A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension this provides a general history of Hollywood's Golden Age and the legendary studio system.
Dick CavettNarrator (voice)
Bud AbbottSelf (archive footage)
Constance BennettSelf (archive footage)
Humphrey BogartSelf (archive footage)
Lucille BremerSelf (archive footage)
Billie BurkeSelf (archive footage)
Lou CostelloSelf (archive footage)
Marion DaviesSelf (archive footage)
Nelson EddySelf (archive footage)
Betty GarrettSelf (archive footage)Richard Dreyfuss hosts a celebration of the 80 year history of Universal Studios. Founded as IMP by Carl Leammle to oppose Edison's Motion Picture Tust, it soon grew under the leadership of 21 year old production head Irving Thalberg with classic silents from artists like John Ford, Erich Von Stroheim, and Lon Chaney and prospered further in the Sound Era under the leadership of Carl Leammle Jr. with such classics as "All Quiet on The Western Front," "Showboat," and the studio's signature monster franchises, "Frankenstein" and "Dracula."
The life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.
Cinecitta is today known as the center of the Italian film industry. But there is a dark past. The film city was solemnly inaugurated in 1937 by Mussolini. Here, propaganda films would be produced to strengthen the dictator's position.
In this "Romance of Celluloid", MGM showcases performers whose careers are just starting. Excerpts from their recently released films are included. The narrator says that moviegoers will have to decide whether these fledgling actors and actresses have that certain quality that made superstars out of MGM players Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Lana Turner.
Everyone has a skeleton or two in his or her closet, but what about the director behind some of the most successful thrillers ever to hit the silver screen? Could M. Night Shyamalan be hiding a deep, dark secret that drives his macabre cinematic vision? Now viewers will be able to find out firsthand what fuels The Sixth Sense director's seemingly supernatural creativity as filmmakers interview Shyamalan as well as the cast and crew members who have worked most closely with him over the years. Discover the early events that shaped the mind of a future master of suspense in a documentary that is as fascinating as it is revealing.
Since its release in 1968, Planet of the Apes, the masterful film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring Charlton Heston, and its subsequent sequels have asked its viewers challenging questions about contemporary society under the guise of a bold science fiction saga: a fascinating look at a hugely successful pop culture phenomenon.
Controversy erupts when an unassuming young man floods the American wine market with fake vintages valued in the millions, bamboozling the wine world elite, in this humorous and suspenseful tale of an ingenious con on the eve of the 2008 stock market crash.
An in-depth, sad, and beautiful documentary about the stop motion and VFX artist Phil Tippett, a man who changed the landscape of visual effects in film.
A history of Republic Pictures studios, featuring hundreds of clips plus on-camera interviews with stars, director, stuntman, etc.
A documentary short examining the language and performance of auctioneering, filmed at the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship in Pennsylvania.
The untold origin story behind Ridley Scott's Alien - rooted in Greek and Egyptian mythologies, underground comics, the art of Francis Bacon, and the dark visions of Dan O'Bannon and H.R. Giger. A contemplation on the symbiotic collaborative process of movie-making, the power of myth, and our collective unconscious.
No one could spin a yarn to make a sale like Ray Lum. Twenty years after their initial meeting, Bill Ferris returned home to Mississippi in the early ‘70s with a camera. The result reveals a look back at the colorful rhythms of Ray’s life—at home, at the auction, joking with strangers outside country stores— and provides a glimpse at Southern manhood, friendship and loss. Now nearly Ray’s age when they first filmed, Ferris has become a Grammy Award winning documentarian and renowned folklorist. Using never before seen 16mm footage and new animations, OKAY, MR. RAY is a short documentary film about how even the tallest tales help us keep the memory alive of the ones we love.
In 1972, Moody Anderson bought a ghost town and brought it back to life. Nearly four decades later, Moody faces the heart-wrenching task of dismantling and selling his collection of Americana artifacts used in hundreds of films, from Lonesome Dove and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to the Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit.
A tour of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio in 1925 shows the people who make the movies there, and gives viewers a glimpse at how movies are made.
A Turner Classic Movies (TCM) documentary about Keaton's discontented relationship with MGM and the events that eventually led to his career downfall.
This Traveltalk series short visits Los Angeles, California. In one of the highlights of the film, narrator James FitzPatrick visits the Disney cartoon studio and shakes hands with Walt Disney.
This short documentary, presented and directed by MGM sound engineer Douglas Shearer, goes behind the scenes to look at how the sound portion of a talking picture is created.
This second entry in MGM's "Romance of Film" series documents how celluloid movie film is processed and features behind-the-scenes glimpses of current MGM productions.
This short film chronicles various events associated with MGM's 1937 convention for the studio's national sales and distribution staff.