Jonathan Ross attempts to track down reclusive comic book artist Steve Ditko, best known as the co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange for Marvel Comics in the early 1960s.
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Filmmaker Harry Moses offers humorous and revealing insight into the art authentication process in America by documenting the remarkable tale of a seventy-three-year old former long haul trucker who was snubbed by the art establishment after purchasing a Jackson Pollock painting for five dollars at a local thrift shop. When Teri Horton purchased a painting by one of the Twentieth Century's most respected abstract expressionist artists, she never suspected that she would find herself struggling against some of the most powerful figures in the world of art. Despite hiring a forensic scientist who discovered that a fingerprint on the back of the painting's canvas proved a positive match with a fingerprint discovered on a can of paint in Pollock's studio, and that the paint itself matched a can of pain found on Pollock's studio floor, Horton was inexplicably snubbed when the art establishment proclaimed that the painting which should have fetched upwards of $50 million was ...
Martin Scorsese's 4 hour long intimate cinematographic experience "My Voyage to Italy" (Italian: Il mio viaggio in Italia) explains his passion of Italian cinema and describes the way it influenced him. He takes notes of many influential films particularly covering the Italian neorealism period. The films of Roberto Rossellini make up for half the films discussed in the entire documentary, dealing with his seminal influence on Italian cinema and cinema history. Other directors mentioned include Vittorio de Sica, Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni.
A unique documentary about troops' experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, based on writings by soldiers, Marines, and air men. Some writings were published in the New Yorker in summer 2006. A larger assortment was published as a book by Random House last September. The film drew upon the submissions by soldiers for the book. It's a remarkable portrait of troops at war - the complexities, doubts, and fears - written with honesty. The 81-minute version of the film (which will be in theatres) includes 11 pieces of writing, with different visual strategies, along with interviews with the writers, and with more established American writers who are also veterans. In the latter group are Tim O'Brien, Yusef Komunyakaa, Tobias Wolff, Joe Haldeman, James Salter, Anthony Swofford, Richard Currey, and Paul Fussell. The visual approaches range from poet Brian Turner reading directly to camera, to archival footage, to an animated "graphic novel," to a still photo sequence shot by...
Honest Man: the Life of R. Budd Dwyer is a movie about politics and corruption, suicide and survival. Four years in the making, it explores the scandal that led an honest, hard-working man to take his own life. This independently produced feature-length documentary follows Budd Dwyer, a Pennsylvania politician who infamously committed suicide at a televised press conference. The film chronicles Dwyer's meteoric rise to political power and examines the bribery scandal and subsequent trial that pushed him to his breaking point. Honest Man also delves into the controversy and consequences of the uncensored airing of Dwyer's death on television stations worldwide. Honest Man reveals a story that has remained untold for over 24 years. The film features exclusive new interviews, including William Smith, the man whose testimony convicted Dwyer, and Dwyer's widow Joanne--her last interview before her death in 2009. Was Dwyer venal, or a victim? Did he kill himself because he couldn...
Documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage. In the late 1970s, small pockets of electronic artists including the Human League, Daniel Miller and Cabaret Volatire were inspired by Kraftwerk and JG Ballard and dreamt of the sound of the future against the backdrop of bleak, high-rise Britain. The crossover moment came in 1979 when Gary Numan's appearance on Top of the Pops with Tubeway Army's Are Friends Electric heralded the arrival of synthpop. Four lads from Basildon known as Depeche Mode would come to own the new sound whilst post-punk bands like Ultravox, Soft Cell, OMD and Yazoo took the synth out of the pages of the NME and onto the front page of Smash Hits.
In this highly anticipated film, we get up close and personal with the One Direction boys, as they set out on their journey for global stardom. This is Access-All-Areas doc follows them on their first massive year leading up to the release of their album, finding out why this former X Factor act look set to be a phenomenon.
Bob Dylan - Don't Look Back - Both a classic documentary and a vital pop-cultural artifact, D.A. Pennebaker's portrait of Bob Dylan captures the seminal singer-songwriter on the cusp of his transformation from folk prophet to rock trendsetter. Shot during Dylan's 1965 British concert tour, Don't Look Back employs an edgy vérité style that was, and is, a snug fit with the artist's own consciously rough-hewn persona. Its handheld black-and-white images and often-gritty London backdrops suggest cinematic extensions of the archetypal monochrome portraits that graced Dylan's career-making early-'60s album jackets.
