The Story of British Cinema: The Pioneer Years

On the Trail of Ed Wood

January 1990 •English

A documentary on the life and career of filmmaker Edward D. Wood Jr., with clips from his films and interviews with the cast and crews of some of his films.

The Belgian Road to Cannes

May 2017 •French

A cheerful road movie all about Belgian films at Cannes over the past 70 years. Filmmakers from the past converse with those from the present to paint the portrait of a cinema that is both diverse and free. An account of Belgium’s participation in the greatest film festival in the world.

Chaplin Today: 'City Lights'

May 2003 •English

In 1928, as the talkies threw the film industry and film language into turmoil, Chaplin decided that his Tramp character would not be heard. City Lights would not be a talking picture, but it would have a soundtrack. Chaplin personally composed a musical score and sound effects for the picture. With Peter Lord, the famous co-creator of Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit, we see how Chaplin became the king of slapstick comedy and the superstar of the movies.

A Gray State

August 2017 •English

In 2010 David Crowley, an Iraq veteran, aspiring filmmaker and charismatic up-and-coming voice in fringe politics, began production on his film Gray State. Set in a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government, the film’s crowd funded trailer was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning online community of libertarians, Tea Party activists and members of the nascent alt-right. In January of 2015, Crowley was found dead with his family in their suburban Minnesota home. Their shocking deaths quickly become a cause célèbre for conspiracy theorists who speculate that Crowley was assassinated by a shadowy government concerned about a film and filmmaker that was getting too close to the truth about their aims.

The Blade Runner Phenomenon

May 2021 •German

Ridley Scott's cult film Blade Runner, based on a novel by Philip K. Dick and released in 1982, is one of the most influential science fiction films ever made. Its depiction of Los Angeles in the year 2019 is oppressively prophetic: climate catastrophe, increasing public surveillance, powerful monopolistic corporations, highly evolved artificial intelligence; a fantastic vision of the future world that has become a frightening reality.

Sexo en el plató

April 2007 •Spanish

How are the sex scenes filmed? What tricks are used to fake the desire? How do the interpreters prepare and feel? Spanish actors and directors talk about the most intimate side of acting, about the tricks and work methods when narrating exposed sex. In Spain the general rule is that there are no rules. Each film, each interpreter, faces it in very different ways.

Filmworker

May 2018 •English

The story of Leon Vitali, who surrendered his promising acting career to become Stanley Kubrick's devoted right-hand man.

Dinosaur Movies

January 1993 •English

Dinosaurs Vs. Apes: DINOSAUR MOVIES and HOLLYWOOD GOES APE! have been hailed as the definitive documentaries on the prehistoric and anthropoid creatures that have appeared on the silver screen. Filled with rare movie clips, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

Gina Carano in Training

May 2012 •English

Welcome to Lynchland

May 2025 •French

Creator of absolute freedom, David Lynch constructed his work as an enigma to be deciphered between dream and reality. A cult director from his first films ("Eraserhead", "Elephant Man", "Blue Velvet"), Lynch forever changed the world of television with his series "Twin Peaks", before tackling the lies of Hollywood in "Mulholland Drive". Tracing the life of the most influential filmmaker of his generation, this documentary explores the hidden meaning of a relentlessly consistent filmography and delves beneath the dark, teeming surface of the American Dream.

Royal Wedding: June, Judy and Jane

July 2007 •English

When Arthur Freed brought Alan Jay Lerner to Hollywood to compose a new Fred Astaire musical (based on Fred's life,) little did he know he would have to recast it's leading lady not once, but twice.

Cinecittà, de Mussolini à la Dolce Vita

May 2021 •French

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.

Beyond Horror: The History and Sub-Culture of Red Films

October 2019 •English

Delves into the history of the most extreme and shocking films that have ever been made. chronicles the timeline of Red Films: those films that are too extreme for the mainstream and historically have been circulated via the bootleg circuit.

Easter Parade: On the Avenue

March 2005 •English

This documentary tells the story of the making of Irving Berlin's Easter Parade.

All I Had Was Nothingness

November 2025 •French

Forty years after the release of Claude Lanzmann’s monumental film Shoah, Guillaume Ribot reveals the director’s relentless pursuit to tell the untold, using only Lanzmann’s words and unseen footage from the masterpiece.

Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces

January 2007 •Japanese

A documentary about the legendary Japanese filmmaker.

The Making of Anna and the Apocalypse

December 2019 •English

A brand new feature-length documentary featuring new interviews with the cast and crew of Anna and the Apocalypse, produced exclusively by Second SIght Films for their 2-disc Blu-ray release of the movie.

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond

September 2017 •English

Offbeat documentarian Chris Smith provides a behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Carrey adopted the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon.

Summer Stock: Get Happy!

April 2006 •English

Discussion of the making of the film Summer Stock (1950).

From Manila with Love

June 2011 •English

Retrospective documentary on the making of the 70's women-in-prison exploitation cult favorites "The Big Doll House" and "The Big Bird Cage".