On Scoring Cops and Helping Silent Films Live Again
2011 · 8m · Documentary
Ben Model discusses scoring music for silent movies.
More Like This
The Making of Ladies and Gentlemen, Fabulous Stains
1999 · ★ 7.5
A documentary look at the 'making of' and cult success of the troubled Lou Adler directed film "Ladies And Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains" starring Diane Lane.
More info →
Prayers to the Gods of Guerrilla Filmmaking
2019
A crew of filmmakers shoot undercover on the streets of Hong Kong with hidden microphones and no permits. The city becomes a giant set as mounting tension and ego clashes push tempers to breaking point.
More info →
Bo Widerberg
1977
Documentary which follows Bo Widerberg during the making of 'Man on the Roof', 'The Butt' and a failed theater production.
More info →
Dreyer's Gertrud
2022
Documentary about the making and reception of Carl Th. Dreyer's final movie, "Gertrud."
More info →
The Water Is Finally Blue: The Untold Story of Robert Altman's O.C. and Stiggs
2023
An in-depth oral history of the production and development history of Robert Altman's "O.C. and Stiggs," featuring commentaries from the film's cast and crew.
More info →
It Came from Hollywood
1982 · ★ 5.4
Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Gilda Radner and Cheech and Chong present this compilation of classic bad films from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Special features on gorilla pictures, anti-marijuana films and a special tribute to the worst film maker of all-time, Ed Wood.
More info →
Lumière, Le Cinéma!
2024 · ★ 7
In one of those wonderful coincidences of history, lumière, the French word for “light,” was also the last name of brothers Auguste and Louis, whose brilliant invention, the cinematograph, helped to inaugurate the most beloved art form of the last 130 years. Institute Lumière director Thierry Frémaux uses Lumière, Le Cinema! to guide the viewer through over a hundred shorts—some famous, some forgotten, some never before seen—directed by Lumière and company. In the process, Frémaux illuminates how the brothers employed the camera as a creative instrument as they (and their operators) mastered framing, staging, and subject selection for quotidian and exotic microdocumentaries as well as the first ever fictional motion pictures. The result is not only a glorious re(telling) of the genesis of cinema but a profound meditation on the beautiful world captured—and the mysterious world imagined—by the Lumières.
More info →
Documentary for the Recently Deceased: The Making of Beetlejuice
A documentary about Tim Burton's iconic 1988 fantasy comedy Beetlejuice, covering all the aspects of production: from filming in East Corinth, Vermont, to the stop-motion and special effects work, as well as a series of exclusive interviews and rare behind the scenes archives.
More info →
John Ford Goes to War
2002 · ★ 5.5
When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7."
More info →The Making of Double Impact, Parts 1 & 2
2019 · ★ 6
Jean-Claude van Damme, Sheldon Lettich and more discuss the 1991 film "Double Impact" from inception to reception.
More info →
A Return to Memory
2024
When Canada entered World War II, the National Film Board suddenly had an urgent new mission—and hundreds of women stepped forward, helping to create Canadian cinema as we now know it.
More info →