The programme sees me tackling the question, “Are my fake breasts safe?" With more women signing up every year for breast implants, I can’t help but wonder where this pressure to look perfect comes from and if the only safe way of having bigger boobs is to wear a padded bra? The French implants hit the headlines in 2010 after it was revealed that they contained industrial silicone and were more prone to rupture than others. They were banned and the French government recommended that all women with PIP implants have them removed, although the British Government have not gone this far. I like to keep the implants to show people how “glamorous” they are. It makes me feel emotional looking at them, thinking that they were inside me. Unfortunately the rest of them are still in my body. Who knows what lasting effects they are going to have?
A man who genuinely revolutionized late-20th Century music gets his due with Moog, writer-director Hans Fjellestad's absorbing documentary about Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesizer that bears his name. In his seventies when this 2004 film was made, Moog began working with electronic music in the late 1940s, when he designed and built theremins (the source of the wavy sci-fi sound heard on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations"). But it was the development of the Moog synthesizer, an analog instrument with electronic components, that put him on the map. Unsurprisingly, it was initially dismissed as a soulless novelty, a notion not helped by its use in silly commercial jingles; Moog himself was regarded as nothing less than a dangerous anarchist out to destroy music as we know it. That all changed when he added a keyboard to his machine and musicians of all stripes gradually began using it for more serious ends. Moog credits Walter (now Wendy) Carlos' Switched-On Ba...
The film contends that the mainstream science establishment suppresses academics who believe they see evidence of intelligent design in nature and who criticize evidence supporting Darwinian evolution and the modern evolutionary synthesis as a mainstream conspiracy to keep God out of science laboratories and classrooms.
Alimane Studios has produced this entire documentary which deals with the conflict between atheism and theism in the light of modern science. The following documentary contains excerpts of unlicensed footage and images, which are used with lawful excuse, for educational purposes only and not-for-profit. Unlicensed footage and images are used in accordance with Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and Section 29 of the Canadian Copyright Act. The views expressed in this film are those of the creators of this film alone. The persons appearing in this film may not or do not necessarily support the viewpoints of the creators of this film.
Beneath the pyramids of Egypt lies a lost underworld of catacombs, hewn chambers and cave tunnels that have remained unexplored for hundreds of years. They are alluded to in ancient texts and Arab legends, but have been left unexplored until today. They have now been rediscovered and investigated for the first time. What exactly does this subterranean realm tell us about the pyramids, their relationship to the stars and the mythical origins of Egyptian civilization? Discover for yourself as we explore the "Lost Caves of Giza."
If you have care about Kids and your Pets, you must see this documentary. Discover what the experts say as they reveal the damage we unknowingly do to our children. Learn about mercury, formaldehyde and aluminum that some vaccines contain and the autism, asthma and neurological damage they can contribute to.
Delves into the most unusual research ever conducted, including attempts to crossbreed humans and apes, actual zombie investigations and head transplantation studies. Cutting-edge CGI recreations enable viewers to witness the pivotal moments when brilliant minds face controversy or ethical crossroads on the fringes of science.
Michael Patrei's 86 minute documentary follows the talented Ballou Senior High School Marching Band as they overcome a negative environment filled with guns, drugs and violence to uplift the community with music, dedication and personal sacrifice. This Washington, D.C. high school marching band—from an impoverished community just three miles away from the U.S. Capitol building—is on its way to the national band competition. They are a family with heart and soul that use hard work, discipline and compassion to overcome all obstacles. Political leaders and celebrities including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Gen. (ret) Colin Powell, Congressman John Lewis, Marion Barry, Denyce Graves, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chuck Brown are featured in the film to show the importance of a small marching band in the lives of the band members and in the community.
King of Chinatown takes an in-depth look at the culture of video games, an industry that has evolved into a worldwide, multi-billion dollar phenomenon. Filmmaker Calvin Theobald follows Justin Wong, a video-game prodigy sharpening his skills as he battles challengers in the cutthroat competitive world of Street Fighter IV. But as Justin fights his way through the ranks, he finds himself up against a formidable off-screen challenge -- his allegiance to The Empire, a video-gaming collective run by the charismatic and potentially destructive leader TriForce. Culminating in an epic battle at EVO, the largest video-gaming competition in the world, King of Chinatown shows us the entertaining on-the-ground trials of a Street Fighter IV sensation.
