ITEMS Video Descriptions


Cocaine Cowboys
HIS VT1536

In the fast lane world of rock and roll all that glitters is NOT platimum or gold. This thriller concerns the eploits of a struggling rock band whose members resort to drug smuggling in order to finance their music career. They end up in deep trouble with mobsters and hired killers. Rated R for nudity and graphic violence VHS/R/90 min/Color


Americas 4: Mirrors of the Heart: Race & Identity
HIS VT0435A

The people of South and Central America and teh Caribbean reflect on their lives, their history, and socities in AMERICAS. This intimate look at contemporary Latin America examines issues confronting the entire region by focusing on individual communities. Campesinos, city dwellers, artists, government officials, revolutionaries and others bring forth the multi-layered diversity of the region. 60 min


A Time to Love and a Time to Die.
HIS VT1539

In the tradition of the Oscar-winning film epic All Quiet on the Western Front, this powerful, poignant war drama is a compelling portrait of German futility at the end of World War II. Both All Queit on the Western Front and A Time To Love and a Time to Die are based on novels by author Erich Maria Remarque. John Gavin plays a Nazi soldier who returns to his small village on furlough, only to discover his home razed and his parents missing. In his search for them, he meets Lilo Pulver, the daughter of an imprisoned doctor. With bombs destroying his beloved homeland and corrupt SS officers living it up at the expense of starving civilians, Gavin seeks to escape the brutality by marrying Pulver. But there is no escape. Wherever he turns, he is confronted by the futility of war. His former high school professor lives in fear because he is suspected of anti-Hitler ideals. Another friend, who happens to be Jewish, is forced to hide in a Catholic cathedral. And too soon, he must leave his new bride and return to the Russian front. Filmed on location in the ruins of war-torn Germany, A Time to Love and a Time to Die is an impassioned, historical drama of the highest order. 1958/Color/133 minutes


Burning Wall:Dissent and Opposition Behind the Berlin Wall
HIS VT1540

This powerful and provocative feature documentary about dissent and resistance behind Berlin Wall illuminates the profoundly contemporary dilemma of individual resistance within a totalitarian state. It is a mesmerizing and deeply moving portrayal of the development of the underground opposition. Scorching and unflinching, The Burning Wall highlights the tension between an individual's responsibility to a personal ethical code and to a tyrannical political system. 115 min.


American Enterprise Series (5 parts)
HIS VT0002

GOVERNMENT: Middle management employee discusses how Government has contributed to America's economic growth as employer, borrower, & consumer. Raises need for greater responsiveness to individual & national needs. 29 min.: INNOVATION: Industrial scientist discusses how inventive men have influenced America's economic growth & success. Encourages continued search for improved ways of doing things. 16 min. LAND: Farmer discusses how land in relation to transportation, has determined America's economic growth & success. 29 min ORGANIZATION: Entrepreneur discusses how America's economic growth is based on organizational techniques such as mass production & mass marketing. 29 min. PEOPLE: College professor discusses how American immigrant has contributed to economic growth through his previous knowledge & experience, his nonconformity, & his adventuresome spirit. 29 min.


Five Pillars of Islam
HIS VT0013

World of Islam is shared by 800 million people of all colors, economic levels & social strata. They share faith which is today what it was at beginning, same in a King's palace & Filipino hovel. Essential principles on which Islam rests its 5 pillars are discussed, described, & put into historical context. Introduces international mosaic of Moslem believers, & conflict between traditional teaching & effects of industrialization. 30 min


Israel Folk Dance Festival
HIS VT0021

Collection of best folkoric dance groups performing in Israel today. Action, colors & music, reflecting traditions & history of people. 1983. 60 min


People of E.Germany & The First All-German Elections
HIS VT0311

Pt. 1 THE PEOPLE OF EAST GERMANY: An average family a self-employed carpenter, former Stasi members, Stasi victims, an air force officer, a teacher, a writer, & a politician talk about past hardships, as well as hopes for future in a united Germany; 2. THE FIRST ALL-GERMAN ELECTIONS: Probe questions of capital, relations with U.S. & Soviet Union, & economic problems of German unity.


An Unknown Country & The Elle River (4/91)
HIS VT0312

2 hr.


Stalin: Revolutionary
HIS VT0334A

Follows rise of Stalin, from early years training for priesthood, through transformation into a revolutionary sought by czarist police, to emergence as a leader in Communist Party. Gain insight into factors that led to formation of Stalin's personal goals, & learn how they influenced plans for his country. 1991. 58 min


Stalin: Despot
HIS VT0334B

Examines Stalin's manipulation of system he established to throw country into change. Policies of collectivization & rapid industrialization instituted by him in 1929 inaugurated a reign of terror that changed political course of history forever. By end of 30s, 20 million people had been killed, & 8 million were confined to labor camps. In spite of this, Soviet propaganda machine succeeded in convincing many that he was infallible & omniscient. 1991 58 min


Stalin: Generalissimo
HIS VT0334C

Focuses on Stalin as military leader & planner, outlines his domestic & foreign policies during last 20 years of his life. Hitler's invasion of Soviet Union in June 1941 caught Stalin by surprise, but by 43, Red Army had triumphed. After WW II, Stalin imposed Communist regimes on Eastern European countries now liberated from Nazi control, & he emerged as lord of a powerful empire. Although Stalin had undertaken a new purge just before his death, millions of Soviets still mourned him. 58 min


Echoes that Remain
HIS VT0340A

The story of people of Shetetl, world that was.


Genocide
HIS VT0340B

Story of the people of Shtetl, the world that was...


Americas 6: Miracles Are Not Enough: Continuity and Change in Religion
HIS VT0435C

Look at contemporary Latin America; examines issues confronting region by focusing on individual communities. Campesinos, city dwellers, artists, government officials, revolutionaries, & others bring forth the multi-layered diversity of the region. 60 minutes


Americas Response to the Holocaust
HIS VT0446

BU Dr. David Wyman Lecture


Master Race
HIS VT0475

Shows how Nazi concept of racial superiority developed, & how German nation organized. Focuses on 1936 Olympic Games as grist for German propaganda; organized, planned persecution as an element of government policy; political suppression & anti-Semitism; Mein Kampf as a blueprint; Nuremberg Laws defining racial purity; Joseph Goebbels & Big Lie; how youth were educated to support goals of Nazi state. 20 min.


Rise & Fall of Adolf Hitler
HIS VT0476A

Covers career of Austrian artist who nearly conquered world: series of events, people, history, happenings, confluence of economic, psychological, & political forces that turned a thousand minor events into huge murderous whole. There had been wars, slave labor, genocide, treaties made to be broken, & propagandists who came to believe their own propaganda; what made this experience different is what is documented: its vast scope, its documentation of film, its central character, Adolf Hitler.


Rise & Fall of Adolf Hitler
HIS VT0476B

Covers career of Austrian artist who nearly conquered world: series of events, people, history, happenings, confluence of economic, psychological, & political forces that turned a thousand minor events into huge murderous whole. There had been wars, slave labor, genocide, treaties made to be broken, & propagandists who came to believe their own propaganda; what made this experience different is what is documented: its vast scope, its documentation of film, its central character, Adolf Hitler.


President Salinas - Talking with David Frost
HIS VT0477

David Frost interviews Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari who is considered champion of controversial North American Free Trade Agreement & widely credited as hero of Mexico's reviving economy. 60 min.


