cowboys (2006) 7.9 4291 In the 1980s, ruthless Colombian cocaine barons invaded Miami with a brand of violence unseen in this country since Prohibition-era Chicago - and it put the city on the map. "Cocaine Cowboys" is the true story of how Miami became the drug, murder and cash capital of the United States, told by the people who made it all happen.
  51. Earth (2007) 7.9 7022 null
  52. Food, Inc. (2008) 7.9 10708 The current method of raw food production is largely a response to the growth of the fast food industry since the 1950s. The production of food overall has more drastically changed since that time than the several thousand years prior. Controlled primarily by a handful of multinational corporations, the global food production business - with an emphasis on the business - has as its unwritten goals production of large quantities of food at low direct inputs (most often subsidized) resulting in enormous profits, which in turn results in greater control of the global supply of food sources within these few companies. Health and safety (of the food itself, of the animals produced themselves, of the workers on the assembly lines, and of the consumers actually eating the food) are often overlooked by the companies, and are often overlooked by government in an effort to provide cheap food regardless of these negative consequences. Many of the changes are based on advancements in science and technology, but often have negative side effects. The answer that the companies have come up with is to throw more science at the problems to bandage the issues but not the root causes. The global food supply may be in crisis with lack of biodiversity, but can be changed on the demand side of the equation.
  53. Grizzly Man (2005) 7.9 18360 A docudrama that centers on amateur grizzly bear expert Timothy Treadwell. He periodically journeyed to Alaska to study and live with the bears. He was killed, along with his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, by a rogue bear in October 2003. The films explores their compassionate lives as they found solace among these endangered animals. For thirteen consecutive summers, the American Timothy Treadwell moved to Katmai in the Alaskan Peninsula to live among the grizzly bears, with the pretext of studying and protecting them. In 2003, his girlfriend Amie Huguenard and he were surprisingly attacked and eaten by a bear. Werner Herzog somehow accessed more than one hundred hours of footages filmed by Timothy and released this documentary, showing the life and death of Timothy Treadwell.
  54. Le peuple migrateur (2001) 7.9 7227 This documentary follows several species of migratory birds over a four year filming period. These birds travel several hundreds if not thousands of miles toward the equator in the autumn, and make the return journey to their higher latitude summer homes in the spring, always taking the same route, using the natural compasses of the universe, the stars, to find their way. Some species, like the arctic tern, even fly from pole to pole. These long and often torturous treks are a matter of survival, to live in a hospitable climate and find sources of food. With the exception of migratory penguins, travel over oceans is especially difficult as the birds have little refuge unless there is something floating on the water, such as a ship, on which to land. Otherwise they must continue flying until they reach land. Some will not survive the migration due to predators, including man, illness or injury. Although the migrations themselves are done as a community, once the birds reach their respective summer and winter homes, they disperse into family units. And every continent is affected by the migration as every continent is home, at least part of year, to a species of migratory bird. The cameras of Jacques Perrin fly with migratory birds: geese, storks, cranes. The film begins with spring in France and the migration to the Arctic; the flight is a community event for each species. Once in the Arctic, it's family time: courtship, nests, eggs, fledglings, and first flight. Chicks must soon fly south through Europe and North America. Bad weather, hunters, and pollution take their toll. Then, the cameras go south over the Sahara; South Africa is the winter destination. The search for food, good weather, and a place to hatch young takes this annual cycle of stamina across continents and oceans. There is a spare narration and a few titles; for the most part it's visual, a bird's eye view.
  55. Man on Wire (2008) 7.9 14930 On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit, a French wire walker, juggler, and street performer days shy of his 25th birthday, spent 45 minutes walking, dancing, kneeling, and lying on a wire he and friends strung between the rooftops of the Twin Towers. Uses contemporary interviews, archival footage, and recreations to tell the story of his previous walks between towers of Notre Dame and of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, his passions and friendships, and the details of the night before the walk: getting cable into the towers, hiding from guards, and mounting the wire. It ends with observations of the profound changes the walk's success brought to Philippe and those closest to him.
  56. Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe (1996) 7.9 5135 A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.
  57. Nanook of the North (1922) 7.9 3477 Documents one year in the life of Nanook, an Eskimo (Inuit) and his family. Describes the trading, hunting, fishing and migrations of a group barely touched by industrial technology. Nanook of the North was widely shown and praised as the first full-length, anthropological documentary in cinematographic history.
  58. One Day in September (1999) 7.9 3194 The 1972 Munich Olympics were interrupted by Palestinian terrorists taking Israeli athletes hostage. Besides footage taken at the time, we see interviews with the surviving terrorist, Jamal Al Gashey, and various officials detailing exactly how the police, lacking an anti-terrorist squad and turning down help from the Israelis, botched the operation.
  59. Scuba (1973) 7.9 3697 null
  60. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005) 7.9 3406 null
  61. Woodstock (1970) 7.9 7150 An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000. The original "Woodstock" documentary film, with added elements including performances by bands who were not included in the original film, bonus footage of those who were, and a post-credits tribute to activists, performers, and organizers who passed on since the original release. This definitive footage of 1960's hippie counterculture and its music is reprised and transcended once more via the medium of cinema. This documentary in an vibrant attitude of youth and rebellion and it also brings together super groups and artists such as The Who, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, Jefferson Airplane and many, many more over a three day period of drugs, rain, peace and love. This film starts with the concerts conception and the first foundations laid to its finish and its inevitable dismantling. Entwined with interviews from the local townsfolk to hippie talk from the red-eyed flower people in this split-screen musical montage of some 300,000 laid-back, groovy star children.
