For the past twenty years, in the Burgundy region of France, archaeologists and craftsmen have been working on the reconstruction of the fortified castle of Guedelon using the same techniques and materials available in medieval times; a fascinating project that brings to the present a vivid image of the past.
Marine Jolivet
Speaker
For the past twenty years, in the Burgundy region of France, archaeologists and craftsmen have been working on the reconstruction of the fortified castle of Guedelon using the same techniques and materials available in medieval times; a fascinating project that brings to the present a vivid image of the past.
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.
Experience the events of September 11, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.
Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three categories – survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators – Lanzmann presents testimonies from survivors of the Chelmno concentration camp, an Auschwitz escapee, and witnesses of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as well as a chilling report of gas chambers from an SS officer at Treblinka.
Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin in the wilderness at the base of the Aleutian Peninsula, in what is now Lake Clark National Park. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself. The documentary covers his first year in-country, showing his day-to-day activities and the passing of the seasons as he sought to scratch out a living alone in the wilderness.