Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies
★ 6.9 · 2001 · 89m · Documentary
Hollywood is a town of tinsel and glamour; but there is another Hollywood, a place where maverick independent exploitation filmmakers went toe to toe with the big guys and came out on top.
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Since the 1970s, Switzerland has been characterized by a sometimes controversial, sometimes innovative drug policy that has become a model for other countries around the world. Using archive footage and interviews with contemporary witnesses - politicians, social workers and former drug addicts - the film reconstructs key moments in this turbulent chapter of national politics.
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The Pity of War
2014 · ★ 6
Professor Niall Ferguson argues that Britain's decision to enter the First World War was a catastrophic error that unleashed an era of totalitarianism and genocide.
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The Mind-Benders: LSD and the Hallucinogens
1967 · ★ 7
This FDA film explores the history of hallucinogenic drugs, and specifically the effects and therapeutic uses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Combining graphics that suggest a hallucinogenic experience, snippets of interviews with users (who explain their reasons for taking the drug) and doctors, and taped sessions of research with volunteers, the film delves into the destructive as well as possible positive uses of the drug.
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A Room Nearby
2003
Paul Fierlinger's unique animation captures five individuals from diverse backgrounds as they describe their bouts with loneliness, its challenges and benefits.
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The Mythology of Star Wars
1999 · ★ 7.7
George Lucas discusses how Joseph Campbell and his concept of the Monomyth (aka the Hero's Journey) and other concepts from mythology and religion shaped the Star Wars saga.
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The Dollhouse
2017 · ★ 8
Kyra Gardner's loving tribute to growing up in the world of the psycho killer doll, Chucky.
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Drug Abuse: The Chemical Tomb
1969 · ★ 9
The dangers of drug use by teenagers are illustrated by showing how well-dressed, happy teens are turned into slovenly, long-haired, drug-addled potheads who don't know that, according to the film's drug expert, “in high dosages, it [marijuana] parallels LSD.”
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Mission Mind Control
1979
Uncovering government agencies (especially the CIA) that secretly tested the effects of LSD on humans.
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Tea War: The Adventures of Robert Fortune
2016
In the 19th century, China held the monopoly on tea, which was dear and fashionable in the West, and the British Empire exchanged poppies, produced in its Indian colonies and transformed into opium, for Chinese tea. Inundated by the drugs, China was forced to open up its market, and the British consolidated their commercial dominance. In 1839, the Middle Empire introduced prohibition. The Opium War was declared… Great Britain emerged as the winner, but the warning was heeded: it could no longer depend on Chinese tea. The only alternative possible was to produce its own tea. The East India Company therefore entrusted one man with finding the secrets of the precious beverage. His mission was to develop the first plantations in Britain’s Indian colonies. This latter-day James Bond was called Robert Fortune – a botanist. After overcoming innumerable ordeals in the heart of imperial China, he brought back the plants and techniques that gave rise to Darjeeling tea.
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Anomalies: A World of Dreams
1970 · ★ 4
A mockumentary sex education film featuring four different couples, straight, gay, lesbian, threesome, engaged in lovemaking.
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Joe D'Amato Totally Uncut: The Horror Experience
2001 · ★ 4
Documentary on various horror movies that Joe D'Amato directed and/or produced in the 1970's, 1980's, and early 1990's.
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