The point of this exercise is to cooperatively develop a short list of best and brightest works of non-feature videos. The goal is to compile a benchmark list that might provide guidance to librarians faced with the prospect of either developing a collection from scratch, or filling in gaps in an existing collection.
Think of this as a from-ground-zero core list for a largish urban public library located in a town in which there's also a mid-sized liberal arts college. In other words,a collection that serves the information and entertainment needs of everyone from kids, to do-it-yourselfers, to self-helpers, to the generally knowledge-thirsty, to high school and college students doing research. It's an ethnically and economically diverse community, and the collection should reflect that fact. The Board of Trustees is usually supportive of library decisions; censorship issues be damned...
For the purposes of this exercize, money is no object....BUT, the list should ideally contain a mix of low-to-moderately priced items and higher-priced indie works. There should probably also be a mix of older "classics" as well as newer releases.
To submit recommendations for inclusion on this list, email: Gary Handman, Media Resources Center, UC Berkeley, ghandman@library.berkeley.edu
Series:
Africa.
8 part series by Basil Davidson. The story is unfolded on location all over Africa, showing life as it is today, plus archive film and dramatized
reconstructions. Two programs per cassette, each an hour long. 1984. FACETS, et al. $29.95 per installment
The Africans in America
4 videocassettes (270 min.) WGBH
Considers the contradictions that lay at the heart of the founding of the American nation. The infant democracy pronounced all men to be created equal while enslaving one race to benefit another. Portrays the struggles of the African
people in America, from their arrival in the 1600s to the last days before the Civil War. $59.95 FACETS, et al.
Against All Odds: Inside Statistics
With an emphasis on "doing" statistics rather than on passive learning, this series goes on location to help uncover statistical solutions to the puzzles of everyday life. You learn how data collection and manipulation--paired with intelligent
judgment and common sense--lead to greater understanding of the world.
26 half hour programs on 7 cassettes. $199 Annenberg/CPB
Algebra: In Simplest Terms
26 half hour programs on 7
cassettes, $199 Annenberg/CPB
Americas. 1993 This series analyzes compelling contemporary issues involving the U.S.'s neighbors in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean basin. The region's international relations, political tensions, and geopolitical transformations all come into focus. Americas takes you beyond the crisis-laden headlines of recent events to probe the political, social, and economic history that led to the present state of affairs. 10 parts, 60 min. ea. $169.00 Annenberg/CPB
American Cinema.
Using clips from over 300 of the greatest
movies ever made, this series immerses you
in film history and American culture through
the eyes of over 150 Hollywood insiders.
In-depth treatments present film as a
powerful economic force, potent
twentieth-century art form, and viable
career option.
13 part series FACETS,et al.
$124.00
American Visions
Written & presented by Robert Hughes. Examines trends, issues, individuals that shaped American art. 58 min each. $149.98 FACETS, et al.
American Experience Videos, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Orphan Trains, Ida B. Wells-Passion for Justic, Coney Island, Johnston Flood, A Family Gathering) PBS
America By Design.
Contents: 1. The House -- 2. The Workplace -- 3. The Street -- 4. Public
Places and Monuments -- 5. The Shape of the Land. Kaleidoscopic tour of
America's built environment, from the earliest settlements to the latest
manifestations of megalopolis. 60 min. each. PBS?
Art of the Western World.
This art history series covers art from ancient Greece to contemporary New
York, visually reinforcing the defining periods of Western art. Internationally known art experts and critics help makeeach work accessible as you learn how and why it was created. The religious,intellectual, and social contexts of artworks are presented, allowing you to see the relevance of art to other subject areas. 9 programs on 4 cassettes $99 Annenberg/CPB
Ascent of Man
Jacob Bronowski traces the progress of civilization from flint tools to the theory of relativity. A superb technical production, co-produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films, it uses locations in 27 countries $595 (13 videos) Ambrose Video
Baseball (Burns, Ken)
FACETS, et al. $149.00
Beatles Anthology
FACETS, et al. $129.00
Black Americans of Achievement
30 min each. Set I (21 programs): $479.40; Set II (22 programs): $399.50 Schlessinger
Behind the Scenes
Produced and directed by Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer. 1. Behind the scenes with David Hockney -- 2. Behind the scenes with Robert Gil de Montes -- 3. Behind the scenes with Nancy Graves -- 4. Behind the scenes with Carrie Mae Weems -- 5. Behind the scenes with Wayne Thiebaud -- 6. Behind the scenes with Allen Toussaint -- 7. Behind the scenes with Max Roach -- 8. Behind the scenes with JoAnn Falletta -- 9. Behind the scenes with David Parsons -- 10. Behind the scenes with Julie Taymor. Penn & Teller, hosts. Designed to instill creative and critical thinking skills in children through exploration of the visual and performing arts. 10 videocassettes (29 min. each) GPN Educational Media $360.00 series or $39.95 per title
The Buried Mirror series
Written and presented by Carlos Fuentes, who looks at the mix of cultures
that create Latin America. A celebration of Latin American culture created
for the 500th anniversary of Columbus discovering the Americas. Also
available in Spanish (El Espejo Enterrado) Not sure if this series is
available anymore -- I could not locate the Public Media/Films, Inc
website, although I was looking at it about 6 weeks ago. 1991, 5 hours on 5 videocassettes $99.95 FACETS, et al.
Cadillac Desert.
A film by Jon Else. Cadillac Desert relates the story of the epic quest for water
and the role it has played in the transformation of the American West. 1997. 4 tapes, approx. 55 min. each. FACETS, et al. $99.95
Camela Nitschke Ribbonry Series
In these instructional videos, Camela shares
her knowledge of ribbonry.
The Ribbonry
Civil War (Burns, Ken)
$149.98 FACETS, et al.
Civilisation
Historian Lord Kenneth Clark explores the civilization of mankind from the Dark Ages to the 20th century in this acclaimed BBC series. 13 programs. Great Britain, 1969. 52 min. each installment $99.95 FACETS, et al.
The Cold War
From the producer of The World at War, this eight-volume, 24-episode CNN program chronicles the pople and events that shaped the last 50 years, through oving testimonials, rarely seen footage and engaging storytelling. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh. 20 hours. $119.95 FACETS, et al.
Connect with English
48 episodes, $199 Annenberg/CPB
Connections/Connections II/Connections III
This humorous and upbeat science series shows that history is filled with seemingly unrelated discoveries that are actually connected in the most surprising ways. Host James Burke. Connections: $595 (10 videos); Connections II: $995 (20 videos); Connections III: $895 (10 videos) Ambrose Video
The Constitution: That Delicate Balance.
13 one hour programs
on 7 cassettes. $199 Annenberg/CPB
Crossroad Café (ESL series) PBS?
Cycles of Life: Exploring Biology
Cycles of Life provides a comprehensive overview of the living world, from the
simplest single-celled organisms to the vast web of Earth's ecosystems. Through original microvideography, 3-D animations, video field trips inside laboratories, and footage shot around the world, these programs present the processes that
energize nature and the interrelationships that sustain life. Beyond describing the latest discoveries in the field, the series examines the scientific method, showing how biology is a dynamic process of inquiry. 26 programs on 26 cassettes,
$1,195 Annenberg/CPB
Dancing.
This 8-part series probes the traditions of dance in communities around the
world and from the latest hip-hop in Morocco to a ballet class in Russia and
a modern dance rehearsal in New York. Explores the art of communication
called dance. 58 min. ea.FACETS, et al. $29.95 per installment.
Destination America
These programs tell the stories of some of the ethnic groups who came to the U.S. from Europe. Old World, New World, On a Clear Day You Can See Boston, Go West, Young Man, The Biggest Jewish City in the World, City of the Big Shoulders, A Place in the Sun, Where Have All the Germans Gone?, Made in Britain, Nation of Immigrants 52 minutes each. $749.00 Films for the Humanities
Destinos
Teaches speaking, listening, and comprehension skills in Spanish. This telenovela, or Spanish soap opera, immerses you in everyday situations with
native speakers and introduces the cultures, accents, and dialects of Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. Your understanding and appreciation of Spanish increase as you become absorbed in the mysterious and entertaining
story. 52 half-hour programs on 14 cassettes $398.00 Annenberg
The Developing Child series
This series is in modules, which are available for purchase separately. It
covers child development from infancy through adolescence. We own only the
early childhood and adolescence modules, but they have been very well
received by faculty in education and by pre-school care providers. Magna Systems Inc.; Price: 89.95 each, discounts on multiple purchases
Produced 1996, 893 minutes on 30 videocassettes
Doctor Is In
Produced at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Alzheimer's Disease, Autism,Depression, etc. Films for the Humanities; Fanlight, et al.
Earth Revealed
Shows the physical and scientific processes that shape our Earth. From earthquakes and volcanoes to the creation of sea-floor crusts and shifting
river courses, this series offers stunning visuals that explain plate tectonics and other geologic concepts and principles. Join in on problem solving as geologists
give critically important advice on engineering and construction projects. 26 half hour programs on 7 cassettes, $199 Annenberg
Ellis Island (History Channel)
Immigrants of every ethnic background recall their extraordinary adventures,
historians explore the sometimes insensitive national policies, and the Ellis
Island Oral History Project reveals what the immigration experience was
actually like. Features rare photographs and film. Narrated by Mandy
Patinkin. 1997. 3 videocassettes, 50 min. PBS, FACETS, et al.
Europe: The Mighty Continent
Peter Ustinov and historian John Terrine bring to life the trends, technology and tides of fortune that have so drastically reshaped Europe since 1900. $595 (13 videos) Ambrose Video
Eyes on the Prize I and II (PBS)
14 hours on 7 videocassettes $149.98 PBS, FACETS, et al.
Eyewitness (nature videos) many titles (DK Vision, BBC Worldwide Americas)
French in Action
Entire Series: $398.00
52 half-hour programs on 14 cassettes
Annenberg/CPB
Great Cities of the Ancient World
The Great Depression.
Using newsreels, dramatic archival photographs and footage, Hollywood
films, and eyewitness accounts, this series re-creates the time, from the end
of the Roaring Twenties to the outbreak of the Second World War, when
economic forces, political change, and social turmoil transformed the nation.
$59.95
3 hours 30 minutes on 4 videocassettes WGBH
Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers
1993. Produced by David Grubin Productions. Distributed by PBS. $99.95. 4 hours 20 minutes on 5 videocassettes FACETS, et al.
Hispanic and Latin American Video Collection
These compelling biographies introduce students to outstanding Hispanic and Latin American men and women who have made significant contributions to their fields, countries and culture. From Spain, Mexico and the countries of Central and South America, covering the 15th century to the present, these individuals helped shape world politics, sports, philosophy and the arts. Period music, archival photographs, paintings, maps and expert commentary provide a complete picture of their lives and the significance of their achievements today. Programs are available in English and Spanish. 30 minutes each, 10
titles in series $349.50 Schlessinger
History's Turning Points
With dramatizations carried out at the actual sites of the
events, this series has been highly praised as a
motivating addition to secondary and college classes. "Thirteen pivotal historical events, ranges across
the centuries and the continents. Excellent
production. Excellent series...brings immediacy to
the towering moments of world history." -
Booklist 13 parts. $995 Ambrose Video
Hollywood
A 1970's BBC (Thames TV) production co-produced by Kevin Brownlow
about the early years of American film. Narrated by James Mason and full of
the kind of wonderful interviews movie stars seem incapable of giving
anymore. 13 parts: The Pioneers, In the Beginning, Single Beds and Double Standards, Hollywood Goes to War, Hazard of the Game, Swanson & Valentino, The Autocrats, Comedy-- A Serious Business, Out West, The Man with the Megaphone, Trick of the Light, Star Treatment, End or an Era.
FACETS, et al.
$9.95 per installment.
Hometime
A panoply of home improvement and maintenance projects for the uninitiated. Many programmed originally aired on PBS and The Learning Channel. Hometime
I'll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Art.
Produced by
Blackside, Inc., in association with WNET. Directors, Sam
Pollard and Tracy Heather Strain. Distributed by PBS Video.
This historical survey of artists, musicians, dancers and authors
chronicles the evolution of African American culture and consciousness in
American arts. 6 parts. PBS
Jazz
A film by Ken Burns. "The story, sound, and soul of a nation come
together in the most American of art forms -
JAZZ. Six years in the making, this
"soundbreaking" series blends 75 interviews,
more than 500 pieces of music, 2,400 still
photographs, and over 2,000 rare and
archival film clips to illuminate the lives and
times of jazz's extraordinary personalities.
Featured artists include: Louis Armstrong,
Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, Duke
Ellington, Benny Goodman, John Coltrane,
Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, Charlie
Parker, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis and many
more." PBS, $149.00
JVC World Anthology of Music and Dance.
30 videos. $1,199.00 World Music Store
JVC/Smithsonian Folkways Video Anthology of Music and Dance of the Americas.
