Tag: media services updates

The Media Services contribution to the Library Subject Guides is a selective list of video holdings in the American University Library. Filmographies are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the ALADIN catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible. For complete up-to-date holdings (including VHS tapes) please refer to the library ALADIN catalog (www.catalog.wrlc.org)

Most streaming videos listed are available exclusively to AU students, staff and faculty after an online authentications by AUID#.

Here’s a sneak peak at what can be found in the JEWISH STUDIES Filmography

2000 years of freedom and honor the Cochin Jews of India. 1997. 1 videodisc (80 min.). Jews arrived in India over 1900 years ago. Throughout the years, though deeply loyal to India, they prayed for their return to Zion. Film captures the conflicting emotions of two generations of Cochini Jews. The elderly, heartbroken by the mass emigration of the younger generation to Israel, and their children, who as young parents could only envision a bright future as Jews in Israel. Explores the religious, cultural and economic life of the Cochini Jews in the native India and also follows the younger generation to a new life as Israelis. DVD 5907

Blacks & Jews. 1997. 1 video file (85 min.). Early in the 20th century black and Jewish Americans joined forces against bigotry and for civil rights but in the late 1960’s each group turned inward and the coalition fell apart. This film examines the history of this collaboration and recent racial conflicts between Afro-Americans and Jews and attempts at understanding and reconciliation, with particular emphasis on events in New York City and Oakland, California. DVD 5698 and Streaming video

Budrus. 2011. 1 videodisc (82 min.). They not only save the village, but the Barrier is pushed back behind the Green Line into No Man’s Land. In the process, Ayed and Iltezam unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary featuring archival footage of this movement from its infancy, Budrus will inspire and challenge audiences worldwide. DVD 8309

Dreamers and builders. 2006. 1 videodisc (60 min.). “The early builders of the Zionist vision, pioneers of the Third Aliyah and the Fourth Aliyah of the 1920s, have been captured on film for time in memoriam by the father of Hebrew film, Ya’akov Ben Dov. Based on three films – Return to Zion, Rebirth of a New Palestine, Romance of Palestine – which were considered lost for more than 70 years”–Container. DVD 7146

The Jewish Americans. 2008. 2 videodiscs (360 min.). Chronicles the 350 year saga of immigrants who gradually wove themselves into the fabric of American life without abandoning their cherished traditions. DVD 3812 and Streaming video
part 1
part 2
part 3

Shtetl. 2009. 1 videodisc (180 min.). Tells the homecoming story of two elderly Polish-American Jews who return to their families’ small village from which most of the Jews had been sent to Treblinka’s gas chambers. Captures these pilgrims as they face old neighbors, some betrayers, some saviors. Interviews Polish Jews in America and Israel who were holocaust survivors or emigrated in the late 1930’s. DVD 5865

See the full Jewish Studies filmography here.

The Media Services contribution to the Library Subject Guides is a selective list of video holdings in the American University Library. Filmographies are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the ALADIN catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible. For complete up-to-date holdings (including VHS tapes) please refer to the library ALADIN catalog (www.catalog.wrlc.org)

Most streaming videos listed are available exclusively to AU students, staff and faculty after an online authentications by AUID#.

Here’s a sneak peak at what can be found in the FILMS ON FILMMAKING & FILMMAKERS Filmography:

American movie :the making of Northwestern. Sony Pictures classics. 2000. 1 videodisc (104 min.). Documentary of the two-year effort by Mark Borchardt to finish his “no-budget horror film, Coven.”. DVD 131

Baadasssss! 2004. 1 videodisc (109 min.). A candid portrait of Melvin Van Peeble’s struggles as a young, black director during the society-shifting 70’s. Determined to make a film that matters, Melvin deals with two-faced backers, a rag-tag crew, threatening creditors, and various shades of Hollywood hypocrisy. With everything on the line, his only choice is to stick to his guns and do whatever it takes to get his neo-blaxploitation epic to the audience for which it was envisioned. DVD 2941

Chop socky Cinema Hong Kong. 2005. 1 videodisc (55 min.). This offers an in-depth look at Hong Kong’s wu xia film legacy and its influence on global cinema. From its earliest roots in Beijing Opera to Quentin Tarantino’s tribute to Hong Kong martial arts action in Kill Bill, Vol. 2. All of the bases are covered, from Hong Kong cinema’s first martial-arts hero, Wong Fei Hung, to the balletic choreography of Chang Che. Includes the “one-punch” impact of Bruce Lee and the evolution of kung-fu comedy as epitomized by Jackie Chan. The Hong Kong technique of editing-in-camera is thoroughly demonstrated in a multi-screen sequence, and abundant film clips provide tantalizing samples of the genre’s classic films. DVD 1207

Forbidden Hollywood collection. 2009. 1 videodisc (152 min.). Wild Bill: Explores the life and directorial times of William A. Wellman. The men who made the movies: Wellman shares many stories and speaks bluntly of the producers with who he has worked and describes his remarkable star-making and star-spotting abilities. He was responsible for helping actors win Oscars and discovered such notable actors as James Cagney and Gary Cooper. DVD 5794

Kurosawa. 2002. 1 videodisc (215 min.). A documentary of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa featuring his family, colleagues and critics from Japan and America commenting on the man and his films. Includes excerpts from many of his famous works. DVD 392

A letter to Elia. 2010. 1 videodisc (82 min.). Martin Scorsese directs and narrates this look at director Elia Kazan. From his triumphs with films such as On the Waterfront to his controversial naming of names during the McCarthy hearings, Kazan is shown in all his complexity. DVD 7741

Nanook revisited. 2005. 1 videodisc (55 min.). The filmmakers revisit Inukjuak, the Inuit village where Flaherty filmed Nanook of the North. Examines the realities behind the ground-breaking documentary and the changes since it was made almost 70 years ago. Shows the reactions of the Inuit living in the village, to the film, and also looks at the inaccuracies and staged scenes in the original. DVD 6795

Sidney Lumet. The directors. 2002. 1 videodisc (60 min.). Profile of director Sidney Lumet, featuring extensive film clips and interviews with actors who have worked with him. DVD 570

Stanley Kubrick: A life in pictures. Stanley Kubrick collection. 2001. 1 videodisc (143 min.). Documentary about the career of director Stanley Kubrick, drawing on Kubrick archives and offering an intimate portrait of his life among family and friends. DVD 2787

See the full Films on Filmmaking and Filmmakers filmography here.