Longest Hatred
HIS VT0490A

Drawing on interviews with Semites & anti-Semites, as well as scholars in Europe, America, & the Middle East, traces anti-Semitism from its earliest manifestations in antiquity to ominous outbreaks in Germany, Russia, & elsewhere. Documentary analysis of anti-Semitism explores attitude that often casts Jews as "permanent outsiders & threats to society"- an attitude that reached its full horror in Nazi Germany, though it neither began nor ended with Holocaust. 2 hr, 30 min


Longest Hatred
HIS VT0490B

Drawing on interviews with Semites & anti-Semites, as well as scholars in Europe, America, & the Middle East, traces anti-Semitism from its earliest manifestations in antiquity to ominous outbreaks in Germany, Russia, & elsewhere. Documentary analysis of anti-Semitism explores attitude that often casts Jews as "permanent outsiders & threats to society"- an attitude that reached its full horror in Nazi Germany, though it neither began nor ended with Holocaust. 2 hr, 30 min


Mayan (1994)
HIS VT0525

About history of Mayan's, 1,000 year chronicle of ancient Mexico & Central America. In depth look at ancient Mayan artifacts & temples reveals rituals & traditions that have puzzled archeologists for years.


Ancient Africans
HIS VT0527

Tracing roots of African history from Stone Age to kingdoms of Kush, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Mali, & Songhai, examines Africa prior to European colonization. Based on writings of such first hand observers as Ibn Battuta & Leo Africanus, it blends history, geography, & anthropology to provide analysis of the rich heritage of African society. 27 min.


Ancient Chinese
HIS VT0528

Presents history of China's great dynasties. Examines the philosophy & religion of the ancient Chinese, as well as their beliefs about the relationship between man & nature. Discusses the development of a system of writing & looks at technology of the ancient Chinese. 24 min.


Ancient Peruvians
HIS VT0529

Study of magnificent civilizations of pre-Columbian America. Explores origins of Chavin, Paracas Nasca, Mochica, & Tiahuanaco cultures. Continues with examination of Inca Empire, showing archaeological discoveries & ancient pottery. 29 min.


FRONTLINE: The Struggle for Russia
HIS VT0542

A look at Yeltsin's presidency, exploring Russia's economic & social chaos & examining what went wrong with his "shock therapy" economic reforms. 2 hours.


Hermitage
HIS VT0545A

Volume One: Catherine the Great: A Lust for Art: With stunning art & readings from Catherine the Great's diaries, program investigates a self-professed "glutton for beauty", who feasted daily on Rembrandts, Rubenses & Brueghels. Like her predecessor Peter the Great, who built St. Petersburg with best Europe had to offer, she ruled Russia with an appetite for Western culture. She purchased massive art collections from Europe's monarchs then created The Hermitage Museum in Winter Palace (1754-1762) to house her treasures. In less than 40 years she acquired more masterpieces than Louvre had amassed in four centuries. 54 min


Hermitage
HIS VT0545B

Volume Two: Tyrants & Heroes: Nineteenth Century Czars: Depicts violence of 19th century & resplendent art Russian royalty collected during turbulent era. Rod MacLeish puts remarkable paintings, statues, & end of century photographs in their historical contexts: War of 1812, when Russian officers lingered in Paris, absorbing Western ideas & buying artwork; autocratic reign of Nicholas I, who fiercely repressed people yet lavished money on The Hermitage: & progressive rule of Alexander II, which ended tragically in murder. 53 min


Hermitage
HIS VT0545C

Volume Three: From Czars to Commissars: A Museum Survives: Illustrates horrors of revolution & war plays counterpoint to breathtaking works by Matisse, Renoir, & Picasso. When Nicholas II succumbed to people's revolution & Lenin rose to power, Hermitage became world's largest museum, increased by thousands of works previously held in private collections. In shocking turn of events, Stalin, Lenin's successor sold many for cash. Yet, Hermitage survived Stalin, as well as WWII, when two thirds of its collection was transported out of Leningrad before Nazi siege. 55 min


Old Gringo
HIS VT0559

Jane Fonda is Harriet, spinster who flees unrewarding life in America hoping to discover passion in her soul. Gregory Peck is Ambrose Bruce, Old Gringo, a retired journalist, & adventurer who wanders through hostile desert seeking meaning to last years of his life. Jimmy Smitts is Arroyo, fiery young general, driven by both Revolution, & desire for Harriet. Set in Mexican Revolution, their lives become drawn together as they face love, death, & war in adventure of a lifetime.


Shvitz
HIS VT0565

1994


Mary Sillimans War
HIS VT0574

Takes new approach to American Revolution. Instead of focusing on public dimensions, film brings an array of issues central to personal experiences of one woman & her family during Revolutionary War. 93 min


Isabel Allende: The Womens Voice in Latin American Literature
HIS VT0604

Decribes emotions that inform her fiction & events that set them in motion. Niece of disposed Chilean president Salvador Allende, she fled Chile in terror & blossomed in exile to write of love, hate, & revenge that shape lives of people she knew, or dreamt about: her characters, her own legend in the making. 56 min


60 Minutes William Pierce
HIS VT0676

Interviews of Turner Diaries, regarded as patron saint of militia movement. 5/96. 14 min


Murder of JFK
HIS VT0686

Since 1989 private investigator Joe West had devoted his time, money & life to search for killer of President John Kennedy. After a journey filled with dead ends West had all but given up when he received a tip from an FBI agent who demanded to remain anonymous. The tip led West to Joliet State Penitentiary where an inmate by name of James Files was serving a 50-year sentence for shooting an Illinois state policeman. West had reason to believe that Files was involved in assassination. What followed was a relationship between West & Files which grew so close that files was ready to reveal his role in murder of the President. As fate would have it shortly before confession was to be taped Joe West suddenly died of a heart attack. Moved by what he believed was death of a real friend Files still agreed to give a complete interview in which he confessed his complicity in events that took place on that fateful day, November 22, 1963 in Dallas. 76 minutes


Art & Revolution in Mexico
HIS VT0691

Nowhere but in Mexico has history been painted as superbly; nowhere else have outspokenly painters like Rivera & Siqueiros produced such great art. Art of revolution & revolution of art in this time & place seemed to have nurtured one another. 51 min


Man For All Seasons
HIS VT0693

Henry VIII's wife Catherine is unable to produce heir. Henry, in love with Anne Boleyne, asks Pope to grant him divorce. King is backed by everyone except Sir Thomas More. When Cardinal Wolsey, Chancellor of England, names More as his successor, it becomes important for Henry to get More's support. But More cannot be swayed. Henry demands clergy renounce Pope & name him head of Church of England. Cromwell, leader of divorce campaign, frames More forcing him to resign. Eventually More is brought to trial, found guilty of treason & beheaded. 1966/Color/G rated/Approx. 120 min


Times of a Sign
HIS VT0707

Film about reaction of an Indiana town to Iran-Contra scandal. It is instructive in it's handling of scandal's major characters & central questions that force us to think about unavoidable future relationship of American democracy to American foreign policy.


Caine Mutiny
HIS VT0718

Mutiny aboard a naval vessel, based on novel by Herman Wouk. The behavior of Captain Queeg during maneuvers aboard the U.S.S. Caine attracts the attention of the ship's crewmembers & its executive officer Maryk. When Queeg's neurotic behavior reaches a breaking point during a typhoon, Maryk takes command of the ship. Queeg retaliates by having Maryk court-martialed. In a courtroom sequence, Lt. Greenwald breaks Queeg down on the stand. Maryk wins the case but the victory is short-lived as Lt. Greenwald reveals that the men have all been victims of a deceptive shipmate named Lt. Keefer who instigated the mutiny for his own purposes. 125 min.


