GIMS DVD/Videotape Collection by Genre: Biography

"A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s." www.imdb.com

In 1981, a nineteen-year-old unknown graffiti writer takes the New York art world by storm.

The true story of a troubled Princeton mathematician who is able to overcome years of suffering from schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize.

A look at the life of Reinaldo Arenas, from childhood in Cuba to his death in New York City.

Celebrates the twenty-five year career of internationally renowned environmental artist Patrick Dougherty, who has created hundreds of monumental, site-specific sculptures out of nothing more than saplings. The film follows the artist and his collaborators during a year of stick work and reveals Dougherty's process, personal story and inspirations.

Bessie Smith's transformation from a struggling young singer into 'The Empress of the Blues', who became one of the most successful recording artists of the 1920s and is an enduring icon today.

" A drama about the awakening of the painter Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit for her works in the 1960s." www.imdb.com

The life of legendary jazz musician Charlie "Yardbird" Parker, directed and produced by jazz fan, Clint Eastwood. The film uses actual recordings by Parker with the backgrounds removed, and accompaniment by modern musicians attuned to the Yardbird's improvisations.

"The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family." www.imdb.com

The astonishing true story of Hitler's private secretary coming to terms with working for unspeakable evil after remaining silent for nearly 60 years. Traudl Junge was Adolf Hitler's secretary from 1942 until the end of the war. He dictated his last will and testament to her. She refused to speak publicly about her memories, keeping silent about her life, her trials and tribulations, until now, the end of her life.

Based on the true story of George Jung. This is an uncompromising look at the rise and fall of the man who became the largest importer of Colombia cocaine to the United States in the 1970's.

Revisits the night presidential-hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in June 1968. Tells the stories of a variety of people present on tgat fateful night, ranging from Kennedy's campaign staff and volunteers to the hotel owner, employees such as kitchen staff, and various guests.

A mixture of comedy and brutal violence, this film is based on the exploits of the notorious American outlaws of the 1930's, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.

The story of Ron Kovic, who volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War, returned paralyzed from the chest down, and became a leading spokesman against the war.

"The early life of Woody Guthrie as a vagabond folk singer." www.imdb.com

In Birmingham in December 1955, Rosa Parks is arrested when she refuses to vacate her bus seat for a white man. Black citizens mount a boycott of the bus system in protest, giving birth to the modern civil rights movement and bringing to fame the young minister Martin Luther King, Jr.

A transgendered youth starts living as a man, and assumes the name Brandon Teena. He moves to a tiny Nebraska town and begins making new friends under his new identity. All goes well until his new friends discover his secret. Based on a true story about hope, fear, and the courage it takes to be yourself.

"The story about the relationship between a rebellious 50s teenager and his abusive father, based on the memoirs of writer and literature professor Tobias Wolff." www.imdb.com

William Wallace, a Scottish folk hero, leads his men to battle against British oppression.

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was a ruthless mobster who had it all, and then met a woman who wanted more. Their love affair was passionate, tempestuous and ultimately tragic.

"In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row." www.imdb.com

Based on the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, which was the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

Jarman's gorgeously sensual re-imagining of the volatile life of the 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his rampant flirtations with the underworld.

This exhaustive documentary surveys the career of one of the great motion picture directors, following Dreyer's life through interviews with the director and his colleagues, film clips and archival materials.

"A biography of the Portuguese-Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda, whose most distinctive feature was her tutti frutti hat." www.imdb.com

Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970's and '80's are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw--Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence.

A film about the troubled and controversial life of the master comedy filmmaker Charles Chaplin.

"Narrated by Sydney Pollack, film critic Richard Schickel's dazzling two-hour plus documentary to one of the towering figures in film: Charles Chaplin." www.imdb.com

"A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects." www.imdb.com

In 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Examines the myth and reality of Che Guevara, including his alliance with Fidel Castro and his part in the Cuban revolution, his travels as revolutionary and guerrilla leader and his death at age 39.

A group of elderly Russians gathers together to reminisce about their days together as pupils in School No. 110 and their coming of age during the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. They reflect back on their lives and their affection for their school principal, Ivan Kuzmich Novikov. Using documentary and archival footage, the film also focuses on the life of Novikov.

Cleopatra tries to increase her power with help from the Roman Empire. Both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony fall for her. After Caesar's death Cleopatra seduces Mark Antony, but the couple soon face certain doom.

The epic story of Spain's immortal warrior-liberator who drove back the invading Islamic hordes in the 11th Century.

The life of the "Queen of Country Music" from her backwoods Appalachia home to the Grand Ole Opry and super stardom.

Stylized biography of noted eighteenth century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat Nova, based on his writings. It depicts the poet's life in eight sections, from childhood to death, rich with symbols of sacred and secular Armenian life.

A look at the life and work of John Cassavetes assembled from candid interviews, rare photos, archival footage, and the director himself.

The true story of the friendship between black South African activist Stephen Biko and white newspaper editor Donald Woods, who was instrumental in bringing Biko's anti-apartheid message to the international community.

"This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own." www.imdb.com

" In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is himself diagnosed with the disease." www.imdb.com

A mystical autobiography of Alejandro Jodorowsky's childhood that blends his personal history with metaphor, mythology, and poetry. It reflects his philosophy that reality is not objective, but rather a "dance" created by our own imaginations.

Georges Danton, the popular revolutionary leader, returns to Paris at a time when the new Republic is in disarray. Robespierre and his allies have set up a monstrous dictatorship, beginning the infamous "Reign of Terror." Danton pleads with the people for an end to the bloodshed which violates the spirit of their revolution.

A documentary on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, focusing on his role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. Features archival footage and commentary from scientists and soldiers directly involved with the Manhattan Project.

in three chapters, Moretti uses the experiences of traveling on his motor-scooper, cruising with his friend around a set of remote islands in search of peace to finish his film and consulting doctor after doctor to cure his annoying--and terrifyingly misdiagnosed--rash in a charming and humorous look at his life and the lives of those around him.

" Inspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda." www.imdb.com

"A portrait of former Guatemalan president, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, the son of European immigrants, a military man who turned revolutionary." New York Times

"Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII." www.imdb.com

The story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, French editor of Elle magazine, who suffered a stroke at the age of 43, paralyzing his entire body except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind.

Young Vlad Dracula, the ousted Prince of Romania, vows to avenge his father's death and regain his kingdom. He gains the fear and respect of the land as Vlad the Impaler as he brutally impales the bodies of his enemies for display to the public. This is the story behind the legend of Dracula.

Profiles the life and work of the American film director. Includes interviews with people who worked with him, his family and extracts of his work.

This program explores the work and life of Edward Albee, from 1962's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" to 1994's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Three Tall Women." Albee talks about the influence of his unusual childhood upon his work, his years in Greenwich Village, and his method of writing. In particular, he discusses a central theme in his work, the essential stripping away of illusion and self-delusion in order to live the extraordinary experience of life. Fellow playwright John Guare and New York Times critic Frank Rich discuss Albee's particular style and legacy. Includes extracts from the stage version of "Three Tall Women," from the film adaptations of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "A Delicate Balance," and specially staged readings from "A Zoo Story" and "The American Dream."

A portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, an activist First Lady with personal tragedies, who became a leader in humanitarian causes.

A personal documentary. Elena Andrade moved to New York to follow her dream of becoming an actress, but eventually committed suicide. Her sister Petra Costa, an aspiring Brazilian filmmaker, makes the same trip years later to study at Columbia University. Petra was only seven years old when Elena left her behind, but has a collection of home videos made by her sister, newspaper clippings, diaries, and letters. She has also gathered many hours of footage of interviews with friends and relatives of her sister. In New York she looks up more friends . Chasing her memory of her sister, she expects at any moment to see Elena walking down the street.