A woman is raped every ten minutes in the UK yet thousands of rapes go unreported and conviction rates remain low. Presenter Pips Taylor explores why in powerful interviews with young rape survivors. She confronts those in authority about the failures in the system and speaks to young men about their views of the crime. Ultimately Pips asks - who is really to blame for rape?
Influencers is a short documentary that explores what it means to be an influencer and how trends and creativity become contagious today in music, fashion and entertainment. The film attempts to understand the essence of influence, what makes a person influential without taking a statistical or metric approach. Written and Directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson, the film is a Polaroid snapshot of New York influential creatives (advertising, design, fashion and entertainment) who are shaping today’s pop culture. “Influencers” belongs to the new generation of short films, webdocs, which combine the documentary style and the online experience.
Exploring the Wonders of Creation, Conscience, and the Glory of God! God's wonders surround us. And these marvels reveal much about our Creator. Through creation we glimpse His power and wisdom, His majesty and care. Creation is speaking to those who will listen... Join us on a remarkable journey of discovery as we explore the Creator's handiwork and what His creation reveals about His character. Survey the unimaginable size of the universe and ponder the vast energy present in all matter. Examine the elegant water molecule essential to all life and discover how God combines these molecules to form beautiful and symmetrical snow crystals. Learn about the incredible complexity of DNA and the miraculous workings of the tiny seed. From the design functionality of birds to the incredible transformation of butterflies, these and many other features of creation are highlighted in this visually stunning presentation.
The Dead Files is an American paranormal television series that premiered on September 23, 2011 on the Travel Channel. The program features psychic medium Amy Allan and former NYPD homicide detective Steve DiSchiavi as they investigate locations that are reported to be haunted. Each episode begins with Amy's initial walkthrough of the investigation site. Amy's assistant, Matt (her husband), visits the location prior to her arrival and removes anything that might distract or influence Amy during her channeling session. (Items such as family pictures, trinkets, or personal effects.) In her walkthrough, Amy begins to communicate with ghosts and spirits and gather information to be used throughout the course of the episode. This walkthrough is intercut with footage of Steve gathering facts by researching the history of the location and interviewing witness who claim to have experienced paranormal phenomena. Amy will occasionally collaborate with a sketch artist to describe the ent...
In this documentary titled "Cancer : The Forbidden Cures" we discover many effective and highly successful forms of cancer treatment that have been suppressed and discredited for a long time by the pharmaco-medical crime syndicate and the state-terrorist organization called FDA. Millions of people could have been saved. The FDA may have killed more people than Hitler.
Sensing Murder (Season's 1, 2, 3, 4)- is a television series in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, in which alleged psychics are asked to act as psychic detectives to help solve famous unsolved murder cases in each country. The psychics have not managed to solve any of the cases. Each episode included detailed reenactments of the events leading up to the murder and the murder itself. Sections of these reenactments are then shown throughout the episode to refresh the viewer's memory of the events. The producers state that the psychics are given no information about the case other than a photo, which some psychics prefer to keep face-down (The idea being that the less information they have, the better their supernormal abilities function). Other psychics choose to look at the photogaph. To demonstrate their abilities, the psychics relay their impressions about the case/person which may match details in the case file. The psychics are then asked to provide any extra...
Paranormal State is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on the A&E Network on December 10, 2007. The program follows and stars the Pennsylvania State University Paranormal Research Society, a student-led college club. The show features the group's investigations of alleged paranormal phenomena at reportedly haunted locations.
Does life end in death? Or does the soul wander from body to body? Are there such things as demons, ghosts or the devil? Following circumstantial research and in cooperation with top-calibre scholars, this series sheds light upon, unmasks and takes the magic from centuries-old superstition and also reports on breathtaking, super sensory experiences. It also shows if, and where, things that cannot be explained really do exist? The journey in search of the Supernatural leads to all six continents, to such fascinating spots as the holy Tibetan city, Lhasa and to the great universities of the world; to the secret archives of the CIA and the KGB, the Vatican, and to the most modern centres of nuclear research in the world. The result is a thrilling combination of contemporary history, scientific background reporting, and a touch of the pleasant shiver within the dark side of parapsychology.
The fall of the Soviet Union led to a surge in injecting drug use and skyrocketing rates of HIV spread through shared injecting equipment. BALKA: Three Stories chronicles the lives of women struggling with drug use and HIV in Ukraine. Through the course of the film the audience meets Zina and Marina, best friends and active drug users about to discover their HIV status; Tanya, HIV-positive mother of two who is receiving drug treatment but whose husband continues to use drugs; and Galya, a former user who now works as a peer-to-peer outreach worker.