  62. Ônibus 174 (2002) 7.9 3228 Documentary depicts what happened in Rio de Janeiro on June 12th 2000, when bus 174 was taken by an armed young man, threatening to shoot all the passengers. Transmitted live on all Brazilian TV networks, this shocking and tragic-ending event became one of violence's most shocking portraits, and one of the scariest examples of police incompetence and abuse in recent years. On June 12th, 2000, a bus full of passengers was kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro in broad daylight. The kidnapper, Sandro do Nascimento, terrorized his victims and when he finally agreed to surrender and the episode was close to an end, a policeman tried to shoot him, killing one of the hostages instead, a young woman. The whole episode was broadcast live, causing revolt among the population. The documentary is about the incident, with interviews, focusing on Sandro do Nascimento, his childhood, and how unavoidably he was doomed to become a bandit.
  63. An Inconvenient Truth (2006) 7.8 37514 Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way. "Al Gore strips his presentations of politics, laying out the facts for the audience to draw their own conclusions in a charming, funny and engaging style, and by the end has everyone on the edge of their seats, gripped by his haunting message," said Guggenheim. An Inconvenient Truth is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry to protect the one earth we all share. "It is now clear that we face a deepening global climate crisis that requires us to act boldly, quickly, and wisely," said Gore.
  64. Control Room (2004) 7.8 3590 A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.
  65. Crumb (1994) 7.8 7558 This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind. As stream-of-consciousness images incessantly flow forth from the tip of his pen, biting social satire is revealed, often along with a disturbing and haunting vision of Crumb's own betes noires and inadequacies. As his acid-trip induced images flicker across our own retinas, we gain a little insight into this complex and highly creative individual.
  66. Dont Look Back (1967) 7.8 3408 Portrait of the artist as a young man. In spring, 1965, Bob Dylan, 23, a pixyish troubador, spends three weeks in England. Pennebaker's camera follows him from airport to hall, from hotel room to public house, from conversation to concert. Joan Baez and Donovan, among others, are on hand. It's the period when Dylan is shifting from acoustic to electric, a transition that not all fans, including Baez, applaud. From the opening sequence of Dylan holding up words to the soundtrack's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," Dylan is playful and enigmatic.
  67. Encounters at the End of the World (2007) 7.8 5228 'Werner Herzog' (qv) takes his camera to Antarctica where we meet the odd men and women who have dedicated their lives to furthering the cause of science in treacherous conditions. A scientist studies neutrinos, which are everywhere, yet elusive; he likens them to spirits. A researcher's nighttime performance art includes contorting her body into a luggage bag. A survival guide teaches his students to survive white-out conditions by wearing cartoon-face buckets over their heads. Animal researchers milk mother seals as part of their study. Volcanologists offer advice on what to do when a volcano erupts. A pipefitter shows us the anomaly in his hands that he says are a sign he descended from Atzec royalty. A former Colorado banker drives what he has christened Ivan the Terra Bus. An underwater diver shows his colleagues DVDs of apocalyptic sci-fi films like _Them! (1954)_ (qv). And -- though Herzog declares he's not "making another film about penguins" -- we meet a penguin researcher who answers the filmmaker's questions about homosexuality and insanity in his subjects. We also meet an individualist penguin, who breaks away from the other birds to run toward the mountains, facing certain death.
  68. Gimme Shelter (1970) 7.8 4177 In December of 1969, four months after Woodstock, the Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane gave a free concert in Northern California, east of Oakland at Altamont Speedway. About 300,000 people came, and the organizers put Hell's Angels in charge of security around the stage. Armed with pool cues and knifes, Angels spent the concert beating up spectators, killing at least one. The film intercuts performances, violence, Grace Slick and Mick Jagger's attempts to cool things down, close-ups of young listeners (dancing, drugged, or suffering Angel shock), and a look at the Stones later as they watch concert footage and reflect on what happened. The film documentary of the Rolling Stones first tour of the United States in three years. It begins with the Stones looking at rough cuts of the film and then looking at the events that lead up to one of the darkest days in the history of rock and roll.
  69. Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999) 7.8 3942 In the 1950s, when Werner Herzog was 13, he was sharing an apartment with Klaus Kinski, an ego-maniacal live-wire. In an unabated, 48 hour fit of rage, Kinski destroyed every piece of furniture in sight. From this chaos, a beautiful albeit volatile partnership was born. In 1972, Herzog cast Kinski in Aguirre, The Wrath of God. Four more films would follow. In this personal documentary, Herzog traces the often violent up and downs of their relationship, revisiting Munich apartment where they first met - and thrashed, and the various locations of their films.
  70. Murderball (2005) 7.8 5952 Quad rugby as played by the US team, between 2002 games in Sweden and the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. Young men, most with spinal injuries, play this rough and tumble sport in special chairs, seated gladiators. We get to know several and their families. They talk frankly about their injuries, feelings in public, sex lives, competitiveness, and love of the game. There's also an angry former team member gone north to coach the Canadian team, tough on everyone, including his viola-playing son. We meet a recently injured man, in rehab, at times close to despair, finding possible joy in quad rugby. After Athens, the team meets young men injured in war: the future stars of Team USA. There is a new sport called wheelchair rugby, also known as "Murderball" in which quadriplegics of varying degrees of severity play full-contact rugby in specially designed wheelchairs with a ferocity that could cow a pit bull. This film documents a particularly strong competition between the American team and the Canadian one coached by the former coach of their opponent. In the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, this rivalry hits a fever pitch as no holds are barred for an all or nothing battle to the finish.
