Fantastic Mr. Dahl
2005 · 61m · Documentary · History
Documentary about author Roald Dahl, produced for the British television series Imagine.
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Best of Enemies
2015 · ★ 7.2
A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. Best of Enemies delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers, and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, "What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?"
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Animals, Whores & Dialogue: Breakfast with Hunter Vol. 2
2010
Animals, Whores & Dialogue is more than just a sequel to Wayne Ewing's 2003 Breakfast with Hunter which Variety declared to be a movie "that captures the essence of his [Hunter Thompson's] jazzy pop journalism." This new feature length documentary goes even deeper into Gonzo journalism with intimate scenes of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson at work writing, editing, and recounting the creation of classics like Hells Angels and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. Animals, whores & dialogue were metaphors and an element Hunter almost always wove into his writing, and the words were emblazoned on his typewriter.
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The Mindscape of Alan Moore
2003 · ★ 6.8
The Mindscape of Alan Moore is a psychedelic journey into one of the world's most powerful minds; chronicling the life and work of Alan Moore, author of several acclaimed graphic novels, including "From Hell," "Watchmen" and "V for Vendetta." It is the only feature film production on which Alan Moore has collaborated, with permission to use his work. Alan Moore presents the story of his development as an artist, starting with his childhood and working through to his comics career and impact on that medium, and his emerging interest in magic.
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J.R.R.T. : A Study of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, 1892-1973
1992 · ★ 8
J.R.R.T.: A Study of J.R.R. Tolkien is a 1992 documentary, narrated by Judi Dench, produced to celebrate the centenary of J.R.R. Tolkien's birth. It is sometimes called "J.R.R. Tolkien: A Portrait" and "J.R.R. Tolkien - An Authorized Film Portrait". It features archive footage and audio recordings of J.R.R. Tolkien, and interviews with three of his children Priscilla, John, and Christopher. It also includes interviews with Baillie Tolkien, Robert Murray, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Rayner Unwin, Tom Shippey, and Verlyn Flieger.
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Ed McClanahan: Kentucky Muse
1995
Unable or unwilling to conform to the rigid atmosphere of Washington and Lee College as a freshman, Ed bailed out after a brief stint there to attend—and graduate from—Miami of Ohio. After graduate work at UK, he left for the Left Coast, and it suited him just fine. The first stop was a writing instructorship at Oregon State, then enrollment into the Stanford Writing Program, a move shared by Jim, Wendell, and Gurney. There he cultivated, among other things, relationships with Larry McMurtry, Robert Stone, and—most importantly—Ken Kesey. Ed didn’t just experience the 1960s; he wallowed in them. Also, a bonus interview from 1996 program, Signature Live.
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The Geographies of DAR
2023
A visually stunning film on acclaimed author David Adams Richards and his connection to one of Canada’s most overlooked yet breathtaking regions.
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Emily
2022 · ★ 6.9
The imagined life of one of the world’s most famous authors, Emily Brontë, as she finds her voice and writes the literary classic Wuthering Heights. Explore the relationships that inspired her – her raw, passionate sisterhood with Charlotte and Anne; her first aching, forbidden love for Weightman and her care for her maverick brother whom she idolises.
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No Maps for These Territories
2000 · ★ 6.6
On an overcast morning in 1999, William Gibson, father of cyberpunk and author of the cult-classic novel Neuromancer, stepped into a limousine and set off on a road trip around North America. The limo was rigged with digital cameras, a computer, a television, a stereo, and a cell phone. Generated entirely by this four-wheeled media machine, No Maps for These Territories is both an account of Gibson’s life and work and a commentary on the world outside the car windows. Here, the man who coined the word "cyberspace" offers a unique perspective on Western culture at the edge of the new millennium, and in the throes of convulsive, tech-driven change.
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Becoming Astrid
2018 · ★ 7
When Astrid Lindgren was very young something happened that affected her profoundly, and this combination of both miracle and calamity came to shape her entire life. It was an event that transformed her into one of the most inspiring women of our age and the storyteller a whole world would come to love. This is the story of when a young Astrid, despite the expectations of her time and religious upbringing, decided to break free from society's norms and follow her heart.
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Enid
2009 · ★ 6.4
A poignant biography of one of the most successful and wildly-read writers of the 20th century. Her stories enthralled children everywhere but her personal struggles often proved too much.
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Sex, Lies and Jerzy Kosinski
1995 · ★ 2
The making of Jerzy Kosinski. The BBC documentary on the life and art of enigmatic novelist Jerzy Kosinski. Through interviews with his second wife Kiki von Fraunhofer-Kosinski, friends and fellow authors, and Polish villagers who knew Kosinski when he was a child hiding from the scourge of Nazism, this program attempts to assess the verity of Kosinski's "autobiographical" fiction, the need for him to maintain a nebulous mystique about his early life, and to understand his obsession with S&M sex clubs in Manhattan during the 1970s and 1980s.
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