Humanity's ascent is often measured by the speed of progress. But what if progress is actually spiraling us downwards, towards collapse? Ronald Wright, whose best-seller, A Short History Of Progress inspired SURVIVING PROGRESS, shows how past civilizations were destroyed by "progress traps" - alluring technologies and belief systems that serve immediate needs, but ransom the future. As pressure on the world's resources accelerates and financial elites bankrupt nations, can our globally-entwined civilization escape a final, catastrophic progress trap? With potent images and illuminating insights from thinkers who have probed our genes, our brains, and our social behaviour, this requiem to progress-as-usual also poses a challenge: to prove that making apes smarter isn't an evolutionary dead-end.
Documentary about Fidel Castro, covering 40 years of Cuban Revolution. Rare Fidel Castro footage: he appears swimming with a bodyguard, visiting his childhood home and school, playing with his friend Nelson Mandela, meeting kid Elián Gonzalez, and celebrating his birthday with the Buena Vista Social Club group.
It's psychiatry's best-selling catalog of mental illness — 943 pages long and covering everything from depression and anxiety to stuttering, cigarette addiction, fear of spiders, nightmares, problems with math and even disorder of infancy — all reinterpreted and labeled as a brain disease. And though it weighs less than five pounds, its influence pervades all aspects of modern society: our governments, our courts, our military, our media and our schools. Using it, psychiatrists can enforce psychiatric drugging, seize your children and even take away your most precious personal freedoms. It is psychiatry's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and it is the engine that drives a $330 billion psychiatric industry.
Psychiatry: An Industry of Death is a controversial documentary on the horrors of psychiatry, of punishing and persecuting of the innocent and promoting Fascism, racism and atheism. It was the foundation for the Holocaust, apartheid, for Jim Crow and for Communism. It has lead to many deaths. It denies God, the giver of life and freedom. It stands against the values of freedom, life, liberty and dignity.
Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and the entire roster sat down to give commentary on the events leading up to their gold medal. Mixed in to the documentary are some behind the scenes footage, and Jordan finally sheds some light on his dislike for Isaiah Thomas, who didn’t make the team’s cut, despite being one of the most prominent players in the league at the time.
Ever wonder how to sell $100,000 worth of drugs in a week? We learned the secrets of the biggest drug dealer in NYC - a man who will deliver any substance you want, 24/7. He told us everything - from where he gets his drugs to how his crew operates. Come with us as we take a rare look into the dangerous life of a NYC drug delivery-man.
This two-hour scripted drama tells the remarkable story behind the unveiling of the most influential scientific theory of all time, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The program is a special presentation from NOVA and National Geographic Television, written by acclaimed British screenwriter John Goldsmith and directed by John Bradshaw. Darwin, portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick (Lost), spent years refining his ideas and penning what he called his "big book." Yet, daunted by looming conflict with the orthodox religious values of his day, he resisted publishing--until a letter from naturalist Alfred Wallace forced his hand. In 1858, Darwin learned that Wallace was ready to publish ideas very similar to his own. In a sickened panic, Darwin grasped his dilemma: To delay publishing any longer would be to condemn his greatest work to obscurity--the brilliant argument he had pieced together with clues from his voyage on the Beagle, his adventures in the And...
The Worst Jobs in History is a television series hosted by Tony Robinson on Channel 4. The second series was shown in March 2006 on History Television in Canada, then in April 2006 on Channel 4 in the UK. The first season is also shown with some regularity on History International. Tony Robinson tries his hand at each of the jobs, ultimately nominating which one he thought was the worst in each programme. First series This was broadcast in 2004 and concentrated on a different historical period per programme: Roman and Anglo-Saxon; Medieval; Tudor; Stuarts; Georgian and Victorian. Some of the more repulsive or dangerous jobs included fuller, chimney sweep, executioner, leech collector, Plague burier, rat-catcher, leather tanner, gong farmer and sin-eater. There was a one-off special called The Worst Christmas Jobs in History in December 2005.
