Movies: Documentaries and Special Interest

Up from slavery

Documents the history of slavery in America from colonial times to after the Civil War.
View details »
Place a hold »

Bounty hunters

Viewers are invited to join in as Wild West fact from Hollywood fiction is separated, and then they can meet men like Charlie Siringo, who would travel tens of thousands of miles before he'd let a bail jumper go free, or Frank Hamer, who brought law to the most lawless parts of Texas, and death to the most notorious criminals of the early 20th century.
View details »
Place a hold »

Faces of America [videorecording]
with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. turns again to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 11 renowned celebrities including Meryl Streep and Queen Noor. Looking to the wider immigrant experience, Professor Gates follows the threads of his guests' lives back to their origins. Along the way, the many stories he uncovers illuminate the American experience.
View details »
Place a hold »

Wild horses in winds of change [videorecording]
filmmaker, Mara LeGrand
Takes us on an unforgettable journey into the soul of the mustang, portraying their freedom, sensitivity and delightful family units. It is a trail that is interwoven with our own freedom. This award-winning documentary stimulates our awareness, offers fresh understanding of the wild horse crisis, and is a film for all who care about our planet's fate.
View details »
Place a hold »

Charlton Heston presents the Bible [videorecording]
an Agamemnon Films production a Jones Programming Partners Ltd. and Goodtimes Entertainment presentation
The stories were told through the generations, stories of what had happened and what was to come. 'The best stories there ever were,' Charlton Heston says about these Biblical accounts. Collection includes: Genesis; The Story of Moses; Jesus of Nazareth; and The Passion.
View details »
Place a hold »

8 1/2 [videorecording]
Janus Films presents
Fellini's autobiographical film about a famous film director who loses his inspiration in the midst of making a film.
View details »
Place a hold »

All night long [videorecording]
The Rank Organisation presents
The classic tale Othello is translated and retold to the world of 1960's London jazz clubs. Over the course of one eventful evening, during the anniversary celebration of the musical and romantic partners Aurelius Rex and Delia Lane, a jealous & ambitious drummer, Johnny Cousin, attempts to tear the interracial couple apart.
View details »
Place a hold »

Brief encounter [videorecording]
ITV Global Entertainment
Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson star as middle-class suburbanites whose casual friendship evolves into a passionate yearning for each other. But as their affections grow stronger, they must face a difficult decision that will affect both of their lives forever.
View details »
Place a hold »

Broadcast news [videorecording]
Twentieth Century Fox presents
A caustic inside look at the Washington news media, stars Holly Hunter in her breakout role, as a feisty television producer torn between an ambitious yet dim anchorman and her closest confidant, a cynical veteran reporter. James L. Brooks' witty, gently prophetic entertainment is a captivating transmission from an era in which ideas on love and media were rapidly changing.
View details »
Place a hold »

Close-up [videorecording]
Janus Films
Close-Up is the true story of Hossain Sabzian, a poor, underemployed, divorced, father of two. He is obsessed with the cinema. In 1989, Sabzian convinced the Ahankhah family that he was Iranian filmmaker Moshen Makhmalbaf (The Silence) and that he would cast them in his next film. Eventually, the family caught on to the ruse and contacted the authorities, leading to Sabzian's arrest. A journalist wrote a column about the incident that Kiarostami read. The director quickly put together a crew and set about to film the trial as well as restage previous events, but with a twist: Sabzian, the Ahankhahs, and the others involved played themselves. Thus, the film is an amalgamation of documentary and drama that questions the very nature and purpose of film, forces audiences to contemplate the basic experience of moviegoing, and in the process redefined how Iranian cinema saw itself.
View details »
Place a hold »

Close-up [videorecording]
Janus Films
The arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated well-known filmmaker, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, is the basis for a stunning, multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence. Real people from the case play themselves.
View details »
Place a hold »

The complete Jean Vigo

Even among cinema's greatest legends, Jean Vigo stands alone. The son of a notorious anarchist, Vigo had a brief but brilliant career making poetic, lightly surrealist films before his life was cut tragically short by tuberculosis at age twenty-nine. Like the daring early works of his contemporaries Jean Cocteau and Luis Bu?uel, Vigo's films refused to play by the rules. This set includes all of Vigo's titles.
View details »
Place a hold »