Last Voyage of the Lusitania
HIS VT0720

Why did Germany torpedo Lusitania, a civilian vessel? Why did it sink so fast? Take a plunge beneath Irish Channel & relive one of century's mysterious maritime tragedies. 62 min


W. LaFeber: Americans in Post Cold War World: Armstrong Lecture 4/95
HIS VT0725

Armstrong Lecture. 4/95


Tom Jones-1
HIS VT0730

When Tom is discovered abandoned on bed of Squire Allworthy, his origins are a mystery; but Squire adopts him as his own & Tom begins a life of bawdy adventure. A devilish, good-looking man, Tom has a way with women, but loves only one: Sophie Western, daughter of a neighboring landowner. His attempts to woo her & many adventures that befall him from forest sword fights to bedroom romps all lead in one direction: to London where a duel with a jealous husband lands him in prison waiting to be hanged. Will secrets of Tom's birth be revealed in time to save his life, love & love life? All is revealed in end. 121 min


Madness of King George
HIS VT0731

Midnight romps with lower classes? Fisticuffs with Prince of Wales: Sexual indiscretions with Queen's ladies? Something is not quite right in Windsor Castle. It appears to be the King! When George III loses colonies in American Revolution, his behavior becomes nothing less than mad. With Parliament battling for increased power & Prince of Wales plotting his own rise to throne, King George's behavior sets stage for a thrilling game of betrayal, politics & intrigue. 110 min


Remains of the Day--
HIS VT0738

Anthony Hopkins stars as Stevens, perfect English butler-an ideal carried by him to fanatical lengths, as he serves his master, Lord Darlington. Darlington is duped by Nazis into trying to establish a rapport between themselves & British government. Emma Thompson stars as estate's housekeeper, a high-spirited, woman who watches goings on upstairs with horror. Despite her apprehensions, she & Stevens fall in love-though neither will admit it & only give vent to their charged feelings via fierce arguments. 134 min.


Khartoum
HIS VT0744

Chronicles Britain's crisis in Sudan & siege at Khartoum in 1883. Laurence Olivier as fanatical Arab leader Mahdi, who leads his desert tribesmen against British. Charlton Heston plays British General Gordon, sent to defend Khartoum & to squelch rebellion. Despite a mutual respect for each other they are unable to reach a compromise. So it is a test of wills to see who will win once Mahdi attacks. 1966. 2 hr. 16 min


Zulu
HIS VT0745

1879, King of Zulu nation declared war on British Empire. Clad with only shields & spears Zulu warriors slaughtered over 1200 British troops. Only troops left after massacre were stationed at tiny mission at Rourke's Drift. Barely 100 determined soldiers remained to battle 4000 Zulu who were unmercifully attacking mission. 138 min


Schindlers List - Part 1
HIS VT0755A

True story of how German war profiteer & prison camp director Oskar Schindler came to save more Jews from gas chambers than any other single person during WWII. 3 hr. 17 min


Evita
HIS VT0777

The true story of Eva Peron, who rose above childhood poverty & a scandalous past to achieve unimaginable fortune & fame. Despite controversy, her passion changed a nation forever! 135 min


Unforgiven
HIS VT0783

Clint Eastwood & Morgan Freeman play retired, down on their luck outlaws who pick up their guns one last time to collect a bounty offered by vengeful prostitutes of remote Wyoming town of Big Whiskey. Big trouble is coming to Big Whiskey & Unforgiven is a "western for all ages." 131 min


Sink The Bismarck
HIS VT0797

True story of heroism at sea. Hard choices are made as English Navy tries to destroy most powerful battleship in world - the Bismarck. In spring of 1941, England remains only undefeated nation in Europe & stands alone against Germany. She can survive only as long as her ocean supply lines remain open. Featuring actual combat footage, film puts you on front lines of one of most crucial naval battles of WW II. 97 min


Night of the Shooting Stars
HIS VT0849

Depicts final days of WWII in Italy, seen mostly through the eyes of 6 year old girl. In summer 1944 group of villagers flee from Nazi occupiers, risking their lives to reach GIs. To little girl, life on run is a succession of wondrous moments, both meaningful & horrifying: a young couple wed; a crowded church blown up; wealthy widow falls in love; Fascists & Resistance Fighters stalk each other. Journey is tragedy of desolation & celebration of life. It preserves a period of recent history that should never be forgotten. 107 min


Berlin Journey of a City
HIS VT0852

Journey of 50 years: 1945, end of WWII with the defeat of Nazis. Allies occupy Berlin; 1948-49, Soviets blockade Berlin. Berlin Airlift by the western Allies; 1961, Rise of the Berlin Wall; 1963, President John Kennedy comes to Berlin; 1989, fall of the Berlin Wall; 1994, Allied military forces depart Berlin. 1995. Color & b/w. 57 min.


Heroes & Tyrants of the Twentieth Century: Mussolini
HIS VT0853

Benito Mussolini was ruler with no identity, a man who neither understood himself nor his country. Follows this dictator as he goes from womanizer to casualty of war to Fascist leader & to victim at hands of his people. You'll witness theatrical personality, his march on Rome, his private war with Hitler & his defeats on battlefield. Containing startling war footage, Mussolini is a compelling study in madness. 50 min


Lodz Ghetto
HIS VT0854

Reveals drama of 2,000,000 people trapped in longest surviving community of Jews in Hitler's Europe, bringing to life ordinary people caught in an unbelievable time. Assembled from diaries & photographs hidden away so that we would know what people of ghetto endured, it demands viewers' attention & crosses time bringing us into past by mixing modern & historical footage. View of greatest tragedy of our time is also inspirational in its poignant images of daily life among people who refused to give up love of family or to stifle drives to think & create. 1989,1992 Color/B&W. 118 min


Franco Prussian War
HIS VT0855

Struggle between France & Prussia saw fall of Paris & left France politically divided & on brink of economic ruin. The fall of 2nd French Empire laid ground for Otto von Bismarck to establish German Empire. This was 1st European war in which both adversaries used railroads, telegraph, rifles & breech loading artillery; technological innovations that revolutionized warfare in 19th & 20th centuries. 50 min


Sigmund Freud: Analysis of a Mind
HIS VT0856

His ideas transformed our concept of mind yet father of psychoanalysis was plagued by neurotic fears & troubling obsessions. Freud is one of most influential thinkers of modern times. His theories continue to inspire discovery & debate even as discipline he conceived grows in different directions. Through artifacts, letters, diaries & revealing interviews with biographers, psychiatrists & grandchildren video profiles man who was once derided as "the doctor of love." From his childhood to his worldwide fame, program explores Freud's life, including his obsessive behavior & bouts with addiction. 1995. 50 min


Fall of Communism
HIS VT0887

One by one, Communist nations traded politics for a more democratic future. Video helps you understand depth of what happened, from tearing down of Berlin Wall, to independence movements in Poland, Lithuania & Mother Russia. 80 min


Un Chien Andalou/Land Without Bread
HIS VT0896

Contains what is one of most memorable scenes in film history - a razor blade slicing an eyeball. Made in 1929 it aimed to shock rather than please & soon became a film classic. Was made in 1932 & portrays the everyday lives of indigent peasants on one of Spain's most desolate regions. 27 min


Shoeshine
HIS VT0898

Story of 2 Roman orphans abused by Italian state reform system. Film unpopular in Italy as Italians were ashamed to see their "dirty linen" exposed to world. 1946. 90 min


Amadeus
HIS VT0900

About Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life & music & jealousy ridden 18th Century composer who torments Mozart. Incredible music of Mozart is heard throughout the film. 158 min


Open City
HIS VT0905

Filmed on streets of Rome in first weeks of Allied liberation & employing number of non-actors, Open City placed itself at vanguard of Italian neorealist movement, evoking feelings of despair & determination that bound together partisan resistance in face of certain death. It was not proximity to actual events that made the film so spellbinding, but blend of gentle humor & terrifying violence.


