Screen Actors

This short film takes a look at the off-screen personas of screen actors. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Primary

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.

I Don't Know

A truly major work, I Don’t Know observes the relationship between a lesbian and a transgender person who prefers to be identified somewhere in between male and female, in an expression of personal ambiguity suggested by the film’s title. This nonfiction film – an unusual, partly staged work of semi-verité – is the first of Spheeris’s films to fully embrace what would become her characteristic documentary style: probing, intimate, uncompromising. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2014.

Marjoe

Part documentary, part expose, this film follows one-time child evangelist Marjoe Gortner on the "church tent" Revivalist circuit, commenting on the showmanship of Evangelism and "the religion business", prior to the start of "televangelism". Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.

Burden of Dreams

The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.

Hearts and Minds

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

The Man Who Skied Down Everest

This Oscar-winning documentary tells the story behind Japanese daredevil Yuichiro Miura's 1970 effort to ski down the world's tallest mountain. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

The Costume Designer

This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The costume designer must design clothing that is correct for the film historically and geographically, and must be appropriate for the mood of the individual scene. We see famed costume designer Edith Head at work on a production. The Costume Designer was part of The Industry Film Project, a twelve-part series produced by the film studios and the Academy. Each series episode was produced to inform the public on a specific facet of the motion picture industry. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Harlan County U.S.A.

This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with New York Women in Film & Television in 2004.

The Art Director

A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors' responsibilities and the demands on their talents. They read a script carefully and design a set to capture the time and place, the social strata, and the mood. They must be scholars of the history of architecture, furnishings, and fashion. They choose the colors on a set in anticipation of the lighting and the mood. Their work also sets styles, from Art Deco in the 20's to 30s modernism. Then it's on to the next project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Hoop Dreams

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

Food and Magic

A sideshow barker uses magic and visual aids to alert the public that proper food management is both a resource and a weapon that could be to America's advantage if conserved properly in winning the then current World War. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, Academy War Film Collection, in 2008.

The Battle of Midway

The Japanese attack on Midway in June 1942, filmed as it happened. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, in 2006.

Why Man Creates

A 1968 animation/documentary that criticises the industrial system. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

Tuesday in November

A propaganda short about the 1944 United States presidential election, produced by the Office of War information, for overseas distribution. It is meant to explain how the democratic process in America works. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

Always for Pleasure

An intense insider's portrait of New Orleans' street celebrations and unique cultural gumbo: Second-line parades, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest. Features live music from Professor Longhair, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, the Neville Brothers and more. This glorious, soul-satisfying film is among Blank's special masterworks. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

A zesty paean of praise to the greater glories of garlic. This lip-smacking foray into the history, consumption, cultivation and culinary/curative powers of the stinking rose features chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, and a flavorful musical soundtrack. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

Portrait of Jason

Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.

The Battle of San Pietro

This documentary movie is about the battle of San Pietro, a small village in Italy. Over 1,100 US soldiers were killed while trying to take this location, that blocked the way for the Allied forces from the Germans. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.

The Fighting Lady

Oscar winner William Wyler directed this 1944 "newsdrama," narrated by Lieut. Robert Taylor, USNR (Bataan), and photographed in zones of combat by the U.S. Navy. The film follows one of the many new aircraft carriers built since Pearl Harbor, known as THE FIGHTING LADY in honor of all American carriers, as it goes into action against the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean in 1943. See the ship and its pilots undergo their baptism of fire, attacking the Japanese base on Marcus Island. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.

Rocket Squad

In a futuristic city, Detectives Monday and Tuesday pursue a wanted criminal.

Flow

A turbulent day in a life, painted by air.

Flow

Eight woman, one life. Short animation by Sumito Sakakibara. The 9th Japan Media Art Festival Animation Division Grand Prize Winner

Change

I was somewhere between the beggining and the end of life. After winter became spring, and summer became fall, and fall winter again. I always knew change would be constant.

12

An old Finnish athlete travels alone through eastern Europe with his van.

Highway Battle R×R

After suffering a crushing defeat against the new CBA-R35, Koji takes his GT-R32 and trains hard in hopes of taking back his racing crown.

Flow

Sabadazo

Realizing that he's out of touch with "the common people," a Mexico City politician spends a weekend slumming among the plebes he's supposed to represent.

24 Hours with Gaspar

With only 24 hours left to live, a private investigator follows a trail of confounding clues to uncover the disappearance of his childhood friend.

Must Read After My Death

A grandmother dies and leaves behind hours of secret film and audio recordings as well as an envelope with the words “Must read after my death,” which reveal a dark history for her family to discover.

A Scooby-Doo! Christmas

On the way to Daphne's relatives' condominium, the Mystery Inc. gang detours through the town of Winter Hollow, where the vengeful Headless Snowman has destroyed the town's Christmas spirit.

LEGO Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror

Mystery Inc. is summoned to investigate occurrences in a haunted villa, where a black knight terrorizes anybody who tries to get close to treasure hidden by the former owner of the building.

Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals

While on vacation in Brazil, Scooby-Doo and the gang encounter a mythical beast at a game of soccer.

The Last Night of Sandra M.

Freely inspired by the life of the actress Sandra Mozarowsky, who died in 1977 when she fell from the terrace of her house in Madrid, the story will focus on the day before the accident, in which loneliness, fear and anguish in the face of a situation desperate mix with his dreams and ambitions.

War

Poor Boyz Productions declares "War" with this ski world in a battle to produce the best ski film for the 2005 season.

Star

Star follows the path of Tito and Jay, two brothers living in the Montreal neighborhood of Park Extension. Accompanying these young people in their daily life marked by complicity and intimidation, Star tackles themes dear to teenagers: identity and friendship.

Star

When Crystal Wyatt was 16 her father passed away. From that time her life would never be the same. Crystal is banished from the family ranch, and starts a new life as a singer in a San Francisco nightclub.

D.F./Distrito Federal

Anthology film, six little anecdotes about life in the big city.

Station Six-Sahara

A beautiful blonde joins a small group of men running an oil station in the Sahara Desert and starts the emotions soaring.

I Want to Be Like the Main Character in a Novel

While writing, I don't think so well, so I am in trouble while talking to myself. Then, the girlfriend Lisa came to the hero's house to play. A girlfriend who asks her boyfriend who is welcoming to see if she is writing well these days. To a boyfriend who confesses that it is not being used well. A girl friend who knows how to do that and has been wearing weird clothes to inspire. Lisa throws off the clothes she was wearing for her boyfriend...