Sentinels of Silence is a 1971 short documentary film on ancient Mexican civilizations. The film was directed and written by Mexican filmmaker Robert Amram, and is notable for being the first and only short film to win two Academy Awards.
Ricardo Montalban
Orson Welles
Sentinels of Silence is a 1971 short documentary film on ancient Mexican civilizations. The film was directed and written by Mexican filmmaker Robert Amram, and is notable for being the first and only short film to win two Academy Awards.
Over fifty years after this was made, I reckon you'd still struggle to find a better filmed documentary that extolled the amazing constructions from Mexico's ancient past. From as far back at 1200 BC, the Toltecs, Olmecs, Monte Alto and Maya civilisations were erecting pyramid structures hundreds of feet into the sky, with perfect symmetries while constructing complex cities of stone with broad avenues and plazas. What's helped this nation enormously is that even though time has ravaged many of the buildings, the delights of modern day ordnance have not and so even at their most turbulent, the battles and warfare of these tribes wasn't actually able to inflict the degrees of destruction seen in other, similar, sites around the globe. The city of Tenochtitlán is astonishingly well preserved and the aerial photography not only gives us an indication of the sheer scale of the place, but also a look at it's inhospitable location from a logistics perspective. How did they manage to build amidst the dense forest in the first place? Could we even do that now? We are taken on a brief tour of half a dozen amazing archaeological and architectural locations accompanies by a rousing score and some magical use of light and clouds and this really is worth a look as it begs questions about humanity's worship of the sun whilst building pyramids all over a globe by peoples who could share no knowledge of life in Asia or Europe or Africa with each other. Or could they?
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Featuring interviews with filmmakers and industry legends, discover the origins and evolution of The Joker, and learn why The Clown Prince of Crime is universally hailed as the greatest comic-book supervillain of all time.
Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.