Explores the intersection of the private and public life of Elizabeth I in the latter half of her reign, offering a personal look at her allies, her enemies, and her suitors as she struggles to survive in a male-dominated world.

1956 was Elvis Presley's breakthrough year, and this program takes you back, including his early television performances on the Dorsey Brothers Show and the Ed Sullivan show, and an entire hour of rare footage and performances captured during the amazing year when Elvis Presley became not only a star, but a phenomenon.

Based on a real historical event, this is the story of Kaspar Hauser, a young man who appeared in a small German town in 1820 after having lived in total isolation from humans since birth. He is taught to speak, read, and write by the townspeople, but is then mysteriously murdered.

The DVD contains a conversation between Ricardo Alegría and Enrique Laguerre, with an introduction by José Carvajal.

Documentary about the life of Ernesto Cardenal, an ordained Catholic priest, a revolutionary and a poet, and his work in Solentiname, a contemplative community in Nicaragua.

Through poetry, stories, and performance, Piri Thomas, author of the autobiographical novel Down these mean streets, looks back on his life as the son of Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants, recounting his childhood in New York during the Great Depression, his membership in barrio youth gangs, his struggle with his mixed-race identity, his life as a heroin addict and armed robber, his six years in prison, and his emergence as a writer and educator. The film explores Thomas' utilization of creative expression as a means of confronting poverty, racism, violence and isolation.

"EYE ON THE SIXTIES is an intimate portrait of photographer Rowland Scherman, and the process of photojournalism." www.imdb.com

"Depicts a stunning portrait of the poverty stricken José del Carmen Valenzuela Torres, one of Chile's most infamous murderers. Wandering into homelessness at an absurdly young age, José is on the fringe of society, scraping odd labor to adulthood. Along the way he meets a single mother with four children. Soon, she is cast out of her house, and the group is left to fend for themselves in the wild. A night of debauchery leads to one of the most savage, pointless killing sprees in Chilean history"

A dramatization of William Shakespeare's historical play, which tells of the intrigues during the first part of Henry's reign, his divorce from Katharine of Aragon, and marriage to Anne Bullen, who gives birth to a baby girl, Elizabeth.

Combines reinactments and commentary by Botero with examples of his paintings and sculptures.

One of the most influential and controversial figures of our time, Fidel The Untold Story offers a unique look at the man through interviews with Castro himself, historians, public figures and close friends, with footage from the Cuban State archives.

Once upon a time, Dicky Eklund was known as the pride of Lowell, Massachusetts. There isn't a person in Lowell who doesn't know about the time that Dicky knocked down the great Sugar Ray Leonard. By the early 1990s, Dicky's crack addiction has soured everything, although he dreams of making a comeback. The real contender is his half-brother Micky Ward. 31-year-old Micky is an unassuming nice guy, long regarded as little more than a stepping-stone for rising fighters, but with undeniable potential. Between his controlling mom Alice, who manages his career, his crack head trainer brother, and a Greek chorus of seven sisters, Micky doesn't have a chance. Until his tough-chick bartender girlfriend Charlene gives him the confidence and support to consider a different course. But his success comes at a cost--as he must leave his family behind in the process.

Now considered one of the 20th century's greatest street photographers, Vivian Maier was a mysterious nanny who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that went unseen during her lifetime. Vivian's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photos, films, and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her.

Shakespeare's historical play which recreates Henry's early days as King. Centers on the French wars and the activities of Joan of Arc, while glimpsing the beginning of the civil wars between the Houses of Lancaster and York.

"The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle." www.imdb.com

"A biographical account of Mei Lanfang, China's greatest opera star." www.imdb.com

"Experience fifteen years in the life of seminal British artist Ralph Steadman, whose surreal, often confrontational artwork is frequently associated with Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson"--Container.

" The story of Jackie Robinson from his signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1945 to his historic 1947 rookie season when he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball." www.imdb.com

"In 1964, to explore the adage "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man," World in Action filmed seven-year-olds. Every seven years, Michael Apted visits them. At 49, 12 agree to talk about family, work, their hopes, and the series. We also see footage from previous interviews. Some marriages seem stronger; some have ended. Being a parent or a grandparent dominates life's pleasures. Simon has found responsibility; John's charity work flourishes. Neil remains in politics, against all odds. Jackie leads the critique of a more deliberately-present Apted and the series' intrusiveness. None enjoy participating; all are reflective; several surpass expectations." www.imdb.com

In the 1990's, Mumia Abu-Jamal, an African American journalist on death row, became a symbol of the inequities in the United States judicial system. This film examines how ABC reporter Sam Donaldson's framing of Abu-Jamal's case in a broadcaset of the ABC News program 20/20 stands up to the available facts and journalistic standards of fairness, balance, and accuracy.

"Docudrama about the life of St-Francis of Assisi." www.imdb.com

The story of Frederick Douglass, escaped slave and abolitionist orator.

The life of artist Frida Kahlo, from her humble upbringing to her worldwide fame and the controversy that surrounded both her and her husband, Diego Rivera.

Tells the story of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in her own words, using extracts from her diary. Barely known outside fairly narrow artistic and intellectual circles when she died in 1954, aged 47, she has since become an iconic figure and world-renowned artist.

Friedmann Bach was the favorite son of a famous father. Burdened however by the name "Bach", he succeeded only in the beginning to fulfill the public's expectations of him as a composer. And so it happens that, driven by need, worry and painful love, he claims one of his father's pieces as his own! When his swindle is discovered, he drops his application as candidate for the position of music director in Braunschweig. He joins a drama troupe and eventually ends up completely broke in Potsdam.

Various biographers, translators, and members of Nietzsche organizations speak about the philosopher, his ideas, and his influence.

Inspired by the true story that follows Alaskan State Trooper Jack Halcombe, as he sets out to end the murderous rampage of Robert Hansen, a serial killer who has gone unnoticed for thirteen years. Risking his life, Halcombe goes on a personal manhunt to find the killer before the next body surfaces.

" The purportedly true story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008." www.imdb.com

A musical film that follows the early career of stage comedienne Fanny Brice.

The life of Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez is illuminated via interview, readings from his works, and scenes of Colombia.

A look at the life of Indian statesman and nationalist Mahatma Gandhi, focusing especially on his theory of non-violent resistance.

The story of José Ber Gelbard, a Jewish immigrant to Argentina who became an activist and politician and was the last Minister of Economy under Juan Perón.

Depicts the political crisis of August 1954, arising from an attempt to assassinate journalist Carlos Lacerda, that led to the suicide of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas.

"Based upon the short but fruitful life of illness-racked Italian poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi." www.imdb.com

" A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works." www.imdb.com

"The girls in the band (88 min.) tells the poignant, untold stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists and their fascinating, groundbreaking journeys from the late 1930s to the present day."--Container.

The story of the vertiginous career and life drama of the great Russian ballerina of the 20th century Olga Spesivtseva, nicknamed 'Red Giselle' by her contemporaries.

" The life story of Xiao Hong, one of China's most famous essayists and novelists, who reflected the progressive thinking not frequently seen during the 1930s." www.imdb.com

A young man grows up in the mob and works hard to advance himself through the ranks, enjoying the life of the rich and violent.

"The life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew. Pasolini shows Christ as a marxist avant-la-lettre and therefore uses half of the text of Matthew." www.imdb.com

"A drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship." www.imdb.com

"The Great Moment" tells the story of Dr. William Morton, a dedicated physician who discovers ether in 1846 when he successfully anesthetizes Eben Frost, who barely lives to talk about it. Until that time, all surgeries were performed with the patient fully conscious. The doctor's great contributions to humanity, and later tribulations as he shares his knowledge, are laced with typical Preston Sturges humour and insight.