  71. Religulous (2008) 7.8 26960 Bill Maher interviews some of religion's oddest adherents. Muslims, Jews and Christians of many kinds pass before his jaundiced eye. Maher goes to a Creationist Museum in Kentucky, which shows that dinosaurs and people lived at the same time 5000 years ago. He talks to truckers at a Truckers' Chapel. (Sign outside: "Jesus love you.") He goes to a theme park called Holy Land in Florida. He speaks to a rabbi in league with Holocaust deniers. He talks to a Muslim musician who preaches hatred of Jews. Maher finds the unlikeliest of believers and, in a certain Vatican priest, he even finds an unlikely skeptic. With quotes from major figureheads like Thomas Jefferson, George W. Bush and Osama Bin Laden, Bill Maher, with a Jewish-Catholic background, sets out to prove that having faith and seeking directions from God is basically ridiculous and may be due to a neurotic disorder. Interviewing Christians, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, scientists, gays, and atheists, he cites that the number of non-believers is increasing in North America. He attempts to prove his point by citing inconsistencies in the Bible, the controversial birth of Lord Jesus, the inability of religious heads to account for His absence for over 18 years, as well as the absence of any concrete evidence that disproves the theory of evolution.
  72. Spellbound (2002/I) 7.8 7358 This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C. All work quite hard and practice daily, first having to win their regional championship before they can move on. Interviews include the parents and teachers who are working with them. The competitors not only work hard to get to the finals but face tremendous pressure as the original group of over 250 competitors is whittled down and the words they must spell get ever more difficult. Every spring since 1925, Scripps Howard newspapers sponsor spelling bees at grade schools across the U.S. Ten million kids competed in 1999. This documentary follows eight of them as they win regional bees and prepare for the national contest in D.C. They're from big cities, suburbs, and small towns. We watch them practice, we hear their views on study, competition, victory and defeat. We meet their families: two have single parents, three are children of immigrants. Once in D.C., we watch them compete and listen to their parents between rounds. Each is engaging, all are talented, and one might win it all. In America, says one immigrant dad, hard work brings success.
  73. Vérités et mensonges (1973) 7.8 4107 Orson Welles' free-form documentary about fakery focusses on the notorious art forger Elmyr de Hory and Elmyr's biographer, Clifford Irving, who also wrote the celebrated fraudulent Howard Hughes autobiography, then touches on the reclusive Hughes and Welles' own career (which started with a faked resume and a phony Martian invasion). On the way, Welles plays a few tricks of his own on the audience.
  74. When We Were Kings (1996) 7.8 6701 It's 1974, Muhammed Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Forman is ten years younger and the Heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set. A musical festival, featuring the America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King, is also planned.
  75. Être et avoir (2002) 7.8 4490 How do we learn to live with others and their wishes? Director Nicolas Philibert poses this question in a village schoolhouse in Auvergne, where Georges Lopez teaches 13 children, ages ranging from about four to 12. Against a landscape of mountains and farmland, from driving snow to rain to sun, the children gather in Lopez's warm and colorful classroom, to read, write dictation, cook, and sort things out. At home, the older ones do homework with parents after their chores. At year's end, they look ahead to the next, visiting the middle school and meeting the little ones coming in the fall. As they learn sums and adjectives, with Lopez's help, they also learn to live side by side.
  76. American Movie (1999) 7.7 8163 On the northwest side of Milwaukee, Mark Borchardt dreams the American dream: for him, it's making movies. Using relatives, local theater talent, slacker friends, his Mastercard, and $3,000 from his Uncle Bill, Mark strives over three years to finish "Covan," a short horror film. His own personal demons (alcohol, gambling, a dysfunctional family) plague him, but he desperately wants to overcome self-doubt and avoid failure. In moments of reflection, Mark sees his story as quintessentially American, and its the nature and nuance of his dream that this film explores.
  77. Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008) 7.7 5539 In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of our heroes are on performance enhancing drugs? Director Christopher Bell explores America's win-at-all-cost culture by examining how his two brothers became members of the steroid-subculture in an effort to realize their American dream.
  78. Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004) 7.7 4288 Admist the apparent growing prosperity of India, there is a dark underbelly of poverty of another side of the nation that is little known. This film is a chronicle of filmmakers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's efforts to show that world of Calcutta's red light district. To do that, they inspired a special group of children of the prostitutes of the area to photograph the most reluctant subjects of it. As the kids excel in their new found art, the filmmakers struggle to help them have a chance for a better life away from the miserable poverty that threatens to crush their dreams.
  79. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) 7.7 3339 Enron dives from the seventh largest US company to bankruptcy in less than a year in this tale told chronologically. The emphasis is on human drama, from suicide to 20,000 people sacked: the personalities of Ken Lay (with Falwellesque rectitude), Jeff Skilling (he of big ideas), Lou Pai (gone with $250 M), and Andy Fastow (the dark prince) dominate. Along the way, we watch Enron game California's deregulated electricity market, get a free pass from Arthur Andersen (which okays the dubious mark-to-market accounting), use greed to manipulate banks and brokerages (Merrill Lynch fires the analyst who questions Enron's rise), and hear from both Presidents Bush what great guys these are.
