Hollywood's Musical Moods

Yakutia — Between The Worlds

September 2024 •Russian

A documentary road movie. Traveling across his homeland, the filmmaker explores what Yakut cinema is, and what it means to the Sakha people and to himself.

Boundless

November 2013 •

As Hong Kong's foremost filmmaker, Johnnie To himself becomes the protagonist of this painstaking documentary exploring him and his Boundless world of film. A film student from Beijing and avid Johnnie To fan, Ferris Lin boldly approached To with a proposal to document the master director for his graduation thesis. To agreed immediately and Lin's camera closely followed him for over two years, capturing the man behind the movies and the myths. The result is Boundless, a candid profile of one of Hong Kong's greatest directors and a heartfelt love letter to Hong Kong cinema.

They Bite!: The Making of Critters

November 2018 •English

Documentary about the original 1986 film Critters. Features interviews with actors Dee Wallace, Don Opper, Terrence Mann, and Lin Shaye; producer Barry Opper; writer Brian Muir; critter designers and voice actors; and many more.

The Dinosaur

March 2021 •Finnish

Acclaimed Finnish director Rauni Mollberg made several scandalous yet widely appreciated films. Former co-worker Veikko Aaltonen’s eye-opening documentary The Dinosaur looks at the relentless, often disturbing directing techniques behind Mollberg’s art and success.

The Five Obstructions

November 2003 •Danish

Lars von Trier challenges his mentor, filmmaker Jørgen Leth, to remake Leth’s 1967 short film The Perfect Human five times, each with a different set of bizarre and challenging rules.

Remembering Ragtime

November 2004 •English

Memories from the making of the classic Milos Forman film "Ragtime".

John Ford Goes to War

January 2002 •English

When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7."

Hellborn

January 1993 •English

Conrad Brooks discusses "Hellborn," his unfinished movie with Ed Wood, and other projects

Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature

May 2025 •French

A documentary that focuses on Hayao Miyazaki’s deep connection to nature and the environmental themes expressed through his films.

Un film (autoportrait)

May 1984 •French

The shooting diary of a film shot in France and in the United States. Using photos of Paris and of New York City, excerpts of his former films, statements by friends of his and shooting sequences of the film itself, tormented filmmaker Marcel Hanoun has made a heterogeneous and unclassifiable film about the difficulty of filming.

The Making of a Mobster: 'Mickey Blue Eyes'

July 1999 •English

Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'Dark Water'

December 2005 •English

Rochefort, Marielle, Noiret: Les copains d'abord

December 2020 •French

Jean Rochefort, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Philippe Noiret - This is the story of a bunch of friends. Comedian buddies. Actors who dreamed of the Conservatory and the National Theater of Paris. The theater was their ideal, cinema will be their paradise. Their friend Jean-Paul Belmondo, the relaxed Parisian, who failed the entrance exam, will make sparks fly. Rochefort, Marielle and Noiret, the three provincials, will climb the steps of recognition one by one. From the little cabarets on the Left Bank to the TV shows of the Buttes-Chaumont pioneers. From the second roles to the first and from the B movies to the classics.

The Weaving of a Dream: Johnnie To's Vision and Craft

May 2016 •

From the ambitious young filmmaker behind Boundless, The Weaving of a Dream is a short documentary that details the making of Johnnie To's film Three.

Engi – Sound Designer Ivo Špalj

July 2023 •Czech

A look at the legendary Czech sound designer and his profession. Editor and documentary filmmaker Adéla Špaljová has her father Ivo Špalj talk about his life, career, and working methods. Over the course of his long life, sound designer Ivo Špalj (*1940) has collaborated on hundreds of films and become a mentor for at least one generation of men and women behind the mixing board. This gentle documentary also shows “Engi” (as he is known to his colleagues) again working with Jan Švankmajer, whose films he has lent their typical, dense, and sophisticated sound mix.

Andrey Zvyagintsev. The Director

December 2017 •Russian

Portrait of director Andrey Zvyagintsev against the background of the filming of his film "Loveless".

That Guy Dick Miller

March 2014 •English

Documentary about veteran character actor Dick Miller, whose career in and outside of Hollywood has spanned almost 200 films across six decades, featuring a diverse range of interviews with directors, co-stars, and contemporaries.

L'Acteur (ou la surprenante vertu de l'incompréhension)

June 2023 •French

Raphaël is an actor. For the first time, he has the lead role in a feature film. No one understands why he was chosen. In fact, no one really understands him.

Wicked Wishes: Making the Wishmaster

January 1997 •English

Jackie Chan: Down to Earth

Invalid date •English

An in-depth look at the past four decades of work by legendary martial artist, Jackie Chan.