Tag: Films on Demand

We’ve previously talked about Films on Demand, a streaming video database we subscribe to that contains thousands of documentaries on seemingly every subject. Although a few of them come from big distributors like Discovery or History, they’re mostly smaller affairs. Color us excited that Films on Demand is expanding its offerings to include feature films – and, most notably, the Eyes on the Prize documentary series.

Firstly, Films on Demand has offered us a trial of their new World Cinema database. It includes works by major directors from the earlier days of film, including Kurosawa, Eisenstein, Hitchcock, Chaplin, and more. We haven’t yet committed to subscribing to the full version of this database, but it is by far one of the biggest and most substantive we’ve ever taken a look at. Please take a look at what it has to offer, and if you can see yourself using it in the future, please email your thoughts to our Media Librarian Chris Lewis (clewis@american.edu).

Secondly, and perhaps most excitingly to our many faculty members who use the series, PBS’s Eyes on the Prize is now available in its entirety through the main Films on Demand database. Eyes on the Prize is the definitive documentary about the civil rights movement, and its fourteen parts are frequently used for history courses. Eyes on the Prize has been borderline out-of-print for many years, and its release on streaming platforms is enormously exciting given its previous troubled release history.

These are both big additions from Films on Demand, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store next. It’s hard to beat It’s a Wonderful Life and His Girl Friday on demand, though.

Films on Demand, a streaming video platform used by Media Services, continues to surprise with the size and breadth of its collection. The service just added in excess of 450 streaming videos to its database that you can view from on- or off-campus. Though they aren’t yet in the library catalog, they can all be accessed from the Films on Demand website. A few highlights include…

Last of the Giants: Medical Mysteries, Series 1 (2001, 50 min.)
Giants are not just the stuff of myth and legend; they are real people, and their condition is caused by a medical disorder that can now be treated. John Paul Ofwono of Uganda is currently the tallest man in the world. Though that makes him a celebrity in his country, he urgently needs treatment for acromegaly, the condition that now threatens his life. Acromegaly is caused by a disorder of the pituitary gland that causes it to produce excessive amou­nts of growth hormone. It is likely the same condition that made the biblical Goliath such a huge man. The program features famous giants and several young people who would have died in early middle age, but who have now been successfully treated.

Student Speeches for Analysis, Volume 1 (2005, 105 min.)
By observing and analyzing some of the best and worst speech techniques, students are encouraged to examine their own speeches more critically. A supplement to any speech textbook, this first volume examines introductions plus informative and persuasive speeches.
   
The Foolish Wise Ones (1957, 35 min.)
This classic program focuses on the savant syndrome, telling the story of three severely mentally handicapped people. Each possesses an extraordinary talent—for playing music, creating art, or remembering dates. Noel Patterson is autistic and requires constant care, yet he is an exceptional pianist and can reproduce almost any music effortlessly. David Kidd has an IQ of only 68, but he is an expert in the recondite mathematics of calculating the calendar. Although Stephen Wiltshire is mentally challenged, he draws remarkable pen-and-ink likenesses of buildings from memory. The savant syndrome was first identified by a 19th-century French psychologist, who referred to these remarkable individuals as the “foolish wise ones.”

Plastics: Quirky Science (2011, 30 min.)
Plastic has become ubiquitous—impressive, since we’d been living without it for centuries! Can you imagine that plastic was invented accidentally—for the purpose of making billiard balls? This program investigates the history of plastic: from the first plastic—discovered when someone witnessed how Southeast Asian farmers used the poop of a little beetle, called shellac, to preserve wood—to Dupont’s development of nylon, the first synthetic material to replace silk. But plastic is made with oil and is hard to break down. See how a U.S.-based company is creating a bioplastic grown inside microorganisms. Plastic grown in the field? Now that is quirky! Part of the series Quirky Science.

Off the Grid: American Communities in the Wake of the Financial Crisis (2011, 75 min.)
Crafting a unified response to economic turmoil is no easy task at the federal level, but towns and cities across the U.S. have faced the aftermath of the 2008 recession in ways that are quick, innovative, and authentic. Their methods, while not always successful, offer a wealth of teaching points for studies in civics, economics, sociology, and political science. In Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a new local currency circulates. In Austin, Texas, big corporations and the federal government alike have triggered community opposition. And in Colorado Springs, the link between an anti-tax philosophy and a lack of city services becomes all too evident. The film also looks at symptoms of the recession seen in America’s broader infrastructure and society—such as declining roads and highways, decaying buildings, and swelling homeless populations.