  80. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) 7.7 3013 Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "free lance, " goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts. A chronological look at the life and times of Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005), with commentary by his wives, fellow journalists, elected officials, friends, and others. Key incidents detailed are his run for sheriff of a Colorado county, his book on the Hell's Angels, his writing for "Rolling Stone" about Las Vegas, Jimmy Carter, and George McGovern, and his connection to alcohol, drugs, and guns. A thesis of the film is that Thompson's persona as a Gonzo journalist devoured him. Archival footage of Thompson, Vietnam protests, 60's exuberance, political campaigns, and a Hollywood movie provide texture.
  81. Grey Gardens (1975) 7.7 3147 The Maysles brothers pay visits to Edith Bouvier Beale, nearing 80, and her daughter Edie. Reclusive, the pair live with cats and raccoons in Grey Gardens, a crumbling mansion in East Hampton. Edith is dry and quick-witted - a singer, married but later separated, a member of high society. Edie is voluble, dresses - as she puts it - for combat in tight ensembles that include scarves wrapped around her head. There are hints that Edie came home 24 years before to be cared for rather than to care for her mother. The women address the camera, talking over each other, moving from the present to events years before. They're odd, with flinty affection for each other. Seventy-nine year old 'Edith Bouvier Beale' (qv) and her fifty-six year old daughter, 'Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale' (qv), are 'Jacqueline Kennedy (I)' (qv)'s aunt and cousin. Living alone with several cats, fleas and raccoons (the latter, wild, which live in the attic but who Edie feeds), the Beale's are discovered living in filth and squalor in Grey Gardens, their 28-room family mansion located in East Hampton, Long Island, the mansion which doesn't even have running water. Edie moved home twenty-four years earlier to care for her ailing mother. In what Edie considers a "raid" on their privacy, the Suffolk County Board of Health orders the Beale's to clean up the house or be evicted. With few exceptions, the Beale's are suspicious of the outside world. The Beale's comply with the order and renovate the house with financial help from their more famous relative. Mother and daughter are outwardly combative with each other, but their constant bickering masks a protective attitude each has for the other. Both cling to their past lives, with each still believing that that life can exist, Edith as a singer, and Edie as a social débutante (Edie is always sporting a fashionable scarf around her head). Old habits die hard as even two years after renovations on the home have begun, Edith lives primarily in her bedroom in her twin bed which is covered with garbage and cats, who use the corner of the room as a bathroom. And Edie constantly dreams of a time when she can return to living in New York City as a débutante and dancer, although one realizes that she is only using her mother as an excuse for what she really considers her comfortable current living situation.
  82. La marche de l'empereur (2005) 7.7 25047 Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins in their thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds. Guided by instinct, by the otherworldly radiance of the Southern Cross, they head unerringly for their traditional breeding ground where--after a ritual courtship of intricate dances and delicate maneuvering, accompanied by a cacophony of ecstatic song--they will pair off into monogamous couples and mate. The females remain long enough only to lay a single egg. Once this is accomplished, exhausted by weeks without nourishment, they begin their return journey across the ice-field to the fish-filled seas. The male emperors are left behind to guard and hatch the precious eggs, which they cradle at all times on top of their feet. After two long months during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Once they have emerged into their ghostly white new world, the chicks can not survive for long on their fathers' limited food reserves. If their mothers are late returning from the ocean with food, the newly-hatched young will die. Once the families are reunited, the roles reverse, the mothers remaining with their new young while their mates head, exhausted and starved, for the sea, and food. While the adults fish, the chicks face the ever-present threat of attack by prowling giant petrels. As the weather grows warmer and the ice floes finally begin to crack and melt, the adults will repeat their arduous journey countless times, marching many hundreds of miles over some of the most treacherous territory on Earth, until the chicks are ready to take their first faltering dive into the deep blue waters of the Antarctic. The cycle of life the Emperor's penguins is disclosed in this wonderful documentary. Every autumn, these animal leave the safety of the ocean and march along twenty days to a place called "Oamack". Once there, they select their mates, they procreate, protect and feed their offspring and after months they return to the sea. Later, their progeny go to the ocean, where they stay for four years, and when they reach their adult life, they follow the same pattern of their parents.
  83. Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982) 7.7 5066 A collection of skits that made the Python troup famous, performed live at the Hollywood Bowl. Included are the singing philosophers, lumberjacks, the pope, and a suspiciously-male looking seabird vendor.
