The Living Theatre - a video retrospective

Performing the Goddess

July 1999 •Bengali

"Chapal Bhaduri, a leading lady of Bengal’s traditional folk traveling theatre-in-the-round, the Jatra, spent his life playing women. This film is an intimate biography that brings you face to face with this unique individual, sharing what it means to him to become a woman night after night, talking of the woman inside his body, of troubled sexuality, of a long partnership with his older lover, of the loneliness of living on the edges of conventional society–and showing how he metamorphoses into the goddess to perform her story." - The Bangalore International Centre

Merci Zaza - La folle histoire de la Cage aux Folles

May 2023 •French

A look back at "La Cage aux Folles", which ran non-stop for five years, from February 1973, on the stage of the Théâtre du Palais Royal in Paris. At a time when homosexuality was considered a crime by the law, Poiret and Serrault achieved great success in boulevard theater. Their success continued on the silver screen, with three Oscar nominations and a Broadway musical. Combining never-before-seen archives from the play, extracts from the film, confessions by Poiret and Serrault, and interviews with witnesses, this is the story of a wild epic.

Signals Through the Flames

October 1983 •English

Signals Through the Flames is at once a history and a celebration of the Living Theatre. Founded in the late 1940s by husband-and-wife performers Julian Beck and Judith Malina, the Living Theatre was for many years the predominent American outlet for the avant-garde movement. There were occasional self-imposed exiles to Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, but the group returned full-force during the Aquarius Age to entertain a new generation of theatregoers.

Inside/Outside

October 2012 •English

Truth becomes the source of creativity; actions are a result of being, not thinking. This film, INSIDE/OUTSIDE is based upon Monika’s processes over many years. Robert Golden has had the privilege of meeting and photographing some of Monika’s late work. Although her teaching is for performers, Robert has said that her gift of understanding humanity has been gifted in some small ways to him. Monika’s inspirational way of working, helps actors to find a unity between their inner psyche and its outer expression. The 46-minute film shows a precise description of her work. Monika explains it in detail along with thoughts about movement, performance and theatre. The insightful and entertaining book and film are relevant to actors, dancers, Laban yoga, Feldenkrais, Pilates and other sports and movement systems and to people working with children.

Cimrmani

December 1997 •Czech

Who Killed the Federal Theatre?

October 2003 •English

Part journalistic investigation and part performance documentary, "Who Killed The Federal Theater?" tells the story of the Federal Theatre Project within the context of a volatile period in the political, social and cultural history of the United States. The film features interview segments with playwrights, including Arthur Miller, and with actors, directors, designers, and historians. It also incorporates rare archival materials and dramatic sequences, including professionally re-created scenes from Federal Theatre productions that transport viewers back in time to a bygone era in American history and entertainment.

Discovering Hamlet

November 2011 •English

Journey into "Hamlet"-the play and the man-through the experiences of some of the major actors and directors who have brought Shakespeare's great tragedy to life. Christopher Plummer, David Tennant, John Nettles, John Simm, Sir Trevor Nunn, Franco Zeffirelli, Philip Saville, and others explore the enduring appeal of the Prince of Denmark more than 400 years after his stage debut.

Army Art Theater

January 1954 •Czech

Ústřední loutkové divadlo

January 1954 •Czech

The King of Laughter

September 2021 •Italian

In early 20th-century Naples, a theatrical parody lands beloved thespian and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta in court, facing a malicious lawsuit that could compromise his freedom of expression and the economic security of his extended family—including his son's, young Eduardo De Filippo.

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

May 1960 •English

England, 1890s. The brutal and embittered Marquis of Queensberry, who believes that his youngest son, Bosie, has an inappropriate relationship with the famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde, maintains an ongoing feud with the latter in order to ruin his reputation and cause his fall from grace.

Night and Fog

April 1959 •French

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

Citizen B

January 2025 •French

Documentary on Ciby 2000, the French film production company founded by Francis Bouygues in 1990.

How It Was Done in Odesa... or Odessans of All Countries, Unite!

January 1991 •Russian

A concert movie dedicated to the formation of the World Club of Odesa under the leadership of Mikhail Zhvanetsky. "Let many people be proud of the expanses and fields," says Mikhail Zhvanetsky himself about his favorite city, "someone falls to his favorite birch tree, thinking that it grows only here. We have the only homeland - Odesa, the only party of Odessites. Odesa is halfway around the world, from America to Australia. Odesa is a phenomenon, an Odessite is a character. Odesa was, is and will be one of the most famous cities on this temporal globe. And we, who stayed, and you, who left, will live and live with it.... Odesa is worth dedicating your youth and old age to it, and it will repay you like a native land".

Satan's Blood: recuerdos de «Escalofrío»

October 2016 •Spanish

The story of the shooting of Satan's Blood (Escalofrío), a film directed by Carlos Puerto in 1978.

A Tour of the West

July 1955 •English

This Disneyland film completely encircled the audience, giving theme park visitors a 360-degree documentary auto tour of the western United States.

Sardinia

August 1956 •English

A train ride takes the audience through the rugged countryside to see the Sardinian people of today. Their independence and self-reliance is emphasized. Sheep are tended and the treatment of their wool is depicted. A wedding and a funeral service are shown, as well as the annual “Ardia” festival with horsemen commemorating historical events.

Leonardo Da Vinci: The Universal Man

May 2019 •French

How only one man all at the same time painted the Mona Lisa, conceived ball bearing and gave the first clinical description of atherosclerosis? On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death, this documentary will answer these questions and much more, gathering clues thanks to research on the field and encounters with the most outstanding specialists on Leonardo Da Vinci. Travelling through time thanks to an imaginary museum, we will track back the Renaissance genius and give you to see Leonardo’s relentless ingenuity!

Harry and Meghan: An African Journey

October 2019 •English

“Harry & Meghan: An African Journey" features unprecedented access and exclusive interview with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex about the challenges they face living in the public eye.

The Blue Men of Morocco

February 1957 •English

The movie presents a mysterious and enigmatic world, a place where more than 40,000 — no one knows precisely how many — descendants of Arab conquerors live, the last great nomads of the world. These nomads are deemed the “Blue Men” due to their bluish complexion — not a racial characteristic, but the consequence of color from their clothing staining their skin. Each morning, they turn to Mecca and thank Allah for the blessing of their remaining liberty, that liberty which, in spite of all the pain and hardships, they would not exchange for houses, which they could not carry on their journeys, nor for radios, since the world outside does not exist for them, nor for watches, since it is not their custom to count the time.