Bill Duke
A nostalgic journey through '80s Sc-Fi-films, exploring their impact and relevance today, told by the artist who made them and by those who were inspired to turn their visions into reality.
When his wife and daughter are senselessly murdered, a grieving man finds himself caught up in a war between a group of charismatic vigilantes and the crime that infests their city.
The most comprehensive retrospective of the '80s action film genre ever made.
During an NBA lockout, a sports agent, Ray Burke, presents his rookie client, Erick Scott, with an intriguing and controversial business opportunity.
A young rock band, half from England and half from the US, drop out of college and move to the Sunset Strip to chase their dreams.
A woman who wishes to become a priest hires a lawyer to file suit against the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
A troubled ex-con joins the colorful crew of an old movie theater and begins to rebuild his life, only to find his faith in God tested when he learns the theater he has grown to love is not what it seems.
From the creator and director of the critically acclaimed documentary Dark Girls, award-winning filmmaker Bill Duke continues the conversation on colorism with Light Girls. Sharing the untold stories and experiences of lighter-skinned women, Light Girls dives deep into the discussion of skin color, preference, privilege, pain and prejudice. The documentary features interviews with Russell Simmons, Soledad O'Brien, Diahann Carroll, India Arie, Iyanla Vanzant, Michaela Angela Davis, Kym Whitley, Salli Richardson-Whitfield and more.
When Baton Rouge police detective Bud Carter busts contract killer Jesse Weiland, he convinces Jesse to become an informant and rat out the South's most powerful crime ring.
Frank Gates is an LAPD cop with a rocky past and a dark secret. He restarted his life thinking he was finally safe, but the past is never far behind. Now with danger coming fast he is forced to protect his family at any cost.
Friends and admirers of iconoclastic film director Sam Fuller read from his memoirs in this unconventional documentary directed by Fuller's only child, Samantha.
When a strange werewolf virus threatens to decimate first New York and then the world, a rogue general uses the disease to create an army of super-soldiers.
Set in 1974, a pair of '60s radicals rely on their bomb-making skills on their way to becoming capitalists.
'Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp', examines the tumultuous life of legendary Chicago pimp Iceberg Slim (1918-1992) and how he reinvented himself from pimp to author of 7 groundbreaking books. These books were the birth of Street Lit and explored the world of the ghetto in gritty and poetic detail and have made him a cultural icon. Interviews with Iceberg Slim, Chris Rock, Henry Rollins, Ice-T, Snoop Dogg, and Quincy Jones.
A private detective is hired to find a missing stripper but the job turns complicated when everyone he questions ends up dead. From the mean streets of Los Angeles to the desolate desert of New Mexico, Cruz must contend with a brutal Russian Boxer, three brash LAPD detectives, an aged billionaire looking for the Big Bang, and the billionaire's stunningly gorgeous wife. The solution to the mystery will cost ten lives, net $30 million and just might explain - well - everything.
Documentary exploring the deep-seated biases and attitudes about skin color---particularly dark skinned women, outside of and within the Black American culture.
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
A look at the development of film making and its contribution to the social and political times form the perspective of Black film makers.
Abdul Rahman, an African prince who was sold into slavery, spent four decades in servitude before an amazing coincidence took him to the White House to meet President John Quincy Adams, where he was granted his freedom. Mos Def narrates this PBS documentary that includes reenactments of scenes from Rahman's life and interviews with historians who discuss the conditions faced by slaves in early America.
Based on the best-selling book by author Deepak Chopra, and featuring all-new music from Olivia Newton-John...
When someone is murdered on New Year's Eve, the prime suspect is Valerie Maas, a church-going home-maker whose life unravels when she discovers that her husband of many years has been leading a double life. Her strength of character and faith keep her going as the revelation of her husband's betrayal threatens to destroy all that they have known.
When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men—led by Professor Charles Xavier—and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organised under Xavier's former ally, Magneto.
Amaryllis Campos is a young, classically trained Latina ballerina, who dreams of leaving her impoverished home in Puerto Rico to pursue fame and fortune as a dancer. Amaryllis heads for New York City, where she is forced to work in a seedy strip club to make ends meet. Setting audiences afire with her erotic moves, Amaryllis quickly becomes the strip club's hottest attraction, but must finally decide between true love and realizing her dream of becoming a star.
A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.
Miracle's Boys is a six-part miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Jacqueline Woodson, shown on The N in February 2005. The series was directed by Neema Barnette, LeVar Burton, Ernest R. Dickerson, Bill Duke, and Spike Lee and was filmed on-site in Harlem, New York. It also includes a theme song by rapper Nas.
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 1987 classic Predator.
As a U.S. Deputy Marshal, based on Miami, Florida's Gold Coast, Karen must deal with the underbelly of South Beach nightlife and Palm Beach high life while tracking down fugitives. She also struggles to win the respect of her fellow officers. Karen occasionally gets advice from her father, a retired Miami police officer turned private investigator, who is Karen’s confidant, counselor, and confessor.
