The First Texan

The Power of Good: Nicholas Winton

March 2003 •Czech

A gripping documentary about the courage and determination of a young English stockbroker who saved the lives of 669 children. Between March 13 and August 2, 1939, Nicholas Winton organized 8 transports to take children from Prague to new homes in Great Britain, and kept quiet about it until his wife discovered a scrapbook documenting his unique mission in 1988. Winton was a successful 29-year-old stockbroker in London who "had an intuition" about the fate of the Jews when he visited Prague in 1939. He quietly but decisively got down to the business of saving lives. We learn how only two countries, Sweden and Britain, answered his call to harbor the young refugees; how documents had to be forged and how once foster parents signed for the children on delivery, that was the last he saw of them.

First They Killed My Father

February 2017 •English

A 5-year-old girl embarks on a harrowing quest for survival amid the sudden rise and terrifying reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

The Fire Inside

December 2024 •English

Claressa Shields, a high school junior from Flint, Michigan, aided by her tough-love coach, Jason Crutchfield, pushes past all limitations to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. But even at the pinnacle of success, Claressa has to reckon with the fact that not all dreams are created equal, and the real fight has only just begun.

Harbin

December 2024 •Korean

In 1909, several years after Korea is forced into becoming a Japanese colony, freedom fighters plot the daring assassination of Japan's prime minister during their quest for independence.

The Last Emperor

October 1987 •English

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish

September 2004 •English

The third of three parts, we follow Tulse Luper as he continues his adventures as a professional prisoner during the later years of the Second World War and its aftermath, the Cold War. The Tulse Luper Suitcases reconstructs the life of Tulse Luper, a professional writer and project-maker, caught up in a life of prisons. He was born in 1911 in Newport, South Wales and presumably last heard of in 1989. His life is reconstructed from the evidence of 92 suitcases found around the world—92 being the atomic number of the element Uranium. The project by Peter Greenaway includes three feature films, a TV series, 92 DVDs, CD-ROMs, and books.

Elvis

June 2022 •English

The life story of Elvis Presley as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Ludwig

March 1973 •English

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandoned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.

First Printer Ivan Fedorov

May 1941 •Russian

Mank

November 2020 •English

1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

May 1993 •English

This film is a glimpse into the life, love and the unconquerable spirit of the legendary Bruce Lee. From a childhood of rigorous martial arts training, Lee realizes his dream of opening his own kung-fu school in America. Before long, he is discovered by a Hollywood producer and begins a meteoric rise to fame and an all too short reign as one the most charismatic action heroes in cinema history.

Rules of Engagement

April 2000 •English

A Marine Colonel is brought to court-martial after ordering his men to fire on demonstrators surrounding the American embassy in Yemen.

W.

October 2008 •English

The story of the eventful life of George W. Bush—his struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith—and the critical days leading up to his decision to invade Iraq.

Avicenna

December 1957 •Russian

The film is dedicated to the philosopher, doctor, scientist of the East and poet Abu-Ali Ibn-Sin, who lived in Bukhara in the 10th century and was known in Europe under the name of Avicenna. Bukhara. Eighteen-year-old doctor Ibn Sina saves the emir from a fatal illness. Refusing gold and honors, the young man only asks for admission to the emir's book depository as a reward. The study of the works of ancient scientists, philosophers, doctors, observations of nature, numerous experiments increase the knowledge of Ibn Sipa. The treacherous attack on Bukhara by the troops of the ruler of Ghazna Mahmud, who devastated the city and set the world's greatest book depository on fire, forced Ibn-Sina to leave his homeland. After many years of wandering, he, together with his student and assistant Juzjani, comes to the capital of Khorezm, Gurganj, to declare war on the plague raging here...

Nixon

December 1995 •English

A look at President Richard M. Nixon—a man carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders while battling the self-destructive demands from within—spanning his troubled boyhood in California to the shocking Watergate scandal that would end his Presidency.

Farinelli

December 1994 •French

The life and career of Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time.

Takamine - The Man By Which Cherry Blossoms Bloomed in America

May 2011 •Japanese

Takamine is a biopic about Dr. Jokichi Takamine, the late biochemist known for successfully crystallizing and isolating adrenaline, which is also called epinephrine. Dubbed the father of modern biotechnology, Takamine also produced Takadiastase, a digestive enzyme still used as an ingredient in medicines. He was also enthusiastic about establishing friendly relations between Japan and the United States. He was responsible for a gift of 3,000 cherry trees in the U.S. capital, Washington D.C.

Taghiyev: Oil

November 2024 •Azerbaijani

A history written with tears and oil... The life story of the great philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.

The Madness of King George

December 1994 •English

Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.

Public Enemies

July 2009 •English

Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis, the task of bringing him in dead or alive.