  84. Océans (2009) 7.7 3216 null
  85. Tupac: Resurrection (2003) 7.7 4112 null
  86. Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) 7.7 5921 With gasoline prices approaching $4/gallon, fossil fuel shortages, unrest in oil producing regions around the globe and mainstream consumer adoption and adoption of the hybrid electric car (more than 140,000 Prius' sold this year), this story couldn't be more relevant or important. The foremost goal in making this movie is to educate and enlighten audiences with the story of this car, its place in history and in the larger story of our car culture and how it enables our continuing addiction to foreign oil. This is an important film with an important message that not only calls to task the officials who squelched the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, but all of the other accomplices, government, the car companies, Big Oil, even Eco-darling Hydrogen as well as consumers, who turned their backs on the car and embrace embracing instead the SUV. Our documentary investigates the death and resurrection of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in our country's future; issues which affect everyone from progressive liberals to the neo-conservative right. As a result of their development of a solar powered vehicle for a competition, General Motors decided in the late 1980's to develop a fully functional and affordable electric powered car. The resulting vehicles were high powered, zero emission, but could only run for approximately 100 miles on a charge, which is sufficient for most day to day driving. Because they knew that the technology was feasible and because of the global warming phenomenon resulting from the uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels, California state regulators passed the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate in 1990, requiring all auto makers to offer for sale in the state zero emission vehicles. The electric car was the most promising technology at the time. It was argued that they were more environmentally friendly than conventional vehicles, even if the electricity was produced through burning coal. Under pressure from all the auto makers who sued the California Air Resources Board, the mandate was revoked in 2003. Despite lessees who loved their electric vehicles, all the auto makers repossessed their electric vehicles and refused to re-lease or sell the vehicles even to their existing users. Many forces seemed to be working against making electric vehicles available, despite technology itself making their production and operation feasible.
  87. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) 7.6 78110 Following up on 'Bowling for Columbine', film-maker Michael Moore provides deep and though-provoking insights on the American security system, the level of paranoia, fear, uncertainty, false values and patriotism, which all combined together to set a stage for George W. Bush to launch a war on Iraq instead of focusing on getting the real culprit(s) behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This documentary also focuses on how some Saudis were safely and secretly flown out of America while planes were ostensibly grounded after the attacks. Archived film footage, candid interviews with politicians, and an overall waste of public funds for a war that was initiated on false pretension to wit: a weapon of mass distraction - to take the focus away from the real enemy and get Americans glued to their TV sets to watch innocent Iraqis and Afghans getting killed. And a war that would eventually alienate the U.S.A. and it's citizens from almost every country on Earth. In this film, muckraker 'Michael Moore (II)' (qv) turns his eye on 'George W. Bush' (qv) and his War on Terrorism agenda. He illustrates his argument about how this failed businessman with deep connections to the royal house of Saud of Saudia Arabia and the Bin Ladins got elected on fraudulent circumstances and proceeded to blunder through his duties while ignoring warnings of the looming betrayal by his foreign partners. When that treachery hits with the 9/11 attacks, Moore explains how Bush failed to take immediate action to defend his nation, only to later cynically manipulate it to serve his wealthy backers' corrupt ambitions. Through facts, footage and interviews, Moore illustrates his contention of how Bush and his cronies have gotten America into worse trouble than ever before and why Americans should not stand for it.
  88. It Might Get Loud (2008) 7.6 3473 null
  89. Jesus Camp (2006) 7.6 10676 Jesus Camp follows several young children as they prepare to attend a summer camp where the kids will get their daily dose of evangelical Christianity. 'Becky Fischer' (qv) works at the camp, which is named Kids on Fire. Through interviews with Fischer, the children, and others, Jesus Camp illustrates the unswerving belief of the faithful. A housewife and homeschooling mother tells her son that creationism has all the answers. Footage from inside the camp shows young children weeping and wailing as they promise to stop their sinning. Child after child is driven to tears. Juxtapose these scenes with clips from a more moderate Christian radio host (who is appalled by such tactics), and Jesus Camp seems to pose a clear question: are these children being brainwashed? 'Becky Fischer' (qv) is a Pentacostal minister who holds Evangelical Christian conferences and camps, the latter called "Kids on Fire" which are held in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. She holds the camps in the hopes of teaching Evangelical Christian children to lay down their life for God. She equates her philosophy to that of extremist Muslims teaching children literally to fight in the name of Islam, but with 'the right' message. She teaches the children at the camps to be outspoken in their beliefs with a passionate fervor, all in the name of Jesus Christ. Topics presented include the evils of Harry Potter (in Old Testament times, he would have been put to death for being a warlock), the waste of dead churches (where there is no passion in the praising of Jesus), the evils of abortion, and Evangelical Christians taking back government in the United States. The camp attendees soak up the messages like sponges as she is preaching to the converted. Her events are played out against the backdrop of the 'George W. Bush' (qv) presidency, he who speaks to 'Ted Haggard' (qv), the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, on a weekly basis. Christian radio host 'Mike Papantonio' (qv), who is non-Evangelical, provides his views of what he considers Fischer's indoctrination process, and especially the harm he sees in blurring the line between church and state.
  90. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004) 7.6 7406 Some Kind of Monster is a music documentary about Metallica's making of their album St. Anger and the difficulties they had to go through in the process. The directors shot over 1200 hours and followed the band around night and day for over a year to create this documentary.
  91. Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004) 7.6 4195 null
  92. Restrepo (2010) 7.6 5864 Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's year dug in with the Second Platoon in one of Afghanistan's most strategically crucial valleys reveals extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of back breaking labor, deadly firefights, and camaraderie as the soldiers painfully push back the Taliban.
  93. Roger & Me (1989) 7.6 15463 A documentary about the closure of General Motors' plant at Flint, Michigan, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs. Details the attempts of filmmaker Michael Moore to get an interview with GM CEO Roger Smith.