Inspired by a true story, this drama is set in 1965, not long after passage of the Civil Rights Act. Despite the Act, the African-American citizens of Bogalusa are still treated like third-class citizens, their fundamental rights as human beings persistently trampled by the white power structure, in general, and the local branch of the KKK. The story follows the formation of local black men, particularly ex-war veterans who after the struggles become too overbearing organizes the group, "Deacons for defense", an all-black defense group dedicated to patrolling the black section of town and protecting its residents from the more violent aspects of "white backlash."
Two mismatched security guards are thrown together to bust a smuggling operation.
Robbery Homicide Division was an American police procedural television series on CBS, created by Barry Schindel with executive producer Michael Mann. Schindel has been nominated for three Emmy Awards.
Recounts the extraordinary segregation-era partnership between two surgeons--one black and one white--who defied the medical establishment and changed the course of cardiac surgery.
Former FBI Agent Will Graham, who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.
Malik Bishop is the best killer in the business, but when his crimelord employer wants his girlfriend, who may be unfaithful, eliminated, Bishop doesn't count on falling in love with the woman. Now he must choose between his heart and, perhaps, his life.
A man and a woman who have pledged never to fall in love again meet in a gay bar.
Maverick cop Orin Boyd always brings down the domestic terrorists he tracks, but he ruffles feathers with his unorthodox techniques -- and soon finds himself reassigned to the toughest district in Detroit. When he discovers a group of detectives secretly operating a drug ring, Boyd joins forces with an unlikely ally -- gangster Latrell Walker -- to bring down the rotten cops.
Angel is a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of rap's most conflicted and charismatic MC. DMX commands arena stages, wrecks his competition in battles, and takes time to show fans some tough love. Leading off this two-hour tale of the X is the 20-minute short "Angel" directed by Bill Duke. It's a mini-movie about DMX's rise to super-stardom and his constant fight with evil. Co-stars Mary J. Blige. View "Angel" once and then forget about it... the rest of the DVD is what makes it a must-have. "Tales of X" is a look into the life and times of DMX. You can finally hear him, understand him and enter his world. "One More Road to Cross" documents step-by-step how X and his team lay down an album in the studio and the creative and emotional intensity surrounding the process. A full taste of DMX in front of a hometown audience is given by "Survival of the Illest" shot during his legendary 1999 performance at the Apollo Theater.
Interrupted at dinner by a street kid with a strange story, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin find themselves drawn into a strange case when their young informant is found murdered. The victim's mother soon appears with his life savings totally $4.30, Wolfe's fee for taking the case! Archie's fancy legwork brings Wolfe to a mysterious woman with golden spider earrings. And when everyone else investigating the matter hits a dead end, only the inimitable Wolfe can get to the bottom of the crime.
The Limey follows Wilson, a tough English ex-con who travels to Los Angeles to avenge his daughter's death. Upon arrival, Wilson goes to task battling Valentine and an army of L.A.'s toughest criminals, hoping to find clues and piece together what happened. After surviving a near-death beating, getting thrown from a building and being chased down a dangerous mountain road, the Englishman decides to dole out some bodily harm of his own.
With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be.
Susan's Plan (also released as Dying to Get Rich on video) is a 1998 black comedy film directed by John Landis and starring Nastassja Kinski, Dan Aykroyd, Billy Zane, Rob Schneider, Lara Flynn Boyle and Michael Biehn. The plot revolves around Susan's (played by Kinski) plan to kill her former husband (with the help of a group of misfits) and collect his life insurance.
During post-civil war, Ned Logan, a wealthy widower, is raising a family all on his own on his Kentucky horse farm. Ned's streetwise adopted son clashes with his youngest son, Clay, as well as the southern society. Meanwhile, Sean reconsiders his impending engagement to debutante, Vivian Winters.
An ex-con moves to L.A. to find work and creates a disturbance by fighting for a position. More importantly he touches the lives of many of his neighbors including an older man dying of cancer, a young married couple whose husband is too proud to accept a lesser position which causes strife with his wife, and a young boy on the verge of getting in trouble with street gangs.
A documentary looking at the life and career of film director Frank Capra. Hosted by Ron Howard.
Made especially for the HBO cable network, this well-wrought feature is comprised of three short stories by three noted black American authors, each of which is directed by a respected black director.
Deloris Van Cartier is again asked to don the nun's habit to help a run-down Catholic school, presided over by Mother Superior. And if trying to reach out to a class full of uninterested students wasn't bad enough, the sisters discover that the school is due to be closed by the unscrupulous chief of a local authority.
The story of three Pittsburgh widows who meet every year to visit their husband's graves and talk about perspectives in their lives.
Sobering and incisive, this cautionary drama centers on a street tough 18-year-old facing a moral quandary while trying to turn his life around.
The black policeman Russell Stevens applies for a special anti-drug squad which targets the highest boss of cocaine delivery to LA: the Colombian foreign minister's nephew. Russell works his way up from the bottom undercover, until he reaches the boss. The first step is to get the lawyer and hobby dealer David Jason to trust him.
A beautiful black gangster's moll flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang, and a few other unsavoury characters, are on her trail. A pudgy momma's boy becomes the object of her affections and the unlikely hero of the tale.
