
10 Mar 1970

Fall 2
Bas Jan Ader rides his bike into a canal in Amsterdam.
Alan Kelley's eagerly awaited edit of a Survival Research Laboratories show in the Bay Area held on an empty parking lot off Beale Street at the foot of the Bay Bridge. The show revolves around the many humorous aspects of violent human interaction. Also included in the video are footage from the Wired anniversary party and the SRL Halloween Trick where the V1 was operated in front of the Roxie Theater and several other machines and props operated by SRL members on Minna Street. Includes footage of Mark Pauline being detained by the SFPD for questioning on the device ignited on 16th Street...
10 Mar 1970
Bas Jan Ader rides his bike into a canal in Amsterdam.
17 Mar 1971
This short film is part of a mixed media artwork of the same name, which also included postcards of Ader crying, sent to friends of his, with the title of the work as a caption. The film was initially ten minutes long, and included Ader rubbing his eyes to produce the tears, but was cut down to three and a half minutes. This shorter version captures Ader at his most anguished. His face is framed closely. There is no introduction or conclusion, no reason given and no relief from the anguish that is presented.
24 Mar 1971
Shot in his garage-studio, the camera records Ader painstakingly hoisting a large brick over his shoulder. His figure is harshly lit by two tangles of light bulbs. He drops the brick, crushing one strand of lights. He again lifts the brick, allowing tension to accrue. The climax inevitable—the brick falls and crushes the second set of lights. Here the film abruptly ends, all illumination extinguished.
07 Jan 1990
IN 1988, rising star Kenneth Branagh tackled the role of Shakespeare’s prince of Denmark for the first time in his professional career under the guidance of celebrated actor Derek Jacobi. Narrated by Patrick Stewart, this hour-long film documents how Kenneth Branagh and Derek Jacobi, two intelligent and passionate men, found new depths in Shakespeare’s classic drama, Hamlet. Filmmakers Mark Olshaker and Larry Klein follow the company through four weeks of rehearsals, from the first read-throughs to opening night.
12 Nov 2016
This film from Bill Moyers is the first documentary to focus exclusively on people formerly detained in New York City’s notorious Rikers Island Jail. They tell their compelling stories direct to the camera, revealing the violent arc of the Rikers experience – from the trauma of entry to extortion and control by inmates, to oppressive corrections officers, violence and solitary confinement.
23 Oct 2020
A remarkable walk through the life and work of the French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), one of the most important creators of the 20th century, revolutionary of arts, aesthetics and pop culture.
30 Aug 2013
In 2012 two members of anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus, shooting a video about transparent elections, a controversial performance in a Red Square cathedral, and footage shot in a jail cell. Support comes from many corners including Madonna who painted the words "Pussy Riot" on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. The documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a country starkly divided between conservatism and anarchy. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free and they're willing to take it to extremes. "Pussycat made a mess in the house," they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers do not seek to moralize, they simply edit events and leave viewers to draw their own conclusions.
11 Nov 2006
Filmmaker Jonas Mekas follows the surrealist artist around the streets of New York documenting staged public art events.
04 Jan 2021
For the first time, exclusive and never before heard audio diaries of legendary detective Lou Smit will reveal captivating insight into one of America's most notorious cold cases - the murder of 6-year-old pageant queen JonBenét Ramsey.
01 Oct 1977
Werner Herzog takes a film crew to the island of Guadeloupe when he hears that the volcano on the island is going to erupt. Everyone has left, except for one old man who refuses to leave.
10 Mar 2016
Art dealer Salvatore Viviano and director Angela Christlieb embark on a search for the lost artist collective Gelitin, which since the 1990s has shattered the borders of "good taste" again and again with extravagant actions and installations. Interviews with old companions and artist friends in the U.S., Europe, and Asia are linked with anarchically montaged Gelitin archive material: intense, transgressive, experimental, gaudily colorful, funny, and virulent.
07 Oct 2024
Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.
08 Sep 2024
A documentary exploring Lev Parnas' involvement in the Trump-Ukraine scandal that resulted in the former president's impeachment, detailing Parnas' unexpected entanglement with Trump and Giuliani, leading to his incarceration.
31 Dec 2019
Dissident artist Hu Jie has managed to make more than 30 documentaries. Films like Though I Am Gone and Searching for Lin Zhao's Soul are vital to understanding Chinese history and society. Widely recognized as the first artist to dare talk about the Great Famine, the labor camps, and the Cultural Revolution, Hu Jie is considered China's first historical documentary filmmakers.
01 Jan 1989
Counter-culture video magazine created by Stuart Shapiro, featuring Bill Hicks, Robert Williams, Public Enemy, Butthole Surfers, Survival Research Labs, and much more! Hosted by Alex Winter!
26 Mar 2018
A mind-bending, thrilling journey exploring the fragility and wonder of planet Earth, one of the most peculiar, unique places in the entire universe, brought to life by the only people to have left it behind – the world’s most well known and leading astronauts. This edit combined episodes one and ten to create a new movie.
09 Jun 2014
Before the internet. Before social media. Before breaking news. The victims of Thalidomide had to rely on something even more extraordinary to fight their corner: Investigative journalism. This is the story of how Harold Evans fought and won the battle of his and many other lives.
18 Jan 2008
Examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.
18 Oct 2022
Different experts make a stand against today's putatively criminal and harmful health system, focusing on Anthony Fauci and his role in the shaping of the AIDS and COVID-19 epidemics.
08 Sep 2022
Days after 9/11, letters containing fatal anthrax spores spark panic and tragedy in the US. This documentary follows the subsequent FBI investigation.