Prices subject to change.
starring: Harry Baur, Annie Ducaux, Jany Holt, Jean-Louis Barrault, André Nox
directed by: Abel Gance
The silent epic and international cinema legend Abel Gance is most celebrated for his sweeping and pioneering biography masterpiece Napoleon. But this touching and tortured document of the legendary Beethoven's creative genius deserves equal tribute and attention. Like Napoleon, Beethoven is Gance's portrait of a great mind, a giant of history, here crafted as a romantic vision of the artist. The film chronicles the years of Beethoven's greatest successes and his struggles against overwhelming adversity--poverty, the onset of deafness and his unrequited passion for his "Immortal Beloved." Writer/director Gance conducts a symphony of images set to an expressionistic score, depicting not only the events but the spirit of the composer's life. 117 minutes.
October 10, 2000
Prices subject to change.
directed by: Oliver Hockenhull
A feature film essay on Aldous Huxley's cultural criticism and
social prophecy in light of the new millennium.
Narration: Dr. Jean Houston.
A contemporary reading of Huxley's oeuvre, a rendition and interpretation, inspired by an immersion into his life and thought. Complex, iconoclastic, psychedelic, and historical.
Aldous Huxley: The Gravity Of Light incorporates rare archival footage, computer rendered 3D animation, speculative fictions, and selections from his essays.
Personal in tone, the film also recalls the impact of Huxley's LSD-25 and mescaline experimentations and writings for a whole generation of youth and examines the utopianistic impulses associated with the recent Rave scene. The work reflects the aesthetics and poesis of the psychedelic state without collapsing into the tie-dye cliches that have trivialized the '60's era.
Doctor Jean Houston, a senior advisor to the United Nations on matters of Human Development, eloquently speaks on the immense contribution Huxley has made concerning the possible human.
Special thanks to Laura Huxley and Jean Houston.
"Hockenhull's simultaneously thoughtful and carefully conceived approach to the subject has made for a kind of documentary I would not hesitate to compare with the works of Trinh T. Minh-ha in form and self-reflexivity and Derek Jarman in style and composition. Hockenhull's approach to this "hybrid" form of cinema manages to aggressively question our presumptions and preconceptions around the current Zeitgeist while simultaneously exploring the knowledge and impact of one of the twentieth century's greatest minds." Alex Mackenzie, Curator/Programmer
Originally produced in 1997 this work is a re-edited/revised edition for DVD (2003) by the director.
Inclusive of additional interview material with Alexander Sasha Shulgin
writer/psychopharmacologist/biochemist
This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
December 12, 2005
Prices subject to change.
starring: Vernon Chadwick, Irv Cass, Doug Church, Robert Washington, Quentin Flagg
directed by: John Paget
In just a few years, Almost Elvis has become a cult classic, exploring the Elvis phenomenon through the fascinating world of Elvis impersonator competition. The film has been selected for screenings at Seattle's Experience Music Project, Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame, and New York City's Anthology Film Archives.
April 04, 2002
Prices subject to change.
DVD now available!
For Hawaiians, the hula is not just a dance, but a way of life. Yet while most Americans know only the stereotypes of 'grass skirt girls' from old Hollywood movies and tourist kitsch, the revival of the ancient art of hula tells of the rich history and spirituality of Hawai'i.
American Aloha discovers a renaissance of Hawaiian culture through music, language and dance as it continues to grow in California. Following three kumu hula, or master hula teachers, the film celebrates the perpetuation of a culture -from the very traditional to the contemporary- as it evolves of distant shores.
With more Native Hawaiians living on the US mainland that on the islands, the hula is a living tradition that connects generations far from home to their heritage. Revealing the challenges of cultural survival through the struggles of Hawai'i's past, American Aloha is a proud reminder of the power of reclaiming tradition for communities creating a home away from home.
Featuring Kumu Hula Sissy Kaio and Hula Halau 'O Lilinoe Na Pua Me Kealoha, Kumu Hula Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu and Na Mele Hula 'Ohana, and Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakane and Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu.