A follow-up to the novel and film of the same name, focusing on a group of troubled teens in 1960s Oklahoma.
A FBI informant has kept his new identity secret for 15 years, now an old flame has recognised him and the bad guys are back for revenge.
A Man Called Hawk is a prime time television series that ran on the ABC television network between January 1989 and May 1989. The series is a spin-off of the crime drama series Spenser: For Hire, and features the character Hawk, who first appeared in the 1976 novel Promised Land, the fourth in the series of Spenser novels by mystery writer Robert B. Parker. Brooks reprised the role of Hawk in four subsequent TV movies: Spenser: Ceremony, Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes, Spenser: The Judas Goat, and Spenser: A Savage Place. Each is considered a sequel to Spenser: For Hire.
Fictional meeting between Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in Harlem in the early '60's.
A rock star-turned-bum, his vocal chords severed at the height of his career for the love of a woman, reclaims his forgotten past after viewing a music video and seeks revenge against the mobster who maimed him.
Vengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power hungry auto magnate who's systematically eliminating his competition.
Dutch and his group of commandos are hired by the CIA to rescue downed airmen from guerillas in a Central American jungle. The mission goes well but as they return they find that something is hunting them. Nearly invisible, it blends in with the forest, taking trophies from the bodies of its victims as it goes along. Occasionally seeing through its eyes, the audience sees it is an intelligent alien hunter, hunting them for sport, killing them off one at a time.
A rookie cop goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of car thieves led by smooth and charming Ted. The rookie becomes too involved and starts to enjoy the thrill and lifestyle of the game, and becomes romanticly involved with the leaders sister.
A police officer is called by F.B.I. to infiltrate into gang of arms smugglers.
Prequel to the popular "Dallas" TV series focuses on the origins of the Ewing-Barnes feud during the 1930's. Larry Hagman provides the opening narration for the film. The story opens at a 1951 barbecue with "Digger" Barnes firing a shot at "Jock" Ewing. Immediately flashing back to the depression, the two men first meet in a boxcar as both are hoboing. Their original friendship is built on their desires to find oil. But their failings start as they both compete for the hand of the beautiful Miss Ellie. Jock is shown to be an honorable man caught up in a backlash. Digger is a neurotic, alcoholic with a gift for finding oil.
The first revival of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name.
Berrenger's is an American primetime television soap opera created by Diana Gould that aired on NBC in 1985. The series revolved around the Berrenger family, a New York dynasty which owned the glamorous department store which bore their name. Following in the tradition of Dynasty and Dallas, Berrenger's played up to the familiar motifs of 1980s soap operas - glamorous and beautiful characters, using money and power in games of love, business and betrayal. The series was cancelled after 13 one-hour episodes had been produced. In North America, only 11 of the 13 episodes were screened. Because of studio television output deals it was screened in Europe and Australia, and has sustained a modest cult following.
John Matrix, the former leader of a special commando strike force that always got the toughest jobs done, is forced back into action when his young daughter is kidnapped. To find her, Matrix has to fight his way through an array of punks, killers, one of his former commandos, and a fully equipped private army. With the help of a feisty stewardess and an old friend, Matrix has only a few hours to overcome his greatest challenge: finding his daughter before she's killed.
Maximum Security is an American drama television series on HBO about life in a supermax prison. The 45 minute pilot premiered July 3, 1984, and the six-part series began on March 5, 1985. Its stars included Robert Desiderio, Geoffrey Lewis, and Jean Smart. Among its directors were Sharron Miller and Gilbert Moses. The series was filmed at the Lincoln Heights jail in Los Angeles, California, USA.
During World War I, a poor black Southerner travels north to Chicago to get work in the city's slaughterhouses, where he becomes embroiled in the organized labor movement.
Call to Glory is an American television series that aired 23 episodes during the 1984-1985 TV season on the ABC-TV network. The show focused on USAF pilot Colonel Raynor Sarnac and his family, living near Edwards Air Force Base during the early 1960s. Heavily promoted during ABC's broadcast of the 1984 Summer Olympics, the pilot episode aired August 13, 1984. The first episode related to the U-2 flights over Cuba during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. During its production run, the show came to focus more on the loneliness experienced by wife Vanessa Sarnac while stationed on base and what she and the family would do to spend time in productive pursuits while enduring the Antelope Valley's then more noticeable isolation from civilization. The series was an early appearance of in the career of actor Elisabeth Shue, who starred as the Sarnacs' daughter.
Medical drama that aired on ABC from September 22, 1983 to December 8, 1983.
Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.
Palmerstown, U.S.A. is a drama series. It centers on the lives of two 9-year-old best friends, one black and one white, growing up in a small Southern town during the 1930s.
The true story of Leonard Matlovich, a U.S. Air Force sergeant who was dismissed from the Air Force for being gay and the story of his fight to be reinstated.
A black family leaves the ghetto of Detroit to look for a better life in Los Angeles.
This day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in the Los Angeles ghetto. The team meets dozens of eccentric customers -- including a smooth-talking preacher, a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict -- while cracking politically incorrect jokes to a constant soundtrack of disco and funk. Some of the workers find romance as the day moves along, but most are just happy to get through another shift.