Cronos [videorecording]
Tequila Gang
Kindly antiques dealer Jesus Gris happens upon an ancient golden device, and soon finds himself possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers, as well as the target of a mysterious, crude American named Angel.
View details »
Place a hold »

Crumb [videorecording]
Janus Films
An intimate documentary portrait of underground artist Robert Crumb, whose unique drawing style and sexually and racially provocative subject matter have made him a household name in popular American art. Zwigoff candidly and colorfully delves into the details of Crumb's incredible career, as well as his past, including his family of reclusive eccentrics, some of the most remarkable people ever seen on-screen.
View details »
Place a hold »

Cul-de-sac [videorecording]
Compton-Tekli Film Productions Ltd.
A withdrawn couple's isolated house is infiltrated by a rude, burly American gangster on the run. The three engage in role-playing games of sexual and emotional humiliations. An evocative, claustrophobic, and morbidly funny tale of the modern world in chaos.
View details »
Place a hold »

Floating weeds [videorecording]
Kadokawa Pictures
An aging actor returns to the town where his son lives, who has believed all these years to be his uncle rather than his father.
View details »
Place a hold »

The four feathers [videorecording]
director: Zoltan Korda.
Adaptations of A.E.W. Mason's classic 1902 adventure novel about the British Empires exploits in Africa, and a crowning achievement of Alexander Kordas legendary production company, London Films. Set at the end of the nineteenth century, follows the travails of a young officer accused of cowardice after he resigns his post on the eve of a major deployment to Khartoum; he must fight to redeem himself in the eyes of his fellow officers. Includes bonus features.
View details »
Place a hold »

Godzilla [videorecording]
director, Ishiro Honda.
It's also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama made in Japan at a time when the country was still reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire populations fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning more than twenty sequels and spinoffs. Here, we present the original, 1954 Japanese version, along with Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, the 1956 American reworking.
View details »
Place a hold »

La graine et le mulet [videorecording]
Claude Berri praesente
When the patriarch of a French-Arab family, Slimane, acts on his wish to open a portside restaurant specializing in his ex-wife's fish couscous, the extended clan's passions and problems explode.
View details »
Place a hold »

Howards End

A story about class divisions in Edwardian England, and the tragic series of events that occurs when two impulsive middle-class sisters become involved with a working class couple and a wealthy family.
View details »
Place a hold »

Ichiban utsukushiku [videorecording]
T?oh?o Kabushiki Kaisha seisaku
Presents the story of a group of girls who work in a precision-optical-instruments factory, making lenses, binoculars, etc., during wartime in Japan. This was filmed in a real factory with real workers which gives the movie a documentary flavor.
View details »
Place a hold »

Jules et Jim [videorecording] = Jules and Jim
un film de Fran?cois Truffaut
Before World War I in Paris, a girl alternates between a French student, Jim, and a German student, Jules. After the war, they meet again and form a constantly shifting triangle.
View details »
Place a hold »

Kapao [videorecording]
Franco Cristaldi presenta
The story of a Jewish girl from Paris sent to a concentration camp during World War II and her struggle to survive by stealing another's identity and becoming a warden.
View details »
Place a hold »

Koroshi no rakuin [videorecording]
Janus Films
A gangster story about a hitman who lost his last target, and now another hitman is after him.
View details »
Place a hold »

Laasky jednae plavovlaasky [videorecording]
Janus Films
Story of a young woman who like her friends is very concerned with men and love. A reserve army group comes into town and she falls in love with a pianist, who after swearing eternal love leaves for his home.
View details »
Place a hold »

My crasy life [videorecording]
director, Jean-Pierre Gorin
Documentary and scripted drama meet in this intense, introspective, and expectation-shredding treatment of the lives of Samoan street gang members in Long Beach.
View details »
Place a hold »

Poto and Cabengo [videorecording]
Janus Films
The story of twin sisters, Grace and Virgina Kennedy, who were thought to have developed a private language inspires Jean-Pierre Gorin to investigate family, communication, and social environment.
View details »
Place a hold »

Routine pleasures [videorecording]
a film by Jean-Pierre Gorin
Jean-Pierre Gorin turns his camera on some model train enthusiasts and the work of critic and painter Manny Farber in this bracing meditation on the past.
View details »
Place a hold »

