ABC Close-Up!
Marshall Diskin
Vincent Dempsey
Albert Maysles
Richard Leacock
D. A. Pennebaker
Terence Macartney-Filgate
Kenneth Snelson
Arthur Holch
Robert Lewis Shayton
Michael Campus
Also Directed by Marshall Diskin
Walt Disney and Art Linkletter co-host a live celebration of Disneyland's 1959 expansion that consisted of the debuts of Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail, and the Submarine Voyage, a project so massive that it was called "The Second Opening of Disneyland". Highlights include a mammoth, star-studded parade and the official launching of the Disneyland submarines by U.S. Navy officers. Among the guests are then-Vice-President Richard Nixon and family, Clint Eastwood, and Meredith Willson, who leads the Disneyland band in his own "76 Trombones." Sponsored by Kodak, the commercial spokespersons include Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.
Also Directed by Albert Maysles
The Beatles First US Visit uniquely chronicles the inside story of the two remarkable weeks when Beatlemania first ignited America. The pioneering Maysles Brothers who filmed at the shoulders of John, Paul, George and Ringo, innovated an intimate documentary style of film-making which set the benchmark for rock and roll cinematography that remains to this day.
The Maysles profile a poor white Georgian family struggling to survive with the realities of thirteen children.
The landmark documentary about the tragically ill-fated Rolling Stones free concert at Altamont Speedway on December 6, 1969. Only four months earlier, Woodstock defined the Love Generation; now it lay in ruins on a desolate racetrack six miles outside of San Francisco.
Second in the series by the Maysles brothers documenting the monuments/sculptures of Christo, whose art projects are landscape-scaled, and more "pop" performance art designed to question how we relate to art in the public sphere, especially when it's as oblique, non-political (at least, that is what he would claim), and neutral as running a fence through a landscape.
Journalists from all over America meet Marlon Brando in a New York hotel room to interview him about his new film, Morituri. Seeing this as an opportunity to let the legendary actor promote the film, they find Brando unwilling to talk about it, instead he is more interested in larking about and turning on the charm when being interviewed by a former winner of the Miss USA competition.
'With Love from Truman' portrays an intimate meeting with renowned author Truman Capote. As a reporter interviews him in his beachfront home, Capote shares his "self-regarding" personality through hip philosophy and calculated jokes. He offers insights in an endearingly raspy voice about his latest book, 'In Cold Blood', which Capote declares to be part of a new genre, the "non-fiction novel." Just as the Maysles brothers' direct cinema classics turn real stories into narratives, Capote's non-fiction novel makes an effort to turn reality into art. In Cold Blood is based on first-hand accounts of an actual murder. The author affectionately discusses his coverage of the subsequent trial and his intriguing relationship with the two young killers. Capote claims it is the spontaneity of life that compels him to portray reality, but it is his own fresh energy and startling sense of humor that keep us intrigued.
Jessye Norman Sings Carmen is a gripping vérité study of the famous dramatic soprano’s approach to mastering Bizet’s heroine in recording sessions with Seiji Ozawa and the Orchestre National de France. Musical segments include performances of three arias and the great duets between Carmen and Don José
Told in the Maysles’ intimatible style, IBM: A SELF PORTRAIT captures the future corporate juggernaut at an early stage of their development. The emphasis here is on the human ingenuity behind the technology industry-- the colorful technicians and executives working together to create a future design for living.
The Empire Builder is America’s busiest long-distance train route, running from Chicago to Seattle. Throughout these corridors sit runaways, adventurers, and loners – a myriad of passengers waiting to see what their journey holds. A touching and honest observation, co-directed by the iconic Albert Maysles, In Transit breathes life into the long commute, and contemplates the unknowns that lie at our final destination.
Also Directed by Richard Leacock
In the hands of another director, the inner-workings of a magnet laboratory could have caused a whole classroom to fall asleep of boredom. No so when Leacock was hired to produce this twenty-minute version of lab mayhem. Try this: six researchers in a lab at MIT in the late 1950's show-off the power of electro-magnets, and in the process, accidentally set an experiment on fire. Or this: half way through the film the phone rings off screen, and host Francis Bitter says "tell 'em I'll call 'em back later" while he's looking at the camera, discussing bus bars. Leacock’s fleshed out all the personalities here, from "Beans" Bardo, who cranks up the generator to nearly explosive proportions, to the mysterious Mr. Lin, who barely peeks over his shoulder at us, seemingly in mockery, disdain, or curiosity.