$299.00 World Music Store
Legacy: The Origins of
Civilization
Historian Michael Wood stands in the Iraqi desert amid
crumbling ruins and dry desolation. He describes a
once-thriving metropolis, where merchants brought their
goods into the city over a network of lush canals. All that
remains is a sea of golden sand, the once-large population
drifted away, the complex society vanished. As the world
approaches the 21st century, this new series reminds us
that other nations and cultures prospered for hundreds or
even thousands of years. Now all that remains is the
legacy of their civilizations, present and influential in our
own. 6 videos $495
Ambrose Video
Life on Earth.
A natural history written and hosted by David Attenborough--a four hour
program on two cassettes. This video encyclopedia spans in detail the
complete story of evolution, was filmed in over 100 locations in more than
30 countries, and features amazing wildlife photography. Produced by the
BBC FACETS, et al. $39.95
Life of Birds
Leading naturalist David Attenborough hosts this absorbing and thorough
look at the lives and history of our fine feathered friends. Filmed in 42
countries over three years, this exceptional, ten-part PBS series is the
most complete documentary series ever devoted to a single animal.
Five-volume set. 600 mins. $89.98 PBS, FACETS, et al.
The Long Search Series.
This series has served as the basis of successful religious philosophy
courses around the world. An American Film Festival Red Ribbon
winner, the series gives a balanced treatment of a force that is sadly
neglected in most educations, the basic beliefs of the major religions in
the world today. $595 (13 videos) Ambrose Video
Lost Civilizations (Time Life)
All ten volumes of Time Life's superb, original production that brings
ancient history to life in an entertaining and informative manner. Includes
Egypt: Quest for Immortality; Maya: The Blood of Kings; Mesopotamia:
Return to Eden; Aegean: Legacy of Atlantis; Greece: A Moment of
Excellence; China: Dynasties of Power; Rome: The Ultimate Empire;
Africa: A History Denied; Inca: Secrets of the Ancestors and Tibet: The
End of Time. Ten-volume set, each tape approximately 48 mins. $159.99 FACETS, et al.
Mechanical Universe
This series presents physics using real-world examples. Video field trips to hot-air balloon events, symphony concerts, bicycle shops, and other locales make complex concepts more accessible. Animation, actual experiments, demonstrations, and historical reenactments demystify physics. The Mechanical Universe helps meet different students' needs, from the basic requirements of liberal arts students to the rigorous demands of science and engineering majors. This course is also valuable for professional development. Part I: 26 half-hour programs on 7 cassettes $199.00; Part II: : 26 half-hour programs on 7 cassettes; $199.00 Annenberg
Millennium.
A panoramic view of the last 1,000 years, reviewing the events, achievements and people that have shaped our world. This ten-hour CNN documentary series was filmed over two years in 28 countries to vividly capture the places where history was made. Five-volume set. 1999. $99.92 FACETS, et al.
Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet.
60 min. each installment. 1998. $49.98 FACETS, et al.
The New Yankee Workshop
The New Yankee Workshop is hosted by master carpenter Norm Abram, who is legendary for his
woodworking skills. Norm has guided millions of viewers through the hands-on process of home
renovation and furniture making.
The home videos are faithful replicas of
the programs you’ve seen on television.
Using these tapes as you build your own projects is like having Norm in your own
workshop. Each video comes with
a measured drawing. $24.95 per installment.
New Yankee Workshop
On Our Own Terms (Moyers on Dying).
Producer/director Gail Pellett.
Bill Moyers explores the agonizing decisions made by terminally ill
patients and their families in this informative and touching four-part
series. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults. 4 parts, 90 minutes. $299
each.
Films for the Humanities & Sciences.
Pole to Pole
Monty Python regular Michael Palin stars in this madcap adventure about
one man's globe-trotting adventures, taken to every corner of the earth,
though with a strict caveat: he's forbidden from using any modern means
of travel. So he moves around in dog sleds, camels and canoes, with
frightening and unpredictable results. Four volumes. 100 mins. $49.95 FACETS, et al.
Power of Myth (Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers)
Joseph Campbell, in a dialogue with Bill Moyers, explores the foundations of culture and our being. FACETS, et al. $99.95
Portrait of an Artist: Magritte, Mirro, Feiffer, Seurat, Wyeth, etc. (Home Vision; available from most mass market distributors) FACETS, et al.
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power.
Based on Daniel Yergin's Pulitzer Prize-winning best seller, this
groundbreaking series tells the epic history of oil -- how it has come to dominate global politics, shake the world economy and transform our
century. 4 videocassettes. 480 min. 1992 $99.95 PBS
Roots
(6 episodes) Approx 95 min. each. color, 1/2 in. VHS
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Alex Haley. Traces a family
from their capture in Africa to the slave life that they lead in America. FACETS, et al. $149.92
Sewing with Nancy series
Nancy's Notions
Shock of the New
BBC's sequel to Civilisation, picks up at the threshold of the 20th century.
Written and presented by Robert Hughes. The range of major figures
includes Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, le Corbusier, Max Ernst, Franic
Bacon and Jackosn Pollock. 52 min. ea. Ambrose Video
$495 (8 videos)
Silk Road.
Silk Road I: 6 parts, $149.00
For thousands of years, the fabled Silk Road, as traveled by Marco
Polo, was the major link between the people of Europe and the vast
riches of mysterious China. Spanning the deserts, grasslands and seas
between Rome, Istanbul and the major cities of China, the Silk Road
witnessed an ongoing parade of traders and goods, carrying with them
their art, religion and culture. The impact of the Silk Road is
immeasurable--giants such as Alexander the Great and tyrants like
Genghis Khan created our world's history while striding along its path.
This first co-production of China Central TV and the outside world was
ten years in the making, and produced at a cost exceeding $50 million.
Aired to critical acclaim in over 25 countries, it remains the highest
rated series in Japan's television history. With a unique soundtrack by
Kitaro, the series is available in six separately packaged volumes.
Silk Road II: 5 parts, $149.00. FACETS, et al. The epic journey along the legendary ancient trade route that follows in
the footsteps of Alexander the Great and Marco Polo into some of the
world's most exotic and inaccessible regions. Six-volume boxed
collector's set includes Across the Pamir, In Search of Wisdom,
Beyond Baghdad, The Soghdian Merchants, Across the Karakum
Desert and All Roads Lead to Rome. Total running time 15 hours.
Stephen Hawking's Universe
1997. 6 parts. 28 min. each installment. $59.98 FACETS, et al.
Story of English.
The highly acclaimed televisions series hosted by award-winning
reporter Robert MacNeil, in a remarkable journey through the history of
the English language. (PBS) FACETS, et al. $99.95
Teen Health Series
This award-winning series is an invaluable resource for
health educators, covering a diverse range of sensitive
topics such as puberty, sex, disease, abuse, eating
disorders, sports medicine, self-esteem and peer
pressure. Lively and informative, the topics are
presented with a focus on teens with real-life
experience in difficult situations while emphasizing
preventive health and awareness. 15 tapes, 30 min. each. $599.00
Schlessinger
This Old House series
WGBH
Travel the World with Rick Steves
FACETS, et al.
Vietnam, a Television Series (PBS)
The landmark, 13-hour Emmy award-winning television documentary
that records the events from the 1945 revolution against the French in
Vietnam to the U.S. evacuation following the fall of Saigon in April
1975. Produced by WGBH in Boston, the six-year project carefully
analyzes the costs and consequences of the American military
involvement in Vietnam, the strife at home and the psychological scars
of the national soul. FACETS, et al. $99.95
Voices and Visions
The lives and works of 13 renowned
American poets are interpreted through
dramatic readings, archival photographs,
dance, performances, and interviews in this
inspiring series. Illustrative poems in each
program are accompanied by insights
about their historical and cultural
connections. The series covers the
terminology of poetry and the larger role of poets in American and
world literature studies. Video Series - Volume 1: $69.95
4 one-hour programs: Whitman, Crane, Pound, Williams;
Video Series - Volume 2: $69.95;
4 one-hour programs: Dickinson, Moore, Bishop, Plath
Video Series - Volume 3: $89.95;
5 one-hour programs: Eliot, Frost, Hughes, Lowell, Stevens
Annenberg
The Wisdom of the Faith, Bill Moyers with Huston Smith
An exploration of the major world religions: Islan, Hinduisn, Buddhism,
Judaism, Christianity, Confucianism. A good replacement for the aging
"Long Search" series $399 Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Produced 1996, 5 videocassettes, each approx. 58 min. $119.95 FACETS, et al.
Women
and Spirtituality Trilogy
National Film Board of Canada, dist by Direct Cinema 3 parts $24.95
Western Tradition
2 parts, 52 half hour programs on 13
cassettes $398 Annenberg/CPB series
World at War
The complete, 26-hour, documentary series that many consider to be
television's definitive look at the Second World War. This acclaimed
series won the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Achievement, the
National Television Critics' Best Documentary Award, and the George
Polk Memorial Award for Most Outstanding Documentary on American
television. Sir Laurence Olivier narrates this remarkable overview of the
events and people that shaped this global conflict. Nine-volume set.
Great Britain, 1974. FACETS, et al. $99.92
World of Chemistry
26 half-hour programs on 7 cassettes $199.00 Annenberg
World of Ideas (with Bill Moyers) PBS
MADE FOR TV SERIES
Most available from Ingram, FACETS, PBS Home video
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple
Bramwell
Brideshead Revisited
Cadfael
Danger UXB
Flambardsv
I Claudius
Inspector Morse videos
Jane Austen tapes from BBC
Jeeves & Wooster videos
Jewel in the Crown
Mr. Bean
Poldark
Roots I & II
Sharpe's…
Sherlock Holmes
Upstairs Downstairs
Year in Provence
Individual Titles
Affluenza
Uses personal stories, expert commentary and historic advertising film clips
to illustrate the causes and negative consequences of consumerism in
American society. 1998. 56 min. $250.00 (2 parts for classrooms: 29/27)Bullfrog
A.k.a. Don Bonus.
This documentary is a self-portrait of a young Cambodian immigrant growing
up in America today. Shot by Sokly Ny himself, it shows his struggles to
graduate and survive his complicated life during his senior year of high
school. Produced by Spencer Nakasako. 55 min. $265 National Asian American Telecommunications Assn.
All the Great Operas in Ten Minutes
A great introduction to opera that will dispell all of those awful
myths like opera is boring and loud and nothing exciting ever happens. This
film includes a body count no less!! 1992. Features: La traviata -- Carmen -- Don Giovanni -- Aida --
Tosca -- Tristan and Isolde -- Madame Butterfly -- The ring
of the Nibelung. $12.99 Amazon.com, Reel.com and other home video distributors
American Dream
Barbara Kopple's Oscar-winner about a labor strike at
a Hormel meat plant in Minnesota and how it tears a town apart. There's a
scene in it which sums up why Kopple is such a good filmmaker: a man
thinking about crossing the picket lines (so he can feed his family) breaks
down on camera; rather than zooming in to the distraught man's face a la The
Jenny Jones Show, Kopple (or her camera operator) zooms out respectfully and
gives the man some room. 1989 FACETS, et al. $19.98
An American Love Story.
Producer and Director, Jennifer Fox.
In a film as complex and unpredictable as the family it chronicles,
Jennifer Fox brings viewers into the lives of a multi-racial couple and their
daughters. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults.
8 hours 30 minutes on 5 videocassettes
$99.95 PBS Video.
American Movie: The Making of Northwestern.
Producers Sarah Price and
Chris Smith's portrait of filmmaker Mark Borchardt's attempts to make a
movie offers a humorous, insightful and oddly moving behind-the-scenes
look at fringe independent filmmaking.Chris Smith. Director Chris Smith. 104 minutes. 2000.FACETS, et al. $21.96 VHS;
$27.95 DVD
American Time Capsule
A kinestasis film. Uses kaleidoscopic views of over 1300 still pictures
to
summarize two hundred years of American history. $79.00
Pyramid Film and Video
American Tongues
Illustrates various dialects of the English language within the United States
and various attitudes about regional, social, and ethnic differences in
American speech. 57 min. Center for New American Media 524 Broadway, 2nd floor, New York, NJ 07423; (212) 925-5665
And Woman Wove It in a Basket.
This documentary interweaves three themes: several legends, including the
legend of the first cedar basket; black and white photos and films of Klikitat
Indians fishing and daily life; contemporary scenes of Nettie Kuneki and her
family preparing materials and weaving cedar baskets. 70 min. $350.00 Women Make Movies
Anne Frank Remembered
Family members, childhood friends and the people who hid
the Franks bring to life the girl behind the diary. Academy
Award winner for Best Documentary of 1995, narrated by
Kenneth Branagh with selections from Anne's diary read by
Glenn Close. FACETS, et al. 1995. $14.95
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life.
Producer, writer, director Michael Paxton.
In this Oscar-nominated feature-length biopic, Michael Paxton presents an
altogether fascinating portrait of the controversial philosopher/novelist. 144 minutes. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults. FACETS, et al. $19.98 VHS;
$24.99 DVD
Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land.
Based on the book of the same title by David K. Shipler. Examines the
critical tension between Arabs and Jews living within lands under jurisdiction
of the Israeli state including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and explores
their prejudices, stereotypes, and interactions. 118 min. 1989? PBS?
