We’re back from our Thanksgiving hiatus, and we hope we didn’t miss any too importa– is that a new Star Wars trailer?!!? Everyone has probably watched the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens at least once since Friday, and we’re sure there are varied opinions about whether or not it honors the style and […]
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Who was Marion Barry? This HBO documentary is a good primer
Today marked the passing of Marion Barry, DC political legend and one of the country’s most controversial mayors. To describe his decades of public involvement as tumultuous would be an understatement; Barry weathered multiple scandals and a high-profile arrest yet remained enormously popular among his constituents, serving four non-consecutive terms and continuing to serve as […]
Continue readingAlternative programming: Service across generations
In a few hours, the National Mall will turn into an absolute mob scene for an inaugural HBO-sponsored Veterans Day concert featuring Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Rihanna, and other major artists. This sort of musical event isn’t unprecedented on the Mall (like the previous HBO concert for Obama’a 2009 inauguration), but we understand if you find […]
Continue readingTop 10: Bonus Features Not to Skip
We’re proud of the variety and depth of the Media Services collection. In the interest of bringing you some highlights and deep cuts from our shelves, we’ll be posting unusual and interesting Top 10 lists of some of our favorite DVDs. When was the last time you watched a DVD bonus feature? At the risk […]
Continue readingNew Acquisitions – November 2014
As you recover from your sugar-induced comas this morning, you might be happy to learn that we have a few new items in our collection. We have two major highlights this month. Firstly, thanks to a generous donation, we have received a massive collection of Quebecois films. Secondly, we spent the better part of the […]
Continue readingAU Music Library gets to know Blind Joe Death
The AU Music Library continues to dig into our combined, meaty collection of DVDs about the DC music scene. This time, they’ve taken a look at In Search of Blind Joe Death (MUSIC LIBRARY DVD 77), a Kickstarted documentary about a Takoma Park resident and AU alum who became something of an experimental folk and […]
Continue readingToo much Jason? Our staff recommends obscure horror classics
The day will come that you are sick of watching Hocus Pocus. We all love the Halloween standards, but there are only so many times you can watch the same movies every year before you start looking for something different. According to our Pinterest page, we have over 180 horror films in our collection, but […]
Continue readingGet to know Docuseek2, now with new films!
Have you visited Docuseek2 lately? Do you know about Docuseek2? They’ve put up a whole slew of new content, so now is a good chance to introduce (or reintroduce) you to one of our most exciting streaming video partners. Docuseek2 streams films produced by Icarus Films and Bullfrog Films, two major distributors with a reputation […]
Continue readingRead the Music Library’s review of Minor Threat Live
Our collection has a healthy number of films about music, musicians, and the music industry, so we like to collaborate with our friends over in the Music Library to promote them. Jesse, one of the student workers in the Music Library has been reviewing some of our music DVDs; last week he wrote about our […]
Continue readingTiananmen Square documentaries provide context for current Hong Kong protests
If you’ve paid attention to international news recently, you may be aware of the large-scale protests (and subsequent government crackdown) occurring in Hong Kong over proposed election reforms that could prevent opposition candidates from seeking office. To outside observers, the so-called “Umbrella Revolution” is turning out distressingly similarly to the events in Tiananmen Square in […]
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