A multi-award winning biography covering the life and career of legendary screen and stage actor/director Laurence Olivier.
Social & External
The people behind it
Laurence Olivier
Self
Ralph Richardson
John Gielgud
Vivien Leigh
Self ( Archive footage )
William Wyler
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
John Osborne
Joan Plowright
Jill Esmond
Self ( Archive footage)
Melvyn Bragg
Self (Interviewer )
A record of the ascent of the Jungfrau by Frederick Burlingham accompanied by four mountain guides. The film starts with panoramics of the Eiger North Face from Kleine Scheidegg. The party begin the climb from the Jungfraujoch Station crossing the Jungfrau Firn and reaching the summit of the Jungfrau by the steep Roththal Sattel. Frederick Burlingham was a traveller cinematographer and one of the mountain film pioneers. Continuing the mountain film tradition established by Ormiston-Smith, Burlingham filmed several mountaineering films largely in Switzerland, taking mountain film in a new direction of immediacy and perceived peril. In the early history of factual filmmaking, Burlingham played a substantial role in developing the related genres of the mountaineering and the exploration film.
...where the whole expedition, by the breaking of an ice cornice on the summit, escaped death by a hair's breadth. The miraculous escape is recorded on the screen.
A tour of Granada offers glimpses into the daily life of the 70,000 Granadans who once inhabited the city. Crossing the city from the Alhambra hill, you'll encounter churches, fountains, the Darro River, donkeys wandering the streets, gypsy women, courtyards, archways, and women in their traditional mantillas. The city center, with areas like Reyes Católicos, Plaza Nueva, and Cuesta de Gomérez, is easily recognizable, as are the Sacromonte caves, where Holmes found gypsy women who were "less picturesque" than he had expected.
Danube upstream from Vienna, with its images of monasteries and castles. It's hard for an American to realize the age of civilization in Europe. This Burton Holmes travelogue hints at it.
The two guides Adrien and Félix Veillon with the customer Rotschild climb the Argentine ridge in the Swiss canton of Valais. The film was so successful that it encouraged director Emile Gos, the legendary mountain filmmaker, to make what probably was one of the firsts mountaineering feature films 'La Croix du Cervin'.
Michael Caine teaches the art of movie acting to five young actors, who perform scenes from Alfie (1966), Deathtrap (1982) and Educating Rita (1983)
IN 1988, rising star Kenneth Branagh tackled the role of Shakespeare’s prince of Denmark for the first time in his professional career under the guidance of celebrated actor Derek Jacobi. Narrated by Patrick Stewart, this hour-long film documents how Kenneth Branagh and Derek Jacobi, two intelligent and passionate men, found new depths in Shakespeare’s classic drama, Hamlet. Filmmakers Mark Olshaker and Larry Klein follow the company through four weeks of rehearsals, from the first read-throughs to opening night.
A study of the Group Theatre, a company that changed the face of American drama. The Group was founded in 1931 by Cheryl Crawford, Harold Clurman and Lee Strasberg, who were strongly influenced by the naturalistic acting of Konstantin Stanislavski’s Moscow Art Theatre.
Indagine su un cittadino di nome Volonté is a documentary exploring the life and career of Italian actor Gian Maria Volonté. Known for his roles in films with significant political and social impact, this documentary offers an intimate look through interviews and archival footage, highlighting his commitment to cinema as a form of artistic expression and a tool for social change.
Documentary about sixteen actors who detail their ups and downs as they struggle to forge careers in Hollywood. They've played cops, lawyers, bosses, best friends, psychopaths, politicians and everything in between. Now you'll know who they are.
After 40 years, Tom Cruise continues to push the envelope in film. Exposing one's heart to the world through their work is not only risky business, as far as Cruise is concerned, it is the only way to achieve an end that feels complete.
Episode of the BBC television program with host Michael Parkinson interviewing American actor Henry Fonda.
A scenic documentary record of a climb up to Mount Assiniboine, the 'American Matterhorn' in the Canadian Rockies.
Nice looking Travelogue takes us to the Northeast corner of Wyoming as we visit Yellowstone National Park.
Filmed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Cut Piece documents one of Yoko Ono’s most powerful conceptual pieces. Performed by the artist herself, Ono sits motionless on the stage after inviting the audience to come up and cut away her clothing in a denouement of the reciprocity between victim and assailant.
In an industry that is becoming increasingly competitive, what drives indie filmmakers to keep creating their art, even when there is no promise of money or fame? CREATE OR DIE explores the insatiable passion to create despite the overwhelming odds through the lens of South Carolina writer and filmmaker David Axe, as he and his band of cast and crew head out into the backwoods of Georgia to shoot his low budget passion project ACORN. But when tragedy strikes on set, doubt and tension threaten to bring an end to their production and their dreams.
Fernando is an actor and theater teacher who, at the age of 74, is impelled to be the protagonist of himself in an experience that blurs the boundaries between the documentary and the fictional. Faced with a delicate problem in his heart, he follows a life full of love for art, where education emerges as a powerful transforming element of reality.
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Filmmaker Lawrence Shapiro discusses voice-over acting with the talented people behind the characters.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
RETURN tells the story of a retired Green Beret who embarks on a healing journey from Montana to Vietnam. There he retraces his steps, shares his wartime experiences with his son, treats his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and seeks out the mountain tribespeople he once lived with and fought alongside as a Special Forces officer.
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.
In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self-appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star.
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath.
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.