Arguing the World.
Traces the lives of four of the 20th century's leading thinkers,
Daniel Bell, Nathan Glazer, Irving Howe and Irving Kristol.
They have been disagreeing with a vengeance since they studied
together at New York City College in the 1930s. This film traces their early idealistic days, their controversial role
in the McCarthy era, their battle with the New Left in the
sixties, and their vastly differing political views today. 107 min. 1996.FACETS, et al. $29.95
Andrew Wyeth, Self-Portrait Snow Hill
Battle of Algiers.
Becoming Barbie.
Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community.
Berkeley in the Sixties.
The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords.
Blue Collar and Buddha.
The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins: The Sun's Gonna Shine.
Bontoc Eulogy The Brandon Teena Story. Breastfeeding Basics Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien. A Brief History of Time
British Documentary Movement Brother's Keeper Buena Vista Social Club. (1999) Calder's Circus. Calling the Ghosts. Cane Toads Cannibal Tours.
Carmen Miranda, Bananas is My Business Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti In Concet Carved in Silence. Chicano!: The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.
Chicano Park Chicks in White Satin Chile, Obstinate Memory Cinema Verite: Defining the Moment. A Class Divided C'Mon Geese Color Adjustment The Color of Fear. Coming to Light: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indians. Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter.
Controlling Interest: The World of the Multinational Corporation The Couple in the Cage: A Guatinaui Odyssey Crumb. Dancing for Mr. B.: Six Balanchine Ballerinas. Dancing Outlaw The David Macaulay Series The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb. A Day with Timmy Page Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. Dear Jesse. Days of Waiting: The Life and Art of Estelle Ishigo. Dead birds
Deadly Deception.
Dear Jesse.
Dear Dr. Spencer: Abortion in a Small Town
Defending Our Lives. Del Mero Corazon (Straight From the Heart) Dialogues with Madwomen. Discovering the Future: The Business of
Paradigms. Dollar a Day, Ten Cents a Dance. Don't Look Back (1967) Dorothea Lange: A Visual Life. DreamWorlds II: Desire/Sex/Power in Music Video East Side Story The End of One. Ethnic Notions. The Eye of the Storm. Faces of the Hand. Family Gathering. The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison. The Farmer's Wife Fast, Cheap & Out of Control Fear and Learning at Hoover Elementary. Fires in the Mirror First Contact Flamenco
Forever Activists: Stories From the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
4 Little Girls Frank Lloyd Wright. Freedom on My Mind. Fried Shoes, Cooked Diamonds The Gate of Heavenly Peace.
Gimme Shelter
The Global Assembly Line. Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life Great Day in Harlem A Great Wall. Grey Gardens Groupthink Growing Old in a New Age. Harlan County U.S.A. Hearts & Hands, the Influence of Women & Quilts on American Society Hello Baby! Henry: One Man’s Way. High Fidelity (Adventures of the Guarneri String
Quartet)
History and Memory. Hoop Dreams Hopi: Songs of the Fourth World. Human Remains I Am Sufi, I Am Muslim Ida B.Wells: A Passion for Justice. Impressionists on the Seine In the Land of the Deaf
In Whose Honor: American Indian Mascots in Sports Inside the White House. Intimate Universe.
Ishi, The Last of the Yahi.
Isle of Floweres (Ilha dos Flores)
It's a Dog's World. James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket. Jeni LeGon: Living in a Great Big Way.
Knowing Her Place.
La Boheme La Ofrenda
Last Klezmer The Last Tasmanian. The Lemon Grove Incident The Legacy: Murder and Media Politics and Prison.
Legendary Guitar of James Burton Leonard Bernstein at Harvard "The Unanswered Question" Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery.
The Life & Times of Allen Ginsberg.
Litany for Survival: the Life & Work of Audre Lorde
The Long Way Home.
Looking for Langston: A Meditation on Langston Hughes (1902-1907) and
the Harlem Renaissance.
Las Madres: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. The Mahabharata series Manufacturing Consent : Noam Chomsky and the Media Let's Get Lost. Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter. Les Maitres Fous (The Mad Masters) Man Who Planted Trees Man With a Movie Camera (Chelovek s Kinoapparatom) (1929) Martha and Ethel Matter of Hear Maya Lin, a Stron Claear Vison Media War In El Salvador Mi Puerto Rico. Microcosmos
Miracle of Life. Middletown Millhouse: A White Comedy The National Film Board of Canada: A History. Neighbors No Maps on My Taps.
Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B.
Anthony.
On My Own: The Traditions of Daisy Turner. One Survivor Remembers. Paris is Burning. Only the Ball was White. One Day Longer: Story of the Frontier Strike. Painters Painting. Partisans of Vilna Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer’s End. The Plow that Broke the Plain Popol Vuh: The Creation Myth of the Maya. Powers of Ten: A Film Dealing with the Relative Size of Things in the
Universe and the Effect of Adding Another Zero.
Primary (1961) Quilts in Women's Lives. Rabbit in the Moon. Radio Bikini The Ransom of Red Chief. Reassemblage
Roger and Me
Routes of Rhythm.
Salesman
Satya, A Prayer for the Enemy.
Say Amen, Somebody.
Secret People: The Naked Face of Leprosy in America
Sewing Woman. Shakespeare Plays. The Shakers--Hands To Work, Hearts To God. Sherman's March Shoah Silence. Sing Faster: The Stagehand's Ring Cycle. Slaying the Dragon Slim Hopes: Advertising and the Obsession with Thinness Small Wonders So Far from India. The Spirit Travels: Immigrant Music in America Stages of Labor Still Killing Us Softly
Beyond Killing Us Softly: The Impact
of Media Images on Women and Girls (The Strength to Resist)
Stomp Out Loud. Stop Making Sense Stories of Maxine Hong Kingston. (World of ideas with Bill Moyers) The Story of Romeo and Juliet. Straight from the Heart: A Journey to Understanding and Love Stranger with a Camera. Strong at the Broken Places Superstar, the Life and Times of Andy Warhol Surname Viet, Given Name Nam Survivors Tao of the Dumpster Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press
Times of Harvey Milk
Titicut Follies
To Taste a Hundred Herbs: Gods, Ancestors, and Medicine in a Chinese
Village.
Tongues Untied.
Tough Guise.
The Triumph of Evil (Frontline)
Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens: Das Dokument vom Reichsparteitag 1934) Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern True Colors 28 Up / 35 Up - Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography.
Walking with Dinosaurs.
The Wave Weapons of the Spirit Well-Founded Fear. When I Was a Boy Who Killed Vincent Chin?
Who Are the DeBolts, and Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?
Wild Women Don't Have the Blues.
Without Pity, A film About Abilities
Woodstock: Tree Days of Music and Peace
A film by Michael Wadleigh. 1970. 184 min. $24.98 FACETS, et al.
The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives
Wrestling the Mississippi
Yosemite: The Fate Of Heaven
You Don’t Know Dick.
Zora is My Name!
Childeren and Young Adult
Banjo Frogs
Big Henry & the Polka Dot Kid
Chato's Kitchen
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Children's Stories from Africa
Dance Lexie, Dance
Frog Goes to Dinner
From the Brothers Grimm--American Versions of Folktale Classics.
Good Night, Gorilla [animation]
Harry the Dog series (Harry the Dirty Dog/Harry & the Lady Next
Door, Harry Comes Home)
Officer Buckle & Gloria
Pumpkin Circle.
The Snowy Day.
The Snowman.
Rainbow War.
Rapunzel The Red Balloon.
Sadako and the Thousand Cranes
Toccata for Toy Trains.
April 16, 2001
$19.95 Chip Taylor
A unique documentary about Cold War paranoia over the
Bomb. This chilling documentary by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne
Loader and Pierce Rafferty culls newsreel footage and
government archives to recreate the hysteria of the Cold War.
"A comic horror film, it does more to evoke the what-me-worry
social madness of the Cold War than any documentary I've
ever seen" (J. Hoberman). 1982 FACETS, et al. $29.99
Dramatization of the conflict between Algerian nationalists and French
colonialists that culminated in Algeria's independence in 1962. 125 min.
1988. FACETS, et al. $29.95
This documentary provides a compelling look at body imageissues and the
role the media plays in promoting certain ideals for women. It examines
eating disorders that have become commonplace in society and looks at the
influence of the Barbie doll on young girls. Powerful media images, in
particular in the fashion and advertising industry, serve as a backdrop for
insights into the virtually impossible and highly dangerous physical goals that
so many women strive to achieve. It also explores the new world of
modelling in which models in video, film and photographs are sculpted by
computer technology presenting images to emulate that are not even totally
human. Includes interviews with teenagers and professionals working with
eating disorder patients. 47 min. Moving Images (distributor)
A social history of homosexuality in America from the 1920s to 1969,
showing how this group has moved from a secret shame to the status of a
publicly viable minority group. Tells how a group consciousness coalesced
after the 1969 police raid on Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City,
and the three-day riot that followed gained them national publicity and the
birth of the gay movement. 87 min. $24.95 FACETS, et al.
A film by Mark Kitchell. Pt. 1 Confronting the university: the Free Speech Movement-- pt. 2. Confronting America: the anti-war movement (32 min.) -- pt. 3.
Confronting history: the counter-culture movement(45 min.). Through
interviews with participants and archival footage, presents a history of
Berkeley, California in the 1960s. 117 min. FACETS, et al. $29.95
Director, Stanley Nelson.
This moving documentary masterfully traces the birth, evolution
and impact of African American journalism since Reconstruction. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 86 minutes, 1998. $195.00 California Newsreel
Explores the dilemma of Laotian refugees living in Rockford, Illinois who are
torn between preserving their cultural identity and adapting to their new life in
America. Re-settlement is complicated by rising tensions with working class
neighbors, many of whom resent the Laotians' economic gains and view their
Buddhism with hostility. 60 min. $150.00 NAATA
A film by Les Blank. Focuses on blues singer Lightnin' Hopkins, who reveals
the inspiration for his blues. Captures, through Hopkins' words and songs,
the Black culture of Texas which reaches back to poverty, hard times, and a
deep love of the land. 31 min. Home Video: $39.95; Public Libraries; Universities and University Libraries: $99.00 Flower Films
A personal and poignant docu-drama that examines the Filipino experience
at the 1904 St. Louis World's fair. The film focuses on the filmmaker's
grandfather, an Igorot warrior, one of the 1,100 tribal natives displayed as
anthropological 'specimens' in the Philippine village exhibit. A unique fusion
of rare archival images, verite, and carefully orchestrated visual sequences
shot in the present, the film is an innovative investigation of history, memory
and the spectacle of the "other" in the turn-of-the-century America. 56 min. Cinema Guild $350.00
Producers, directors, editors Susan Muska and
Greta Olafsdottir.
The life and tragic murder of Brandon Teena, born Teena Brandon,
illustrates one community's response to issues of gender and identity. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults FACETS, et al. 1998. 90 minutes. $24.95 VHS; $29.95 DVD
3 tapes. 1999-2000. InJoy Productions,
3970 Broadway, Suite B4
Boulder, CO 80304;
(800) 326-2082
Poet-journalist Mark O'Brien was stricken with polio in childhood and has
spent most of his life in an iron lung. He describes how he has fought against
illness and bureacracy for his right to lead an independent life and offers his
reflections on college, work, sex, death, euthanasia, and God. Directed, and
written by Jessica Yu. 1996. Academy Award, Best Documentary. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 35 min. Fanlight $195.00
A film by Errol Morris. Errol Morris' documentary about the English physicist
Stephen Hawking takes its title from Hawking's best seller.
The film explores Hawking's groundbreaking work in quantum
physics and the study of the origins of the universe, despite
his debilitating physical state, brought about by amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis. Morris interweaves anecdotes, family
dynamics and Hawking's background into a kaleidoscope of
images, movements and sound. Music by Philip Glass.FACETS, et al. 1991. 81 min. $19.95
6 videos w/ 18 titles from the 1930'3 & 1940's
Ok, I am cheating here, but I've seen nothing that combines poetry, realism and truth (sort of) like this body of work. Titles include; Drifters, Nightmail, Fires Were Started, and Diary for Timothy. All beautiful, moving, and important work. I would say that this collection shows where all good documentaries come from.
KINO, FACETS, et al. ea video 24.95
This riveting documentary by Joe Berlinger and Bruce
Sinofsky is a reconstruction of the arrest and trial of Delbert
Ward in the alleged suffocation and murder of his brother Bill.
Set in a small town in upstate New York, Bill, Delbert and their
two other brothers lived in a squalid farmhouse with no
electricity or running water. Brother's Keeper is a powerful
work about the nature of justice and community, and the
grass-roots campaign to secure Delbert's freedom and
exonerate him of the charges.