Shock corridor [videorecording]
a Allied Artists Pictures Corporation presents
A journalist fakes mental illness to get himself committed to a mental hospital for a story. Soon, he starts to lose his mind.
View details »
Place a hold »

Sugata Sanshir?o [videorecording] : sen-ky?uhyaku-yonj?usannen sangatsu sakuhin
T?oh?o Kabushiki Kaisha
A thrilling martial arts tale about the rivalry between judo and jujitsu.
View details »
Place a hold »

Topsy-turvey [videorecording]
Fine Line Features
A world famous Victorian librettist and composer along with their troupe of temperamental actors must battle personal and professional demons while mounting a major production. Includes commentary, deleted scenes, featurette, and a booklet featuring film critic Amy Taubin.
View details »
Place a hold »

Trois couleurs, bleu [videorecording]
MK2 Productions SA ... [et al.]
A young woman is left devastated by the unexpected death of her husband and child. She retreats from the world around her, but is soon reluctantly drawn into an ever-widening web of lies and passion as the dark, secret life of her husband begins to unravel. The first of a trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski, followed by 'White' and 'Red.'
View details »
Place a hold »

Victim [videorecording]
Allied Film Makers present
Melville Farr, a closeted, married barrister who bravely takes on a blackmailer targeting a group of vulnerable gay London men from various walks of life.
View details »
Place a hold »

Walkabout [videorecording]
/ a Max L. Raab-Si Litvinoff production
A young sister and brother are abandoned in the harsh Australian outback and must learn to exist in the natural world, without their usual comforts, in this hypnotic masterpiece. Along the way, they met a young aborigine on his 'walkabout,' a rite of passage in which adolescent boys are initiated into manhood by journeying into the wilderness alone.
View details »
Place a hold »

White material [videorecording]
director Claire Denis.
Maria is an entitled white woman living in Africa, desperately unwilling to give up her family's crumbling coffee plantation despite the civil war closing in on her. A gripping evocation of the death throes of European colonialism and a fascinating look at a woman lost in her own mind.
View details »
Place a hold »

Zoku Sugata Sanshir?o [videorecording] : 1945-nen seisaku
T?oh?o Kabushiki Kaisha
Story of a handsome bumptious young man who wishes to learn judo as a path to philosophical knowledge, rather than a mere set of self-defense techniques.
View details »
Place a hold »

By Brakhage. An anthology, Volume two

In this second installment, we are proud to present thirty more of Brakhage's innovative creations, from his 1950s films to his final work from 2003. Highlights of this collection include the antiwar film 23rd psalm branch; hand-painted films from the Persian series; The wonder ring, made for a commission by Joseph Cornell; the autobiographical Scenes from under childhood, section one; his only found-footage film, Murder psalm; and much more.
View details »
Place a hold »

Carlos [videorecording]
Daniel Leconte presents
An epic, intensely detailed account of the life of the infamous international terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez - also known as Carlos the Jackal. One of the twentieth century's most wanted fugitives, Carlos was committed to violent left-wing activism throughout the seventies and eighties, orchestrating bombings, kidnappings, and hijackings in Europe and the Middle East.
View details »
Place a hold »

Fanny & Alexander [videorecording] = Fanny och Alexander
directed and written by Ingmar Bergman.
Ingmar Bergman's autobiographical film that witnesses the delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family, a sprawling bourgeois clan in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Sweden, through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander.
View details »
Place a hold »

Being Elmo [videorecording] : a puppeteer's journey
directed and produced by Constance Marks
Follows the man behind the beloved children's icon, Elmo, examining the life of puppeteer Kevin Clash. Provides behind-the-scenes views of Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop and featuring interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O'Donnell, Cheryl Henson, and Joan Ganz Cooney.
View details »
Place a hold »

The Black power mixtape 1967-1975 [videorecording] : a documentary in 9 chapters
written and directed by Georan Hugo Olsson
"THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975 mobilizes a treasure trove of 16mm material shot by Swedish journalists who came to the US drawn by stories of urban unrest and revolution. Gaining access to many of the leaders of the Black Power Movement, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver among them, the filmmakers captured them in intimate moments and remarkably unguarded interviews. Thirty years later, this lush collection was found languishing in the basement of Swedish Television"--From mrqe.com.
View details »
Place a hold »