Nights of Cabiria
HIS VT0909

110 min


Cinema Paradiso
HIS VT0910

Story of small Italian boy's lifelong affair with movies. Salvatore yearns for secret of cinema's magic & is overjoyed when Alfredo, projectionist, agrees to reveal mysteries of movie making to him. As their friendship grows so does Salvatore, growing older with his good friend & the movies he adores. When Salvatore leaves the village Alfredo makes young man promise to never look back. And he does not for 30 years until a message arrives that beckons him back home to a secret discovery that awaits him there. 121 min


Battle of Algiers
HIS VT0911

One of most realistic films of all time. Initially banned by French government, it won wide acclaim. Struggling to rid their country of French colonialism, Ali La Pointe & his terrorist group paint streets of Casbah red with blood of their enemies. Children shoot soldiers. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. French Colonel Phillipe Mathieu is called to quash the uprising but Algiers is on fire & the battle has just begun. 125 min


Man Escaped
HIS VT0956

Tale of courage & faith recounts a Resistance fighter's escape from a Nazi prison, just hours before he was to be executed. Film details Lt. Fontaine's preparations for escape. Director Robert Bresson. 1956. 100 min/B&W. French with English subtitles. 1994 restoration


History Channel
HIS VT0961A

The First Firearms: Where past comes alive. From dawn of time to 20th century, from conflicts to inventions that changed world, series captures glory, tragedy, & drama of human experience. Brilliant, astounding & vibrant dramatizations bring past home to you. 50 min. 1999


History Channel
HIS VT0961B

The First Sword: Where past comes alive. From dawn of time to 20th century, from conflicts to inventions that changed world, series captures glory, tragedy & drama of human experience. Brilliant, astounding & vibrant dramatizations bring past home to you. 50 min. 1999


History Channel
HIS VT0961C

Castles & Seiges: Where past comes alive. From dawn of time to 20th century, from conflicts to inventions that changed world, series captures glory, tragedy & drama of human experience. Brilliant, astounding & vibrant dramatizations bring past home to you. 50 min. 1999


History Channel
HIS VT0961D

Slings & Spears: Where past comes alive. From dawn of time to 20th century, from conflicts to inventions that changed world, series captures glory, tragedy & drama of human experience. Brilliant, astounding & vibrant dramatizations bring past home to you. 50 min. 1999


History Channel
HIS VT0961E

Mail & Plate Armor: Where past comes alive. From dawn of time to 20th century, from conflicts to inventions that changed world, series captures glory, tragedy & drama of human experience. Brilliant, astounding & vibrant dramatizations bring past home to you. 50 min. 1999


World of Apu-Apu Trilogy
HIS VT0968A

Forced to abandon his education, Apu's prospects look bleak until fate intervenes in form of an insane bridegroom. To save abandoned bride from public disgrace, Apu marries her, beginning a new life as husband & father. Like earlier films in trilogy, Pather Panchali & Aparajito, The World of Apu is more than a mesmerizing look at Indian culture; it is a universal look at family love & personal sacrifice. 1959 B/W 106 min


Aparajito-Apu Trilogy
HIS VT0968B

Saga of Apu & his family continues in Aparajito. Following Apu & his family to city explores crowded streets & busy waterfront, introducing us to a gallery of unforgettable images & characters. But when tragedy strikes Apu's family, boy becomes a man & must choose between life his father chose, a life of duty & disappointment, or a life of his own. 1956. B/W. 113 min


Pather Panchali-Apu Trilogy
HIS VT0968C

The first Indian film to ever become a hit in West, Pather Panchali is moving story of a rural family cursed with bad luck. Father Hari is a dreamer & poet, while his hard-working wife struggles to feed family. But Durga, a petty thief, brings tragedy to family in a moment's carelessness. 1952-1955 B/W 113 min


Budapest October 1956
HIS VT0976

Hope that countries east of Iron Curtain could act independently of Soviet Union, or that Communism could exist without totalitarianism, was crushed without pity - in East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia & Poland. When insurrection broke out in Oct of 1956 it at first appeared that Imre Nagy might win some concessions from Moscow. Instead, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest & brutally suppressed uprising. Covers path of Communism spread by force of arms in Eastern Europe.


Germany
HIS VT0978

Love story set during & after Nazi era, video is dialogue with German past. Explores private lives of a young bride & her Nazi soldier husband & her parents, who tolerated Hitler. 123 min


ThreePenny Opera
HIS VT0979

Reconstructed in sixties - years after original negative was destroyed by Nazis, G.W. Pabst's Threepenny Opera remains a deliciously dark film adaptation of Brecht & Weill's musical. Pabst combines realism & expressionism for a biting satire of respectable society. About seedy underworld of 1890's London. There a dashing thief called Mack the Knife gets away with robbery on a daily basis until he marries daughter of Soho's Beggar King. When outraged king sends a force of crooked cops after Mack bandit must run for his life. 1957 pop hit Mack the Knife came from this satire. 1931 BW 113 min


Shame
HIS VT0984

Starring: Liv Ullmann, Max Von Sydow. B&W. 107 min


Zero De Conduite
HIS VT0985

Two boys return from holidays to a repressive school environment. They lead a student revolt against school authorities. A wonderful study of adolescence and strength of human spirit. B&W 1993 Director Jean Vigo 50 min


Creation of the Universe
HIS VT0999

In ongoing exploration of subatomic particles scientists are turning up clues to origin of universe. Identifies & explains most challenging ideas & theories in modern science. 90 min


Broken Blossoms
HIS VT1002

Richard Barthelmess gives sensitive portrayal of a Chinese man who travels to England to spread pacifist teachings of Orient but it is Lillian Gish who illuminates screen. In this most heartrending performance of her career she plays a 15 year old street urchin who longs to escape her miserable existence. Emotionally scarred by torment & neglect of her father the girl collapses outside shop of the lonely & disillusioned yellow man. As he tenderly nurtures her back to health a romance flowers between them awakening in each of them feelings of love they thought themselves forever denied. 1919. 90 min. tinted color


Sherlock Jr. and Our Hospitality
HIS VT1003

Perhaps no other film offers as exciting a roller-coaster ride through golden age of comedy than Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. Dramatizing uproarious exploits of a meek theatre projectionist-turned-amateur sleuth, blends knockabout physical comedy normally associated with slapstick with more subtly-crafted moments of humor - such as when Buster leaps through silver screen in midst of action. 44 min


Tokyo Story
HIS VT1004

Tale of an elderly couple who journeys to Tokyo, where they are received less than enthusiastically by their grown children; then generational conflicts are stilled by death. 134 min.


Nuremberg
HIS VT1006

Europe 1945 - War is over but there is no peace. Slowly, painfully life came back to ruins of Europe. Despair crouched over continent. People wanted to know what happened and why. In palace of Nuemberg war criminals were prosecuted. Civilization could not tolerate them being ignored. B&W 76 min


Der Marsch Zum Fuhrer
HIS VT1007

Marching boots were heard on German roads years before 2nd WW as each summer thousands of Hitler Youth traveled from their home towns to Nuremberg to participate in annual Nazi Party Congress. This propaganda film tells of these columns as they march through mountains, forests, fields & towns of Hitler's realm. B&W 50 min English subtitles.


