Hunt for Truth: Tasmanian Tiger

Thylacine Film

July 1933 •English

The original film of the Tasmanian tiger (also known as the thylacine) was shot by Australian zoologist David Fleay in 1933 on black-and-white film. Recently, this historic footage has been colorized and digitized by a team of international experts. You can watch the remastered footage of the last-known surviving Tasmanian tiger here. The thylacine, which resembled a medium-to-large-sized canid, had dark transverse stripes radiating from the top of its back. Sadly, the last known thylacine died in 1936 at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.

Extinct or Alive: The Tasmanian Tiger

May 2016 •English

A trio of experts venture into Tasmania's undeveloped wilderness in search of the Tasmanian Tiger, one of the most terrifying predators ever to walk the earth.

The Tasmanian Tiger: Natural History Meets Mystery

January 1996 •English

Recorded by pioneers as far back as 1805, the Tasmanian tiger has become an intensely mystifying Australian icon, whose entire existence has become the stuff of both fable and legend. This program investigates a chequered past and puts the speculation into perspective, taking into account the tragic culling and ‘bounty era’ where the carnivorous creatures were thought to be solely responsible for a considerable loss of farmers’ livestock. Balancing the facts with personal reflections from Tasmanian locals, scientists and other informed practitioners, The Tasmanian Tiger is a thought-provoking and revealing look at the extraordinary life and death of one of Australia’s most mysterious marsupials.

Dying Breed

April 2008 •English

An extinct species, the Tasmanian tiger. A long-forgotten legend, “The Pieman” aka Alexander Pearce, who was hanged for cannibalism in 1824. Both had a desperate need to survive; both could have living descendants within the Tasmanian bush. Four hikers venture deep into isolated territory to find one of these legends, but which one will they come upon first?

Howling III: The Marsupials

May 1987 •English

A strange race of human-like marsupials appear suddenly in Australia, and a sociologist who studies these creatures falls in love with a female one. Is this a dangerous combination?

The Tasmanian Tiger

February 2018 •French

A Tasmanian tiger wanders around in his zoo enclosure. A glacier is slowly melting. Facing its predicted disappearance, nature exerts its fury, bursts over the frame and resists its extinction by transformation.

The Hunter

October 2011 •English

Martin, a mercenary, is sent from Europe by an anonymous biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger.

The Young General: Reflections on Michael Reeves

March 2022 •English

A revealing insight into the short life and times of Michael Reeves.

Eight Nights

December 2020 •English

After years as a struggling actor, Daniel was cast to play a part in Conan O'Brien's "human-centipede-menorah." His bizarre experience evolved from one of shame into a deepening connection with his personal heritage, a reckoning with the choices he'd made, and ultimately a desire to tell the story of EIGHT NIGHTS. This is a film about our deep connection to the people we love. At a time when we couldn’t see some of those whom we love most, the making of this film felt even more poignant.

Hitler's Holocaust Railways

October 2018 •English

For the Want of a Nail

January 1976 •English

A BAFTA award nominated documentary about the importance of paying strict attention to detail by managers, supervisors and staff.

Let's Sleep On it

January 1976 •English

A BAFTA award nominated feature telling the story of the making of a sales film about beds.

No Place Like Home

March 2022 •Norwegian Bokmål

A young woman confronts her own story as an adopted child from Sri Lanka. Her existential quest expands into a detective hunt for the truth in a morass of forged documents, corruption and family trauma.

Proteins

January 1976 •English

A BAFTA award nominated documentary explaining what proteins are, how they work and why we need them.

Base Antàrtica

Invalid date •Catalan

Documentary on Catalan expeditions to the Antarctic. On display at CosmoCaxia in Barcelona.

Black Lives Matter

June 2016 •English

The film that the mining industry tried to shut down -- telling the story of the Marikana massacre and its political fallout in the most unequal country on the planet. In 2012, 34 striking mineworkers were murdered by South African State Police in what was the most deadly day of state repression since the country's new constitution in 1994. The news of the killings rocked the country, leading to a year with more protests and actions the country hadn't seen since the end of Apartheid. The film explores how the mineral wealth -rightfully belonging to the people of South Africa- has been sold to foreign capitalist interests for the enrichment of a few elite individuals – and how traditional communities have been divided in this process. The story is told through a number of key characters who drive the narrative. From a mineworker who survived the Marikana massacre, to artists, community activists, union leaders, and lawyers.

Breaking the Sound Barrier

November 2020 •English

On October 14, 1947, Captain Chuck Yeager accomplished what many thought was impossible: he broke the sound barrier and in doing so, changed aviation history forever. Behind this remarkable achievement was a dedicated team of rocket scientists and engineers, and one incredible plane, a Bell X-1 named "Glamorous Glennis." This is the story of the plane and the people who dared to travel faster than the speed of sound, pushing flight science forward and proving that no matter the barrier, humanity can find a way to break through.

The Chicken Run

February 2015 •English

For Crissy, waking up was the beginning of the nightmare, discovering her hands and feet bound, her body drenched in sweat from the brutal Texas heat and her brother Bobby, clinging to life, impaled on a nearby meat hook. These were the 'visible clues' to horror that lay ahead, the 'audio clue' was the growing sound of a revving chainsaw getting louder and louder, closer and closer, only hinting at the terrifying fate and formidable aggressor on the other side of the ominous, gleaming metal door of the room in which she was trapped... and then the door opened.

Celebrating the Rice Media Center

April 2024 •English

Through the Fondren Fellows program, the Rice Media Center Archive Project has spent the past few months sifting through material stored at the now-defunct Rice Media Center. The team has identified several films as especially notable and will be presenting them in conjunction with documentary footage the team shot of people involved with the films. From lectures featuring Roberto Rossellini and Werner Herzog to films from former Rice students and faculty, the film presentation will tell the narrative of the Rice Media Center through the films and filmmakers that passed through its corridors.

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical

March 2009 •English

During the 1950s, musical masterpieces that have yet to be equaled were produced in Cinemascope with stereophonic sound. These two episodes explore how the post-war years were alive with bold experimentation in musical film. Later in the decade, Rock & Roll became the musical choice of the younger generation and movie musicals followed suit. Highlights of this 2-part program include: Films based on smash Broadway musicals become the rage. A pretty starlet with no musical training named Marilyn Monroe takes the country by storm in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." With favorites from the previous decade continue to delight audiences: Rock & Roll films, songs and musical numbers.