Documentary about the career of actress Louise Brooks in Berlin.
In 1963 the first known surviving set of American quintuplets were born to Mary Ann and Andrew Fischer, this film looks at some of the changes their arrival caused to their family.
A look at the daily business of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, with a focus on some of the political issues he faces six weeks into his term.
Toby is a heartwarming and entertaining portrait of one of the last travelling variety shows in the United States. Every summer, Toby, the troupe's charming, down-to-earth owner/lead actor takes his small band of performers to towns across the Midwest to perform under a massive tent. Leacock captures the heat of the summer night on the faces of the appreciative audiences, the thrill of the live performances and the challenge of the set-up.
A documentary on the KKK
The first candid film made on a foreign chief of state, three weeks in the life of Jawaharlal Nehru.
An educational physics film utilizing a fascinating set consisting of a rotating table and furniture occupying surprisingly unpredictable spots within the viewing area, Leacock’s Frames of Reference (1960), features fine cinematography by Abraham Morochnik, and funny narration by University of Toronto professors Donald Ivey and Patterson Hume, in a wonderful example of the fun a creative team of filmmakers can have with a subject other, less imaginative types might find pedestrian.
This brief portrait follows 28-year-old campaign manager John Grenier as he maps out strategies for Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential run and engineers a takeover of the Republican convention.
The doc brings us back to a 1961 football game played in front of 40,000 people at the Orange Bowl. A high school football game, pitting Miami High against their rivals from Edison High. The title refers to the coaches of each, and the film follows them separately, with their real families and their clan of players, in the days leading up to the big event. And then at last it astonishingly chronicles the game from all kinds of angles you wouldn’t expect from even the newly mobile tools of the Drew crew. Today’s television coverage doesn’t come nearly as close to capturing the spirit of the sport and its fans the way Lipscomb does here. (Nothing But the Doc)
Also Directed by D. A. Pennebaker
Woodstock Diary was originally broadcasted on U.S. TV in August 1994 - in honor of the 25th anniversary of the event. Later it was released on DVD with remastered 5.1 sound. It includes performances not shown in the Woodstock movie but not exclusively. Between the songs there are recent interviews with the producers / organizers of Woodstock Joel Rosenman, John Roberts, Michael Lang, the stage announcer Wavy Gravy and Lisa Law (a member of the Hog Farm who helped out at the festival).
The collar awarded to the winners of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef - it is a dream and an obsession. The 3-day competition includes everything from delicate chocolates to precarious six foot sugar sculptures and requires that the chefs have extraordinary skill, nerves of steel and luck. The film follows Jacquy Pfeiffer, founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago, as he returns to France to compete against 15 of France's leading pastry chefs. The filmmakers were given first time/exclusive access to this high-stakes drama of passion, sacrifice, disappointment and joy in the quest to have President Sarkozy declare them one of the best in France.
On May 24, 2000, the historic Ryman Auditorium was booked to offer Nashvillians an evening of sublime beauty. Label executives and soundtrack producers so loved the music of O Brother, Where Art Thou? that they brought it to life as a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen loved it so much that they hired famed documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker to record the show for posterity. The concert that unfolded that night was one of the greatest musical moments in the annals of Music City. Performers: John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Chris Thomas King, The Cox Family, Fairfield Four, Union Station, Colin Linden, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Peasall Sisters, Ralph Stanley, David Rawlings, The Whites.
Those who played prominent roles in Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign return to discuss how politics and the media have changed since that time.
A pioneer in the world of rock-'n'-roll guitar, Chuck Berry has created a legacy that spans decades. Berry performs some of his greatest hits and all-time favorites in this concert video that was filmed on September 13, 1969 at 'Toronto Rock'n'Roll Revival.' The Concert includes the songs "Rock and Roll Music," "Long Live Rock and Roll," "Johnny B. Goode," "Promised Land," "Carol," "Hoochie Koochie Man," "Maybellene," "Too Much Monkey Business," "Reelin' and Rockin'," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "In the Wee, Wee Hours."