FACETS, et al. $19.98
Director/writer, Wim Wenders. Featuring Ry Cooder, Ibrahim Ferrer,
Ruben Gonzales, Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo, Compay Segundo. In
1996, a group of legendary Cuban musicians were brought together by Ry
Cooder to record a compact disc. This film shows some of their songs being
recorded in the studio, concert footage from Amsterdam and New York
City, and some of the musicians talking about their lives in Cuba and how
they got started in music. 105 min. FACETS, et al. $19.99
Alexander Calder demonstrates his famous steel wire circus sculptures
which he created in Paris in 1927. His fascination with the circus began in his
mid-twenties, when he published illustrations for Barnum and Bailey's
Circus. This film exudes the great personal charm of Calder himself as he
moves and works the tiny players while his wife winds the gramophone in
the background. 18 min. Roland Collection $99.00 (institutions)
Women survivors of Omarska Detention Camp describe the camp and the
situation in Bosnia and Herzagovnia. Their release and recovery process are
also described. 1996. 60 min. Women Make Movies $325.00
Documents the history of the Cane Toad in Australia - a biological
experiment run amok. This documentary captures many of the bizarre
stories that illustrate how the toads have affected daily life in
Queensland. 1987 FACETS, et al. $19.95
When tourists today journey to the farthest reaches of Papua New Guinea,
is it the indigenous tribespeople or the white visitors who are the cultural
oddity? This documentary explores the differences and the similarities that
emerge when the two groups meet within the context of organized "travel
adventure tours." 77 min. Direct Cinema Ltd. $350.00
Archival footage, film clips, dramatic re-enactments and interviews
document the life story and the lasting influence of the Brazilian
Bombshell. This fun and interesting film won Best Documentary at the
Chicago International Film Festival and the Film Critic's Award at the
Brazilian Film Festival. English and Portuguese with English subtitles. FACETS, et al. $19.98
Decca Record Company;
manufactured by PolyGram Records. $25.95
This 1990 performance in Rome by the Three Tenors features operatic arias
and popular melodies. FACETS, et al.
A film by Felicia Lowe . A documentary about Chinese immigration to the U.S. and the discriminatory U.S. immigration policy toward Asians. Parts filmed in the
Angel Island State Park. $165 NAATA
A four part series chronicling various aspects of the struggles for equal rights
by Mexican Americans. 57 min. each installment $69.95 FACETS, et al.
Produced by Mario Barrera & Marilyn Mulford; directed by Marilyn Mulford
1988 59 min Chicano Park is located under the San Diego approaches to the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in Barrio Logan, San Diego Calif. Skillful blend of archival photos and interviews Chicano Park traces the history of the park and it's giant murals that became the focus of community revitalization in the 70's & 80's. Though Chicano Park is regional in scope its theme on the importance of community involvement are universal.
Gold Plaque - Chicago International Film festival
Gold Award Houston International Film festival
CINE Golden Eagle
Cinema Guild $350.00
Focuses on the wedding of a lesbian couple in California.
Includes interviews with the couple, their family, and
friends. Dist: Elaine Holliman, 2247 28th Street, Apartment A, Santa Monica, CA 90405, (310) 396-5890
Patricio Guzman, who was Salvador Allende's bodyguard in 1973 when he
was overthrown, returns to Chile 23 years later to show his film The Battle
of Chile (which has never been shown in Chile) to his old friends and to a
student group to enlighten them concerning the historical facts surrounding
the military coup of September, 1997. 1997. 58 min. $390 First Run/Icarus
The cinema verite (or direct cinema) movement of the
1950's and 60's was driven by a group of rebel
filmmakers tired of stilted documentaries. They wanted
to show life as it really is: raw, gritty, dramatic.
Rich in excerpts from verite classics with commentary
by filmmakers, this is the first film to capture all
the excitement of a revolution that changed
movie-making forever, with its influences on
everything from TV news to music videos to Webcams. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults. 1999. 102 min. National Film Board of Canada, 22-D
Hollywood Ave., Hohokus, NJ 07423.
Documents a reunion of Iowa teacher Jane Elliott and her third-grade class
of 1970, subjects that year of an ABC News television documentary
entitled: The eye of the storm. Shows how her experimental curriculum on
the evils of discrimination had a lasting effect on the lives of the students. 58 min. See also: Eye of the Storm PBS?
An amazing story about how one man realized his childhood dream of flying with geese! Join internationally known wildlife sculptor, Bill Lishman, and get a bird's eye view of a flock of Canada geese as they soar over woods and fields.
$49 Bullfrog Films
A film by Marlon Riggs. Narrated by Ruby Dee, this film covers more than forty years of race relations in America through prime time entertainment. $195.00 California News Reel
Eight North American men of Asian, European, Latino and African descent
talk together about how racism affects them. 90 min. Stirfry Productions, Oakland, CA
Writer, producer, director Anne Makepeace.
Anne Makepeace's moving biography of Edward S. Curtis, the pioneer
photographer of American Indians, also visits descendants of Curtis's
subjects who today use his images to revive the past. An American Library Association Notable Video for Adults. 2000. 56 minutes. Bullfrog Films, $250.00
Shows interactions between an Alzheimer's patient and her daughter. The
daughter discusses how she has dealt with her mother's illness and describes
various stages of the disease. 45 min. $275.00 Women Make Movies
Old, but still valuable. Examines foreign investment policies of US
corporations and the effect of those policies on the nations involved.
California Newsreel; Price: $195; Produced 1978, 45 min.
Based on a series of live performances in which Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena dressed in stereotypical Native American clothing and were viewed in a locked cage, this film presents the "primitive" as a concept conceived and promoted erroneously in the West. $200.00 Video Data Bank (112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603; (312) 345-3550)
A film by Terry Zwigoff. Crumb presents a creepy and riveting portait of R. Crumb, perhaps the central figure in the comix underground of the 1960's. In the course of the film's loopy, non-linear narrative, we're given riffs on the roots and development of Crumb's brilliant, pathologically misanthropic and licentious art, backed by a chorus of supporters, critics, and Crumb's own laconic, alienated musings. The film's real viceral punch, however, comes from segments featuring Crumb's mother and brothers--a crew who raise familial dysfunction to new horrifying heights. You'll never think about that scruffy counterculture icons, Mr. Natural and Fritz the Cat, in the same way again. 119 min $19.95 FACETS, et al.
This documentary portrays six of Balanchine's celebrated American
ballerinas and, through them, also illuminates the life of their mentor. A
chronicle of forty years of the New York City Ballets. Also features archival
footage from Balanchine's greatest ballets. 94 min. $29.97 FACETS, et al.
A film by Jacob Young. Jesco White is the Dancing Outlaw. His wife says he is three
persons: a beautiful man, the Devil himself, and Elvis. He is
also "the best mountain dancer in these here parts." Jesco
idolized his dad, and keeps his memory alive through
Appalachian tap dancing, amid the feuds, poverty, ignorance,
violence and natural wildness of Boone County. 1991. 60 min.
$49.95 FACETS, et al.
Awe-inspiring architectural history comes alive in this award-winning
PBS series from author/illustrator David Macaulay. Four-video set
includes Castle, Cathedral, Pyramid and Roman City. Each tape is 60
mins. FACETS, et al. $79.98
A film by Jon Else. People who worked with J. Robert Oppenheimer discuss the man, his role in the development of the atomic bomb, his fall from grace during the McCarthy era, and his desire to see nuclear proliferation controlled. 90 min $39.95 FACETS, et al.
A film by David Hoffman and Iris
Hoffman. This charming and funny short takes as its subject a bright
and articulate 13-year-old who aspires to be a filmmaker.
Young Timmy would grow up to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning
author and classical music critic for The Washington Post,
but seen here, in 1967, he enthusiastically directs his brother,
his girlfriend and other pals through his scripted, 8mm
productions. A Day with Timmy Page won honors at the 1968
Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Atlanta Film Festivals.
1967. $59.95. FACETS, et al.
A history of American involvement in the Vietnamese conflict told through
letters of American service personnel and illustrated with contemporary
news footage, home movies, and still photos. 87 min. $19.98 FACETS, et al.
Tim Kirkman's video letter to North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms uses their
parallel lives to explore homophobia, racial discrimination and self-affirmation. 1997. 90 min. $29.95 FACETS, et al.
Director: Steven Okazaki. Documentary about artist Estelle Peck Ishigo, a Caucasian woman interned during World War II with her Japanese American husband at Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Wyo. Vivid portrayal through her words and drawings and through photographs of the deprivations and humiliations of camp life, and the difficulties of readjustment at war's end. 1988, 28 minutes $175 NAATA
directed by Robert Gardner, 1963, 87 min
Classic example (along w/ Les Maitres Fou) of Ethnographic filmmaking. Describes a photographic and ethnographic study which was sponsored by the Peabody Museum from Feb. 1961 to Nov. 1963 of the Dani, a people dwelling in the Grand Valley of the Baliem, high in the mountains of West New Guinea. CRM/McGraw-Hill Films
Expose of the human and environmental effects of General Electric Company's
nuclear weapons facilities. Plant workers have been poisoned by radiation and
asbestos; neighboring homes have experienced cancers and birth defects.
Shows the activists who are working to inform the public and stop the
company's dangerous activities. Producer/director, Debra Chasnoff Academy
Award for Best Documentary. 29 min. $50.00 FACETS, et al.
A film by Tim Kirkman.
Tim Kirkman's video letter to North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms uses
their parallel lives to explore homophobia, racial discrimination, and
self-affirmation. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 1997. $69.95 FACETS, et al.
From the early 1920s until his death in 1969, Dr.
Robert Douglas Spencer practiced medicine in a small town in
the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania. Dr. Spencer
treated colds, set fractures, and provided basic medical
care. He also performed illegal abortions. After he did his
first abortion in 1923 for a poor coal miner's wife, the
doctor's reputation spread. Soon he was receiving letters
from women across the country, asking for his help. This tape
features interviews with the doctor's wife, local
townspeople, and women who traveled from all over seeking
help.1998 Margaret Mead Film Festival 24 min. 1997. $225
First Run/Icarus
Shows the magnitude and severity of domestic violence in this country. This
video features four women imprisoned for killing their batterers and their
terrifying personal testimonies. Each of these women tells her own horrific
tale of beatings, rape and torture at the hands of her husband or boyfriend.
31 min. Cambridge Documentary Films $160.00
Producer, Chris Strachwitz; director, photographer, and special editing, Les
Blank. A lyrical journey through the musings of the heart in the
Mexican-American Nortena music tradition. Various performers are shown
in dancehalls and cantinas, presenting songs of passion and death, hurt and
humor, and the pleasures and torn dreams of love. 1976. 28 min. Home Video: $39.95; Public Libraries; Universities and University Libraries: $99.00 Flower Films
A film by Allie Light Captures the experiences of seven women who have experienced the dark side of the imagination -- multiple personality, manic-depression, schizophrenia, euphoria. 90 min $295.00 Women Make Movies
Joel A. Barker explores how hidden barriers to new ideas limit our
ability to successfully anticipate the future.
Charthouse Learning Corp.
Presents a portrait of Filipino farm laborers who came to the United States
in the 1920's and 1930's. Voicing their recollections, these men reveal the
poverty, and social and cultural difficulties they experienced. The social life
of the men centered around illegal cock fights, athletic clubs, and dance halls.
30 min. NAATA
Producers, Albert Grossman, John Court ; director, D.A. Pennebaker. Performers: Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Donovan, Alan Price, Albert Grossman, Bob Neuwirth, Tito Burns, Derroll Adams. Pennebaker Associates
Brings to life five decades of American history withphotographs and insights
by Dorothea Lange, one of America's most accomplished documentary
photographers. Film reveals her passion for her work and her commitment
to record the rapidly changing face of the 20th century. Includes interviews
with her family and colleagues, along with her photographs and
recordedconversations, creating an intimate portrait of this extraordinary
photographer. 46min. $39.95 FACETS, et al.
A controversial video that MTV tried to ban. Portrays the
impact
that sex and violence in media have on society and culture in
our everyday life. Shows scenes from over 165 music videos to
show how the media portrays masculinity, femininity, sex, and
sex roles. Includes a scene of a brutal gang rape from the
movie, The accused. 56 min. 1995. Media Education Foundation $195
($125 High Schools)
"That's Entertainment," Communist style. A documentary of Soviet and
Eastern bloc communist musical films. Comrades drive tractors, sweep
factory floors, feed farm animals, harvest crops, all the while singing their
hearts out about the joys of socialism. Included are interviews with people
involved in the making of some of these movies, as well as a film historian
and moviegoers. 79 min. Kino, FACETS, et al.
A wordless parable of modern society in which masses of sea gulls fighting
for growing mounds of garbage are intercut with the final feeble movements
of a single dying bird while tractors and jet planes roar in the distance.
Learning Corporation of America, 1970. 7 min. color, 1/2 in. VHS
Produced and directed by Marlon Riggs and narrated by Esther Rolle, the film presents an eye-opening look at the evolution of black stereotypes and how they have affected the perception of race relations from the 1820's on. $195 Calfornia Newsreel
Award winning documentary records an innovative experiment in which a
third-grade teacher divides her all-white class into "blue-eyes" and
"brown-eyes," making each group superior or inferior on successive days.