" A documentary shot over a decade with unprecedented access to photographer Gregory Crewdson that bares the artist's process." www.imdb.com

"A devastating and heartrending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzlies in Alaska." www.imdb.com

"Using never-before-seen footage, photos and audio of Williams and featuring interviews with many friends and family who have never spoken on-camera before, Honky tonk blues tells the story of Hank Williams' rise and fall in full, vivid detail"--Container.

" A look at the life of philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt, who reported for The New Yorker on the war crimes trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann." www.imdb.com

Based on a true story, The Harmonists portrays the rise and fall of a successful vocal group in Germany that was disbanded in 1934 as part of the mounting persecution of Jews. The Comedian Harmonists did comic and romantic songs in intricate harmony, and were extremely popular, but as the Nazis became more powerful, the group were forbidden to sing songs by Jewish composers--and finally, because three of their members were Jewish, they were banned from performing in public.

Adaptation of Shakespeare's patriotic historical drama that celebrates the English nation and the greatness of its King. Includes medieval battle sequences with a recreation of the Battle of Agincourt.

Historical play about the English king who defeated the French at Agincourt.

A documentary about the Japanese American men who were incarcerated in concentration camps, enlisted in the U.S. military, and volunteered to become linguists in the Military Intelligence Service in the Pacific Theater of WWII.

" As Allen Ginsberg talks about his life and art, his most famous poem is illustrated in animation while the obscenity trial of the work is dramatized." www.imdb.com

Based on the true story of a Chinese painter, Pan Yuliang(Gong Li), whose work was celebrated in Paris yet rejected at home. At fifteen years old, she was sold into prostitution. Her life changes when she marries with a high official. Through her husband, she finds expression in western painting, and furthers her studies in Paris. Although highly respected in Paris, it wasn't until after her death did she find the acceptance at home that she so desperately sought.

Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance and is often referred to as Harlem's poet laureate. This film shows how Hughes successfully fused jazz, blues and common speech to celebrate the beauty of Black life. This multi-layered documentary consists of spoken-word sessions, roundtable discussions and a tour of Hughes' Harlem hang-outs.

In Northern Ireland's Maze prison in 1981, 27-year-old Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands went on a hunger strike to protest the British government's refusal to recognize him and his fellow IRA inmates as political prisoners. A transcendent depiction of what a human being is willing to endure in order to be heard.

"The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence." www.imdb.com

" The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York." www.imdb.com

Six characters recreate different stages in Bob Dylan's career, from Greenwich Village folk singer to electric guitar trailblazer to born-again preacher.

This documentary spotlights a brave, selfless African-American woman who earned international acclaim for her stand against human rights abuses following the end of the Civil War.

Chronicles the life of Ida B. Wells, an early Afro-American activist who protested lynchings, unfair treatment of Afro-American soldiers, and other examples of racism and injustice in early 20th century U.S.

Each DVD is devoted to a different Mexican photographer and contains video of an interview with that photographer, biographical text, and slide shows of that photographer's work.

1. Marco Antonio Cruz (23 min.)
2. Vida Yovanovich (27 min.)
3. Gerardo Suter (26 min.)
4. Ambra Polidori (28 min.)
5. Mariana Gruener (24 min.)
6. Adriana Catalayud (25 min.)
7. Paola Dávila (24 min.)
8. Francisco Mata (25 min.)
9. Adela Goldbard (25 min.)
10. Alex Dorfsman (25 min.)

Insights into the interpretation and performance of playwright Henrik Ibsen's works around the world. Illustrated by scenes from A doll's house, Peer Gynt, and other works as performed in Iran, China, Venezuela, and other countries and brief interviews with actors and directors including Derek Jacobi, Juliet Stevenson, and Earl Hyman.

Combining popular history with adventure and travel, historian Michael Wood embarks on an odyssey of discovery, following the ancient triumphal march of Alexander of Macedonia from Greece to India, to bring us the truth behind one of history's most famous and enigmatic heroes.

An innovative feature length documentary that explores the parallel lives of legendary outsider artist Henry Darger. Reclusive janitor by day, visionary artist by night, Darger's 15,000 page novel details the exploits of the Vivan Girls, seven angelic sisters who lead a rebellion against godless, child-enslaving men.

Aaron Swartz was a programming prodigy who helped shape the digital landscape of today. He helped develop the internet protocol RSS and was a co-founder of Reddit. Chronicling his pioneering efforts crusading for open access and free speech and the resulting legal nightmare and tragedy that ensued, the documentary is a dynamic and moving portrait of a brilliant tech millionaire who renounced the values of Silicon Valley startup culture and used technology to tirelessly fight for social justice.

Freshly graduated from college with a promising future ahead, Christopher McCandless walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way transformed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people, a fearless risk-taker who wrestled with the precarious balance between man and nature. Based on a true story.

An irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust, and human possibility. Based on a true story of friendship between a handicapped millionaire and his street-smart ex-con caretaker, The Intouchables depicts an unlikely camaraderie rooted in honesty and humor between two individuals who, on the surface, would seem to have nothing in common.

In 1994, having been released from his long imprisonment, Nelson Mandela is elected as the first president of post-apartheid South Africa. Racial tension runs high, even in the president's offices, and especially among the members of his half black, half Afrikaner security team. As hosts of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, South Africa's low ranked national team, the Springboks, have a berth in the tournament. Mandela begins makeing public appearances supporting the team, and meets privately with captain Francois Pienaar, encouraging him to inspire his teammates to victory. The Springboks' new slogan is "One team, One nation." President Mandela is betting that if they win the Cup, it might even be a bit true.

Classical violinist Itzhak Perlman takes a break from the concert hall to learn to play klezmer music and explore its vitality on a journey from New York's Lower East Side to the Jewish Festival in Krakow, Poland. Several other musicians and bands instruct him and perform.

Part I starts with the coronation of Ivan the Terrible and concludes with his return to power after the death of his wife. Part II covers the attempt to assassinate him in 1564. The third part of the saga was never made due to the death of Eisenstein.

"J. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly 50 years, looks back on his professional and personal life." www.imdb.com

"James Baldwin (1924-1987) was at once a major twentieth century American author, a Civil Rights activist and, for two crucial decades, a prophetic voice calling Americans, Black and white, to confront their shared racial tragedy. James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket captures on film the passionate intellect and courageous writing of a man who was born Black, impoverished, gifted and gay. Writers Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Ishmael Reed and William Styron place Baldwin's major works (including Notes of a Native Son, Another Country and The Fire Next Time) within the context of African American literature and the broader Civil Rights struggle"--Container.

James Lawson speaks about his life, the beginnings of his career in nonviolence, and the Nashville student movement for civil rights of 1959-1960.

Traces the history of Hull-House from Jane Addam's childhood to the contemporary work of both the Hull-House Association and the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum.

" The story of João "Jango" Goulart, the Brazilian left-wing president deposed by the military." www.imdb.com

The story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons.

The amazing true story of Jean-Marie Lustiger, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, who maintained his Jewish identity even after converting to Catholicism, and joining the priesthood. Quickly rising up the Church ranks, Lustiger was appointed Archbishop of Paris and found a new platform to celebrate his dual identity as a Catholic Jew. When nuns set to build a convent within the cursed walls of Auschwitz, Lustiger finds himself a mediator, and may be forced at last to choose his side.

"The life and career of Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis, who held the title for 12 years--longer than any other boxer in history--and who had to not only battle opponents inside the ring and racism outside it." www.imdb.com

While our new nation was suffering attacks from both within and without, John Adams had a vision of a nation of liberty and justice for all. He guided his peers--General George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson--in setting the values and agenda for a glorious, free America. Adams and his wife Abigail refined these ambitious democratic ideals, and their partnership became one of the most moving love stories in American history.

