Derrière l'image
★ 7 · 1978 · 113m · Documentary
This feature-length documentary analyzes television newscasts and, as a result, takes a look at the news industry as a whole. By tackling five major themes – the script, the stars, the show, the actors and telecracy – it elucidates and demystifies certain aspects of television news, the bearer of daily news and guarantor of a certain image of reality.
More Like This
Cardigans at Christmas
1997
A feast of old chestnuts from the glory days of Christmasses past with this look at the rise and demise of the Christmas light-entertainment spectacular, from Christmas Night with the Stars to Val Doonican and Christmas Snowtime Special.
More info →
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
2002 · ★ 6
A celebration of NBC's 75 year history, featuring clips of special moments.
More info →
One Day in the Life of Television
1989
One day in the life of television is a documentary that was broadcast on ITV on 1 November 1989. Filmed by over fifty crews exactly one year earlier, it was a huge behind-the-scenes look at a wide range of activities involved in the production, reception and marketing of British television. The project was organised by the British Film Institute and produced and directed for television by Peter Kosminsky. A book by Sean Day-Lewis was published to accompany the documentary. It contained the thoughts of people throughout Britain, including industry professionals, who recorded their feelings and experiences of television viewing on 1 November 1988, the day that the documentary was filmed.
More info →
VHS Revolution
2017 · ★ 6.3
Using testimonies by pioneers and witnesses of the times, delve into the feverish visual culture the media generated – with far-fetched examples of canine television games, seduction manuals, aerobics class while holding a baby, among others.
More info →
Warren Oates: Across the Border
1993 · ★ 6.5
A retrospective of the work of the late actor Warren Oates, with clips from his films and interviews with cast and crew members who worked with him.
More info →
This is CEEFAX
1975
A look-behind-the-scenes at a television development that could be in everyone's home in just a few years' time. Reporter Angela Rippon tells the story of CEEFAX - the BBC's latest form of broadcasting. She visits Kingswood Warren where BBC Research Department 'boffins' developed it; and looks at some of its uses: News, weather, travel, sports results, farm prices and business information.
More info →


Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
2004 · ★ 7.1
A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
More info →
An American Family at 50
2024
TV special revisiting the documentary series that became a media sensation 50 years ago and birthed a new television genre. Examines the enduring significance of the series, which chronicled seven months in the lives of the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California.
More info →
Television Under the Swastika
1999 · ★ 7.2
A history of Nazi television programming and technology, from 1935 to 1944.
More info →