  94. Shut Up & Sing (2006) 7.6 3528 In 2003, the female country band, The Dixie Chicks, are at the top of their game being one of the most successful bands of all time. However with the US invasion of Iraq about to begin over frustrated worldwide objections about this needless war, one of the Chick vents off the cuff in concert about being ashamed of US President 'George W. Bush' (qv). This statement sparks a firestorm of organized and personal right wing attacks against the Chicks for daring to think they have the right to express a negative personal opinion about the President. This film covers the band's effort to ride out the turmoil that would leave their careers under a cloud, but would eventually give them a opportunity to grow as great artists who bow to no one.
  95. The Road to Guantanamo (2006) 7.6 7173 In 2001, four Pakistani Britons, Ruhal Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul and another friend, Monir, travel to Pakistan for a wedding and in a urge of idealism, decide to see the situation of war torn Afganistan which is being bombed by the American forces in retaliation for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Once there, with the loss of Monir in the wartime chaos, they are captured by Northern Alliance fighters. They are then handed them over the American forces who transport them to the prison camps at the Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba. What follows is three years of relentless imprisonment, interrogations and torture to make them submit to blatantly wrong confessions to being terrorists. In the midst of this abuse, the three struggle to keep their spirits up in that face of this grave injustice.
  96. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) 7.6 10794 null
  97. Triumph des Willens (1935) 7.6 5946 A legendary propaganda/documentary of the Third Reich's 1934 Nuremberg Party Rally. Featuring a cast of thousands as well as, of course, Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Hess, Goering and other top party officials. Triumph of the Will was commissioned by Hitler in 1934 and directed by Leni Riefenstahl, and covers the events of the Sixth Nuremberg Party Congress. The original intention was to document the early days of the NSDAP, so future generations could look back and see how the Third Reich began. In reality, Triumph of the Will shows historians how the Nazi state drew in the masses through propaganda and also how Adolf Hitler had a unique and terrifying ability to entice crowds to his beliefs by the very power of his words.
  98. Tyson (2008) 7.6 5533 Mike Tyson narrates his life story as a reaction to fear and as a resolution not to be bullied or humiliated as he was when a boy in Brooklyn's mean streets. He starts boxing while at a state detention center; his coach there sends him to Cus D'Amato who becomes trainer, father figure, and confidence builder. Tyson wins a series of championships and, for six years, is unbeatable. A failed marriage, a felony conviction, and lack of training lead to his fall. We see later losing fights and archive footage of other incidents in his life. Tyson concludes by speaking philosophically about being a father and trying to be a better person.
  99. Darwin's Nightmare (2004) 7.5 3231 The larger scope of the story explores the gun trade to Africa that takes place under the covers -- Russian pilots fly guns into Africa, then fly fish back out to Europe. The hazards and consequences of this trade are explored, including the pan-African violence propagated by constant flow of weapons into the continent. If it is a "survival of the fittest" world, as Darwin concluded, then the capitalist interests that fund the gun runners are climbing the evolutionary ladder on the backs of the Africans in this stark Darwinian example. Much like the foreseeable extinction of the Lake Victoria perch, and death of Lake Victoria itself, the Africans are in grave jeopardy, even as they survive in the only ways they know how. In the 1950s or 1960s, the Nile perch was released into the Lake Victoria. In just a few decades, the large, voracious predator has all but eliminated the other species of fish, turning the lake into an ecological wasteland. "But economically, it's good" -- and indeed, perch fillet is Tanzania's best selling export to Europe. Fishermen, factory workers, civil servants, pilots of cargo aircrafts, delegates of the European Commission, communities living around Lake Victoria: plenty of people are involved in some way in this new industry. But if Africa exports hundreds of tons of premium-priced fish each day, what exactly do Africans get in return?
  100. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) 7.5 5033 Sub-titled "The Birth of Extreme", this documetary takes a look at the transformation of skateboarding from its former image as a land-bound pastime for surfers to its status today as an extreme and acrobatic sport in its own right. Starting from the California surf community of Dogtown, the film follows the evolution of modern skateboarding through it's 70's heyday, its decline during the 80's, and its eventual (and highly lucrative) return in the 90's. In the mid-70s, surfers from Venice-Santa Monica who hung out at the Zephyr Surf Shop would skateboard when the surf was quiet. Over the course of a few heady years, riding on polyurethane wheels and copying the surfing moves of Larry Bertleman, the Z-Boys invent and polish their style on a hilly street near the shop, on the asphalt slopes ringing school playgrounds, and then in swimming pools empty during California's drought. The Z-Boys astound upright skateboarders at the 1975 championship in Del Mar. Within a year, the team splinters as some players join better financed pro teams. The film ends with profiles of the stars, Jay Adams, Stacy Peralta, and Tony Alva.