John Henrik Clarke discusses the history of African-Americans, placing it within the context of the history of Africa and its relationship with Greek, Roman, European, Christian, and Islamic civilizations.

Asa Yoelson, a brash vaudeville performer, becomes Al Jolson, the great entertainer of the Twenties, but success in show business brings marital difficulties. All songs in this biography, including such favorites as "Swanee", "April showers", and "Mammy", use Jolson's own voice.

"Zombies and Guédés are the most important elements and the most confusing of the Haitian imagination and specifically that of Frankétienne's. This film is a journey through the world of Frankétienne, the biggest Guédé crator of this country. He takes us through the intricacies of his poetic, literary and plastic creation as a poète de haut vol, a musician, an actor, an imprecator, a Nobel prize hunter and the director of his own death"--Container.

"A look at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japanese fighter planes during World War II." www.imdb.com

Webb stumbles onto a story which leads to the shady origins of the men who started the crack epidemic on the nation's streets, and further alleges that the CIA was aware of major dealers who were smuggling cocaine into the U.S., and using the profits to arm rebels fighting in Nicaragua. Despite warnings from drug kingpins and CIA operatives to stop his investigation, Webb keeps digging to uncover a conspiracy with explosive implications.

The life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery, Alabama, and culminating with his assassination in Memphis in 1968. Including archival footage, this film is an indispensable primary resource of a pivotal moment in American and world history. Originally screened in theaters for only a single night in 1970.

Shakespeare's plays in which tragedy occurs when an old king divides his kingdom between his daughters.

Shakespeare's historical play about the dynastic struggle between Richard II and Henry Bolingboke (later Henry IV).

The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.

Account of the last days of life of the legendary Polish pedagogue Janusz Korczak and his heroic dedication to protecting Jewish orphans during the war.

A dramatization of the life and work of the current (14th) Dalai Lama and his ongoing struggle to regain independence for Tibet.

"In this timeless interview, Kurt Vonnegut ... discusses his family history ... his start as an author, his experiences in World War II ... Dramatizations and excerpts from Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle, and Deadeye Dick bring the offbeat yet vivid world of Vonnegut's stories to life. Contains mature themes."

A musical drama charting the life of Billie Holiday, a life tormented by racism and drug abuse.

Alice Walker and Arnold Rampersad discuss Langston Hughes with Bruce Schwartz. Topics include experiences shaping Langston's youth, how he became a writer, the beauty and style of his writing, and the Harlem renaissance.

This film is inspired by the final hours of Kurt Cobain. Blake is a brilliant but troubled musician whose success has left him in a lonely place. The film follows Blake through a handful of hours spent in his wooded home ... a fugitive from his own life.

Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s

"A flamboyant and controversial British military figure and his conflicted loyalties during his World War I service in the Middle East." www.imdb.com

The story of T.E. Lawrence, the heroic and troubled man who organized the Arab nations to fight the Turks in World War I and then, having reached a pinnacle of power in Mideast politics, retired to postwar military obscurity.

Inspired by a true story about Cecil Gaines, a devoted husband, father, and White House butler who served eight Presidential administrations during the turbulent politics and civil rights battles of twentieth century America.

Although it can be difficult to detect the influences in the work of Leonard Cohen, he was informed by a far-reaching list of musicians, writers, poets and philosophies. In Leonard Cohen's Lonesome Heroes, the scope and detail of his artistic inspirations are put under the microscope. Cohen's first love was poetry and in the works of fellow Canadian Irving Layton, and the Spanish bard Federico Garcia Lorca, he found the words that moved him to create his own verse.

Guitar wizard, inventor, Les Paul tell his own rags-to-riches story. Includes interviews with B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Tony Bennett, Jeff Beck, Merle Haggard, Steve Miller and many more.

Shakespeare's play about the weak and despicable King John, who tries to fend off the royal claims of Arthur, Duke of Brittany, who is supported by the King of France. In spite of the support of Faulconbridge, John alienates the English nobility and runs afoul of the Pope. In the end he is poisoned and his son Henry III becomes King.

A documentary film of the life a Khoikhoi woman who was taken from South Africa in 1810 and exhibited as a freak across Britain. The image and ideas for "The Hottentot Venus" (particularly the interest in her sexual anatomy) swept through British popular culture. A court battle waged by abolitionists to free her from her exhibitors failed. In 1814, a year before her death, she was taken to France and became the object of scientific research that formed the bedrock of European ideas about black female sexuality.

"The biopic of the famous French muckraking writer and his involvement in fighting the injustice of the Dreyfuss Affair." www.imdb.com

Young King Henry of England asserts a hereditary claim to the throne of France, gathering an army and embarking on a course that will lead to one of England's greatest battlefield triumphs and forever change the face of Europe. Follows King Henry V as he unites his people, deals justly with traitors, leads his soldiers to victory, and ensures peace by marrying a French princess.

Two disc set contains the film version of actor Charles Nelson Reilly's autobiographical one-man stage show, with recollections on his childhood in the Bronx and Connecticut, studying in New York, making it to Broadway, and finally going to Hollywood. The second disc has a 2001 performance of "Save it for the stage," a longer production on which the film is based.

" As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves." www.imdb.com

Between two world wars, a struggle for freedom took place in the African desert. This movie is the historically accurate story about the Libyan resistance leader, Omar Mukhtar, who led the Libyan resistance against the Italian oppressors from 1911-1931.

Growing up in post World War II Germany, Dieter Dengler, the son of a Nazi slain during the war, dreamed about becoming a pilot. At age 18 he emigrated to the United States and worked odd jobs until he was accepted into the Navy and began pilot training. He was sent to Vietnam around 1966 and on his first mission was shot down and taken prisoner. There, the Vietcong tortured him until Dengler engineered a hair-raising escape and eventually returned to the U.S. His story is recounted here via interviews with Dengler, archival footage and new footage seamlessly spliced together. Includes postscript filmed in 2001.

"Living Thinkers ... examines the intersection of race, class and gender for Black women professors and administrators working in U.S. colleges and universities today." container

"The film tells the tragic story of Lola Montès, a great adventurer who becomes the main attraction of a circus after being the lover of various important European men." www.imdb.com

This self-described meditation on the life of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes addresses the possible, possibly imagined, life of the author as a gay man. Both documentary and fantasy, it blends archival footage with black and white paeans to a life that might have been--a Harlem nightclub from the 1920s, a London nightspot from the late eighties, various dream sequences--foregrounding gay sexual desire, constructed of a mélange of materials. Looking for Langston is not a mainstream film, but a short film, an avant-garde film, a gay film, and a black British film. Indeed, the prospect of viewing the film can be an off-putting one, considering its competing narrative lines as documentary, reclamation of an aspect of black history, rumination on the AIDS crisis, or pure fantasy.

In 1996, a syphilis outbreak struck teenagers in the prosperous community of Conyers, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. When epidemiologists interviewed the victims, they were shocked by what they heard: 14-year-old children told of scores of sexual partners, all-night orgies and sex parties. This program uncovers the roots of the Conyers epidemic and reveals a community struggling with teenage drug use, sex and cynicism.

Follows the life and the career of Louis Prima, with never-before-released interviews, performances by Prima (in part with Keely Smith), and vintage clips of the music scene in New Orleans, New York and Las Vegas.

" The story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life." www.imdb.com

Dramatizes the life of Congolese revolutionary, Patrice Lumumba, who lead his country to independence from Belgium in 1960. He served for less than a year as the first elected prime minister, until he was brutally assassinated.

Regional princes and the powerful Catholic Church wield a fast, firm and merciless grip over 16th-century Germany. But when Martin Luther issues a shocking challenge to their authority, the people declare him their new leader - and hero. Even when threatened with violent death, Luther refused to back down, sparking a bloody religious revolution that shakes the entire continent to its core.

