The First Goth. The Last Icon.
Though most people knew her as Vampira, a late-night, creature-feature host in Los Angeles, Maila Nurmi was so much more. From her relationships with James Dean and other Hollywood luminaries to her significant contributions to the eventual Goth craze, Nurmi was a multifaceted woman, with more than a few amazing stories to share. Having befriended Nurmi while she was still alive, Greene finds himself perfectly situated to give us the complete story on this fascinating individual, blending extensive interviews with remarkable found footage of Nurmi's long and varied career. Whether being groomed by a major Hollywood director or making a surprising foray into music, Nurmi proves herself to be so much more than a scream queen. Still, when it comes to snappy one-liners cracked at the stroke of midnight, it's certainly safe to say that no one did it better than Vampira.
Self (archive footage)
Self
Self
01 Jan 1994
A study of the author intersperses readings from "Interview with the Vampire" with her comments on growing up in New Orleans; her mother ("the finest storyteller I have ever known"); living in San Francisco during the 1960s; and the death of her daughter. Included: talks with her husband and sisters.
18 Jun 2023
A Documentary of the entire timeline of Castlevania Series.
20 Apr 2010
A retrospective documentary about the groundbreaking horror series, Friday the 13th, featuring interviews with cast and crew from the twelve films spanning 3 decades.
01 Jan 1996
A documentary that explores man's enduring fascination with the vampire legend by examining historical accounts, literary works, and as they are portrayed in film and television.
01 Jan 1991
A history of the famous vampire of books and movies, using film clips, previews and other methods.
21 Oct 2014
As good as any Dickens novel, this is the triumphant and tragic story of the greatest architectural dynasty of the 19th century. Dan Cruickshank charts the rise of Sir George Gilbert Scott to the very heights of success, the fall of his son George Junior and the rise again of his grandson Giles. It is a story of architects bent on a mission to rebuild Britain. From the Romantic heights of the Midland Hotel at St Pancras station to the modern image of Bankside power station (now Tate Modern), this is the story of a family that shaped the Victorian age and left a giant legacy.
28 Oct 2000
Documentary tracing the rise of the 'slasher' movie.
01 Jan 1992
A compilation of film clips and trailers showing the evolution of vampires in films.
30 Apr 1986
Author David Macaulay hosts CATHEDRAL, based on his award-winning book. Using a combination of spectacular location sequences and cinema-quality animation, the program surveys France's most famous churches. Travel back to 1214 to explore the design of Notre Dame de Beaulieu, a representative Gothic cathedral. The program tells period tales revealing fascinating stories of life and death, faith and despair, prosperity, and intrigue.
12 Dec 2013
Diabolical. Seductive. Immortal. Vampires have been an icon of evil in folklore and popular culture for more than three centuries, yet only one name still personifies the ultimate aristocrat of bloodlust. Now join the world’s foremost experts on Dracula – including academics, authors and horror historians – as they explore the untold story of the Transylvanian Count, from the legend of Vlad The Impaler and Bram Stoker’s celebrated novel through its landmark stage productions and classic movie adaptations.
13 Mar 2024
X-ray images were invented in 1895, the same year in which the Lumière brothers presented their respective invention in what today is considered to be the first cinema screening. Thus, both cinema and radiography fall within the scopic regime inaugurated by modernity. The use of X-rays on two sculptures from the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum generates images that reveal certain elements of them that would otherwise be invisible to our eyes. These images, despite being generally created for technical or scientific purposes, seem to produce a certain form of 'photogénie': they lend the radiographed objects a new appearance that lies somewhere between the material and the ethereal, endowing them with a vaporous and spectral quality. It is not by chance that physics and phantasmagoria share the term 'spectrum' in their vocabulary.
24 Jan 2003
A Short Film About John Bolton is a darkly hip and hilarious film explores the question that torments artists of every medium: "Where do your ideas come from?" Renowned artist John Bolton's paintings of voluptuous she-vampire nudes have earned this quiet eccentric a reputation for having a "damaged imagination." BBC radio personality Jonathan Ross buys his pieces, which leads interviewer extraordinaire Marcus Brigstocke to find out what the appeal is in Bolton's beautiful (but terrifying) artwork. Why does Bolton demand that his gallery "monsterpieces" speak for themselves? What does he do with that ornamental knife that he carries everywhere? Will Marcus ever learn how to operate the camera?
05 May 1972
An atmospheric essay, which is an alternative version of Count Dracula, a film directed by Jess Franco in 1970; a ghostly narration between fiction and reality.
01 Jan 1992
Short documentary on the making of Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula" (1992).
21 Dec 1999
A documentary from Universal about the movie "Dracula" (1931) starring Bela Lugosi.
15 May 1975
A documentary exploring the legends of vampires, using books, paintings and early films on the subject.
01 Nov 2021
With humor, prolific director Víctor Matellano tells the story of one of the most iconic and problematic cult films of Spain's "fantaterror": Los resucitados by Arturo de Bobadilla. A story of ambition, frustration and the everlasting will of the most passionate cinephiles.
01 Jan 1997
The Irish novelist, Bram Stoker, gave the world Dracula in 1897. This documentary explores the historical figure behind the fictional figure of horror and examines medical explanations for the myths of vampires.
15 Mar 2022
A documentary look at F.W. Murnau's iconic — and unauthorized – 1922 vampire film, and its influence on bloodsuckers in film.
21 Sep 2024
An exploration of Cologne Cathedral, an emblematic monument and world heritage site. The towering place of worship took over 600 years to complete. Once the tallest building in the world, its ornate facade remains a masterpiece of Gothic architecture - and a reflection of the evolution of Franco-German relations.