Metropolis
HIS VT1009

A futuristic fantasy with brilliant sequences creating genuine excitement & terror. In year 2000 workers live underground amidst revolt & unrest. A beautiful girl represents good & a mad inventor rides crest of evil. 126 min


Modern Times
HIS VT1010

A satire on industrial life, Modern Times is first film in which Chaplin employed sound effects & marks final appearance of his "Little Tramp" character. In this comedy Chaplin plays a hapless factory worker who cracks under strain of his job & runs amok. Unemployed on streets of Depression America he joins forces with a young woman fleeing child-care authorities & they embark on a misadventure filled search for happiness. One of Chaplin's most popular films this deftly conceived, ingeniously executed social commentary is still every bit as insightful, relevant & entertaining as it was in the 30's. B&W. 1936. 87 min


Diary of a Country Priest
HIS VT1017

Story of devout & withdrawn young priest's assignment to his first rural parish. His gullibility frequently makes him target of cruel manipulations & betrayals of his own parishioners, a situation which develops into a potent study of human nature. Also concerns relationship of priest, Laydu, with family of local Count who, he hopes, will contribute to church's work in village. And important is his relationship with one of schoolgirls who comes to catechism class at church. His way of life causes him to be reviled by most villagers, who consider him a drunkard. Hopelessly unworldly, self-tormented & in ill health, Laydu maintains a determined connection to his spiritual foundation. His only support comes from Vicar of the larger neighboring parish, whose paternal criticisms are tempered by his awareness of Laydu's near sainthood. 115 min


Jonah Who Will Be 25 In The Year 2000
HIS VT1018

A high spirited, freewheeling comedy, JONAH tells story of 8 veterans of 1968 stranded between revolution & accommodation, each with their own eccentric answers to problems of society. Watching this is like spending time with a group of your friends. 110 min


Lady Vanishes
HIS VT1022

This film catapulted Hitchcock to fame. Combining comedy & mystery it pits a retired governess, a sharp-tongued debutante & an eccentric music scholar against ruthless spies. This early Hitchcock charmer remains one of his best. 1938 B&W 97 min


Man With A Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov)
HIS VT1023

Dziga Vertov's film is considered one of most innovative & influential of silent era. Startlingly modern, film utilizes a groundbreaking style of rapid editing & incorporates innumerable cinematic effects to create a work of amazing power & energy. A dawn to dusk view of Soviet Union documentary follows activities of a news cameraman as he peers into lives of his countrymen.


Marvelous Melies
HIS VT1026

George Melies advanced trick film & special effects of movies with his early short subjects. A magician, he transferred some of these routines to film then added camera tricks such as double exposure, stop motion, dissolves & other effects to amaze his audiences who had never seen such images before. All the typical gadgets & special effects are employed in film. B&W & part color/silent with music added/ 1 hr


Mindwalk
HIS VT1031

Somehow it happens. A conversation begins then magic of interaction & fever of ideas take over. Next thing you know your train stop is miles back. Or restaurant is empty & waiter is gone. Or sun seeps into your dorm room. You've taken a Mindwalk. You're different than when you began. 1999 110 minutes


Shock of the Nude
HIS VT1038

Scandal surrounded Paris 1865 exhibition of painting "Olympia". Manet had dared to portray visual art's most universal subject the nude as an unidealized woman - a prostitute who stares directly at viewer. He founded accepted ideas of beauty & propriety in art & outraged audiences. Although "Olympia" is now regarded as a masterpiece, visual artists continue to test society's conventions. 60 min


Menilmontant-The Charleston-Folie Du Dr Tube
HIS VT1041

Menilmontant-Dimitri Kirsanov's film of trials & tribulations of 2 orphaned girls living on streets of Paris. Music score. (1926) The Charleston-Jean Renoir's space ditty has black astronaut landing in France where he & a young woman start dancing Charleston! Music score. (1927) Folie Du Dr. Tube-Abel Gance's short features mad scientist who sniffs cocaine in his lab while conducting experiments. Warped mirrors & optical effects are used to illustrate cokehead's trips. Silent with added music score.


Miss Julie
HIS VT1043

Haunting tale of emotional repression is masterwork of director Alf Sjoberg. Action of Miss Julie flows across a lush estate where servants dance in celebration of Midsummer's Eve. Their revelry provides stunning contrast to Miss Julie's anguish & self-denial, following her brief romantic interlude. Anita Bjork portrays tormented Julie. Ulf Paime is superb in role of her lover. 1950. B&W. 90 min


Masculin Feminin
HIS VT1044

Revolves around love affair between a young pseudorevolutionary & pretty pop singer film explores go-go generation, sexuality & Paris in 60's. Differing attitudes of sexes toward love & war are revealed in cafes, discos, bathrooms & bedrooms where enthusiastic conversations include discussions of birth control, Bra, Communism, Coca-Cola, Bach & The Beatles. 1966. B&W. 103 min


Vagabond
HIS VT1072

Shocking tale of homeless drifter found frozen to death in a ditch. Documentary style with testimonies from people who met Mona after she dropped out of middle-class society to drift across French countryside. In flashbacks we see Mona beg for food & shelter, steal, & engage in sexual encounters. Records Mona's fall into degradation with pure, bold images & an emotional distance that heightens sense of isolation & tragedy. Revelation of how little we truly know anyone. 1985. French/English subtitles. 105 min


Bridge
HIS VT1073

One of most realistic war films made, it takes you to a time & place that no longer exists - Germany, 1945, in final hours of war. As war rages to its bitter end, eight sixteen-year-old German schoolboys are drafted into Wehrmacht as a last resort to defend a bridge to their town. With patriotic enthusiasm the boys struggle bravely but futilely to carry out their orders against advancing American troops & tanks. A film of youth trapped in the fires of Hell. B&W. 1959. 102 min


Kanal
HIS VT1074

As Resistance fighters descend into Warsaw's sewer system to escape Nazis, Wajda leads us through a psychological descent into minds of a crushed people. Terror of war is intensified by stifling close quarters. Graphic images of makeshift army & civilians wading through refuse filled waters describe their futile struggle for liberty. Escapees teach a moving lesson in love, despair, fear & bravery. Based on actual events during Warsaw uprising in 1944. B&W. Polish with English subtitles. 1957. 96 min


War Game
HIS VT1079

Original & daring, sobering & stunning 'staged documentary' brings home reality of nuclear war. In so doing it remains as timely today as when it was first seen. Portrays effect of nuclear war by combining cleverly filmed simulated newsreels & interviews with a take no sides narration. In his scenario there's a 'Berlin crisis' result of which is an exchange of nuclear warheads between US & Soviet Union. BBC deemed it unsuitable for home viewing. Eventually it went on to earn an Academy Award. 48 min


Lost Honor Of Katharina Blum
HIS VT1084

Exposes hidden terror of yellow press. Katharina Blum is a shy housekeeper who has a one-night stand with an enigmatic young man she met at a party. Next morning police raid her apartment & arrest them both for terrorism. Brutally interrogated & wrongfully accused, how far will she go to reclaim her life? 109 min


Miracle In Milan
HIS VT1088

Story of an abandoned newborn who is raised by a kindly old lady to be a paragon of goodness, illustrates frustration of innocence in face of life's realities. 1951. B&W. 96 min


Wages Of Fear
HIS VT1089

Desperate to leave South American town that entraps them, 4 drifters accept a suicidal mission from ruthless U.S. oil company. Suspense builds to a fever pitch as they drive 2 truckloads of nitroglycerin over 300 miles of treacherous roads. Yves Montand plays a swaggering youth who rides his fear to a questionable victory. 43 minutes of restored footage make this an exercise in terror. French with English subtitles 1952 148 min B&W


