Rocky IV is dually symbolic – it embodies both the victory of the American boxer over the Soviet one and the victory of neo-liberalism over a dwindling socialism. Today, Rocky is held up as a model by some and is a subject of derision for others. An emblem of the 1980s, its culture and its heroes, the film will be the subject of an entertaining analysis of popular culture.
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A study of the dark legends that surround the Camp Hero Air Force Base in Montauk, Long Island.
During the reign of the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Yunagaya Domain in the Tohoku region is a small han. But at the han, there is a gold mine. Suddenly, Masaatsu Naito of Yunagaya Domain receives an order to perform Sankin-kotai within 5 days. Sankin-kotai is a custom that requires the daimyo to visit the shogun in Edo. Unfortunately, the time needed to visit the shogun in Edo for Masaatsu Naito is 8 days. Masaatsu Naito also learns he received the order because a high ranking government official wants the gold mine. Also, the expense for Sankin-kotai is high and the Yunagaya Domain is such a small han that it seems impossible to complete. Nevertheless, Masaatsu Naito begins an unexpected operation to complete Sankin-kotai in 5 days.
Lee Scratch Perry’s Vision of Paradise is a unique project in many ways. It is the life story of the legendary musician, but it is not a biography, it is a fairytale documentary! The director followed Lee Perry for thirteen years and discovered an unbelievable story, a revelation, told about and with one of the major protagonists of contemporary music, the other half of the story that has never been told. The movie can be seen as a guide for how to change the world with music, with a positive attitude, mindset or, as Lee Perry calls it, vibration.
The Speed Sisters are the first all-women race car driving team in the Middle East. They’re bold. They’re fearless. And they’re tearing up tracks all over Palestine.
Elizabeth and Gulistan Mirzaei’s moving short film shines a light on life for refugees in modern-day Afghanistan through the story of Shaista, a young man who—newly married to Benazir and living in a camp for displaced persons in Kabul—struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with the responsibilities of starting a family.
In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of our heroes are on performance enhancing drugs? Director Christopher Bell explores America’s win-at-all-cost culture by examining how his two brothers became members of the steroid-subculture in an effort to realize their American dream.
Scientists have discovered and investigate the reason behind the behavior of sharks swimming around in gangs even though they are viewed as solitary predators.
At the annual Vent Haven Convention in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, ventriloquism capital of the world, director Mark Goffman discovers five extraordinary characters straight out of a Christopher Guest mockumentary. But in this delightful, it’s-all-true documentary, the characters are real, and so are the emotional attachments that they have with their “dummies.”
James Brown changed the face of American music forever. Abandoned by his parents at an early age, James Brown was a self-made man who became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, not just through his music, but also as a social activist. Charting his journey from rhythm and blues to funk, MR. DYNAMITE: THE RISE OF JAMES BROWN features rare and previously unseen footage, photographs and interviews, chronicling the musical ascension of “the hardest working man in show business,” from his first hit, “Please, Please, Please,” in 1956, to his iconic performances at the Apollo Theater, the T.A.M.I. Show, the Paris Olympia and more.
Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective known as ‘A Tribe Called Quest’ have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998. Michael Rapaport documents the inner workings and behind the scenes drama that follows the band to this day. He explores what’s next for, what many claim, are the pioneers of alternative rap.
Exclusive behind-the-scenes footage offers a glimpse into the comic minds behind a “Wet Hot” summer-camp cult hit featuring many future stars.