Movies

HomeMoviesSearchTV SeriesBookmarksView Source
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

Genres

HistoryDocumentary

OverView

A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.

Others

Budget

$--

Revenue

$--

Status

Released

Original Language

English

Runtime

121 mins

Rating

7.026/10

Release Date

16 May 2004

Country

United States of America

Cast

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino

Self

Robert Altman

Robert Altman

Self

Jim Jarmusch

Jim Jarmusch

Self

Paul Verhoeven

Paul Verhoeven

Self

Alexander Payne

Alexander Payne

Self

James Woods

James Woods

Self

Henry Jaglom

Henry Jaglom

Self

Jacqueline Bisset

Jacqueline Bisset

Self

Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Self

Theresa Russell

Theresa Russell

Self

Vilmos Zsigmond

Vilmos Zsigmond

Self

Penelope Spheeris

Penelope Spheeris

Self

James B. Harris

James B. Harris

Self

Vera Carlisle Anderson

Vera Carlisle Anderson

Self

Doreen Ringer Ross

Doreen Ringer Ross

Self

Douglas Venturelli

Douglas Venturelli

Self

Kevin Thomas

Kevin Thomas

Self

Jerry Harvey

Jerry Harvey

Self (archive footage)

Similar Movies

6.1

Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator

June 2004 •English

A documentary exploring the rise and fall of 80s skateboard legend Mark "Gator" Rogowski.

5.1

Her Name Is Sabine

January 2008 •English

A sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, the autistic sister of the french actress Sandrine Bonnaire.

7.5

Harlan County U.S.A.

January 1977 •English

This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with New York Women in Film & Television in 2004.

5.5

Šokis dykumoje

February 2009 •Lithuanian

The author Jurga Ivanauskaitė (1961-2007) was considered a pioneer of contemporary Baltic literature well beyond the borders of Lithuania. Her work deals intensively with the tension between religion, sexuality and emancipation. Film documents and interviews serve to reconstruct the life of this independent and willful woman - from her childhood to her artistic breakthrough as a companion of the Lithuanian rock and punk scene, but also depicting her spiritual side, which brought her all the way to India, where she turned to Buddhism. She is shown as fighting for the Dalai Lama and a "free Tibet", shown as a literary mind, but first and foremost she is shown as a woman who stood bravely in the face of inconvenience, pain and inner demons.

6.8

The Day Hitler Died

December 2015 •English

The story of Hitler’s final hours told by people who were there. This special features exclusive forgotten interviews, believed lost for 65 years, with members of Hitler’s inner circle who were trapped with him in his bunker as the Russians fought to take Berlin. These unique interviews from figures such as the leader of the Hitler Youth Artur Axmann and Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, have never before been seen outside Germany. Using rarely seen archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, this special tells the story of Adolf Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker.

0.0

Into Madness

July 1989 •English

Initially airing on HBO's "America Undercover" series, this riveting documentary focuses on three families shattered by the psychiatric disorder of schizophrenia. Subjects "Bob," "Missy" and "Steven" have lived for over a decade with schizophrenia. The film documents the difficult day-to-day existence of both those afflicted with this order and the families searching for answers to their loved ones' suffering. This film also shows the varied and variably successful treatment methods for each of the subjects—one is placed in a group home, one is placed in an institution, and one is cared for at home. The documentary was critically acclaimed for its compassionate treatment of mental illness.

8.0

Céline's Silence

December 2023 •French

Céline Dion has not been on stage since March 2020. Interrupted by the pandemic, then postponed due to the star's affliction with stiff-person syndrome, the Courage tour has been shelved. Céline is on pause. Can we hope for her return, or should we leave it to the doctors?

0.0

Sisters in the Struggle

August 1991 •English

This documentary features Black women active in politics as well as community, labour and feminist organizing. They share their insights and personal testimonies on the double legacy of racism and sexism, linking their personal struggles with the ongoing battle to end systemic discrimination and violence against women and people of colour.

7.1

Jane by Charlotte

January 2022 •French

Charlotte Gainsbourg looks at her mother Jane Birkin in a way she never did, overcoming a sense of reserve. Using a camera lens, they expose themselves to each other, begin to step back, leaving space for a mother-daughter relationship.

6.9

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

July 2021 •English

An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.

6.7

Alfred

December 1986 •German

Short biographical documentary about the life of Alfred Florstedt and his life as a progressive communist from the Weimar Republic to his death in 1985.

5.0

Franz Schubert – Ein Leben in zwei Sätzen

November 1953 •German

Franz Schubert toils by day as his father’s clerk while secretly composing in Beethoven’s shadow, gaining little recognition until friends persuade publisher Diabelli to host a public performance where he meets and falls for soprano Therese Grob. Abandoning a teaching career, he moves in with artist and poet friends, finds inspiration for the “Erlkönig,” and together with Therese sustains himself by performing his songs.

7.3

The Times of Harvey Milk

October 1984 •English

Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

6.5

Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train

June 2004 •English

You Can't Be Neutral documents the life and times of the historian, activist and author of the best selling classic "A People's History of the United States". Featuring rare archival materials, interviews with Howard Zinn as well as colleagues and friends including Noam Chomsky, Marian Wright Edelman, Daniel Ellsberg, Tom Hayden and Alice Walker.

7.1

Waterloo

October 1970 •English

After defeating France and imprisoning Napoleon on Elba, ending two decades of war, Europe is shocked to find Napoleon has escaped and has caused the French Army to defect from the King back to him. The best of the British generals, the Duke of Wellington, beat Napolean's best generals in Spain and Portugal, but now must beat Napoleon himself with an Anglo Allied army.

7.7

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

March 2003 •English

Hugo Chavez was a colourful, unpredictable folk hero who was beloved by his nation’s working class. He was elected president of Venezuela in 1998, and proved to be a tough, quixotic opponent to the power structure that wanted to depose him. When he was forcibly removed from office on 11 April 2002, two independent filmmakers were inside the presidential palace.

5.7

Pasolini

September 2014 •Italian

We are with Pasolini during the last hours of his life, as he talks with his beloved family and friends, writes, gives a brutally honest interview, shares a meal with Ninetto Davoli, and cruises for the roughest rough trade in his gun-metal gray Alfa Romeo. Over the course of the action, Pasolini’s life and his art are constantly refracted and intermingled to the point where they become one.

6.8

Leopardi

October 2014 •Italian

In 19th-century Italy, Giacomo Leopardi channels his debilitating illness and isolation into poetry.

6.0

Confucius

February 2010 •Chinese

In 500 B.C., during Chinas famed 'Spring and Autumn Period', Kong Ze (Confucius), a commoner reverred for his outstanding wisdom, is made Minister of Law in the ancient Kingdom of Lu. Under his inspired leadership, Lu ascends to new heights but becomes a target of conquest for the warlike nation of Qi. Threatened with annihilation by their powerful neighbour, a desperate people turn to their greatest teacher to lead their most powerful army. When Confucius delivers a stunning victory against all odds, a jealous aristocracy sets out to destroy him, but they should never under-estimate a remarkable man whose wisdom is more powerful than the sword.

6.5

Abducted in Plain Sight

May 2018 •English

In 1974, 12-year-old Jan Broberg is abducted from a small church-going community in Idaho by a trusted neighbour and close family friend.