What starts out as a humorous take on the food chain from a middle-class Brazilian perspective suddenly evolves into a scathing indictment of the social system as it looks at what becomes of the garbage produced by the inhabitants of Porto Alegre, Brazil. This 13-minute film is little-known in the US, but it garnered enough […]
Continue readingCool ALADIN e-books: VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever, 2006 Ed. and International Dictionary of Film and Filmmakers , 4th Ed.
Gale Virtual Reference Library is a group of reference works in digital format. Videohound contains an “extensive listing of movies available on video–more than 23,000 in all”, however it does have a serious shortcoming. The electronic edition lacks many of the great cross-referencing indexes and subject lists that set the print version apart from its […]
Continue readingCopyright and Documentary Filmmaking: the Comic Book
A tight dressed, spiky haired filmmaker turns into a tight dressed, spiky haired superhero to fight expanding copyright restrictions. The Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University School of Law has a novel way of presenting the current difficulties documentary filmmakers are facing. The comic book, Bound by Law? by Keith […]
Continue readingCool tools: WRLC library maps
One of the greatest assets available to the AU community is our membership in the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC). WRLC resources can be requested through ALADIN, but sooner or later you may need to go to one of these schools. The AU website has a couple of tools to help you navigate the terra […]
Continue readingHistorical Nuclear Test Film Archive
The Department of Energy’s website has streaming video of about 75 nuclear tests from the 1940s to the 1970s, many recently declassified – the site is much more exhaustive than anything I’ve seen on this subject previously. link
Continue readingMarch Madness: Basketball films in Media Services
The Big Game (1982, VHS 4067) – From the classic Middletown film series on life in and around Muncie, Indiana – itself a complement to the Middletown studies conducted by Robert and Helen Lynd in the 1920s and 1930s. Director E.J. Vaughn uses a cinema verite technique to capture the activity surrounding the annual basketball […]
Continue readingA few cult movies now in the public domain and on Google video
Night of the Living Dead (Romero, 1968)Reefer Madness (Gasnier, 1936)Plan 9 from Outer Space (Wood, 1959)
Continue readingThe 2006 Environmental Film Fest is under way in DC
The festival runs March 16-26 with venues all around the city including American University, MLK Jr. Memorial Library, National Museum of Natural History, and many other locations. Over 100 films will be screened including recent releases and documentary classics. Among the many titles that caught my eye are The Boys of Baraka, Darwin’s Nightmare, The […]
Continue readingHow to Film Sharks and Bears and Live to Tell About It
On Tuesday evening, March 21, AU professor and wildlife filmmaker Chris Palmer will be on campus discussing highlights from his career. The program, part of the 2006 Environmental Film Festival, will be held at 7pm in the Butler Board Room, Mary Graydon Center. Mr. Palmer’s enthusiasm and good humor guarantee an evening of entertainment. They […]
Continue readingBlogwatch: Reality Film
The author of the Reality Film site, who I deduce is a film studies professor at Penn State, has been posting since December 2005. His goals for the site are to have a place to discuss teaching, film and television viewing in a more or less organized manner. His tastes are somewhat mainstream but it’s […]
Continue reading