  101. Super Size Me (2004) 7.5 37493 Several legal suits have been brought against MacDonald's Restaurants that they are knowingly selling food that is unhealthy. Some of the court decisions have stated that the plaintiffs would have a claim if they could prove that eating the food every day for every meal is dangerous. As such, documentarian 'Morgan Spurlock' (qv) conducts an unscientific experiment using himself as the guinea pig: eat only MacDonald's for thirty days, three meals a day. If he is asked by the clerk if he would like the meal super sized, he has to say yes. And by the end of the thirty days, he will have had to have eaten every single menu item at least once. Before starting the experiment, he is tested by three doctors - a general practitioner, a cardiologist and a gastroenterologist - who pronounce his general health to be outstanding. They will also monitor him over the thirty days to ensure that he is not placing his health into irreparable damage. He also consults with a dietitian/nutritionist and an exercise physiologist, the latter who also deems him to be above average fitness. As it mimics the lifestyle of those who eat fast food, he will also do no exercise for the thirty days, limiting himself to under 5,000 steps per day (the approximate equivalent of 2½ miles). These health and medical experts have some predictions about his general health and wellness by the end of the experiment. His vegan chef girlfriend also has some predictions about how this experiment will affect his mood and therefore their relationship. As he goes through the experiment, he speaks to a number of people - many experts in their respective fields - on the pros and cons of the fast food lifestyle. Just over halfway through the experiment, it is evident that even the experts can be wrong, and not in a good way. Why are Americans so fat? Two words: fast food. What would happen if you ate nothing but fast food for an entire month? Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock does just that and embarks on the most perilous journey of his life. The rules? For 30 days he can't eat or drink anything that isn't on McDonald's menu; he must wolf three squares a day; he must consume everything on the menu at least once and supersize his meal if asked. Spurlock treks across the country interviewing a host of experts on fast food and an equal number of regular folk while chowing down at the Golden Arches. Spurlock's grueling drive-through diet spirals him into a physical and emotional metamorphosis that will make you think twice about picking up another Big Mac. In 2002, director Morgan Spurlock subjected himself to a diet based only in McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days and without working out. His objective was to prove why most of the Americans are so fat, with many cases of obesity. He began the shootings submitting himself to a complete check-up with three doctors, and along the weeks, he compared his weight and results of exams, coming through a scary conclusion. Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock makes himself a test subject of this documentary about the commercial food industry. Rigorously eating a diet of McDonald's fast food, three times a day for a month straight. Spurlock is out to prove the physical and mental effects of consuming fast food. While doing this, Spurlock also provides a look at the food culture in America through it's schools, corporations, and politics as seen through the eyes of regular people and health advocates. "Super Size Me" is a movie that sheds a new light on what has become one of our nation's biggest health problems: obesity.
  102. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) 7.4 15217 Capitalism: A Love Story examines the impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). The film moves from Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan. With both humor and outrage, the film explores the question: What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism? Families pay the price with their jobs, their homes and their savings. Moore goes into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down; and he goes looking for explanations in Washington, DC and elsewhere. What he finds are the all-too-familiar symptoms of a love affair gone astray: lies, abuse, betrayal...and 14,000 jobs being lost every day. Capitalism: A Love Story also presents what a more hopeful future could look like. Who are we and why do we behave the way that we do? Film-maker Michael Moore begins this revealing documentary with the Roman Empire, and the beginning of greed. He takes the viewer to an era of American well-being without any competition from post-war Germany and Japan; prosperity; end of slavery, and the introduction of the Second Bill of Rights by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. But before this inclusion Roosevelt passes away, and the nation spins into anarchy, with indolent, right-winged, self-seeking politicians forming an unhealthy nexus with Corporations, and Wall Street, leaving the vulnerable without employment and health insurance, while putting billions at the disposal of banks and insurance companies - leaving them free to distribute this wealth amongst their executives without any conditions and audits, as well as portraying Barrack Obama as a Socialist. In this regressive era employers exploit their employees by paying them the minimum, but insuring them for large amounts, naming the organization as the beneficiary, demonstrating that they are more valuable after their demise. Middle-classed Katrina & foreclosure-ravaged Americans now must consider adapting to the new Bible (Wall Street Journal) and a new place of worship - Wall Street. Most Americans believe that capitalism is a system of the production and distribution of preferred goods and services in return for what consumers are willing to pay for them, and that this system is the bedrock on which the United States is built and upon which the country should function. This system may have functioned well in the United States in the post World War II era when there was little global competition and which truly established the middle class. However capitalism as seen the United States today, which truly took hold in the Reagan era, is more about the want of the wealthy to get wealthier at the expense of all others. The country at that time started to be run more like a business than like a traditional government. Since, there has been a manipulation by the power brokers on Wall Street of government for their benefit, often at the expense of the the dwindling middle class and working class, and often without that production of a good or service demanded by society. The system continues to operate as most Americans strive to be among the wealthy and see capitalism as a system where becoming wealthy is at least possible. Capitalism is often associated with the ideals of Christianity and the concurrent American ideal of democracy, the latter which is increasingly not the case, where economic power is held in the hands of the few. Corporate America's biggest fear is democracy where in a one person/one vote system, a wealthy person has as much power as a poor person. With the poor increasingly outnumbering the wealthy, the poor banding together may show capitalism for what it is, at least in today's global system.
  103. De fem benspænd (2003) 7.4 3709 "The Five Obstructions", a 100 min. theatre documentary directed by Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth. An investigative journey into the phenomenon of "documentary", based on manifestos written by each director. About a filmmaker not only revisiting, but also recreating (not in a conventional sense) one of his first films, The Perfect Human / Det perfekte menneske (1967), a document on life in Denmark, containing the familiar Leth idiosyncrasies
  104. Lost in La Mancha (2002) 7.4 5785 Director 'Terry Gilliam' (qv) is the latest filmmaker to try and bring 'Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra' (qv)'s "Don Quixote de la Mancha" to the big screen, the movie to be called The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Before filming even begins, Gilliam, who has moved from Hollywood studio to European financing, will have to scale back his vision as his budget has been slashed from $40 million to $32 million, still astronomical by European standards. But Gilliam is a dreamer, much like his title character, and his vision for the movie is uncompromising, meaning with the reduced budget that there is no margin for error and that some of his department heads may have to achieve miracles with their allotted moneys. During pre-production and actual filming, what Gilliam does not foresee is contractual and health issues with his actors, and the effects of Mother Nature. The question is does Gilliam have a Plan B if/when things go wrong. In August 2000, master filmmaker Terry Gilliam finally got his opportunity to create his dream film he labored for a decade, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Assembling his film crew, he prepares his production in what promises to be the biggest budgeted feature film using only European financing, although it is meager compared to Hollywood standards. However for all his creativity and enthusiasm, the film is immediately plagued with an improbable series of disasters ranging from scheduling conflicts, budget cuts, studio and location problems and worse that threaten to doom the film.