Passion Of Joan Of Arc
HIS VT1090

(1928-France) Story of trial & execution of famous martyr. One of those films every student of cinema has to see. A masterpiece & one of most unusual films ever made (shot almost entirely in close-up) & with slow methodical pace of a grandfather clock ticking in a silent & stiflingly hot room. In today's terms, for lover of film with clearness of head, depth of faith, & numbness of bottom, it is nonetheless moving & emotional to a remarkable degree. Falconetti gives a devastating performance (that's exactly the way Joan must have looked & acted!) &one wonders why she never made another film. English titles. Silent film, music score, correct projection speed. 120 min


Day Of Wrath
HIS VT1091

Carl Dreyer changed course in 40's amidst Nazi occupied Denmark. Having discovered virtues of deep-focus photography he repositions fiery themes of passion & repression with longer takes & wider angles in story of a young & beautiful woman accused of being a witch. When Anna, wife of a well respected Pastor, falls in love with his son there is little she can do to avoid the stake & even less so when an old woman accused of witchery curses the Pastor & all he loves. Day of Wrath seizes upon truth behind legend & allegory. The women must be in league with devil because men cannot explain fissures in repressive morality they placed upon their community. 1943. B&W. 94 min


Earth
HIS VT1092

One of undisputed masterpieces of cinema, no single viewing of Earth will ever reveal all of its poetic brilliance although it is strikingly simple in plot. On eve of Collectivization in Ukraine, an old farmer dies peacefully in bed. His grandson has a new vision - village council will buy a tractor to be shared among the farmers. Struggling against superstition, rich landowners & nature itself, the grandson is ultimately victim of a tragic murder, but dawn brings forth a new life & promise of prosperity to the poor village. 1930. B&W. 69 min


Martin Luther
HIS VT1097

Work of a man, Martin Luther, his efforts for reform, his excommunication, & developments that led to origin & growth of Protestant movement. Fear of sin & God's judgment struck terror in Martin Luther's heart. Like many others in 16th century, young law student sought shelter in a monastery. No matter what he did, he was unable to escape fear of evil & punishment. He fought against sale of indulgences. He demanded that church of his day be cleansed of secular abuse & that authority for doctrine & practice be scripture rather than Popes or Council. To bring up abuse of indulgences for debate, he nailed 95 points of argument on church door. This agreement split Roman Catholic Church & Holy Roman Empire. B/W. 1953. 105 min


Elizabeth
HIS VT1102

England 1554. Young, passionate Elizabeth Tudor comes to throne amidst bloody turmoil. Among her courtiers are Sir William Cecil, her lover the Duke of Leicester, imperious Duke of Norfolk & her advisor Walsingham. She must learn to weigh her counsel carefully & ignore her private yearnings if she is to keep her crown & her head. (Also have this in DVD) 124 min


Nous La Liberte
HIS VT1103

Two convicts plot to break out in this delightful musical comedy. Only one manages to & he rapidly becomes a successful entrepreneur. When his friend joins him they become involved in a plot of love & blackmail finally escaping to freedom & open road leaving behind bars, both actual & entrapment of success. French with English subtitles 87 min


Passion Of Joan Of Arc
HIS VT1106

Centers on Joan of Arc's trial & execution. Derived from actual transcripts of her trial, story defies all conventions of filmmaking through use of close-ups, jarring angles, sweeping camera movements & disjunctive editing. The set, designed by Hermann Warm, was built without any square angles. 1928. B&W. 82 min Newer version/sound remastered


Grand Illusion
HIS VT1107

One of most celebrated anti-war films ever made, film filters its indictments through interactions & sacrifices of characters that are divided by class rather than national borders. Renoir (1894-1979) a pacifist & ambivalent Popular Front member made film in 1937 as WWII seemed unavoidable. Referring to film as 'a statement of man's brotherhood beyond political borders', he hoped it would be message for German soldiers to ignore their hyper nationalist leaders. Unfortunately, it never had a chance. Goebbels ordered all prints confiscated & destroyed calling it a cinematographic enemy. 1938. B&W. 114 min


Ballad Of Narayama
HIS VT1109

Imagine a village so impoverished that thieves are buried alive & elderly citizens must submit to death on a cold mountain peak. Based on Japanese legend & set a century ago, film focuses on a proud matriarch and her widowed son as they prepare for her final journey to Mount Narayama. With amazing performances, bold details of primitive life and stunning nature photography, the director brilliantly portrays the spiritual strength that coexists with cruel savagery. The intense conflict between love, duty and harsh reality builds to a chilling climax. 1983. Color. 129 min


Raise The Red Lantern
HIS VT1136

Prisons come in many forms. Some are encased with iron bars. But those bound by silken threads can be just as impenetrable. In 1920s China, there are few options for women. So after death of her father, a beautiful 19-year-old college student agrees to a wealthy nobleman. She is to be wife number 4 at his estate, where daily life revolves around an ancient family custom: the master raises a red lantern outside the house of the wife with whom he desires to spend the night. On the surface there is harmony between the wives but trapped inside their gilded cages, with nothing to do but compete for their husband's favor, the four 'sisters' are drawn into a web of petty rivalries that soon escalate into treachery & tragedy. 2 hr. 5 min


Atomic Cafe
HIS VT1137

Chilling...Intelligent...Hilarious--these are the elements of this collage - a film that took the nation by storm. Artfully culled from newsreel footage & government archives of the 1940's & 50's THE ATOMIC CAGE serves up the dark side of Cold War America in all its fear & paranoia & manages to blend this with a deep black humor. Highpoints include scenes of soldiers wearing only sunglasses for protection when sent into areas devastated by nuclear detonation, happy suburban families practicing use of their bomb shelters & 'Burt the Turtle' teaching children to 'duck & cover' as protection from nuclear fall-out. The Atomic Café has proven to be a true classic & a darkly comic look at a defining period in the 20th century. 1982. 88 min


Black Robe
HIS VT1138

In rugged 17th century Canadian wilderness Father Laforgue, a young, Jesuit priest is assigned to go up river into wilderness on a journey to convert Huron Indians. His Indian guides nickname him 'Black Robe.' His young aide & translator Daniel falls in love with beautiful daughter of Algonquin chief. Torn between his own desires & ideals of priesthood, Laforgue's faith is tested as expedition faces the elements. Attacked, captured & brutalized by Indians, experience challenges everything young priest believes. Together with his young companions he escapes to complete his mission & comes to understand the true spirit of the land & the spirit he sought to convert. VT/Color/101 min/ R rated


All The Mornings Of The World
HIS VT1139

A seductive tale of music & passion set in provocative 17th century France. Brimming with romance, lust, desire, devotion revenge & intrigue, it's the story of a reclusive composer & his 2 beautiful daughters, whose lives are changed by a flamboyant young student. 110 min


Women And Islam - Robin Wright Speaker BU 3-12-01
HIS VT1148

Speaker on Bradley's campus on 3-12-01.