In 1973, the Chilean military, under the direction of General Augusto Pinochet and backed by the CIA, overthrew the shaky socialist government of democratically elected President Salvador Allende. The coup led to the murder of 3,000 leftist Allende supporters and the detention of an estimated 250,000 political prisoners. Set against the background of the political instability that led to the crisis, Andrés Wood's Machuca is a story of friendship between two boys from different sides of the social spectrum.

"Loose portrait of João Francisco dos Santos, also known as Madame Satã, a sometime chef, transvestite, lover, father, hero and convict from Rio de Janeiro." www.imdb.com

Based on the life of King George III, this is the story of royal intrigue, sexual indiscretions, backstairs plotting and a battle for power between Parliament and the throne, all occurring while the King is being treated for an unknown mental illness.

Experiences and memories of Asian Americans, Jewish Americans and others who play a centuries-old game from China.

Screen version of the life of Malcolm X, who through his religious conversion to Islam, found the strength to rise up from a criminal past to become an influential civil rights leader.

" The story of Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage." www.imdb.com

A stunning portrayal of the late Andy Kaufman.

Based on South African President Nelson Mandela's autobiography of the same name, it chronicles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country's once segregated society.

Based on the life and times of Mangal Pandey, 1857: The Rising is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.

A biographical docudrama about María Cano, Colombian poet and labor leader of the 1920s.

Follows the life of Marie Antoinette and the chaos of the French Revolution.

Tells the story of the 14-year-old ill-fated Archduchess of Austria and later Queen of France. Marie Antoinette has became one of the most misunderstood and abused woman in history, from her birth in Imperial Austria. And how the young woman must grow up in front of the entire country of France.

Surveys the work of Martín Chambi, a Peruvian Indian photographer who documented the lives of Peruvian Indians in the Cuzco region and the lifestyles of the European ruling class of Peru for over fifty years. Features many photographs by Chambi as well as interviews and footage of contemporary Peruvian Indian life that explore the gains and setbacks the Indians have experienced in preserving their culture and participating in the affairs of modern Peru.

After being brutally attacked outside a bar and in spite of recovering from a coma and extensive physical injuries, Mark Hogancamp suffered brain damage and nearly total memory loss. Unable to afford therapy he spent the next few years building a scale model, World War II-era town, Marwencol, populated with dolls, where he lived out his fantasy life, and which he documented in photographs. When his photographs were discovered by an art magazine, a New York gallery invited him to show his work, forcing him to choose between his self-contained world and the larger world from which he had retreated.

"A film about the work of the artist most famous for her monuments such as the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Civil Rights Fountain Memorial." www.imdb.com

Biography of the magnificent, legendary life of Mei Lanfang.

Mel Brooks, the comedian, director and screenwriter, has energetically avoided a documentary profile from being made, until now. He has agreed to throw himself into a new documentary about his storied career, giving American Masters exclusive interviews and complete access to his film archives.

A definitive look at the man and his music, interweaving rare interviews with Miles and insights and memories of his family, friends, and many of the great musicians who played with him during his long career.

"The story of Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official."

Tarkovsky's looking glass is not merely cracked but shattered and we see the jagged, jumbled reflections of its shards, images of Tarkovsky's childhood mixed with fragments of his adult life--a child's wartime exile, a mother's experience with political terror, the breakup of a marriage, life in a country home--all intermingled with slow-motion dream sequences and poetic chunks of stark newsreels.

Yukio Mishima was Japan's most celebrated author. On his death, he left a body of work consisting of 356 novels, 25 plays, 200 short stories and 8 volumes of essays. The public followed both his personal life and artistic works. On November 25, 1970, Mishima and 4 cadets from his private army entered the Eastern Army Headquarters, forcibly detained the commander and addressed the garrison." - Title screens. The four chapters are concerned with threads that ran through Mishima's life: beauty, art, action, and harmony of pen and sword. One of the most unlikely films to emerge from America in years, the film mixes biographical vignettes with a re-imagination of Mishima's last day, and dramatizations of excerpts from his literary works, demonstrating just how closely Mishima's art was tied to his life.

"Story of the last eight years of the life of Nikifor Krynicki a famous naive artist" --Internet Movie Database.

"Based on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer." www.imdb.com

An inspirational adventure, based on the true story of two young men whose thrilling and dangerous road trip across Latin America becomes a life-changing journey of self-discovery.

A biography of the only boxer crowned Heavyweight Champion of the World three times, and his admirable struggle with Parkinson's disease.

"During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, millions had their lives destroyed...their reputations ruined. Mulberry Child is the story of the persecution and survival of Jian Ping's family during this difficult period. After growing up in Socialist China, Jian must learn to assimilate to a Capitalist world when she migrates to the United States. In pursuit of the American dream, Jian develops an emotional disconnect between her and her privileged American-born daughter, Lisa. Will a trip to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a journey into the past forge a healthier relationship between mother and daughter?" Container

This videodisc focuses on Mumia Abu-Jamal's prolific career in journalism from his early days a writer for the Black Panther newspaper and reporter for NPR, to his radio broadcasts from prison after being incarcerated and placed on death row.

Tribute on the bicentennial of the first Indian president of the Américas, Benito Juárez of Mexico. Covers the conditions and social structure within Mexico during his life.

" A documentary that celebrates Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and the signature sound he developed in songs such as "I'll Take You There", "Brown Sugar", and "When a Man Loves a Woman"." www.imdb.com

Documentary about the stormy relationship between frequent artistic partners, director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski. With many excerpts from the films in which they collaborated, this personal documentary traces the ups and downs of their often violent relationship. Perhaps they were both a little mad, but together they created some of the most magical and astonishing films ever seen.

An actor has dinner with his friend, a theater director, at an Upper West Side restaurant. Together they discuss everything from money to death to love and all the superstition in between. Playing variations on their own New York-honed personas, the two dive in with introspective, intellectual gusto. All captured in a delicate, but artful detachment.

This series presents the legacy of medieval women dedicated to God who challenged society through their visions, teachings, and writings, and who continue to provoke discussion today.
v.1: Hildegard of Bingen, v.2: The Hungarian Princesses, v.3: Divine Negotiators, v.4: Joan of Arc

A historical epic on the life of Napoleon from boyhood to military triumph including treatment of the French Revolution.

Set admidst the first encounter of European and Native American cultures during the founding of the Jamestown Virginia settlement in 1607. Tells the classic tale of Pocahontas and her relationships with adventurer John Smith and aristocrat John Rolfe. This woman's journey of love lost and found again takes her from the untouched beauty of the Virginia wilderness to the upper crust of English society as we witness the dawn of a new America.

Drawing on previously unseen footage and only recently released audio tapes, Nixon : a presidency revealed explores the unlikely origin, the thrilling promise, and downfall of the 37th President of the U.S. Features rare footage from home movies shot by Nixon staffers and in-depth interviews with Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, John Dean, Ben Bradlee and many more.

" A chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star." www.imdb.com

Critically acclaimed, this is the award winning true tale of a Jewish family who flee the Nazi regime in 1938 and learns to cope with their new life, and each other, on a remote farm in Kenya.

A filmed performance of the three-act opera Olga, based on the life of Olga Benario Prestes, a German communist militant who came to Brazil as bodyguard and later wife of Luís Carlos Prestes, went into hiding after the failed insurrection of 1935, and was extradited to Germany and eventually interned in Ravensbrück concentration camp, from which she was sent to be gassed in 1942.

The story of Olga Benario, a German communist militant who accompanied and fell in love with Luís Carlos Prestes, a Brazilian revolutionary. Both were arrested in Brazil, and their daughter was released into the care of Prestes's mother. Olga was extradited and died in 1942 at the extermination camp in Bernburg, Germany.