The program demonstrates the nature and effects of bigotry by showing
changes brought about in the children's behavior and learning patterns. 26
min. See also: A Class Divided PBS?
Searching for a near-by miracle? Look no further than the ends of your wrists. In
under half an hour, this is superbly shot and edited, video manages, with minimal
narration, to convey the enormous physiological complexity of the hand, it's vast
flexibility and uses across cultures as an instrument of creation, healing, aggression, communication, and tenderness. An extraordinarily moving work which reveals poetry and wonder in the everyday world at hand. 1996. $195.00 29 minutes. Bullfrog Films.
A visual memoir of an Oregon family of Japanese American's sharing their
experiences of immigration through relocation during World War II. 60 min. NAATA
Academy Award Nomintion for Best
Documentary 1998.Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Sundance Film
Festival. Story of six inmates at Angola, a former slave plantation in
Louisiana.(A&E) Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. $24.95 FACETS, et al.
Producer and Director, David Sutherland.
David Sutherland*s beautifully filmed Frontline documentary presents a
deeply involving look at the tribulations and triumphs of a struggling Nebraska
farm family. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults.
6 hours 30 minutes on 3 videocassettes. $49.98 PBS Video
A film by Errol Morris (from the director
of the Thin Blue Line and a Brief History of Time). "Madness vs. genius,
funny and inspiring" -- "Morris weaves interviews with a wild animal
trainer, a topiary gardener, a robot designer and an expert on the naked
mole rat together with old movies, cartoons, and stock footage." ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. $19.95 FACETS, et al.
Director,
Laura Angelica Simon.
Filmmaker/teacher Laura Angelica Simon explores the conflict
surrounding the public education of illegal immigrants. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. Distributed by Transit Media/Fear and Learning Library.
On Aug. 19, 1991 in Crown Heights (Brooklyn, N.Y.) a Hasidic man
accidentally runs over a Black boy (Gavin Cato). Three hours later a young
Jewish scholar (Yankel Rosenbaum) was murdered by Black youths. Four
days of fire-bombing and riots ensued. Smith acts out the roles of these 18
persons involved in the racial conflict, trying to present the differing views of
this serious problem. Includes actual film footage of the riots and violence.
82 min. PBS
directed by Connelly, Bob 1982 54 min
Very interesting and compelling film. In 1930 the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New Guinea. In so doing discovered Stone Age groups that had no concept of life outside of their secluded valleys. Great archival footage shot by the Leahys mixed with interviews of both the adventurers and the indigenous folks they ran into. Like the classic boy's own adventure.
Grand Prix, Cinema du reel
Margret Meade Film festival
Best in Sociology, San Francisco Film Festival
Filmmakers Library $395.00
Director, Carlos Saura. Popular dancers and folk groups demonstrate what
is considered to be the national dance of Spain, the Flamenco. Over 300
dancers participate as they are photographed by the master
cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro. 100 min.
The personal recollections of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade veterans are
interspersed with historic footage of the events of the Spanish Civil War in
which they took part. The film explores their long term commitment to
political activism as many of these veterans have played significant roles in
World War II, trade unionism, the McCarthy period, civil rights, the
Vietnam anti-war movement, disarmament and peace efforts. 1990. 60 min $90.00 FACETS, et al.
A film by Spike Lee.
Civil rights story. Remembrance of a tragic crime. 4 little girls killed
in the bombing of a black Baptist church, September 15, 1963. $19.98 FACETS, et al.
A Film by Ken Burns, 1998. A two part documentary portrait of the life and
work of architecture giant, Frank Lloyd Wright, a brilliant, arrogant figure
unbowed by scandal and personal tragedy. 2 tapes FACETS, et al.
Produced and directed by Connie Field and Marilyn Mulford. Documentary
of the civil rights movement and the events surrounding the Mississippi Voter
Registration Project of the early 1960's. Combines archival footage with
contemporary interviews. 110 min. : $195 California Newsreel
Reunion of some leading poets of the Beat Generation at the Jack Kerouac School for Disembodied Poetics, Naropa Institute: Allen
Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Timothy Leary, William S. Burroughs,
Gregory Corso, Ann Waldman, and others.
1979. 55 min $29.95 Mystic Fire Video, FACETS, et al.
Directors: Carma Hinton & Richard Gordon. Discusses Tiananmen Square incident, June 4, 1989. Includes still
photographs, eyewitness accounts, interviews, and newsreels. 1995. 189
min. $325 NAATA
The Maysles Brothers record of the infamous 1969
Rolling Stones concert at Altamont, where a concertgoer was killed by the
Hells Angels -- an act captured on film. An interesting bookend to
Woodstock. 1970 Reel.com et al. $25.99
A film by by
Lorraine W. Gray. Documentary, filmed in electronic and garment factories, examines working
forces in United States and free-trade zones of developing countries
particularly the Philippines and Mexico. 58 min.
Institutional: $375:
Community Groups/
Public Libraries:
$200 New Day Films
Originally issued as silent motion picture with separate titles
in 1925. A documentary in which Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack and
Marguerite Harrison travel through Asia Minor and Iraq to
reach a tribe of nomads in Iran known as the Bakhtyari. They
follow the tribe on its forty- eight day trek across deserts,
streams and mountains to reach pasture for their flocks.
These three people were the first Westerners to cross the
Zardeh Kuh Pass and the first to make this migration with the
tribes. $39.95 Milestone Film & Video
A documentary about a photograph taken in 1958 by Art Kane of the jazz
greats of the period. Includes home movie footage of that day of the
musicians arriving and greeting each other the morning of the shoot. Also
includes conversations with musicians and archival performance footage. 60
min. $19.95 FACETS, et al.
This moving and humorous story chronicles the return of Leo Fang and his
American-born wife and son to his native China and provides a comical
insight into the cultural clashes between traditional Chinese families and
Chinese-American families. Fang and his family are met with many curious
and intimate questions on subjects ranging from money to sex. Directed by
Peter Wang. 1985. 103 min. $19.98 FACETS, et al.
Directed by Albert & David Maysles, 1974, 94 min
The story of an eccentric mother and daughter living together in a decaying East Hampton mansion. In the course of the film they reveal much about what is universally stressful and destructive in mother/daughter relationships as well as question the values and status quo of American life. FACETS, et al.
79.95
Presents case histories of tragedies like space shuttle
Challenger, Pearl Harbor and the Cuban Bay of Pigs which
resulted from the natural tendency to achieve agreement for
the
sake of group unity. Features interviews with Dr. Irving
Janis
and Dr. James K. Esser and gives groupthink symptoms to
avoid. 22 min. CRM Films $845.00
1993. Produced by Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Video Series Only: $199.00-13 one-hour programs on 7 cassettes
Curriculum Package: $389.00-13 one-hour programs on 13 cassettes;Faculty guide Annenberg/CPB Collection.
produced and directed by Barbara Kopple, 76, 3 min
Seminal work of political/social filmmaking. Chronicles the efforts of 180 coal mining families to win United Mine Workers contract in Kentucky. Documents their 1973 strike against the operators of the Brookside mine and the Duke Power Company. FACETS, et al.
29.95
A film by Pat Ferrero. Diaries, letters, photographs, and quilts are pieced together to tell a story of nineteenth century women from New England, the South, the Midwest, and the West. 64 min. (Blue Ribbon, Amer Film & Vid Festival, Cine Gold Eagle) $99 New Day Films
Presents actual birth experiences of 3 couples, a review of common medical procedures that may be used during birth and an actual Cesarian section. 48 min. 1989. Produced and distributed by Vida Health Communications, 6 Bigelow St., Cambridge, MA 02139; 617-864-4334.
$395.
Director,
John Swindells.
This tribute to animal rights activist Henry Spira demonstrates the
power of one person to effect social and political change. 53 minutes
(2 parts for classrooms: 22/30) ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 1998. $250. Bullfrog Films
A film by
Allan Miller (From Mao to Mozart. The inner-workings of the Guarneri String Quartet are revealed
as they are followed through private rehearsals and recording
sessions as well as a four of Prague, Venice, Baden-Baden and
across the United States. 85 min. 1989. $39.95 New Yorker Films, FACETS, et al.
Focusing on the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II,
this work examines the rewriting of history through media representation.
Rea Taijiri interweaves collective history and personal memory. 1991. 30
min $200.00 Electronic Arts Intermix
The groundbreaking documentary about the dream that inspires young men throughout the country: the dream of playing professional basketball for the NBA. Seven years in the making, Hoop Dreams is an innovative work that closely focuses on the maze of high school sports, agents and the system as
well as on the dreams of escaping the inner city. A remarkable, heartrending piece of history that says a lot about basketball, and about the life we all choose to live. Produced by Kartemquin Films. $19.98; widescreen, $49.99 FACETS, et al.
A film by Pat Ferrero. An in-depth look at the meaning of the Hopi way, a philosophy of living in balance with nature. Describes the Hopi philosophy of life, death, and renewal as revealed in the interweaving life cycles of humans and corn plants. 58 min. $199; public libraries $99 New Day Films
A film by Jay
Rosenblatt. A haunting documentary which illustrates the banality of
evil by creating intimate portraits of five of this
century's most reviled dictators, presenting "intimate
and mundane details" from the private lives of Adolf
Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Francisco
Franco and Mao Tse-tung. There is no mention of their
public lives but the horrors for which these men were responsible hovers over the film inviting the
viewer to confront the nature of evil. 30 min. $195 Jay Rosenblatt Films
Available from Films for the Humanities for $129.00
This film introduces Sufism, a less fundamentalist branch of Islam than is typically known in the West. The variety of ways Sufism is practiced throughout the world contrast dramatically with the way Islamic religion is often perceived. $129.00 Films for the Humanities
Chronicles the life of Ida B. Wells, an early black activist who protested
lynchings, unfair treatment of black soldiers, and other examples of racism
and injustice toward black Americans around the turn of the century. 58 min. $125.00 FACETS, et al.
Captures the mystery, beauty and moods of the River Seine and the life of Parisians who worked and played along its banks in the 1870s. $29.95 FACETS, et al.
A unique and privileged look inside the world of deaf people. A teacher, a
woman treated for mental illness because of her deafness, and a newly wed
deaf couple offer compelling portraits from a community estimated to comprise
130 million people worldwide in a film which is revealing, moving and often
funny. French and French Sign Language with English subtitles. . $79.95
Kino Video, FACETS, et al.
Written, produced and edited by Jay Rosenstein, this film critically investigates the pervasive use of Native American mascots in American sports. New Day Films $195.00
A rarely seen peek at this legendary house. Interviews with former
Presidents and employees plus the frenzy surrounding a state dinner are
included. National Geographic Video; FACETS, et al. $19.98
Microscopic photography, innovative computer animation present and eye-opening look at the stages of human development from conception to old age.
Produced by BBC Worldwide. Distributed by Video Sets for Libraries/Teacher's Video Company, PO Box VSS-4455, Scottsdale, AZ 85261; 800-262-8837. $58.95. 4 VHS cassettes, 99 min.per video.
When Ishi suddenly appeared in rural Northern California in 1911, the
country was stunned. His tribe as considered extinct; Ishi had lived in hiding
for forty years . As the sole survivor, he had refused to surrender. His story
embodies the strength and resilience of California's indigenous people. 57
min. $19.95 FACETS, et al.
A Film by Jorge Furtado.
From Brazil, this is an hilarious but ultimately devastating film about values, the food chain, and the
human condition on a real life Brazilian island where pigs eat first, and the people are fed what the
pigs leave over.
"Startling... the film seems facile and flippant at first, but it builds to a crescendo of outrage as it
reaches its real purpose." - Vincent Canby, New York Times
"A powerful, unpredictable piece on man's inhumanity to man... A pungent social satire, the visual
poem reads like a comic political essay written by James Joyce in a mock documentary style... A
remarkably unconventional use of media as parable. Recommended for film, art, social,
intercultural, and political studies." - Choice. 1991 Sundance Film Festival. 15 min. 1990. $175
First Run/Icarus
1993. Contrasts the good and bad aspects of patient services through the story of a man and his dog. Produced and distributed by CRM Films. (www.crmfilms.com) $595.00 (purchase) $125 (rental).
Presents a look at author James Baldwin's life as reflected in his own words
and reminiscences of family and friends. 87 min. $195 California Newsreel
Producer Selwyn Jacob. Director
Grant Greschuk.
Grant Greschuk's luminous biography travels from Chicago to Hollywood,
London, and Vancouver, as African-American dancer Jeni LeGon, students,
friends, and historians review her extraordinary life and career in a
segregated society. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults. 1999. 49 min. $275 The Cinema Guild
An Indian woman looks at her life, her marriage, and her role in
contemporary society both India and the Untied States. 1990. 40 min. $250.00 Women Make Movies
Franco Zeffirelli's production of Puccini's tragic love story features
Teresa Stratas and Jose Carreras; This lavish Metropolitan Opera
performance includes English subtitles. FACETS, et al.