Great news for students and faculty: Films on Demand, a streaming video platform used by Media Services, has added the collections of California Newsreel to its catalog. California Newsreel is one of the oldest and most reputable social documentary groups. You might recognize them for producing Race: The Power of an Illusion, a documentary frequently used for classes at AU.

A few notable titles include…

The Language You Cry In (1998, 52 min.)
Spanning hundreds of years and thousands of miles, this program recounts the remarkable saga of how a nursery rhyme sung by the Gullah people of present-day Georgia was confirmed to be of African origin. When 18th-century slavers sent human cargo from Sierra Leone to America’s coastal South, they also sent a trove of cultural information that had been passed from Mende mothers to their daughters for generations—including a particular song that had been carefully preserved because it was used in funeral rites. With the help of anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, linguists, and the singers themselves, the “nonsense lyrics” of the song found in Georgia were identified as those of the Mende dirge. Portions in other languages with English subtitles.

This is Nollywood (2007, 56 min.)
First came Hollywood, then Bollywood, and now Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry, which released 2,000 feature features in 2006 alone. This program explains why Nigerian film production, little known outside its own country until recently, is becoming recognized as a phenomenon with broad implications for the cultural and economic development of Africa. Offering an close look at the technical, economic, and social infrastructure of the industry, the film follows a typical shoot from first day to last, while the director, producer, actors, crew members, and notables from the industry describe how it all works and why they do it.

Color Adjustment (1991, 88 min.)
This award-winning documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Marlon Riggs takes a close look at how network television absorbed deep-seated racial conflict and transformed it into the nonthreatening offerings of 20th-century primetime TV. Narrated by Ruby Dee, the film examines popular programs such as Amos ‘n’ Andy, I Spy, Julia, Good Times, Roots, and The Cosby Show, weaving clips from the shows with news coverage of the civil rights movement. Esther Rolle, Diahann Carroll, Tim Reid and other black performers discuss the impact their acting roles had in shaping race relations. With Norman Lear (All in the Family, The Jeffersons), David Wolper (Roots), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and others.

Films on Demand, a streaming video platform used by Media Services, recently added 225 new titles to its collection, including a large number of TED Talks. Since it would be silly to list every single one, here’s a few highlights from their most recent batch…

Humanities & Social Sciences Collection

In Search of Genghis Khan (1993, 54 min.)
This program looks at the legend and the traces of Genghis Khan as well as the people and culture of his descendants, whose lives are barely changed since the Mongol horde burst out of Central Asia in the 13th century to ride as far as the gates of Vienna and permanently change the face of most of Asia and Europe.

Electronics: Polaroid’s Passport Photo Business in a Box (2002, 15 min.)
The task: design and build an all-in-one camera with an integrated printer that produces instant digital pictures. This program follows a team of industrial and electronics designers at Polaroid’s U.K. headquarters as they take on this challenge. The whole process unfolds neatly as the idea jumps from paper to 3-D model to computer-assisted design program to prototype. Eventually, the designers debug the prototype and a professional photographer puts the production model through its paces.

Proud Towers (1986, 58 min.)
There was a time when the skyline was dominated by the church spire; in the 20th century, the skyscraper—a cathedral of commerce—has been the city’s signature. Its forerunner was the commercial loft building, often an ersatz palazzo made of iron cast to look like stone; Louis Sullivan changed the horizontal focus by adding height.

TEDTalks: Jonathan Zittrain—The Web as Random Acts of Kindness (2009, 20 min.)
Feeling like the world is becoming less friendly? Social theorist and Internet law expert Jonathan Zittrain begs to differ. The Internet, he suggests, is made up of millions of acts of kindness, curiosity, and trust. In this TEDTalk the Harvard law professor elaborates on three examples of cyber-trust: the Internet itself, founded by three high school friends on the principle of cooperative networking; Wikipedia; and services such as the Craigslist rideshare board and CouchSurfing that allow people to share travel or living quarters with total strangers.

Great Speeches, Volume 19: John McCain, Barack Obama, Margaret Thatcher, Robert Byrd, Carol Moseley, and Lyndon B. Johnson (2005, 112 min.)
This volume features six vital speeches: John McCain’s USC commencement address; Barack Obama’s 2004 DNC keynote address; Margaret Thatcher’s eulogy for Ronald Reagan; Robert Byrd’s “On the Brink of War” speech; Carol Moseley Braun’s health care address; and Lyndon B. Johnson’s “I Will Not Run” speech.

Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities (1958, 117 min.)
The mood, the conflicts of character, and the contrasting sites of Paris and London are movingly realized in this screen presentation of the widely-read story. Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, and Donald Pleasence star.

How the States Got Their Shapes (2010. 90 min.)
Is it just a fluke of history that Illinois, not Wisconsin, contains the city of Chicago? Whatever happened to the state of Jefferson? And why is Texas too big to mess with? This program uncovers the political, cultural, and geographical forces that shaped the map of the United States. From the original thirteen colonies to the jigsaw puzzle of today’s 50 states… from the nooks and crannies of the east to the rigid boxes of the west… from the Atlantic to the Pacific, viewers learn how America was carved out of the landscape and how the forces that sculpted our country still influence it today.

Business & Economics Collection

Forging the Future: China’s Industrial Heritage (2000, 58 min.)
China’s first industrial revolution occurred more than two millennia before Europe’s. Today, there is a new wave of industrialization in China as the awakened dragon prepares to test its wings. This program draws on historical evidence and expert commentary to vividly illustrate China’s early mastery of crucial industrial processes and to explain how they contributed to the wealth and progress of Chinese civilization. Pivotal events that hampered China’s advancement in recent centuries and the country’s move to regain its momentum as a world-class producer and an Information Age innovator are also examined.

TEDTalks: John Gerzema—The Post-crisis Consumer (2009, 17 min.)
John Gerzema believes there’s an upside to the 2008 financial crisis: more ethical business practices, an eco-friendly interest in durable instead of disposable goods, and a rise in what he calls “cooperative consumerism.” In this TEDTalk, the Young & Rubicam marketing whiz gives fascinating examples of these cultural shifts and shows how businesses are evolving to connect with the trend toward more thoughtful spending. Gerzema is co-author of The Brand Bubble, a book that advocates change as the best strategy for brand management in the post-meltdown market.

Science & Mathematics Collection

How to Build… A Super Car (2011, 60 min.)
What does it take to build a vehicle that wins the Grand Prix? Can Formula One technology, which allows cars to hit 160 kph in under four seconds and reach speeds as high as 350 kph, be applied to everyday automobiles? This program goes behind the scenes at one of the world’s most secretive companies, McLaren Racing Limited, which produces some of the fastest wheeled vehicles driven today. The film depicts engineering occurring on a microscopic level—a necessity when drivers experience g-forces greater than space shuttle crews did and the car’s gearbox can climb to 150 degrees Celsius. Viewers also learn how F1 expertise helped create a road car, the MP4-12C. Hand-built from carbon fiber, this $270,000 super car symbolizes automotive cutting edge—the factory designed to build it cost over $60 million alone! Produced by the Open University. Part of the series How to Build…(Series 2)

TEDTalks: Rob Hopkins—Transition to a World without Oil (2009, 17 min.)
Rob Hopkins wants to remind us that the oil our world depends on is steadily running out. In this TEDTalk, he proposes a unique solution to the problem that he calls “the Transition response,” in which we prepare ourselves for life without oil and sacrifice luxury to build systems and communities that are completely independent of fossil fuels. Resilience leader Rob Hopkins is the founder of the Transition movement, a radically hopeful and community-driven approach to creating societies independent of fossil fuel.

Health & Medicine Collection

TEDTalks: Kary Mullis—Next-Gen Cure for Killer Infections (2009, 5 min.)
Drug-resistant bacteria kills, even in top hospitals. But now tough infections like staph and anthrax may be in for a surprise. Biochemist Kary Mullis, who watched a friend die when powerful antibiotics failed, explains the mechanics of a radical new cure that shows extraordinary promise in this TEDTalk. Mullis won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing a way to copy a strand of DNA with a technique that jumpstarted the 1990s’ biotechnology revolution.

TEDTalks: Hans Rosling—Let My Dataset Change Your Mindset (2009, 20 min.)
In this TEDTalk, global health expert Hans Rosling employs his famous data-bubble software to debunk myths and look closer at the demographics we’ve been using to differentiate between “the western world” and “the developing world.” Presenting up-to-date information on vital global issues using the colorful visualization software he developed, Rosling helps students and heads of state alike to quickly grasp the implications of data such as family size, access to healthcare, and income distribution, and to spot trends on a regional rather political basis.