Susan and Daniel are a happily married couple who are taking a much needed vacation to the islands. They are hoping for a memorable trip. However, their vacation turns tragic when their scuba diving party leaves them in the middle of the ocean by the careless diving boat crew. As the reality of isolation sets in, they turn to one another for support. Unable to flag down passing boats, they begin to panic as encircling sharks begin to appear.

In a series of 22 tableaux set on a soundstage, Syberberg makes use of puppets, props, a Wagnerian soundtrack, and rear-screen projection to evoke Nazi Germany, the origins of the Third Reich, and the aftermath that followed.

"In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter."

"A chronicle of the trial of Jeanne d'Arc on charges of heresy, and the efforts of her ecclesiastical jurists to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions." www.imdb.com

Patch Adams is a doctor who doesn't look, act or think like other doctors. For Patch, humor is the best medicine, and he's willing to do just about anything to make his patients laugh-- even if it means risking his own career. Based on a true story.

A dramatization of the experiences of General George S. Patton during World War II.

Traces the singer-actor and political activist's career through his activism and his socially charged performances of his signature song, Ol' Man River.

"Based on the true story of the notorious Hustler publisher who was sued by the Religious Right and paralyzed by a fanatic's bullet, The People vs. Larry Flynt is a stranger-than-fiction drama about one man's outrageous public persona and eccentric private life"--Container.

The Prince of Tyre is pursued by the vengeance of King Antiochus because he discovered the monarch's incestuous relationship with his daughter. Fleeing from place to place, Pericles is shipwrecked, courts, and marries Thaisa. Their child, Marina, raised by friends when Thaisa is believed to have died, is kidnapped by pirates and sold into a brothel before Thaisa is discovered alive and the family is joyfully reunited.

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family. Their long dream is realized when the hated Shah is defeated in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, Marji grows up to witness first hand how the new Iran has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study. This change proves an equally difficult trial for Marji as she finds herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and her homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs.

Combines interview, dramatization, and reenactment to explore Dicken's life through the eys of his biographer, Peter Ackroyd. Uses extracts from the novels as well as passages from the writer's correspondence and memoranda to bring the author to life.

"A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II." www.imdb.com

Retraces the adventurous life of French photographer and ethnographer Pierre Verger, who devoted his life to the study of the reciprocal cultural influences between Bahia, Brazil, and the Benin and Nigeria regions in Africa.

Prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, of the Bolshoi Ballet, is the subject of this documentary. Contains some rare films of her as a child, and highlights from Swan lake, Sleeping beauty, Spartacus, Romeo and Juliet, Dying swan, Raymonda, Stone flower, Don Quixote, and other ballets.

The startling true story of Kurt Gerron, a beloved German-Jewish actor, director and cabaret star in Berlin in the 1920's and '30's. He was captured and sent to a concentration camp where he was ordered to write pro-Nazi propaganda films.

Based on the memoirs of Li Tien-lu, Taiwan's most celebrated puppeteer, this story covers the years from Li's birth in 1909 to the end of Japan's fifty-year occupation of Taiwan in 1945.

Thrown into a political marriage of convenience by her ruthlessly power-hungry family, the beautiful Margot soon finds herself hopelessly drawn into their murderous affairs.

"In 1931, three aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff and set off on a trek across the Outback." www.imdb.com

Jake La Motta is a boxer whose psychological and sexual complexities erupt into violence both in and out of the ring. His brother Joey falls prey to Jake's mounting paranoia and jealousy, while fifteen-year-old Vickie, becomes Jake's wife and most prized trophy. The same anger that drives Jake in the ring, ultimately drives him to beat his wife and brother, and sends Jake down a self-destructive spiral of paranoia and rage.

" The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s." www.imdb.com

Hailed as the American Chekhov and short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize at the time of his death, only ten years earlier Raymond Carver had been completely down and out. In this program, filmed just a year after he died, Carver's second wife, Tess Gallagher, and writers Jay McInerney and Richard Ford, his close friends, explore Carver's artistic legacy: his stories and poems about the other side of the American Dream. In addition, excerpts from two of Carver's most famous stories ("Why don't you dance?" and "Nobody said anything") are dramatized.

Pedro Churruca, a marine, has been killed in Cuba during the confrontation between Spain and the United States. His widow, Isabel Acuña educates her children to follow very different paths. Isabel lives with a military man; Jaime enters a monastary; Pedro pursues a political career, and José a military career. The Spanish Civil War provokes a disintegration of the family.

The true story of the love affair of John Reed, American Communist, journalist and activist and Louise Bryant, writer and feminist and how the Russian Revolution shook their lives.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester through a set of murderous machinations, steals the crown from his brother Edward.

"The film focuses on the life, work and legacy of Mississippi-born writer, Richard Wright." www.imdb.com

Italian writer Andrea Zanzotto is interviewed by Marco Paolini.

Using clips from Rock Hudson's films and employing a narrative commentary from beyond the grave, the filmmaker invents an eclectic form of biography in which he explores the illusory nature of Hudson's screen image and society's attitudes towards Hudson as a homosexual.

"A semi-fictional account of the life of Nobel-Prize-winning Russian poet Josif Brodsky, who was forced into American exile in 1972." www.imdb.com

This drama follows a young Cuban woman investigating her family history, and discovering disturbing revelations about the 1912 genocide, in which over 6,000 members of the Independents of Color were killed by the Cuban Army.

" A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician - and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever." www.imdb.com

The most famous of Nicaragua's sons, Rubén Darío remains relatively obscure in the English-speaking world. Renowned as the Spanish language's greatest poet and as a father of modernist verse and prose, Darío also had a reputation as a great drinker and romancer. Born in 1867, he showed signs of talent at an early age, composing verse by the age of 10, which earned him the title of El Niño Poeta--the boy poet. One of the most traveled Nicaraguans of his day, he visited France, Italy, England, Morocco, Hungary, Germany, Brazil, and Argentina, working as a correspondent in Chile and Spain and serving as Nicaragua's diplomatic representative in Paris and Madrid. It was in Chile in the mid-1880s that his first full-length collection, Azul (Blue) was published. Darío was proclaimed the spokesman of the "new school"--modernism--and a literary revolution began.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Rubén Ortiz Torres--The Texas Leaguer , organized by the Glassell School of Art of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The exhibition was curated by Valerie Loupe Olsen, associate director and curator of exhibitions, the Glassell School of Art"--T.p. verso.

"The story of Billy Mills, the American Indian that came from obscurity, to win the 10,000 meter long distance foot race in the Tokyo Olympics.' www.imdb.com

Set against the golden age of Formula One racing in the 1970s, Rush is based on the true story of a spectacular sporting rivalry between English playboy James Hunt, and his structured, intelligent opponent, Austrian driver Niki Lauda.

"In occupied France, German-run Continental Films calls the shots in the movie business. Assistant director and Resistance activist Jean Devaivre works for Continental, where he can get 'in between the wolf's teeth and avoid being chewed up.'" www.imdb.com

For the last 40 years, the photographer Sebastião Salgado has been travelling through the continents, in the footsteps of an ever-changing humanity. He has witnessed some of the major events of our recent history: international conflicts, starvation and exodus. He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of wild fauna and flora, and of grandiose landscapes as part of a huge photographic project which is a tribute to the planet's beauty.

Set in Kansas in 1915, thirteen year-old Langston Hughes's aunt's well meaning efforts to bring him into the spiritual fold results in a moral crisis when he has to choose between pleasing his elders or being true to himself.

"Depicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai." www.imdb.com

"Musashi Miyamoto returns to Kyoto after years of absence. After a series of fights against the Yoshioka School, he challenges its master to a duel." www.imdb.com

"Musashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time." www.imdb.com

Four West Point cadets are caught in the fury of John Brown's pre-Civil War insurrection in Kansas.

" In Poland during World War II, Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis." www.imdb.com

This heart-warming film is based on the true story of a young boy who is a chess prodigy and his father, who attempts to walk the fine line between encouraging his son's talent and preserving the love they have for each other.

Continues Shakespeare's story of Henry VI in which Henry marries Lady Margaret of Anjou, but she despises his meekness and takes Suffolk as a lover. The new queen also hates the Yorks and becomes the inspiration of the Lancastrians.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historical struggle to secure voting rights for all people. A dangerous and terrifying campaign that culminated with an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1964.

Heinrich Harrer is an Austrian national and a Nazi sympathizer. He leaves Austria in 1939 to climb a mountain in the Himalayas. Through a series of circumstances, including POW camp, he and fellow climber Peter Aufschnaiter become the only two foreigners in the Tibetan holy city of Lhasa. There, Heinrich's life changes forever as he becomes a close confidant to the Dalai Lama.

Based on the true story of C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor who remains untouched by any great passion until he meets and falls in love with Joy Gresham, a feisty, abrasive New York divorcée.

A portrait of writer Sholem Aleichem, whose stories about Tevye the milkman became the basis of the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. Aleichem (1859-1916) was a rebellious wordsmith who created a new genre of literature and used his remarkable humor to encapsulate the realities of the Eastern European Jewish world in the late nineteenth century. Using a rich collection of archival footage, the film recreates a time in czarist Russia when Jews were second-class citizens and frequent scapegoats in times of social and political unrest.

Thanks to computer technology, Frank Gehry's minimal, erratically penned, squiggly sketches are translated by a team of model makers, software wizards, and engineers into plans that evolve into grand monuments. This exploration of Gehry's basic philosophy, early influences, and somewhat mysterious process, provide a fresh perspective into how architecture, and this architect, works.

Despite being born to Afrikaner parents, Sandra faces prejudice from her community due to her dark skin and African features. Torn between her family and the man she loves, Sandra must overcome the racial intolerance of her society in this uplifting true story.

DVD accompaniment to text.

On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history, but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications

The true story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine, Sophie Scholl, the fearless activist of the underground student resistance group, The White Rose. The last six days of Sophie Scholl's life is dramatized, from arrest to interrogation, trial, and sentence in 1943 Munich. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to her comrades, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility that is both haunting and timeless.

Explores the worldview of 19th-century existential philosopher and critic Kierkegaard, noted for belief in personal authenticity and self-determination, and his "leap of faith." Presented through readings from his works, and scholars' discussions and class lectures.

Filmmaker Chuck Workman explores the lives, works and influence of four leading lights of the "Beat Generation" of the 1950s: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Neal Cassady. Cutting back and forth between archival footage of his subjects and readings of selections from the authors' works, he creates a fast-paced collage of images that show how the Beats became the dominant counter-cultural movement of the last half of America's 20th century.

"Irrepressible, irascible, and iconic, Steve Jobs reigned as the undisputed king of Silicon Valley for the better part of three decades. CNBC offers a retrospective of Job's career--including the creation of Apple, its ascent under his visionary direction, and the evolution of his management style, which, although famous for its confrontational nature, secured his legacy as one who dared to 'Think Different'"--Container.

"A founding figure of contemporary cultural studies--and one of the most inspiring voices of the post-war Left--Stuart Hall's resounding and ongoing influence on British intellectual life commenced soon after he emigrated from Jamaica in 1951. Combining extensive archival imagery--television excerpts, home movies, family photos--with specially filmed material and a personally mixed Miles Davis soundtrack, Akomfrah's filmmaking approach matches the agility of Hall's intellect, its intimate play with memory, identity and scholarly impulse traversing the changing historical landscape of the second half of the 20th century."--BFI website.

The story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's struggle with polio, and the devotion of his wife, Eleanor.

Set primarily in two hospitals, the film tells two similar stories from two different periods, mirroring their respective eras' mores. At a small-town hospital, Toa is courting charming Dr. Tei. Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul tells the story of his parents who were both doctors, and his memories about growing up in the hospital environment.

Traces the story of the filmmaker's family as she confronts her German father and Jewish mother over the secrets and painful silence about the past as she struggles to reconcile her dual identity as both a German and a Jew. The blending of German and Jewish cultures relatively soon after World War II is the central motif of the documentary with a theme of "coping, rather than victimization." Family ties are tested throughout the film as she travels to Germany and struggles with issues of race, religion and prejudice on both sides of the family.

This film tells of the trials and tribulations of the Parisian exile of a group of Argentines in the late 70's, and how they seek to express their frustration, despair and anger by putting on a musical play with tango dancing which they entitle "The Exile of Gardel." Uncertain of their own futures, they have problems getting their play finished and produced. Their thoughts and experiences in Paris are bound up with two famous Latin American characters whose ties with France were noteworthy -- General San Marti?n, liberator of South America, and the famous tango singer Carlos Gardel. San Marti?n spent the last 25 years of his life in French exile and died there in 1850. Gardel, who was born in France, emigrated with his mother at the age of three to Buenos Aires. He became an international music and film star but was killed in a plane crash at the age of 44.

"Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life." www.imdb.com

A portrait of an autistic young woman who became, through timely mentoring and sheer force of will, one of America's most remarkable success stories as a leader in the field of animal husbandry and the humane handling of cattle.

Discusses the life of the playwright, his family, the social and economic situation of the South and the effect these had on his writing. Includes scenes from his most memorable works, footage of a television interview, and a reenactment of the life of the young Williams.

In his last film Cocteau portrays an 18th century poet who travels through time on a quest for divine wisdom. In a mysterious wasteland, he meets several symbolic phantoms that bring about his death and resurrection. The film finished the circle of the journey begun in Blood of a Poet, exploring the torturous relationship between the artist and his creations.

A wide-ranging documentary that aims to put Monk's status into context and perspective. It blends the history of Monk's early career in Harlem with archival black-and-white footage of the pianist performing his own compositions for Norwegian and French TV.

The story of renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of: time. Together, they defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science.

The Henry VI trilogy concludes with the Yorks winning the battle of St. Albans, and thus forcing Henry from the throne. Margaret, however, captures and taunts York before having him killed. She is captured herself and forced to watch her son killed by the Yorkists. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, reveals, at the end, his plan to murder Henry VI.

Los Angeles teenager and overachiever Tracy is an excellent student in her seventh grade class and gets along well with her mother, Melanie. She fears that she's not cool enough to be friends with Evie, the most popular girl in school. Fueled with genuine adolescent energy, Tracy follows Evie's lead into the harsh realities of sex, drugs, and hard-edged adventure. Consumed with temptations and conflicting desires, Tracy loses her good-girl identity, greatly affecting her relationship with her mom.

Examines the life of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence.