$19.99
In Mexico, on the first days of November, the dead come to visit. They are
received and given offerings of their favorite food, flowers, and momentos of
their presence on earth. La Ofrenda takes a non-traditional look at the
celebration in Mexico and the United States. c1989. 50 min. Direct Cinema $95
Yale Strom traveled to Eastern Europe to search for remnants of Klezmer
music (Jewish folk melodies) that survived the Holocaust such as recordings,
sheet music and Klezmer musicians. In this program he interviews and
travels with Leopold Kozlowski, the last Klezmer who grew up in the
tradition. 84 min. $79.95 FACETS, et al.
62 min. color, 1/2 in. VHS
Deals realistically with the genocide of the Tasmanian aborigines by the
British in latter half of the 19th centruy. Shows the anthropologist
recreating the story of an extinct people, and it sensitizes the viewer to
the need of cultural understanding. There are two parts; Extinction and
Ancestors. CRM Films, 1980.
Directed by Christopher, Frank, 1985 58 min
Many of the earliest desegregation cases occurred in the American Southwest and they involved the children of Mexican immigrants. This is the true story of one of those cases." The story is told with a mixture of dramatizations, archival photographs and interviews with the former students involved. Once again regional in content but universal in understanding race issues.
3 Emmys; Gold Award, CINE Golden Eagle
Cinema Guild $350.00
Writer, producer,
director Michael J. Moore.
Michael J. Moore's thought-provoking film traces the genesis of
California's "three strikes" law, and examines the haunting "legacy" of an
expensive system heavily populated by non-violent offenders. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults. 1999. 60 minutes. $149 Films for the Humanities &
Sciences,
Hot Licks Video
Renowned conductor and musician Leonard Bernstein gives six
lectures at Harvard University on various aspects of music.
Includes musical illustrations played on piano or conducted
by the maestro. 6 tapes. $149.00 Kultur, FACETS, et al.
Director, Ken Burns.
A beautifully realized account of the Lewis & Clark expedition that
expands our knowledge of both American history and the American
spirit. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 1997. 240 mins. $29.98 FACETS, et al.
Depicts Allen Ginsberg, an American poet and social activist in the different
decades of his life and activities. Includes interviews with contemporaries of
his cultural era. 82 min. 1993. $14.95 FACETS, et al.
Audre Lorde, poet and lesbian-feminist talks about being lesbian and black
in New York in the 1950s and her social/political activity. Includes
conversations and readings by Lorde and comments by other writers and
family members. 1996. 56 min.
American Library Assn. Video Round Table Notable Films for Adults,
1999 Third World Newsreel
Discusses the critical post World War II period between 1945 and 1948
and the plight of the tens of thousands of Jewish refugees who survived the
Holocaust. The documentary looks at their attempts to get to the Jewish
homeland (often illegally) and the formation of a Jewish state, Israel.
Combining rare archival film and stills with new interviews, this film
interweaves historical narrative with stories, anecdotes and recollections of
Jewish refugees. 120 min. 1997. $24.95 Simon Wiesenthal Center, Moriah Films)
Directed by Isaac Julien, 1988. A tribute to Langston Hughes, this film attempts to reclaim him as an important black gay voice in American culture. 45 min. $275 Third World Newsreel
Mothers who believe their children were kidnapped by the Argentine
government tell how they banded together in 1977 to demonstrate in the
Plaza de Mayo. 1986. 64 min Women Make Movies
Produced by French, British and American TV, this is a dramatized retelling
of the creation legends of India: The Game of Dice; Exile in the Forest;
The War. Dist: Parabola Video Library; Price: $99.95
Produced 1989, 328 minutes on 3 videocassettes
directors and producers, Peter Wintonick, Mark Achbar, 1992, 166 min
Explores the political life and times of the controversial author, linguist and radical philosopher, Noam Chomsky. Highlighting his analysis of media, Chomsky focuses on democratic societies whose populations, not disciplined by force, are subject to more subtle forms of ideological control FACETS, et al.
39.95
A profile of the life and work of the great jazz trumpet player Chet Baker,
with reminiscences by his family, friends and fellow artists, plus performances by Chet Baker himself. 119 min. $29.98 FACETS, et al.
Five women reminisce about their jobs and working conditions during World
War II. Includes topics of sex discrimination, the women's movement, and
the role of movies and radio in helping mold public opinion during World
War II. 65 min. Direct Cinema $350.00
directed by Rouch, Jean, 1957, 28 min.
Amazing footage shot with great touch and feel by a recognized master. Ethnographic film about a West African trance ceremony of the Hauka. FACETS, et al.
$200.00
Classic Academy Award-winning animated film tells the inspirational story of a solitary shepherd who patiently plants
and nurtures a forest of thousands of trees, single-handedly transforming his arid surroundings into a thriving oasis.
Undeterred by two world wars, and without any thought of personal reward, the shepherd tirelessly sows his seeds
and acorns with the greatest care. As if by magic, a landscape that seemed condemned grows green again. A film
of great beauty and hope, this story is a remarkable parable for all ages and an inspiring testament to the power of
one person. The author, Jean Giono, created the story "to make people love the tree, or more precisely, to make
them love planting trees", and to pay homage to the kind of unselfish individuality that leaves a positive mark on
our planet. 30 min. 1987. Video Project $95
A "camera eye" documentary without any plot, showing, through a
succession of street and interior scenes, all the tricks of which the instrument
is capable creating a boldly detailed portrait of the Moscow of the l920s. Kino. $29.98 FACETS, et al.
A film by Jill Johnstone. These two gals decide to film a
documentary about their "nannies" that they had while growing up. Martha and
Ethel are the nannies. Great commentary about immigrants, family social
infrastructure in the 50s and 60s and a myriad of other issues. 1994, 80 min. $97.76 Amazon.com, Reel.com and other home video distributors
An affectionate but probing documentary of the enormous contribution of Carl
Gustav Jung to modern psychology, this remarkable film has become not only
a boxoffice hit, but a must-see film for anyone even remotely interested in the
foundations of psychoanalytic thought. USA, 90 mins. $24.95 FACETS, et al.
Portrays the career of Maya Lin as an architect/artist as told by her and
others, with special focus on the design and emotional impact of the Vietnam
Veterans and Civil Rights Memorials. 98 min.
1995 Academy Award, Best Feature Documentary FACETS, et al.
$59.95
Using the 1989 El Salvador presidential campaign, this film takes a look at the way media is being used to coerce voters to ignore issues and instead concentrate on image. First Run/Icarus $190.00
Presents a personal journey through Puerto Rico's rich cultural traditions,
revealing the remarkable stories of its revolutionaries, abolitionists, poets and
politicians, whose struggle for national identity unfolds within the history of
relations between Puerto Rico and the United States. Combines interviews,
location sequences, poetry and literature and the collages of artist, Juan
Sanchez, with rare archival film and photographs to treat viewers to a visual
and musical feast. Narrator, Raquel Ortiz. 1996. 90 min. National Latino Communications Center $95 (institutions)
This revealing, shocking and fascinating look at the mysterious world of insects through the miracle of microphotography mesmerized audiences at Cannes.
Watch as these fantastic creatures struggle with nature's most urgent issues. Special Jury Prize 1996 Cannes Film Festival $14.99 FACETS, et al.
Combines liveaction and animation with detailed microcinematography to
explain the process of human reproduction. Shows the cell as the basic unit
of life; the structure and function of the male and female reproductive organs;
the fertilization, implantation and development of a human egg; the
development of the embryo and fetus during pregnancy; and the birth of a
baby. 57 min. WGBH $19.95 FACETS, et al.
Inspired by the studies of Robert and Helen Lynd in 1929 and 1935, this classic series created by
Emmy and Academy Award winner Peter Davis (THE SELLING OF THE PENTAGON,
HEARTS AND MINDS) explores both the continuity and the change embodied in the people and
institutions of one Midwestern American community: Muncie, Indiana. In intimate detail the films
show how, during the six decades since the Lynds' studies, more has been preserved than altered in
the American social fabric. Particularly striking in the series is "Seventeen": In their final year at Muncie's Southside High School, a group of seniors hurtles toward maturity
with a combination of joy, despair, and an aggravated sense of urgency. They are also learning a
great deal, both in and out of school, that is often quite different from what school officials think they
are teaching.
6 films. Inquire for pricing. First Run/Icarus Films
A film by Emile de Antonio. Comic and terrifying portrait of Richard Millhouse Nixon. It's all
here--Nixon advocating the death penalty for drug dealers,
suggesting the use of nuclear weapons in Indochina, photos
of Nixon watching go-go dancers in the White House. 1971. $39.95FACETS, et al.
5 tapes
A sampler of documentary and feature films highlighting the past remarkable 50 years of the redoubtable NFB.
A parable about two people who, after living side by side in mutual
friendliness and respect, come to blows over the possession of a flower
that one day grows where their properties meet.
National Film Board of Canada, 1952. 9 min.
Veteran jazz tap dancing stars, including Bunny Briggs,Chuck Green, and
Sandman Sims, reminisce about theirart and careers in documenting another
disappearingart cultured in Black America. Includes scenes ofstreet corner
challenge dancing and stills from the1930's of legendary figures from tap
dancing's heyday. 58 min. Dance Horizons Video
A film by Ken Burns and Paul
Barnes.
Ken Burns and Paul Barnes eloquently tell the story of pioneer
feminists
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony against the backdrop of the early
women's movement and the struggle for women*s suffrage. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults.
3 hours 30 minutes on 2 videocassettes. $29.98 PBS Video.
Presents the life of a daughter of a former slave, 102-year-old Daisy Turner.
She recalls childhood incidents and her father's Civil War experiences and
talks about life in her homestead in Vermont. Folklorist Jane Beck fills in
details about traditions preserved in the Turner family. 28 min FACETS, et al. $24.95
One Survivor Remembers, the Academy Award Winner for Best
Documentary Short. What makes One Survivor Remembers memorable is
its storyteller... Gerda Weissman, a Polish-born Jew who lost her entire
family to the Holocaust. With grace and dignity she eloquently describes her
experiences during the war and her memories of her mother, father, and
brother from whom she was forcibly separated. Gerda spent three years in
slave labor camps along the Polish-German border. Her parents were
deported to Auschwitz. Direct Cinema $95.00
Story of the young men of Harlem who originated "voguing" and turned these
stylized dance competitions into glittering expressions of fierce personal
pride. A story of street-wise urban survival, gay self-affirmation, and the
pursuit of a desperate dream. 76 min. FACETS, et al. $19.98
30 min. color, 1/2 in. VHS
Traces the history of the Negro Leagues through photographs, film footage
and interviews with the ball players. Discusses the era when major U.S.
baseball leagues refused to hire black athletes. Narrator Paul Winfield
recounts the number of unrecognized athletes, some of whom, such as Jackie
Robinson and Roy Campanella, were later hired by the leagues.
WTTW Television, 1992. FACETS, et al. $19.98
Producer/director Amie S.
Williams.
For seven years Las Vegas hospitality workers fought their for jobs,
wages, and benefits at the Frontier Hotel, in the longest strike in labor
history. An ALA Video Roung Table Notable Video for Adults. 50 minutes. CineVegas, 2501 N. Green Valley Pkwy., #118-D
Henderson, Nevada 89014.
Illustrates and examines the work and ideas of modern abstract expressionist
painters, including Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy
Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett
Newman, Kenneth Noland, Hans Hoffman, Larry Poons, Jules Olitski,
Philip Pavia and Frank Stella. 116 min. FACETS, et al. $29.98
Documentary on the Jewish youth who organized a Jewish underground
resistance in the Vilna ghetto and fought as partisans in the woods against the
Nazis. Features interviews with surviving partisans interspersed with rare
archival footage. 130 min. $70 National Center for Jewish Film
Director, Monte Bramer. This inspiring film chronicles gay activist and writer Paul Monette’s
choice to live life to its fullest in the age of AIDS. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. Audience Award, Best Documentary, Sundance International Film Festival, 1997. 90 min. $150 First Run/Icarus Films.
Directed by Pare Lorentz. Makes me cry, as well as, want to get a shovel & get to work. Very American! A lyrical, moving examination of the Great Plains, and the Dust Bowl that occurred there in the Thirties. The great American composer Virgil Thomson created the score. 1936, 20 min
KINO, FACETS, et al. 29.95 ( packaged w/ Basil Wright's, Nightmail. Another great docu!)
An animated film which uses original images drawn by Quiche Maya Indians
in the seventh century on funerary pottery to illustrate the Popol vuh, which is
the sacred book of the Maya and includes their creation story and birth of
the hero twins. Narration in English. 62 min. $295 UC Center for Media & Independent Learning
Dealing with scale, proportion and dimension, the film moves in real time
over a course of 40 powers of ten, from the cosmic distances of the universe
to the heart of the atom. Some techniques used are classical and radio
astronomy; large-format aerial, mapping, and satellite photography; X-ray
diffraction analysis; and models. Based on the book Cosmic view, by Kees $79.00
Boeke. Pyramid Film & Video
A candid film covering the political campaign efforts during the 1960
Wisconsin Democratic Presidential Primary when Sen. John F. Kennedy
upset Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey. Shot entirely in synchronous sound with
light-weight portable equipment, the film revolutionized documentary
filmmaking with its spontaneous, unobtrusive and highly intimate style.
