How Machines and Tools Help Us

Machine Plate

Invalid date •Spanish

Mechanical Principles

February 1930 •English

Close up we see pistons move up and down or side to side. Pendulums sway, the small parts of machinery move. Gears drive larger wheels. Gears within gears spin. Shafts turn some mechanism that is out of sight. Screws revolve and move other gears; a bit rotates. More subtle mechanisms move other mechanical parts for unknown purposes. Weights rise and fall. The movements, underscored by sound, are rhythmic. Circles, squares, rods, and teeth are in constant and sometimes asymmetrical motion. These human-made mechanical bits seem benign and reassuring.

Maimed Artist

August 1984 •English

Documentary that profiles Mark Pauline, the machine performance artist of Survival Research Laboratories. As the Title suggests, Pauline lost most of one hand during experimentation. 'Maimed Artist' explores the often destructive world of such performance art, where there is a fine line between entertainment and insanity.

A Scenic Harvest from the Kingdom of Pain

June 1984 •English

Documentation of three Survival Research Laboratories events, 1983-1984. Meet Stu, the SRL guinea pig, and see him training to operate the 4-legged Walking Machine, see 10-barrel shotguns, hear the "Stairway to Hell".

Machines

November 2017 •Hindi

This portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India, moves through the corridors and bowels of the enormously disorienting structure—taking the viewer on a journey of dehumanizing physical labor and intense hardship.

Reengineering SAM

June 2016 •English

Sam Schmidt lived out his boyhood dream as an IndyCar racer, winning races and earning the title of IndyCar "Rookie of the Year" along the way. That dream came to an abrupt end when Sam crashed into a wall at 200 miles per hour, leaving him a quadriplegic. Reengineering SAM pulls the curtain back and shows up close the serious implications of a life of paralysis on Sam and everyone around him. Sam's accident rendered him physically helpless, never being able to brush his teeth, much less drive again, until a dedicated group of some of the brightest minds today stepped up to build him a car that he could drive, using only his head. Through groundbreaking adaptive technologies, Reengineering SAM chronicles Sam Schmidt's inspirational road back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and shows the promise of freedom and mobility for almost anyone confined to a wheelchair.

Modern Business Machines

January 1947 •English

An intriguing historical film, demonstrating many expensive business machines found in modern offices of the era, including electromatic and Chinese typewriters and machines for filming, stenciling, folding and lithographing. Among the machines shown are Diebold's Flofilm microfiche recorder, the Fileomatic Desk, the Pierce Electronic Wire Recorder, the Soundscriber with plastic disk, the Elliott Stencil Machine with Graphotype machine, the Davidson Duplicator for litho printing, the Davidson Folder for letters, the Varityper, the Autotypist Perforator, the IBM Chinese character typewriter, and speed typist Stella Pajunas, using an IBM Model A Electric Typewriter, who set a one-hour typing speed record in 1946 of 140 net five-stroke words per minute.

Brain Dead

January 1990 •English

In a battle of man versus machine, Martin, a top neurosurgeon who's studying brain malfunctions that cause mental illness, delves deep into his own mind to save himself from a megalomaniacal corporation.

Modern Times

February 1936 •English

A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time..

The Vindicator

February 1986 •English

An employee of a secret company operation becomes the victim of the company's special weapons project. He is transformed into a robotic killing machine that, because of his programming must destroy anything that comes near him.

Timecrimes

November 2007 •Spanish

A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.

Jack-Jack Attack

March 2005 •English

The Parrs' baby Jack-Jack is thought to be normal, not having any super-powers like his parents or siblings. But when an outsider is hired to watch him, Jack-Jack shows his true potential.

Freaked

September 1993 •English

A vain actor, his best friend, and an activist end up at a mutant freak farm run by a weirdo scientist.

Korean Terminator

December 1992 •Korean

A Korean riff on The Terminator.

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

September 2005 •English

Dark fairytale about a demonic doctor who abducts a beautiful opera singer with designs on transforming her into a mechanical nightingale.

Bendito Machine I: Everything You Need

January 2006 •German

Two tribes go to war. Nobody wins.

Bob the Builder: Mega Machines - The Movie

May 2017 •English

Bob's team just got BIGGER with the most mega build EVER! Meet new team members Thud, Crunch, and former TV star Ace. They help Scoop, Muck, and Lofty clear the quarry to make room for an exciting new dam and reservoir. However, a rival contractor tries to undermine Bob and it's up to the team to save Spring City. Will they be up to this mega challenge or will it all end up washed away?

Cloudy Day

September 2009 •French

In a world where drought is everywhere, a little village survives thanks to a machine that turns clouds into drinking water. Unfortunately one of the village inhabitants will make the cloud take flight.

The Doughnuts

January 1963 •English

A dramatized episode from Robert McCloskey's book "Homer Price." Shows Homer's resourcefulness in managing the dilemma created by a doughnut machine with a mind of its own.

Ghost from the Machine

January 2010 •English

Wildly grief-stricken over the accidental death of his parents, young techno-geek Cody (Sasha Andreev) cobbles together an electrical device that he hopes will bring the spirits of mom and dad back from beyond the grave. But the machine's power and Cody's deepening obsession threaten the safety of his only remaining family: his younger brother, James (Max Hauser). Matt Osterman directs this ghostly sci-fi thriller that also stars Matthew Feeney.