In this groundbreaking three part series, six ordinary Australians agree to challenge their preconceived notions about refugees and asylum seekers by embarking on a confronting 25 day journey. Tracing in reverse the journeys that refugees have taken to reach Australia, they travel to some of the most dangerous and desperate corners of the world, with no idea what is in store for them along the way. Deprived of their wallets, phones and passports, they board a leaky refugee boat, are rescued mid ocean, experience immigration raids in Malaysia, live in Kenyan refugee camps and visit slums in Jordan before ultimately making it to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq, protected by UN Peacekeepers and the US military. For some of them, it’s their first time abroad. For all of them, it’s an epic journey and the most challenging experience of their lives. The documentary includes all three hugely successful episodes of the journey plus the live event The Response.
In 1982 Roberto Calvi, a prominent Italian businessman with ties to the Vatican and a corrupt Masonic lodge is found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London. Initially considered a suicide subsequent investigations prove that Calvi was murdered and suspicion turns to the world's most secret organisation The Freemasons. Since THE DA VINCI CODE greater public awareness has lead to an increased level of interest into the development and influence of this closed organisation. This fascinating documentary examines an organisation surrounded in mystery and secret ritual.
For years, debates have raged among scholars, politicians, and concerned parents about the effects of media violence on viewers. Too often these debates have descended into simplistic battles between those who claim that media messages directly cause violence and those who argue that activists exaggerate the impact of media exposure altogether. The Mean World Syndrome, based on the groundbreaking work of media scholar George Gerbner, urges us to think about media effects in more nuanced ways. Mean World Syndrome is a phenomenon where the violence-related content of mass media convinces viewers that the world is more dangerous than it actually is, and prompts a desire for more protection than is warranted by any actual threat. Mean World Syndrome is one of the main conclusions of cultivation theory. The term “Mean World Syndrome” was coined by George Gerbner, a pioneer researcher on the effects of television on society, when he noted that people who watched a lot of TV tended to thi...
This documentary follows a small number of British people with an incurable genetic disease called Prader-Willi syndrome. Prader–Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder in which seven genes (or some subset thereof) on chromosome 15 (q 11-13) are deleted or unexpressed (chromosome 15q partial deletion) on the paternal chromosome. It was first described in 1956 by Andrea Prader (1919-2001), Heinrich Willi (1900-1971), Alexis Labhart (1916), Andrew Ziegler, and Guido Fanconi of Switzerland. The incidence of PWS is between 1 in 25,000 and 1 in 10,000 live births. The paternal origin of the genetic material that is affected in the syndrome is important because the particular region of chromosome 15 involved is subject to parent of origin imprinting, meaning that for a number of genes in this region only one copy of the gene is expressed while the other is silenced through imprinting. For the genes affected in PWS it is the maternal copy that is usually expressed, while the paternal co...
Swansea Love Story: An award-winning look at a generation lost to heroin, as told through the tragic love story of Amy and Cornelius. In 2009, Swansea drug agencies reported a 180 percent rise in heroin use, and it's visible on the city's streets. Early one morning we meet a young, homeless couple named Amy and Cornelius in a city centre alley. As heroin-addicted alcoholics, they're smack in the middle of two of South Wales's most harrowing epidemics.
Seeds of Freedom charts the story of seed from its roots at the heart of traditional, diversity rich farming systems across the world, to being transformed into a powerful commodity, used to monopolise the global food system. The documentary film highlights the extent to which the industrial agricultural system, and genetically modified (GM) seeds in particular, has impacted on the enormous agro-biodiversity evolved by farmers and communities around the world, since the beginning of agriculture. Seeds of Freedom seeks to challenge the mantra that large-scale, industrial agriculture is the only means by which we can feed the world, promoted by the pro-GM lobby. In tracking the story of seed it becomes clear how corporate agenda has driven the take over of seed in order to make vast profit and control of the global food system.
The devastating biological scourge of the Middle Ages is revisited in this investigative program. Tracing its deadly path throughout Europe and its horrifying impact on the population at large, this History Channel documentary includes riveting firsthand accounts taken from diaries and journals, incredible tales of how the disease was fought and of the religious fervor spawned by its disastrous spread. Is the modern era any better prepared for such threats? 100 min. Soundtrack: English.
The fundamental nature of reality is actually consciousness. In his documentary Peter Russell explores the reasons why consciousness may be the fundamental essence of the Universe. Many have made such claims from metaphysical perspectives, but the possibility has always been ignored by the scientific community. In this talk, he discusses the problems the materialist scientific world view has with consciousness and proposes an alternative world view which, rather than contradicting science, makes new sense of much of modern physics. He presents a reasoned argument that shows how they are pointing towards the one thing science has always avoided considering – the primary nature of consciousness.