A rural American town suffering economically from factory closures finds an unconventional route to recovery with the help of MASS MoCA.
Social & External
The people behind it
Meryl Streep
Narrator (voice)
David Byrne
Self
Bill T. Jones
James Turrell
Nick Cave
Laurie Anderson
A journey through four hundred paintings, all masterpieces, among the more than nine thousand treasured in the Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
We travel along with the crew of the Grafton & Upton railroad for a day, and capture all the action from the cab and the ground! We travel from the headquarters and yard in North Grafton to the yard in West Upton a distance of 7 miles. Our train is powered by GP-9R #1750 EX Bay Colony EXX Pennsylvania Railroad. We see some of the scenic points along the line from the cab as we travel through the central New England landscape! As the crew in the locomotive captures all the action, a crew trackside captures all the action on it's way to West Upton Yard!
On December 31st, 2009 The Grafton & Upton made their first trip from North Grafton to West Upton yard since February 2004. This also marks the first trip under the new management. The G&U has done an extensive overhaul on the 7 1/2 mile line from the CSX interchange in North Grafton to the yard in West Upton. Blackstone River Productions was there to capture this historic event! We capture GP9-R #1750 on her first trip to West Upton Yard on New Years Eve day 2009! We capture it in the yard in North Grafton, Downtown Grafton, West Upton yard and many more scenic locations!
In volume two, we take a look at the Grafton & Upton railroad's Caboose Extra ("Santa Train") on December 18th, 2010. Then during the Spring of 2011 we spend a day with G&U's newest locomotive, GP9R #1751 for a trip from North Grafton yard to West Upton yard and return. We see the crew of 3 put the day's train together in North Grafton and then chase it to West Upton yard. In West Upton we capture the crew switching out the Trans-loading facility and making the train up for the return trip to North Grafton. We then chase the train back to North Grafton yard! Non stop action on the G&U with #1751 & GP9R #1750!
In this 2 DVD set, we take a unique perspective look at the Grafton & Upton Railroad! We mounted a Pro 180° HDV camera to the hood of G&U GP9-R #1751 and travel from Hopedale yard to the yard in North Grafton. We travel over the recently reopened section from the newly rebuilt Hopedale yard through the scenic woodlands to West Upton yard. From the West Upton yard we travel through more scenic woodlands and scenic fields as we traverse the grades to Grafton Center and descend to the yard in North Grafton and CSX interchange.
In this two DVD set, we capture action from the ever growing Grafton & Upton Railroad. Located in Central Massachusetts, the G&U operates from the CSX interchange in North Grafton to the currant end of operations in Hopedale. A total of 16 miles. During the Fall of 2013, the G&U operated a special Photo Freight to welcome in their latest locomotive! EMD F7A #1501. This classic hood unit performed run by's with a freight consist and the G&U lone caboose. We captured the action from North Grafton Yard to Hopedale and return. The 1501 put on a fantastic show for the small crowd! Next up we capture action from the past couple of years, as the G&U grew in size! We captured the dirt train, regular operations and action in the yards in Hopedale and North Grafton! Also we captured the 2012 "Caboose Extra" with the 1501 still in the New York Central inspired paint scheme. We captured all of G&U's active power, including the seldom seen CF7 #1500!
The latest expansion for the G&U is the acquisition of the Milford Running track, that G&U now has operating rights from Franklin Forge to Milford. The G&U also rebuilt their mainline from Hopedale to Milford. We hop aboard a G&U MP15AC #1160 for a cab ride from Hopedale yard to Milford yard, then we reverse direction and head to Franklin. We then take the head end again and capture the Franklin to Milford on the Milford Running track (Leased from CSX / MBTA) Then we capture action from the ground as we chase the Hopedale to Milford and the Milford Running track! We also capture Foreign power of the G&U and MBTA detour trains!
Taking its lead from French artists like Renoir and Monet, the American impressionist movement followed its own path which over a forty-year period reveals as much about America as a nation as it does about its art as a creative power-house. It’s a story closely tied to a love of gardens and a desire to preserve nature in a rapidly urbanizing nation. Travelling to studios, gardens and iconic locations throughout the United States, UK and France, this mesmerising film is a feast for the eyes. The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism features the sell-out exhibition The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement, 1887–1920 that began at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and ended at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
This film documents Kutlug Ataman's artistic production in a retrospective approach and elucidates his works with his own words and with commentaries by curators, art institution directors, art historians and critics who are familiar with his production through close collaboration, to witness the construction of an impressive artistic production spanning 15 years. The film also includes the excerpts from the artworks and the installation footages of their realization.
Painter Françoise Gilot shared Pablo Picasso's life from 1943 to 1953. This union nourished their respective artistic creations.
I am sitting in a room is a sound art piece by American composer and sound artist Alvin Lucier composed in 1969. The first performance of the work was in 1970 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. In collaboration with his partner Mary Lucier. The piece features Lucier recording himself narrating a text, and then playing the tape recording back into the room while re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Due to the room's particular size and geometry, certain resonant frequencies are emphasized while others are attenuated. Eventually the words become unintelligible, replaced by the characteristic resonance of the room.
Philippe de Montebello, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1977 to 2008, guides viewers through The Cloisters, pointing out Romanesque and Gothic architecture and artwork, beautiful tapestries, and the diverse species in the gardens. He outlines the history of the building and it's many influences and highlights significant works of art in the collection. It was produced in 1989 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Office of Film and Television.
Explorations in 21st Century American Architecture Series: Ray Kappe has long been a cult figure in the architectural scene in and around Los Angeles. In 1972, he founded the influential, avant garde Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC), where many of the younger-generation architects have studied or taught.
No understanding of the modern movement in architecture is possible without knowledge of its master builder, Mies van der Rohe. Together with documentation of his life, this film shows all his major buildings, as well as rare film footage of Mies explaining his philosophy. Phyllis Lambert relates her choice of Mies as the architect for the Seagram building. Mies's achievements and continuing influence are debated by architects Robert A.M. Stern, Robert Venturi, and Philip Johnson, by former students and by architectural historians. Mies is seen in rare documentary footage.
Alan Yentob profiles the most successful female architect there has ever been, the late Zaha Hadid, who designed buildings around the globe from Austria to Azerbaijan.
Tom Hill, a Seneca artist and curator, explores the works of four contemporary Indigenous artists.
In this revealing study of Norval Morrisseau, filmed as he works among the lakes and woodlands of his ancestors, we see a remarkable Indigenous artist who emerged from a life of obscurity in the North American bush to become one of Canada's most renowned painters. Morrisseau the man is much like his paintings: vital and passionate, torn between his Ojibway heritage and the influences of the white man's world.
Maurício Dias & Walter Riedweg often say the streets are their studio. From the observation of them and of those who populate them there arise installations about encounters, identity and territoriality. The Brazilian-born Dias met the Swiss Riedweg in 1993. Together they learned that they could boost one another’s ideas. “This marriage became Mau Wal,” says Dias. In this documentary, they present their works and the many characters behind them: people who make day-to-day living in the big cities. Street vendors at a Northeast Brazilian fair in São Paulo, illegal immigrants in their quest for the European dream, street kids and their memories. In stories or in the role it plays, the human element is always a centerpiece to the duo’s work.
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.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
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."
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
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.
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
After the high-profile killing of Damilola Taylor, Cornelius' family move out of London. But when they discover their new town is run by racists, Cornelius takes a drastic step to survive.
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.
Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer.
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