Credits: Conceived and produced by Robert Drew for Time-Life
Broadcast; directed by Ricky Leacock, Don Pennebaker, Robert Drew, Al
Maysles. 60 min. Direct Cinema $250.00
A film by Pat Ferrero. Seven contemporary quiltmakers, among them a California Mennonite, a Black Mississippian, and a Bulgarian immigrant talk about their art, its importance in their lives, and how it is influenced by their daily experiences.
28 min. $99.00 New Day Films
Producers Emiko Omori and Chizuko Omori. Directed,
written, and narrated by Emiko Omori.
Filmmaker Emiko Omori's memoir examines the effects of World War II
internment on Japanese-Americans, focusing upon the lasting divisions
within their minority community. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults. 1999. 85 minutes. Transit Media, 22-D
Hollywood Avenue, Hohokus, NJ 07423.
A Film by Robert Stone. The internationally acclaimed, award-winning documentary tells the story of the greatest operation
to test nuclear weapons ever. Staged by the U.S. at the Pacific atoll called Bikini in 1946, the tests
were also one of the first great "media events" of the modern age. Using never-before-seen archival
footage, the film unfolds through the eyes of the elderly chief of the Bikinians and a former
American serviceman who was there. 1988 Academy Award Nominee $285.00 First Run/Icarus
27 min. color, 1/2 in. VHS
An adaptation of the O. Henry short story of the same title about two
inept con men whose kidnapping venture of a small boy backfires when the
boy's parents refuse to take him back. FACETS, et al. $9.99
A film by Min-ha, Trinh T 1982 35 min.
Film about the lives of women in the rural villages of Senegal is simultaneously a reflection of the outside filmmaker and a sharp critique of conventional ethnographic and documentary filmmaking. It challenges both the content and filmic language found in many documentary films about Africa. Women Make Movies
395.00
When General Motors announced the closing of its Flint, MI plant,
journalist Michael Moore set out to find GM president, Roger Smith, to
get an explanation. Moore's quest is punctuated by interviews with many
of the Flint residents whose lives were affected. Though a depressing
topic, Moore's storytelling abilities, sense of humor, and commitment to
the cause make this film a very effective bit of propaganda. 1990. FACETS, et al.
$19.98
Presented by Harry Belafonte. Traces the origins of Latin music from Spain
and Africa to the New World. Focuses on pop music developed in Cuba
and examines how North Americans began to discover this island's musical
treasures. c1989. 58 min. $250 Cinema Guild
Albert and David Maysles were at the peak of their abilities when they
made this film about four door-to-door bible salesmen who migrate from
Boston to try their luck pushing their wares in Miami Beach. 1969. FACETS, et al. $79.95
Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, more than one million people
have been tortured, executed or starved to death for their role in
demonstrations against the Chinese occupation. This film focuses on
personal testimonies of Tibetan Buddhist nuns who have taken the lead in
this resistance by fearlessly staging courageous demonstrations for religious
freedom and independence. A film by Ellen Bruno, 1993. 28 min. (Film Library
22-D Hollywood Avenue, Hohokus, NJ 07423)
Documentary that follows gospel singer Willie Mae Ford Smith from her
home to church services, to emotionally galvanic singing conventions. Also
features Thomas Dorsey, her mentor, and the man credited with inventing
gospel music. 100 min. FACETS, et al. $29.95
A film by John Anderson and Laura Harrison. Secret People tells a damning story of
outrageous discrimination and stigma in our public
health system, interwoven with a haunting and
bittersweet chronicle of human courage and
perseverance. $195
Fanlight
This program tells the story of Zem Ping Dong, an immigrant who worked in
America's garment factories for over 30 years and her struggle, along with
other Chinese women, to leave war-torn China for a new life in America. 14
min. NAATA $135.00
The BBC plays. 36 plays. Ambrose Video
$99 each
A film by Ken Burns. A historical documentary on an American religious sect which, at its height in
1840, included six thousand believers. Touches first on the Shaker's
superficial identity as celibate chairmakers, then pursues their historical and
social significance through the use of archival photos, paintings, live shots of
landscapes and architecture, and on-camera interviews. 1984.
FACETS, et al. $14.98
A film by Ross McElwee. A Documentary Meditation upon
the Possibilities of Romantic Love in the South during an Era
of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation," and director Ross
McElwee delivers an engaging nonfiction journey through the
South in a picaresque tour of contemporary relationships. FACETS, et al. $29.95
by Claude Lanzmann.
What can say about this great & important work. Examines the banalities of evil. How keeping the trains running and the books balanced helped the Nazi extermination of Jews. The film is constructed through interviews of survivors, witnesses and perpetrators and through footage of the sites of the death camps and environs as they appear today. 556 min, 1985
$299.00 FACETS, et al.
Director, Orly Yadin.
In a unique blend of animation and archival footage, a Holocaust
survivor finally tells her story. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 10 min. $99 Filmaker's Library.
Producer/director/writer, Jon Else.
The feats and follies of the San Francisco Opera Company's technical crew
are profiled in this funny, irreverent, behind-the-scenes view of Wagner's
17-hour Ring Cycle. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 55 min. 1999.
Distributor: Direct Cinema,
Ltd., P.O. Box 10003, Santa Monica, CA 90410. 56 minutes.
Using clips from film classics and contemporary works, this video is one of the most successful works to reveal the historical and political forces in recent history that heavily influenced the depictions of sians and, in particular, Asian women on the screen. 1988, 60 minute $175 NAATA
Investigates the relationship between advertising and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Offers new ways to think about our relationship with food.
$250.00 Media Education Foundation
Directed by Allan Miller. This "real Mr. Holland's Opus" (The Boston Globe) is the
incredible, true story of Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras, a
dedicated teacher who, refusing to let funding cuts stop her,
drove from one school to the next in a car packed with violins
to bring music to inner city kids. Follow seemingly talentless
beginners from first lessons to inspiring performances before
a raging crowd at Madison Square Garden and alongside
world-renowned musicians at Carnegie Hall in this "magical,
moving and inspirational" (New York Post) film. 80 min, 1996.
$$19.95 FACETS, et al.
Directed by Mira Nair. Describes the experiences of a recently arrived
Indian immigrant in America, contrasting them with the traditional world of
his new bride whom he left behind in India. Seeks to explore the conflicts
that arise when Indian culture meets American society. 1982.
Filmmakers Library
Surveys the musical contributions made by a variety of immigrant groups to
the American culture. Celebrates how the gifts of native music, traditions and
cultural expressions have enriched the cultural diversity of American music.
1992. 55 min. Cinema Guild
$350.00
Non-technical narration explaining the stages of labor using
animation, live birth footage, and parents' descriptions of their labor and delivery experiences. Available in English and Spanish. 1998. 28 min.
InJoy Productions,
3970 Broadway, Suite B4
Boulder, CO 80304;
(800) 326-2082
Discussed the images of women in advertising and the effect this has on
women, men and children. Although it circulates steadily it is somewhat
dated -- it is an update of the original "Killing Us Softly" done in the
early 70's, and rumor has it that there may be another update within the
next year or two.... Cambridge Documentary Films $299; Produced 1987, 32 min.
1992. 55 min.
A documentary about the fight against the toxic and
degrading messages to women and girls that dominate
the media. The film presents the leading authorities
in the fields of psychology of women and girls, eating
disorders, gender studies, violence against women, and
media literacy -- and focuses their ideas on practical
solutions and the best tactics for reclaiming our
culture. Cambridge Documentary Films $195; 2000, 34 min.
A stunning musical odyssey that rolls through the Manhattan
cityscape, transforming everyday life into percussive poetry. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 1984. 129 min $19.95 HBO, et al.
Directed by Jonathan Demme. Featuring the Talking Heads. 1984. 129 min $19.95 FACETS, et al.
Interview with Maxine Hong Kingston, author of Chinese American ethnic
literature, in which she relates her life experiences growing up in California as
a first generation Chinese American. 1990. 56 min. PBS
60 min. color, 1/2 in. VHS
Good introduction to the joys of Shakespeare, narrated by George Murcell,
who clarifies the complexities of the Elizabethan language nicely as he
explains the plot and characterizations. Produced in St. George's Theatre,
London. Dragon Video Productions, 1991.
Parents of gay children and gay individuals discuss the attitudes and
responses of family members and others toward their sexual orientation. 24
min. Cinema Guild $195.00
Producer/director Elizabeth Barret.
Elizabeth Barret revisits the murder of Canadian filmmaker Hugh O'Connor
in poverty-stricken Jeremiah, Kentucky, circa 1967, while also questioning
the media's ethics in publicly shaming a poor community. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 60 minutes. 2000. $195 California Newsreel
A film from the producers of "Defending Our Lives," "Strong at
the Broken Places" is the story of vastly different lives; but the death
camps of Cambodia, the violents streets of South Boston, the
amputee ward of a V.A. hospital and the cell of an alcohol and drug
addicted inmate yield remarkable survivors, all of whom heal
themselves by helping others. Cambridge Documentary Films $195; 2000, 38 min.
This is no ordinary documentary. Its subject is one of the most controversial
artists of our time, a man who made celebrity an art form. Superstar traces
Warhol's career from his beginnings as a commercial artist to his jaw-dropping
appearance on The Love Boat (a brief clip that is alone worth the price of the
video). Was Warhol a great artist or a master hypester? In all the postures and
roles he assumed, which was the real Warhol? An ambitious film that
endeavors to answer the myriad of questions surrounding the man and the
myth. $14.98 FACETS, et al.
English and Vietnamese or Vietnamese with English subtitles. A film by Trinh
T. Minha-ha. Interviews in Vietnam by Mai Thu Van, excerpted and
translated from her book, Vietnam, Un Peuple Des Voix. 1989. 108 min. $495.00 Women Make Movies
Survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb holocausts reveal
their fears and profound traumas, including recurring nightmares,
radiation-related ailments, and community ostracism, and describe their fight
for government medical insurance coverage. Interviews with thirty Japanese
Americans who have either returned or immigrated to the United States are
augmented with archival and newsreel footage and commentary by medical
and psychiatric professionals. 58 min. $125 NAATA
Examines the meaning of success and freedom, as defined by Burt
Jamison, who gave up working as a contractor, choosing
instead to spend his time gathering food from dumpsters.
This change of life cost Burt his marriage, but helped him
discover his "Tao". 30 min. 1996. $195.00 Carousel Film & Video
260 Fifth Avenue Suite 905;
New York, NY 10001; (800) 683-1660
A documentary on the life and work of George Seldes, America's most
important press critic. The film includes archival footage of many of the 20th
century's key events from Seldes's encounters with Pershing and Mussolini,
to the tobacco industry and the "lords of the press," as it provides a fresh
perspective on 20th century history, while raising profound questions about
America's news media. 1996. 111 min. New Day Films $249; public libraries $99
An Academy Award winner that details the life and killing of San Francisco's
first openly gay city supervisor. Harvey Fierstein narrates this poignant
documentary. $35.95 FACETS, et al.
Director and producer, Frederick Wiseman
Almost any Wiseman film should be included but Titicut Follies stands out. Filmed at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater, this documentary shows harsh scenes of the life and treatment of the criminally insane inmates. More then you ever wanted to know.
Best Film Mannheim International Filmweek
Best Film Festival Dei Popoli
1967 184 min Zipporah $500.00
Focuses on a Catholic doctor in a small village in China and shows how he
combines traditional Chinese and Western medical procedures in his
practice. Tells how the complex decollectivization policies in China are
changing life there. 58 min. Long Bow Group (Long Bow Group
55 Newton St., Brookline, MA 02445; (617) 277-6400)
A film by Marlon Riggs. Derogatory accusations, judgments, and jokes in
our culture are met head-on by this video about black, male, and gay
identity. Poetry, personal testimony, and drama unite to oppose the
homophobia and racism that attempt to split a person into opposing loyalties.
55 min. $150 Frameline
"Tough Guise is the first program to look systematically at the
relationship between the images of popular culture and the social
construction of masculine identities in the US in the late 20th
century. In this innovative and wide-ranging analysis, Jackson Katz
argues that there is a crisis in masculinity and that some of the guises
offered to men as a solution (rugged individualism, violence) come
loaded with attendant dangers to women, as well as other men."