Born to be wild [videorecording]
Imax
Narrated by Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman. An inspiring story of love, dedication, and the remarkable bond between humans and animals. This film documents orphaned orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue and raise them, saving endangered species one life at a time. Stunningly captured in, a heartwarming adventure transporting moviegoers into the lush rainforests of Borneo with world-renowned primatologist Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas.
View details »
Place a hold »

The films of Lionel Rogosin, Volume 1 [videorecording]
Milestone Film & Video.
On the Bowery chronicles three days in the drinking life of Ray Salyer which jump-started the post-war American independent film movement, earning an Oscar nomination.
View details »
Place a hold »

I am [videorecording]
Flying Eye Productions in association with A Homemade Canvas production
The story of a successful Hollywood director, Tom Shadyac, who experienced a life-threatening head injury, and his ensuing journey to try and answer two very basic questions: 'What's wrong with the world?' and 'What can be done about it?' With a film crew of four, Tom visits some of today's great minds, including authors, poets, teachers, religious leaders, and scientists, searching for the fundamental endemic problem that causes all the other problems, while reflecting on his own life choices.
View details »
Place a hold »

Inside Japan's nuclear meltdown [videorecording]
a Quicksilver Media Production for WGBH/Frontline
In the desperate hours and days after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the fate of thousands of Japanese citizens fell into the hands of a small corps of engineers, firemen and soldiers who risked their lives to prevent the Daiichi nuclear complex from complete meltdown. This is their story, with rare footage from inside the plant and eyewitness testimony from the people on the frontlines.
View details »
Place a hold »

The interrupters [videorecording]
Kartemquin Films presents
The moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who, with bravado, humility, and even humor, try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. Shot over the course of a year, this documentary captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in America's cities.
View details »
Place a hold »

Knuckle [videorecording]
director Ian Palmer.
Go inside the brutal, secretive, and exhilarating bare-knuckle fighting lives of an Irish Traveller community and hear the history of violent feuding between rival families. Follow the story of the Quinn brothers, as they fight for their reputations and the honor of their family name.
View details »
Place a hold »

Limelight [videorecording]
director, BIlly Corben
As the owner of legendary hotspots like Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium, and Club USA, Peter Gatien was the undisputed king of the 1980s New York City club scene. The eye-patch-sporting Ontario native built and oversaw a Manhattan empire that counted tens of thousands of patrons per night in its peak years, acting as a conduit for a culture that, for many, defined the image of an era in New York.
View details »
Place a hold »

One lucky elephant [videorecording]
a One Lucky Elephant production in association with Sandbar Pictures and Crossover Productions
One Lucky Elephant begins with circus producer David Balding's realization that Flora, the orphaned African elephant he adopted and made the star of his circus, is tired of performing. What unfolds is a nine-year odyssey to find Flora a good home. Caught between the human and animal world, Flora epitomizes the harsh reality elephants face in our expanding man-made world. One thing is certain, after watching this film, you'll never look at an elephant in a zoo or a circus in the same way again.
View details »
Place a hold »

The other F word [videorecording]
director, Andrea Blaugrund Nevins.
Revealing, hilarious, and touching, The Other F Word asks what happens when a generation's ultimate anti-authoritarians - punk rockers - become society's ultimate authorities - fathers. With a large chorus of punk's leading men, this film follows Jim Lindberg through his hysterical and moving journey from belting his band's anthem to embracing his newfound role in mid-life: fatherhood.
View details »
Place a hold »

Secrets of the Titanic [videorecording]
produced by The National Geographic Society.
National Geographic remembers the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with a special collection of programs including the original classic "Secrets of the Titanic" and the new special "Save the Titanic with Robert Ballard".
View details »
Place a hold »

Leapfrog. Phonics farm

Join Scout and his friends as they learn letter sounds with the help of some amazing animals! Scout, Violet, Eli and Penny long to learn about new animals. When their magical toy car, Axle, whisks them away to a farm, they discover a remarkable alphabet collection and ABC antics ensue! As the friends get in shape with an athletic alligator, console a sad seal, converse with a high-pitched horse, and more, they make their way through the entire alphabet!
View details »
Place a hold »