In 1988 Depeche Mode were Andy Fletcher, Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Alan Wilder. Master and Servant Pimpf Behind The Wheel Strangelove Blasphemous Rumours Stripped Somebody Black Celebration Pleasure, Little Treasure Just Can't Get Enough Everything Counts Never Let Me Down Again
Hammersmith Odeon, London, July 3, 1973. British singer David Bowie performs his alter ego Ziggy Stardust for the very last time. A decadent show, a hallucinogenic collage of kitsch, pop irony and flamboyant excess: a musical symbiosis of feminine passion and masculine dominance that defines Bowie's art and the glam rock genre.
A fascinating documentary focusing on backstage realities of art and business during the British synthesizer band's 1988 American tour.
This special presentation offers all the remaining footage from Jimi Hendrix's incendiary appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Hendrix classics such as "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze" are delivered in crystal clear sound and vision, with Eddie Kramer (who was Hendrix's original engineer) breathing new life into the audio with a new mix.
Also Directed by Terence Macartney-Filgate
Features clips from 21 documentary and animation film classics, interviews with NFB filmmakers past and present, and incisive commentary from film critics and historians on the role and influence of the NFB during its first half century of existence.
Here is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."
A light, humorous look at the motor car and the great North American itch for a place on the road. From the comparative peace of Honest Joe's used-car lot, this film hustles you onto our public speedways, where hot rubber erases any distance between all points. Slow-motion and pop-on-pop-off photography make this a provocative, revealing study of motormania unlimited. A 1960 black and white production. (Also released under the title 1/3 Down and 24 Months to Pay.)
The history of Canada's black population.
This short documentary depicts Christmastime in Montreal. The milling crowds, department store Santas, Brink's messengers, kindergarten angels and boisterous nightclubs all combine to make a vivid portrait of the holidays.
People on welfare are rarely heard. What do they go through? How do they feel? How do concerned social and welfare workers feel about the welfare system? What is welfare supposed to do? In this film, welfare recipients and social case workers talk about the problems of being "up against the system." Part of the "Challenge for Change" series.
A news magazine series which features stories related to the African-American experience, examining some of the contemporary issues facing the black community and profiling its public figures.
This documentary short offers a nostalgic look at the steam locomotive as it passes from reality to history. In its heyday, the big smoke-belching steam engine seemed immortal. Now, powerful and efficient diesels are pushing the old coal-burning locomotives to the sidelines, and the lonely echo of their whistles may soon be a thing of the past.
The misbehaving public performs for the camera in a half-hour miscellany of misdeeds. In a behind-the-scenes look at the hour-by-hour operation of a large metropolitan police force, this film presents a fair sampling of what keeps Toronto's police officers busy twenty-four hours a day.
St. Joseph's Oratory, a picturesque shrine silhouetted against Mount Royal, draws pilgrims by the thousands every year. They come from California by Greyhound bus, from Vancouver by plane, and on foot from many parishes surrounding Montréal. What is the fame of this shrine, that it attracts the devout and the curious alike? The story is told by Brother Placide Vermandère of the Order of the Holy Cross, who was personally acquainted with Brother André, after whom the shrine's famous temple is named. Cameras follow a procession of the League of the Sacred Heart through the streets of the city to the famous sanctuary and show many of the religious observances conducted in the church, including Mass attended by invalids who come in the hope of being healed of various afflictions.
Also Directed by Michael Campus
A 1974 film based on the best-selling autobiography of Sonny Carson who joined a gang and committed petty crime before being sent to prison. After his release from prison he changes his life.
Goldie returns from five years at the state pen and winds up king of the pimping game. Trouble comes in the form of two corrupt white cops and a crime lord who wants him to return to the small time.
Dramatization of the controversial best-seller that posits an alternate version of the birth of Christianity. In this version, Jesus planned for His crucifixion by taking a drug that would simulate death. After His unconscious body was placed in the tomb, a religious sect known as the Zealots would secretly steal Christ's body from the tomb, then spread the rumor that He had risen, thus fulfilling Biblical prophecy.
Inspired by the picturesque paintings of Thomas Kinkade, The Christmas Cottage tells the semi-autobiographical tale of how a young boy is propelled to launch a career as an artist after he learns that his mother is in danger of losing the family home.
In the not too distant future, a very smoggy and overpopulated Earth government makes it illegal to have children for a generation. One couple, unsatisfied with their substitute robot baby, breaks the rules and gets in a lot of trouble. (Z.P.G. stands for Zero Population Growth.)