Topsy-Turvy
HIS VT1151

Tensions abound & music swells in story about famous musical team of Gilbert & Sullivan. The 2 men who were extremely different in size & stature were even more different in temperament & style. Yet, they managed to create memorable theater. This is story of making of one of their most famous collaborations, The Mikado. 161 min


Times Of Harvey Milk
HIS VT1152

The dramatic & moving story of the first openly gay person elected to political office in California - from his triumphant grass-roots campaign to his brutal assassination one year later by fellow San Francisco city supervisor Dan White. These events & the 'twinkle-defense' trial that followed united an entire city - first in mourning, & then in violent rage. A story of communities & values in conflict, told with humor & compassion, this griping film builds to its climax with the intensity & inevitability of classic tragedy. And when the fires die down, it is a life-affirming testament to courage & hope. 87:39 min


Geisha
HIS VT1158

One of Kenji Mizoguchi's last films, A GEISHA is an exploration of extravagant passions & exploitation of women & of monumental social changes in modern Japan. Set amid the alleys & paper lanterns of Kyoto's Gion video is the story of Eiko, a beautiful young girl who decides to follow in her mother's footsteps & become a geisha. With no money of her own she becomes the apprentice to Miyoharu, her mother's best friend. Eiko begins her training but slowly discovers that for a geisha in the new Japan, beneath the image of traditional beauty lies the hard truth that a woman must sell herself to live. 86 min


Devi The Goddess
HIS VT1159

Satyajit Ray's haunting tale of faith & corruption, DEVI tells the story of a beautiful obedient 17 year old bride whose powerful father-in-law believes she is reincarnation of the goddess Kali. Unable to offend him she submits to his delusion & like Kali brings both miracles & tragedy to those who believe in her. Film is a haunting exploration of love, duty & devotion told with the cinematic beauty for which Ray is so famous. 93 min


Nightjohn
HIS VT1160

When a courageous young slave girl dares to learn how to read, she defies tradition - and discovers the true meaning of freedom. From the moment her master (Beau Bridges) brings a new slave named Nightjohn to the plantation young Sarny feels that life will never be the same. With a reputation as a slave whose will has never been broken, Nightjohn is a man of many talents, including one skill forbidden above all others: he can read. He can also teach. Now a dazzling new world of knowledge opens up for Sarny, she learns an unforgettable lesson about the power of words & the unconquerable strength of the human spirit. 96 min


Berlin; Symphony Of A Great City
HIS VT1161

Simple in concept, BERLIN photographically records a day in the workings of a city, capturing ordinary goings-on of busy restaurants, factories & sidewalks. Hardly an ordinary document BERLIN rushes along with velocity of a locomotive that carries viewer into the metropolis at the opening of the film. It rumbles & soars capturing sweeping action of the city's masses, as well as tiny details, all of which combine to form a glimpse of life in heart of the Weimar Republic. Germany. 1927. B&W. 62 min


Charulata
HIS VT1162

Charulata is the story of a loyal, dutiful wife whose husband takes her devotion for granted. But when his young cousin, Amal, comes to live with them, Charulata catches a glimpse of what true love could be. Both heartbreaking & uplifting, it is a great movie. Bengali with English Subtitles. 1964. B&W. 117 min


Bay Of Pigs
HIS VT1168

The Bay of Pigs combines historical newsreels & archival film with interviews of combat veterans, historians, journalist former CIA officials & members of the U.S. State Department, the U.S. military & the Kennedy & Eisenhower administration Granted extraordinary cooperation by the Cuban government, the filmmakers gained access to film archives & permission to tape numerous interviews with Cuban military & government officials who have never before appeared in a program about the invasion. The program explores every aspect of this complex episode in history & considers the effects in both the United States & Cuba. 60 min


Global Assembly Line
HIS VT1175

Traveling from Tennessee to Mexico's Northern border, from Silicon Valley to the Philippines, video takes viewers inside our new global economy. A vivid portrayal of the lives of working women & men in the "free trade zones" of developing countries & North America, as U.S. industries close their factories to search the globe for lower-wage workforce. We take a rare look at the people who are making the clothing we wear & the electronic goods we use--as well as the business decisions behind manufacturing - on the global assembly line. 58 min


Rachel Carsons Silent Spring
HIS VT1180

By the time she published 'Silent Spring' in 1963, Rachel Carson had suffered a bout with cancer & the admonishment of friends who tried to convince her that a book on the chemical poisoning of the environment was too depressing for anyone to read. Carson had been a consulting biologist for the federal government's Fish and Wildlife Department when she first took note of the unregulated use of pesticides & herbicides - especially DDT - in "agricultural control" farming. When "Silent Spring" was published, Carson was viciously attacked. Huge sums of money were spent to discredit her. She was called "an ignorant & hysterical woman who wanted to turn the earth over to the insects." While her scientific methods were problematic, her message about the environment as an interrelated organic system struck a popular nerve. The smear campaign backfired. "Silent Spring" sparked a revolution in government environmental policy & became instrumental in creating a new ecological consciousness. This is the story of how one scientist's courage changed the way we think about our world. 60 min


Thirteen Days In October: Remembering The Cuban Missile Crisis
HIS VT1189A

Personal interviews & historical footage tell the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. From the first spy plane photos to ultimate nuclear standoff, you will understand the most frightening episode in modern history as never before. 2 videos. 90 min


Thirteen Days In October: A Spy Talks; Inside The Oval Office
HIS VT1189B

We explore ex-CIA agent, Erich Neumeth's incredible experiences as an accomplished espionage agent over an almost fifty-year career. From the British Secret Service to the White House, Neumeth shares his insight. Fifty years is a long time to keep a secret, but Erich Neumeth has done just that. Secrets about the final night of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the secret phone call from Kruschev. The events covered by these videos are astonishing and even more frightening because they are true. Our lives hung in the balance of the actions of these men. 2 videos. 90 min


Assault On Gay America : Frontline
HIS VT1204

In February 1999, 30 year old Bill Jack Gaither was murdered. The accused killer, a known white supremacist, testified he killed Gaither because he was "queer." Why have gays like Gaither & Matthew Shepard become the targets of such brutality? Frontline correspondent Forrest Sawyer explores the roots of homophobia in America & asks how these attitudes, beliefs & fears contribute to the recent rise in violence against gays. 60 min


Street Gangs: A Secret History
HIS VT1210

Where the past comes alive. From the dawn of time to the epic sweep of the twentieth century, from the great conflicts to to the inventions that changed the world, History channel video captures the glory, tragedy & drama of the human experience. Brilliant specials, astounding documentaries, & vibrant dramatizations bring the past home to you.


In Search Of History: Five Points Gangs
HIS VT1211

Where the past comes alive. From the dawn of time to the epic sweep of the twentieth century, from the great conflicts to the inventions that changed the world, History Channel Video captures the glory, tragedy & drama of the human experience. Brilliant specials, astounding documentaries & vibrant dramatizations bring the past home to you.


Long Walk Home
HIS VT1217

Whoopi Goldberg is Odessa Cotter, a quietly dignified woman, who works as a housekeeper for Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek). When Odessa honors the 1955 Montogomery, Alabama, bus boycott by walking an exhausting nine miles to & from work, Miriam offers her a ride. Defying both Miriam's racist husband & the White Citizen's Council, Miriam & Odessa put their lives in danger for civil rights. Their shared experiences draw them closer as a deep respect & lasting friendship forms. Together, in a difficult world of black versus white, they manage to discover a common ground. 98 min


Secrets And Lies
HIS VT1218

After her adoptive parents die, a young black woman seeks out her natural birth mother only to discover her mother is white. Equally shocked to learn the daughter she gave up for adoption is black, Cynthia insists it's a mistake. But she soon realizes it's true & when she springs her newfound daughter on the rest of the family, the resulting chaos leads to a series of secrets & lies being revealed at last. Bravura acting, the immediacy of real life & richly drawn characters easily make "Secrets & Lies" an enjoyable tale. 143 min


Sorrow And The Pity
HIS VT1219A

In 1969 this epic account of France under the Nazi occupation opened at a tiny theater on the Left Bank of Paris. The documentary, which had already been refused by French tV was immediately hailed as one of the most moving & influential films of all time. There are two parts for a total of 260 min 1971 B&W