National Broadcast on PBS on the P.O.V. series on August 5, 2003
*FOR INSTITUTIONAL PRICES: COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES/LIBRARIES/HIGH SCHOOLS PLEASE CALL 1-888-232-0439 FOR MORE INFO
This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
July 07, 2006
Prices subject to change.
starring: John Lithgow, Joe Morton, Kathryn Bigelow, Brian De Palma, Edward Dmytryk
directed by: Alain Klarer
The history of Hollywood and filmmaking comes alive in this spectacular nine hour celebration of movie magic. It's a mesmerizing, epic analysis that combines rare archival film, key scenes from immortal movies, interviews with leading filmmakers and commentary from noted film scholars and critics. As seen on PBS, this highly acclaimed series is the definitive chronicle of the American cinema, from its beginning to today. Includes interviews with Robert Altman, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Spike Lee, George Lucas, Sidney Lumet, Julia Roberts, Martin Scorsese, Gene Siskel, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, and many more! Episodes: The Hollywood Style, The Star, Romantic Comedy, Film Noir, The Western, The Combat Film, The Studio System, Film in the Television Age, The Film School Generation, The Edge of Hollywood.
August 08, 2000
Prices subject to change.
starring: John Lennon, Mark David Chapman
He was a troubled man whose boyhood fascination with one of the world's greatest stars turned into a psychotic obsession. The shots he fired spelled the end to whatever innocence was left in rock and roll. Mark David Chapman was one of John Lennon's biggest fans. Before he killed the iconoclastic superstar he made sure to get his autograph the last one Lennon ever signed. After he fired four shots from across the street as Lennon entered Manhattan's Dakota apartment building he waited calmly for police to arrest him. Six months later he was sentenced to 20 years to life. AMERICAN JUSTICE revisits the tragedy through interviews with many of the parties involved including Chapman's attorneys the arresting officer and in a rare taped interview from his cell Chapman himself. Forensic psychiatrists explore the twisted fantasy of Chapman's life where the line between celebrity worship and stalking blurred into indistinction. Dramatic footage of the crime scene and aftermath bring the incident to life and legal experts examine the possibility that Chapman will be freed he is eligible for parole in 2000. It's a comprehensive chronicle of the murder that stunned a generation.System Requirements:Running Time 50 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC: 733961747393 Manufacturer No: AAE-74739
March 03, 2006
Prices subject to change.
starring: Leonard Nimoy, Harris Yulin
directed by: Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer
Studio: Pbs Release Date: 05/05/2009 Run time: 180 minutes
October 10, 2003
Prices subject to change.
starring: Kevin Mukherji, John Sayles, John McNaughton, Forest Whitaker, Harold Ramis
December 12, 2002
Prices subject to change.
An award-winning PBS documentary, the Amish keep surprising their technology-programmed neighbors by keeping alive ways and beliefs that many modern Americans wish they could recapture. In this colorful, updated documentary, Mennonite historian John Ruth takes us sympathetically into the Amish mindset. Dr. John A. Hostetler, author of Amish society, comments on the survival of an alternative to the kind of world we have made. As the Amish increase in numbers, some of them migrate from homesteads in Pennsylvania toward more open farmland. Those staying where the land is too crowded to farm have developed an amazing variety of cottage industries. But all such changes are made very carefully, in order not to sacrifice spiritual covenant and community for the sake of convenience.
DVD Features:
Languages: English
Subtitles: None
Viewing Format: Fullscreen
Bonus Material:
Chapter Selections
November 11, 1991
Prices subject to change.
starring: Josh Hamilton, Barbara Feldon, Eli Wallach, Ansel Adams, David Ogden Stiers
directed by: Ric Burns
Ric Burns's documentary for the American Experience series winningly persuades one to think of Ansel Adams as not only the greatest American photographer of the 20th century, but also one of its most treasured artists. Using the familiar formula of New York (and his brother Ken's documentaries), Burns vividly brings Adams's world to life. Narrator David Ogden Stiers is used minimally after the initial set-up, leaving the words to curators, authors, and family members who knew Adams's life and art best (Adams's own letters are also voiced). The film, sponsored by the Sierra Club to mark the 100th anniversary of the photographer's birth, makes a passionate plea for this man "who helped transfer the meaning of wilderness and what people thought about it." There is plenty of time for his magnificent pictures to be shown, often nicely accompanied by modern-day color films of the area. It's a must-see for any fan of Adams. --Doug Thomas
September 09, 2004