"As Africa looks desperately for leaders of integrity and vision, the life and ideals of Thomas Sankara seem more and more relevant and exemplary with the passage of time. This film should go a long way towards explaining why Sankara is still venerated on his own continent as the 'African Che,' a legendary martyr like Patrice Lumumba or Amilcar Cabral. The film recovers for the present a detailed history of Sankara's brief four-year rule and his revolutionary program for African self-reliance as a defiant alternative to the neo-liberal development strategies imposed on Africa by the West, both then and today. Sankara, a charismatic army captain, came to power in Burkina Faso, in 1983, in a popularly supported coup. He immediately launched the most ambitious program for social and economic change ever attempted on the African continent. To symbolize this rebirth, he even renamed his country from the French colonial Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, "Land of Upright People." Among other things he immediately reduced the salaries of all public servants, advanced women's rights, launched wide scale vaccination, development and environmental campaigns. But while celebrating Sankara's achievements, this film does not ignore his authoritarian flaws. Sankara also criticized foreign aid as a weapon of neo-colonialist interests, especially the French. Decades before talk of cancellation of Africa's debt becamse acceptable in world banking circles, Sankara called for a united front of African nations to repudiate their foreign debt. He argued that the poor and exploited did not have an obligation to repay money to the rich and exploiting. Ultimately, Sankara was overthrown by former military colleague Blaise Compaoré who continues to rule as dictator of Burkina Faso decades later. During the current, almost unopposed wave of globalization, Sankara's brief revolution offers an alternative or at least the possibility of another route for African development based on autonomy and local self-reliance"--Container

"A true twentieth-century trailblazer, Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world. This exhilarating trove of original documentary material and archival footage is as much a vivid portrait of a time and place (San Francisco's historic Castro District in the seventies) as a testament to the legacy of a political visionary"--Container.

A biographical film about the Brazilian singer Tim Maia, from his childhood in Tijuca, a neighborhood in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro, until his death at age 55. Maia was known for his explosive temper and his transformation of Brazilian music with doses of funk and soul.

Shakespeare's play about Richard of Gloucester, a self-proclaimed villian who usurps the crown. Through family machinations, political marriages and military coups, this play portrays the tumultous reign of King Edward IV and the ascension of Richard to the throne, an intricate period in English history.

"A rare gem of cinematic storytelling that weaves docudrama, fictional reenactment, and experimental photography into a powerful, reflective work on the early days of German cinema." www.imdb.com

President Truman led the nation through the end of World War II, the beginning of the Cold War, the struggle for civil rights and the creation of the United Nations. This biographical account shows Truman's rise from small-town nobody to leader of theUSA, his decission to use the Atomic Bomb against Japan, and subsequent election as the US' post-war President.

"Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop M.Cs. of all time." www.imdb.com

"In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery." www.imdb.com

While rival drug cartels warred in the streets, the Columbian national soccer team took a rapid rise to glory, with Andres Escobar its inspirational captain. Meanwhile the infamous drug baron, Pablo Escobar, pioneered "Narco-soccer". After a mistake by Andres led to a loss at the 1994 World Cup, less than ten days later he was gunned down outside a bar, a tragedy documented in this thriller about the intersection of crime and sport.

"The story of Francisco, a very simple and poor man whose dream was to see his children become country music stars, and who made all the efforts to make it happen." www.imdb.com

Olympian and war hero Louis Zamperini survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.

The in-depth and intimate story of one of the most important African Americans to live in the first half of the 20th century. Tells the story of Jack Johnson, who was the first African American boxer to win the most coveted title in all of sports - Heavyweight Campion of the World. Includes his struggles in and out of the ring and his desire to live his life as a free man.

The life and times of Ralph Nader, political analyst and presidential candidate. Includes footage and interviews with those who knew and worked with him, including an interview with the man himself.

The culmination of a 10-year investigation to uncover the details behind the nightmarish 1955 Mississippi murder of Emmett Louis Till, an African-American Chicago teenager. Till's death sparked the American Civil Rights Movement.

"The Jackie Robinson story": Robinson endures racial slurs and threats to become not only the first black ballplayer in the major leagues, but one of its greatest. "The Joe Louis story": Follows the career of Joe Lewis from his early days in boxing to his ill-fated comeback attempt against Rocky Marciano. "It's good to be alive": The heroic story of baseball great Roy Campanella's recovery from a crippling car accident.

The Duc de Condé's employee, François Vatel, is in charge of cooking, and preparing shows for the French King Louis XIV when he visits the castle of Chantilly, owned by de Condé. If Vatel can impress the King, de Condé will gain his favors, and the destiny of France will change.

"The life story of composer-pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff." www.imdb.com

"The life of Victor Hugo, one of the giants of French literature, is a study of contrasts. This program chronicles how a man born into humble circumstances became a staunch monarchist and then a political liberal and supporter of the French republic. Though he lived many years in exile, Hugo was considered the conscience of the Republic, and his fame as a political force rivaled his renown as the author of plays, prose, and poetry"--Container label.

"The life story of singer Édith Piaf." www.imdb.com

"The story of Mussolini's secret lover, Ida Dalser, and their son Albino." www.imdb.com

A stage presentation by Camila Morgado and Ricardo Blat is interwoven with interviews, musical performances, and existing audio and video footage to tell the story of Vinícius de Moraes, one of Brazil's most celebrated composers and poets.

Film presenting a partially fictionalized and romanticized view of the life of Mexican revolutionary, Emiliano Zapata, from his upbringing, rise to power, and finally his death in the early 1900s.

Emiliano Zapata, an ally of Pancho Villa, leads the Mexican peasants in a bloody revolt against an oppressive government and overthrows President Díaz.

The lives and works of 13 renowned American poets are interpreted through dramatic readings, archival photographs, dance, performances, and interviews in this inspiring series.

" A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins." www.imdb.com

The turbulent relationship of Ike and Tina Turner eventually forces Tina to leave and find the courage to believe in herself.

"These exuberant videos bring to life the stories of the most famous African Americans to make it to Paris in the early 20th century, what it did for them--and what they did for France"--Container. Includes Josephine Baker: a most extraordinary life (13 min.) -- Sidney Bechet: the wizard of jazz (15 min.) -- Black writers across the Atlantic (12 min.).

When Nebraska cop Kathryn Bolkovac accepts a U.N. peacekeeper position in postwar Bosnia, she discovers a deadly sex trafficking ring. Risking her own life to save the lives of others, she uncovers an international conspiracy that is determined to stop her, no matter the cost. With masterful acting and a heart-racing plot, an acclaimed film inspired by actual events.

After years of reckless behavior, a heroin addiction and the destruction of her marriage, Cheryl Strayed makes a rash decision. Haunted by memories of her mother Bobbi and with absolutely no experience, she sets out to hike more than a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own.

The amazing biopic of Wilma Rudolph, a woman afflicted by the crippling disease polio, who not only triumphed over her handicap but went on to win 3 consecutive gold medals at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

" A drama that chronicles the life of Winnie Mandela from her childhood through her marriage and her husband's incarceration." www.imdb.com

"Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government." www.imdb.com

"A documentary about the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl, a German film director most notorious for making the most effective propaganda films for the Nazis." www.imdb.com

Watch an epic action feature inspired by the life and times of the legendary kung fu master, Ip Man, who mentored Bruce Lee. The story spans the tumultuous Republican era that followed the fall of China's last dynasty, a time of chaos, division, and war that was also the golden age of Chinese martial arts.

The first part under Alexey Tolstoy's novel "Peter the Great" about the Russian emperor Peter the Great.

To cast away everything, surrendering yourself to the flow of nature and just sitting in meditation. This is the essence of Dogen's Zen Buddhism. In the 13th century, Dogen, a young Japanese monk traveled to China, determined to find his true master. There he found a monk who taught him that sitting in Zen meditation is the true and only path to enlightenment. Returning, enlightened, to Japan, Dogen risked his life to pioneer Zen Buddhism, inspiring the millions of Zen Buddhists who practice around the world today.

"A dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation" www.imdb.com

This video examines the rich legacy of the writings of Zora Neale Hurston.

A biography of African American author and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, the first black woman to enter the American literary canon. The documentary intersperses insights from leading scholars and rare footage of the rural South (some of it shot by Zora herself) with re-enactments of a 1943 radio interview discussing her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road.

The story of how Zuleika Angel Jones (Zuzu Angel), a Brazilian-American fashion designer, fought for the truth about the arrest, torture and killing of her son Stuart Angel Jones, a revolutionary activist who opposed the dictatorship in Brazil.