film history

AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Thrills

Tue, 12 Jun 2001

The AFI's list of the 100 most thrilling American films of all time, presented by Harrison Ford in a three-hour CBS broadcast on June 12, 2001. The fourth installment in AFI's centennial celebration of American film, following the three critically acclaimed network specials AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies, AFI's 100 Years…100 Stars, and AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs.

Behind the Planet of the Apes

Sat, 05 Sep 1998

Roddy McDowall takes you, film by film, from production meetings to make-up sessions, then right onto the movie set to see the actual filming of the science fiction masterpiece. The most comprehensive history of Planet of the Apes ever created, this fascinating 127-minute documentary explores one of the most imaginative and influential series in movie history.

Warren Oates: Across the Border

Wed, 10 Nov 1993

A retrospective of the work of the late actor Warren Oates, with clips from his films and interviews with cast and crew members who worked with him.

Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years

Tue, 21 Jan 1997

The first half century of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation from its beginnings under Hungarian immigrant William Fox to it emergence as a major studio.

The Omen Legacy

Tue, 30 Oct 2001

The true stories that spawned the serie tale of Damien, a small boy with an angelic face, whose very name still conjures up thoughts of Satan. This documentary shares spine-tingling information about the the all-too-memorable flick that has terrorized film audiences since 1976.

Twentieth Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years

Sat, 15 Nov 2003

Behind-the-scenes footage, rare screen tests and insightful interviews highlight this engrossing two-hour look at one of Hollywood's greatest dream factories. Such film luminaries as Tom Hanks, William Friedkin, George Lucas, Oliver Stone and Robert Altman discuss their work at the studio. Clips include scenes from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Patton, Young Frankenstein, Star Wars, Alien, Big, Home Alone, Die Hard and dozens more.

The Great Dictator: The Clown Turns Prophet

Tue, 24 May 2011

In this visual essay, Charles Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance, author of "Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema", draws upon a wealth of photography as well as a wide range of interviews (Paulette Goddard, Sydney Chaplin, Chuck Jones, Leni Riefenstahl, Mel Brooks, Joan Collins et al.) to examine the production history of "The Great Dictator", the film's importance as a satire, and legacy.

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains

Tue, 03 Jun 2003

The American Film Institute celebrates 100 years of film by recognizing the top 50 film heroes and top 50 film villains of all time.

Boom! Hollywood's Greatest Disaster Movies

Sat, 01 Jan 2000

Narrated by Bill Mumy (Will Robinson from TV's "Lost in Space"), this documentary spotlights some of the most thrilling scenes the disaster genre has ever produced. From 1970s classics such as Airport and The Towering Inferno to James Cameron's Oscar-winning epic Titanic, no celluloid disaster flick is omitted. Interviews with directors and actors (including Will Smith) and newsreels of real historical disasters are also included.

Searching For Kurosawa

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Searching for Kurosawa chronicles Kawamura Mitsuhiko’s journey from the set of Kurosawa’s Ran in 1985 to its final release three decades later. Now, with the rediscovered clips and Mitsuhiko’s own recollections, the film pieces together an intimate portrait of cinema’s “Emperor,” revealing how a young cinephile’s passion helped preserve invaluable fragments of film history. In the course of unearthing lost footage, Kawamura’s life takes an ironic course; he loved movies so much that his life became a movie.

No Magic for Socialists

Sun, 02 Feb 2025

Artist Htoo Lwin Myo excavates the lesser-known and wildly joyful history of Myanmar’s horror and genre film industry in the 1950s that has persisted through political turmoil and archival neglect, told directly by the people who made it.

Memorias Encuadradas

Tue, 01 Jul 2025

One hundred years of the cinematic memory of a small country told through motion graphics. A brief tour of previously unseen images and forgotten fragments of Costa Rican cinema, which, amid state efforts and industrial ambitions, prevailed throughout the 20th century.

Cinema Againts Power

Fri, 12 May 2017

There was an undeclared war for nearly half a century in Bulgaria between the then government and the majority of democratic-minded filmmakers during the Communist regime. Paradoxically, most of the banned or censored out movies were made by members of the Communist Party, believers in their party's ideas and justice. The Communist Party aesthetics against the freedom to tell truth.

Lezioni di Cinema di Paolo Mereghetti

Sun, 10 Sep 2023

The Sneeze: Part Two

Sun, 17 Aug 2025

A comedic docu-essay looking at the legacy of "Fred Ott's Sneeze," one of the first films ever made. Official selection of The Indie Gathering International Film Festival.