56 min. 1995. Media Education Foundation $275 ($150 High Schools)
Eight hundred thousand Tutsis were slaughtered by the
Hutu majority in Rwanda. As the U.N.'s Genocide
Convention--created to make sure genocide would never
happen again--marks its 50th anniversary, Frontline
examines the role of Britain, France, the U.S. and the U.N. as they ignored the warnings and
evidence of impending massacre. 60 min. 1999. PBS
A film by Leni Riefenstahl, commissioned by Adolph Hitler as the official record of the
Nuremberg Party Rally of 1934. Produced as an important piece of political
propaganda to introduce the new German leaders to the nation and to
impress foreign audiences. FACETS, et al. $29.95
Directed and written by Jeanne Jordan
& Steven Ascher. Documents the struggle of the Jordan family in Iowa as they
attempt to fight off foreclosure of their farm, land that has
been in their family for 125 years. 88 min. 1997. WGBH FACETS, et al. $29.95
$59.99
Since the revolutions of the sixties, we've claimed great
strides
in the fight for equality: laws have been enacted, legal
precedences set, and codes enforced. What, in reality, have
we
accomplished? Diane Sawyer, ABC's PrimeTime
host, follows two men, equal in all measurable aspects,
except
skin color, as they involve in a variety of situations to
test
levels of prejudice based on skin color. MTI Home Video 2349 Chaffee Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63146; (800) 221-1274
Directed by Michael Apted. Beginning in 1964, director Michael Apted turned his camera
on a group of 7-year-old boys and girls from both wealthy and
poor families in England, recording their thoughts, hopes and
dreams with revealing interviews. He then returned to film
these same children every seven years, until the age of 28; all
of their most personal moments, from the rapture of
discovered love to the despair of dreams long forgotten, are
brought vividly to life, played out before the viewer with striking
emotional power. A moving and utterly memorable work.
FACETS, et al. $19.98 each
The auteur theory, which emerged in 1950's French cinema scholarship, rightfully
focused attention on the director's role as the primary aesthetic force behind a
movie. However, at least equally responsible for the look and ultimate artistic
success of a movie is a figure almost universally unrecognized and unacknowledged by the movie-going public--the cinematographer. Visions of Light is a superb look at the evolution of movie camerawork, and a loving paean to notable DPs (Directors of Photography), from Billy Bitzer, D.W. Griffith's cameraman, to Gregg Toland and others who shaped the lush black and white studio films of Hollywood's golden era, to young Turks such as Haskell Wexler, Conrad Hall, and Laszlo Kovacs who took up the seat behind the increasingly restless lens in the post-War era. $94.98, 95 min. FACETS, et al.
Producer Jasper James.
Jurassic Park meets National Geographic in this realistic, animated view
of 155 million years of dinosaur history. The DVD version shows how
animators and paleontologists worked together to answer scientific
questions. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults. 180 mins. $29.98 VHS; DVD $34.98 FACETS, et al.
A thought-provoking dramatization of an actual classroom experiment on individualism
vs. conformity in which a high school teacher formed his own "Reich" (called "The
Wave") to show why the German people could so willingly embrace Nazism. This
unflinching yet sensitive 1984 Emmy Award-winner raises critical questions: When does
dedication to a group cross the line from loyalty to fanaticism? Does power corrupt?
What is the nature of propaganda and mass persuasion? Can something like the Nazi
Holocaust happen again? (The paperback is a novelization based on the teleplay.)
Grades 7-12. 46 minutes. Social Studies School Service $79.00
As a Jew born in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon during World War II,
filmmaker Pierre Sauvage relates the story of how the village
successfully shielded 5,000 Jews from the Nazis. 90 min. 1989. Chambon Foundation
A film by Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini.
Told from the perspective of political asylum applicants and asylum
officers, this real-life drama examines the utterly human mix of humanity,
bureaucracy and serendipity in deciding the course of people's lives. An ALA Video Round Table Notable Video for Adults. 119 minutes. Epidavros Project, 141 West 28th Street, Suite 6B, New York,
NY 10001. (212) 594-2522
Directed by Isabelle Fox. Filmed on location in San Bernardino and Carson, California.
A comedy about a twelve year old tomboy, named "Jac", short for
Jacqueline, who plays football with the neighborhood boys and
is treated by them as a peer. That is until puberty hits and
she has to trade in her undershirt for her first bra.
Carousel Film & Video 260 Fifth
Avenue Suite 905; New York, NY 10001; (800) 683-1660
Directed by Christine Choy and ReneeTajima.
A powerful statement about racism in working class America. It relates the stark facts of Vincent's Chin's brutal murder, trial, and aftermath. Which outraged the Asian-American community to the point where they organized an unprecedented civil rights protest. Good, well-articulated content presented in an interesting way.
Silver Baton, Dupont Award
Columbia University
San Francisco International Film Festival
Best Documentary - Hawaii International Film festival. 1988. 82 min
Filmmakers Library $395.00
Focuses on the daily life of the DeBolt family and their
adopted, handicapped, and multiracial children. Academy Award Winner. 1977. 72 min.
$95 (also available in TV version, $79.00, 54 min.)
Pyramid Films
The story of Ma Rainey, Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Ida
Cox, and other pioaneering women blues singers. This film recreates the
stories of these women who left an indelible mark on the music world. 58
min. $195 California Newsreel
(Christopher Reeve, HBO Documentary) $129.00 Films for the Humanities
Director/writer, Ray Muller. Interviews with Leni Riefenstahl, now in her
nineties, flash-backs and modern film sequences tell the story of the most
famous woman film director of all time. Known for her films made during the
Third Reich, Riefenstahl's story is a controversial one. Best known for her
"Triumph of the Will," the film made of the 1934 Nazi Party Congress, it
proved to be her undoing. 1993. 181 min. $39.95 KINO, FACETS, et al.
A film by Peter Adair.
This is the first major film to explore America's gay culture. Involving a
diverse range of people in locales from San Francisco to Boston, the
study interviews 26 men and women ranging in age from 18 to 77.
Speaking tellingly, funnily and movingly of their experiences, these women
and men overturn decades worth of accumulated stereotypes. From the
director of Absolutely Positive. FACETS, et al.
1977. 130 mins. $29.95
The Mississippi River floods of 1973, 1993 and 1995 were bad, but
none were the 100-year flood that hydrologists predict. This disastrous
flood is coming though - and many scientists say that when it does, the
Mississippi will finally and inevitably have its way, flooding over its
normal banks into countless towns. Narrated by Louisiana born Harry
Connick, Jr., this film takes us up the mighty river for a look at its
history and how it has affected the people who live on its banks.
State-of-the art graphics are used to show where the Mississippi
should be and could be, but no one can be certain what course the
river will take. 1999. 60 min. $99.95
Ambrose
A film by Jon Else. Traces the conquest of the Yosemite wilderness in 1851 and examines the sharp contrast to the Yosemite of today, a national park attracting more than 3 million visitors yearly and producing 25,000 pounds of garbage daily.
Emphasis is on the impact of man on Yosemite and the conflict between
preserving the area and providing access to the public. 1989. 58 min. Direct Cinema $95.00
Director, Candace Schermerhorn. Distributed by The
These interviews with six female-to-male transsexuals reveal lives
notable for their profound emotional complexity and bravery. ALA Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults. 81 min. 1994. $225 University of California Extension Center for Media and Independent Learning.
A funny, stirring story based on the life of Zora Neale Hurston, one of the
most distinctive writers of the American South and how a turn-of-the-century Black woman captured the folklore of the rural South. 90 min. PBS
Clay Animation. An adolescent frog takes a surprise trip to the garbage dump, where he tries to
make friends with the locals. An ALA Notable Children's Video. 5 min. 1998. $95
Bullfrog Films
Based on: Luke Baldwin's Vow by Morley Callaghan.
A story about a ten-year-old orphan boy who goes to live with his aunt and uncle in rural Canada. Shows how the boy's love
for an old, blind dog leads to a conflict with his uncle who
feels the animal is impractical to keep. 35 min.
Phoenix/Coronet/BFA 2349 Chaffee Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63146; (314) 569-0211, (800) 221-1274
Chato, a low-riding, mambo-loving cat invites new mice neighbors for fiesta. The
surprising appearance of their canine friend causes a change in Chato's plans.
Cheech Marin's humorously authentic narration and original salsa flavored music by
Jerry Dale McFadden season Gary Soto's picture book. An ALA Notable Children's Video. 11 min. 1999. $60
Weston Woods/Scholastic
Iconographic
Mischievous lower case letters of the alphabet climb a coconut tree in order. When
there is not enough room, they all fall down. BOOM! They are comforted and
bandaged by upper case parents and begin to climb all over again, accompanied by
lively music. An ALA Notable Children's Video. 6 min. 1999. $60
Weston Woods/Scholastic
Iconographic
$ 44.98 Monterey Home Video
12-year-old Laura, an Irish, Protestant girl yearns to be a Riverdancer. Her
newly widowed father, Lexie, rethinks his parental role to help his daughter
and comes to terms with the loss of his wife. $59.95
Cinema Guild
A story without dialogue about the consequences when a young
boy brings his pet frog along to a formal restaurant where it
escapes causing chaos.
Phoenix/Coronet/BFA 2349 Chaffee Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63146; (314) 569-0211, (800) 221-1274
Retellings of 11 Grimm tales set in Appalacia. Includes: Mutzmag: an Appalachian Folktale; Soldier Jack, An American Folktale; Ashpet (Cinderella); Hansel and Gretel, an Appalachian Version; Rapunzel, Rapunzel; The Frog King; Bristlelip; Jack and the Dentist's Daughter; Bearskin or the Man Who Didn't Wash for Seven Years; The Goose Girl; Willa: An American Snow
White; Jack and the Dentist's Daughter. $24.95-$34.95 each
Davenport Films
A precocious gorilla tiptoes behind a sleepy, unobservant zookeeper
unlocking each animal's cage. The parade of animals follows the zookeeper
home for a good night's sleep. Brahams' Lullaby accompanies this delightful
video based on the 1994 Peggy Rathman book. 8 min $60
Weston Woods, Dist. by Scholastic, 1998
Barr Films 12801 Schabarum Avenue,
Los Angeles, CA 91706-7878
(818) 338-7878
Officer Buckle knows more about safety
than anyone in the town of Napville. But
whenever he tries to share his safety tips,
nobody listens — until the day the Napville
Police department buys a police dog named
Gloria, who has her own way of
demonstrating safety tips. Narrated by John
Lithgow. Caldecott Medal Book; 1998 ALA Notable Video. 11 min.
$60.00 Weston Woods 12 Oakwood Avenue,
Norwalk CT 06850 (800)243-5020
Film maker George Levenson has come up with a must-see treat for pumpkin
lovers of all ages. With a gentle, funny, and informative verse narrative read by
Danny Glover, and a terrific folksy score by George Winston, Pumpkin Circle
takes us through the wondrous growing cycle of a shaggy backyard patch. But
that's just for openers! The meditation on seasons and natural cycles is only a
prelude to an unforgettable romp through pumpkin lore, pumpkin art, and, of
course, tastey pumpkin eats. 1997. $99.95. 20 min. Informed Democracy. P.O. Box 67, Santa Cruz, CA 95063. 800-827-0949
6 min. color, 1/2 in. VHS
Based on the Caldecott Award winning book by Ezra Jack Keats. Silent
wonder of a city snow and a small boy's solitary delight in it have been
transposed from the book to the screen.
Weston Woods, 1964
26 min. color, 1/2 in. VHS
Presentation of the Snowman by Raymond Vriggs (book). A young boy dreams
that his snowman comes to life. Together they share the perils of winter.
Muted pastels and orchestral score make this non-verbal Christmas tale an
experience for all seasons. Weston Woods, 1983.
20 min. color, 1/2 in. VHS
Red, blue, and yellow - three separate worlds - learn of the existence of
the other. Prejudice leads to a war, causing each to recognize the beauty
of working together.
20 min. 1985. Pyramid Film & Video $195.00
Paul Zelinsky's elegant illustrations have
won him the coveted Caldecott Medal in this
unique retelling of the classic story of
RAPUNZEL, the girl with the long, golden
hair. This spellbinding production will enthrall
and excite, and ensure a special place in
children's hearts and minds. $60.00
Weston Woods
34 min. color
A classic fantasy about a boy who makes friends with a balloon, playing
with it in the streets of Montmartre, Paris, and trying unsuccessfully to
elude a gang of urchins trying to destroy it.
Lamorisse Peter, 1959. FACETS, et al. $24.95
adako Sasaki, a young Japanese girl, on
the threshold of adolescence, developed
leukemia in 1955, from the effects of
radiation caused by the bombing of
Hiroshima. While hospitalized, her closest
friend reminded her of the Japanese
legend that if she folded a thousand paper
cranes, the gods might grant her wish to
be well again. With hope and
determination, Sadako began folding.
Liv Ullmann vividly tells this poignant story with original music
performed by George Winston. The action is presented as the
camera moves through hundreds of exquisite pastel drawings by
Caldecott Award-winning artist, Ed Young. 30 min. CALL 1-800-827-0949 for pricing.
Informed Democracy
Toy trains of every size and vintage journey
from rail yard and roundhouse to a bustling
station. Music by Elmer Bernstein. (on same tape: Parade, a whimsical look at
the toys of another age).
14 min. 1989. $79.00 Pyramid Film & Video
For Information about this list, contact
Gary Handman (ghandman@library.berkeley.edu)
Media Resources Center
Moffitt Library
UC Berkeley