Sign language 101 [videorecording] : a beginner's guide to American Sign Language
Everyday ASL Productions, Ltd.
"This video is excellent for every American Sign Language (ASL) student as well as teachers, parents, and professionals learning ASL to communicate clearly and naturally"--Container.
View details »
Place a hold »

Afterlife [videorecording]
directed by Paul Perry
Examines the afterlife by looking at cases of near death experiences, interviews with authors Raymond Moody and Jeffrey Long, and re-enactments.
View details »
Place a hold »

Exhale. Core fusion cardio pure intensity [videorecording]
producer and director, Ernie Schultz.
"This power-packed workout combines focused strength-training and flexibility moves with high-intensity cardio for maximum calorie burn."-- Cover.
View details »
Place a hold »

Exhale. Core fusion powersculpt

This dynamic workout combines strength training, yoga, Pilates, and deep-muscle movements to lift, shape, and tone the entire body. Features exhale's proven system of five 10-minute segments to blast fat and burn calories. Includes 5 min. bonus stretch.
View details »
Place a hold »

Fat burning hip-hop mix [videorecording]
produced and directed by Cal Pozo
Learn the hottest hip-hop moves and melt off the pounds. Pro trainer and choreographer Billy Blanks Jr. and his wife Sharon feature ten-minute workouts that burn mega fat and get viewers moving! Learn hip-hop basics spiced up with fresh funk, Bollywood flair, and hot samba. Then mix it up with all three styles for a high-energy dance challenge that kicks calories to the curb.
View details »
Place a hold »

UFC 139, Shogun vs Hendo

Two of the best light heavyweights of this era, former UFC champion Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua and former two division PRIDE champion Dan Henderson finally meet in the Octagon in what should be a war for the ages. Plus, middleweight gunslingers Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le square off in an explosive striking battle, and two of the bantamweight division's finest, Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles, fight it out for a shot at the 135-pound crown.
View details »
Place a hold »

Jesse Owens

Despite Jesse Owens's remarkable victories in the face of Nazi racism at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the athlete struggled to find a place for himself in a United States that was still wrestling to overcome its own deeply entrenched bias.
View details »
Place a hold »

Stone Cold Steve Austin [videorecording]
World Wrestling Entertainment.
With the recent success of Tough Enough, his highly anticipated appearances on WWE Raw, and his continued movie career, the Texas Rattlesnake is still a pop culture force and there has never been a comprehensive biography done until now. Stone Cold Steve Austin looks at the life and career of Austin, and includes exclusive, never-before-seen interviews with Austin and many of his in-ring rivals.
View details »
Place a hold »

Late rounders [videorecording]
director, Evan A. Marshall.
On draft day, everything is at stake. Many players won't make the 1st 2nd or even the 3rd draft rounds, and are faced with shattered dreams, living in a world without football. Late Rounders follows a group of college football stand-outs as they begin their quest to make the 53-man roster of an NFL football team. Corey Peters, Aaron Morgan, Alfonso Smith, John Conner and Ray Fisher come from different backgrounds, yet share a common bond.
View details »
Place a hold »

Survivor series 2011

The Superstars of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT all battle to be the ultimate survivors! For the 25th consecutive year, the Superstars of the WWE come together for Survivor Series. Its unique 5-on-5 elimination matches have always been favorites among WWE fans and this year will see some unique teams built and destroyed. Many of the biggest superstars in the WWE look to leave an indelible mark on the sports entertainment landscape.
View details »
Place a hold »

WWE capitol punishment 2011

What happens when WWE Superstars are pushed to extremes? Watch Edge, John Cena, Triple H, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, and other favorite superstars and find out!
View details »
Place a hold »

WWE elimination chamber 2012

Six superstars vie for ultimate supremacy inside an unforgiving steel structure. At stake is a world championship and a date with the main event at WrestleMania. Six Raw superstars will battle in the elimination chamber for the WWE Championship and six of SmackDown's best will fight for the World Heavyweight Championship.
View details »
Place a hold »

The Rock [videorecording] : the epic journey of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
World Wrestling Federation presents.
In the exciting buildup to Wrestle Mania XVIII, fans can, for the first time ever on DVD, relive the exciting life and times of the Rock. Packed with brand new interviews as well as a selection of the Rock's biggest career-spanning bouts, moments, and promos, this DVD set will electrify every member of Team Bring It.
View details »
Place a hold »