  105. The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) 7.4 3633 This documentary captures the life story of legendary Hollywood producer and studio chief Robert Evans. The first actor to ever to run a film studio, Robert Evans' film career started in 1956, poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel. His good looks, charm and overwhelming confidence captured the eye of screen legend Norma Shearer, who offered him a film role. After a glamorous--but short-lived--career as a movie star, Evans tried out producing. At the age of 34, with no producing credits to his name, he landed a job as chief of production at Paramount Pictures. Evans ran the studio from 1966-1974. During his tenure, he was responsible for such revolutionary films as The Godfather, Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Odd Couple, Harold and Maude and Chinatown. By the early '80s, the Golden Boy of Hollywood was losing his luster. After a failed marriage to Ali MacGraw, a cocaine bust and rumored involvement with the Cotton Club murder, he disappeared into near-obscurity. Only through tremendous will and uncanny luck did he once again rise as the kid who stays in the picture. Movie mogul 'Robert Evans (I)' (qv) self narrates the story of his movie life. Once an aspiring actor, he was a successful business owner of a woman's wear company when, independently, Hollywood royals actress 'Norma Shearer' (qv) and producer 'Darryl F. Zanuck' (qv) plucked him out of nowhere to be featured in major supporting roles in two separate movies. His acting career was short as he realized that he was not very good at it, and that his passion lied elsewhere in the movie business. He wanted to be the next 'Darryl F. Zanuck' (qv). In large part due to an article written by entertainment columnist 'Peter Bart' (qv), Evans did become a producer and then ultimately head of Paramount Pictures, one of the then lower tier of the premier movie studios. Evans' place at the studio hinged on the success of a few key movies including _Rosemary's Baby (1968)_ (qv), _Love Story (1970)_ (qv) (working on which sparked the short but passionate personal relationship with future wife, actress 'Ali MacGraw' (qv)), and _The Godfather (1972)_ (qv). Under his tenure, Paramount became the number 1 studio in Hollywood. Those successes led to an unusual contract with Paramount, which in turn led to his return to producing such acclaimed movies as _Chinatown (1974)_ (qv), and ultimately quitting his job at the studio. But Evans' life had some major falls, especially in the 1980's, with the start of his cocaine use, the failure of some highly touted and big budget films such as _The Cotton Club (1984)_ (qv), and implication in the murder of aspiring producer 'Roy Radin' (qv), which in combination led to major bout of depression. He would need the assistance of his true friends to help him regain his life.
  106. Ghost Hunters (2004) 7.3 3089 This one-hour weekly docu-soap from the creator/executive producer of "American Chopper" follows a group of real-life paranormal researchers as they investigate haunted houses throughout the country, encountering every type of imaginable haunting. Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, plumbers by trade, head up TAPS -- The Atlantic Paranormal Society -- a group of ordinary, everyday people with an interest in getting to the bottom of your otherworldly disturbances.
  107. Buena Vista Social Club (1999) 7.3 7435 A group of legendary Cuban musicians, some as old as their nineties, were brought together by Ry Cooder to record a CD. In this film, we see and hear some of the songs being recorded in Havana. There is also footage from concerts in Amsterdam and New York City's Carnegie Hall. In addition, many of the individual musicians talk about their lives in Cuba and about how they got started in music.
  108. The Big One (1997) 7.3 5353 Our intrepid defender of the working man, Michael Moore, documents his 1996 "Downsize This!" book tour across the USA. Shot on-the-cheap with a video camera, we once again watch our hero interview the working man at yet another plant closing, while also trying to get past corporate security guards to interview the millionaire CEOs.
  109. This Is It (2009) 7.3 19571 In the weeks before his death, Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009) was rehearsing a show, "This Is It," that was to open in July. This film begins with a few of the auditioning dancers speaking to the camera about why they're trying out and what Jackson means to them. Then we plunge into rehearsals at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The film is arranged by musical number with pre-recorded material and footage from Jackson's various rehearsals edited together to take us through what would have been the concert's set list.
  110. Jackass 3D (2010) 7.1 17908 'Jackass 3D' opens with the entire cast all lined up, each wearing a different color of the rainbow, in front of a rainbow colored background, each in turn being attacked in various ways. Some of the footage is slowed down for maximal effect. This is repeated again at the end of the movie with additional explosions mixed in with gallons of water to wash away the cast- chaos is resumed. Throughout the movie the team are subjected to the usual foray of physical abuse from team members or perform hilarious stunts (including some of the more stomach turning stunts such as the Sweat suit cocktail, Toy Train Eruption and Poo Cocktail Supreme - not for the weak stomached!).
  111. Jackass Number Two (2006) 7.1 28112 null
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