Sorrow And The Pity
HIS VT1219B

In 1969 this epic account of France under the Nazi occupation opened at a tiny theater on the Left Bank of Paris. The documentary, which had already been refused by French TV, was immediately hailed as one of the most moving & influential films of all time. There are two parts with a total of 260 min 1971 B&W


Sounder
HIS VT1220

Sounder is the heartwarming story of a sharecropper family in Louisiana during the depression. Paul Winfield portrays the father who, in desperation, steals food for his family. Cicely Tyson is unforgettable as his wife, providing love, security & strength while he is in prison. Kevin Hooks is superb as the oldest son who bravely becomes the man of the house until his father returns. Together, they love & laugh, struggle & survive, & hope for a more promising future. 1972 color 105 min


Weapons Of The Spirit
HIS VT1221A

During World War II in & around one village in Nazi-Occupied France 5,000 Jews were sheltered by 5,000 Christians! Pierre Sauvage, born & protected in LeChambon-sur-Lignon, returns there to tell the story. 25 min


Weapons of the Spirit
HIS VT1221B

During World War II in & around one village in Nazi-Occupied France 5,000 Jews were sheltered by 5,000 Christians! Pierre Sauvage, born & protected in LeChambon-sur-Lignon, returns there to tell the story. 25 min


New York A Documentary Film Episode One 1609-1825 The Country And The City
HIS VT1235A

This dramatic & lyrical first episode chronicles the rise of New York from its settlement by the Dutch in the early 17th century through the explosion of commercial growth sparked by the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. Beginning with a consideration of themes to be explored throughout the entire series, the episode goes on to treat five crucial chapters in New York's facinating early history: the defining role the Dutch played in establishing the city's character, the impact of the British empire & the horrors of slavery, New York's strange & fateful role in the American Revolution, its brief tenure as the nation's capital, & the extraordinary burst of entrepreneurial energy that in the early 19th century launched it on its course to becoming the greatest city on earth. 120 min


New York A Documentary Film Episode Two 1825-1865 Order And Disorder
HIS VT1235B

The second episode chronicles the rise of NY from merchant city to industrial metropolis as the commercial revolution triggered by the Erie Canal transforms every aspect of life in the city. As the immigrant population explodes & social problems of every kind emerge on the streets of Manhattan, the outlines of a modern mass metropolis begin to appear - including imaginative visions of the city's future, from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass to Frederick Law Olmsted's Central Park. By 1860, every tension in America can be felt on the streets of NY, now the most powerful - & divided - city in the nation. The eposide comes to a stunning climax during the Civil War, as the worst civil disturbance in the nation's history breaks out in New York: the catastrophic Draft Riots of 1863. 120 min


New York A Documentary Film Episode Three 1865-1898 Sunshine And Shadow
HIS VT1235C

The third episode chronicles the history of New York during the giddy decades following the Civil War - what Mark Twain called "the Gilded Age." During this period, New York grows at a staggering rate - demographically, geographically, & financially - building on its position as the commercial & cultural capital of America to become the headquarters of an entirely new corporate economy. Along the way, the city takes on enormous physical challenges (including the building of the Brooklyn Bridge), sees the rise of Tammany Hall & Boss Tweed, & finally confronts the terrible conditions of its slums through the stunning photographs of Jacob Riis. By the end of the episode, NY has become home to the world's greatest concentration of wealth, & the greatest concentration of poverty - a vast chasm it is not yet able to address. The episode ends with the consolidation of the five boroughs to form Greater New York on January 1, 1898. 120 min


New York A Documentary Film Episode Four 1898-1918 The Power And The People
HIS VT1235D

In this pivotal fourth episode, the forces of capitalism & democracy in New York come to a stunning crescendo, as the city's tremendous industrial engine draws in people from around the world - tripling New York's population in less than a single lifetime. Transformed by their experience in the new world , the immigrants in turn transform the city in extra- ordinary ways - physically, culturally, & in the end, politically. In addition to the epic story of immigration - the greatest movement of peoples in world history - the episode treats the building of the subway wystem, the construction of Penn Station & Grand Central Terminal, & on Wall Street, the creation of the world's first skyscrapers. The film comes to a stunning climax with horror of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, & the reform legislation passed in the aftermath, which would become the template for the New Deal. 120 min


New York A Documentary Film Episode Five 1919-1931 Cosmopolis
HIS VT1235E

Nearly a century-and-a-half of capitalist growth & astonishing demographic & physical transformation comes to an extraordinary climax during the roaring twenties, as New York finishes assembling the components of a mass consumer society, & becomes the cultural capital of the world. Themes of democracy & capitalism are brought to t amoving zenith during the period, as New York's hybrid cultural sytle mixes high culture & low, black culture & white, in a new & distinctively American form, that is manufactured in New York & distributed to the rest of the world. As new media & new "clean" industries like radio, magazine publishing, advertising & public relations make their home in a new area of town - midtown - New York embarks on its most frenzied bout of speculative capitalism yet. The film concludes with the skyscraper war, the stock market rise, the Crash, & - in the deafening silence that followed - the building of the Empire State Building, the greatest icon on the New York skyline. 120 min


New York A Documentary Film Eposide Six 1929-1941 City of Tomorrow
HIS VT1235F

The sixth episode chronicles the dramatic & increasingly fateful events following the crash of 1929 - as the greatest depression in American history plunged the city & nation into economic gloom. In little more than ten years, immense new forces were unleashed in New York, as two of the most remarkable New Yorkers of all time came to the fore - Fiorello La Guardia & Robert Moses - attempting to create in the darkest of times a bold new city of the future. Charting the demise of mayor Jimmy Walker & the ascendancy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, this pivotal episode traces the fate of Harlem during the Depression; the complex impact of the automobile on the city; & the immense public works projects that permanently altered the landscape of New York - from the Triborough Bridge & La Guardia Airport to the 1939 World's Fair - an eerily prophetic bluepring for a "World of Tomorrow," radically unlike the city that was its home. 120 min


New York A Documentary Film Episode Seven 1945 to Present The City And The World
HIS VT1235G

The story of New York comes to a stunning crescendo in the seventh & final episode of the series, which chronicles the turbulent & often harrowing years from 1945 down to the present. Emerging from the Depression & the Second World War as the most powerful metropolis on earth - a stature conformed by its selection as the home of the brand new United Nations - the city will soon be confronting urban woes of unprecedented proportions - & fighting for its very existence. Exploring the complex social, economic & physical forces that swept through NY in the post-war period, the episode treats the great African American & Puerto Rican in-migrations; the beginnings of white flight & suburbanization; & the massive physical changes wrought by highways & the urban renewal - directed in NY by one man: Robert Moses. The episode comes to a climax with the destruction of Penn Station, the battle over the Lower Manhattan Expressway, the social & fiscal crises of the 1960's & 70's - & the city's miraculous revival in the last quarter-century. 140 min


Snapper
HIS VT1236

One little secret is about to cause a big commotion in this funny hit comedy that has everyone talking!! When the oldest daughter of a riotous, close-knit family announces her unexpected pregnancy, everyone wants to know who fathered the "snapper" she's carrying. But the young woman's refusal to reveal anything about her predicament sends the entire town into a tizzy! Critics praised "The Snapper" as one of the year's finest and funniest films - it's sure to deliver nonstop laughs to you! 95 min


Gas Food Lodging
HIS VT1237

Love & sex complicate the lives of Nora Evans & her two daughters in this smart, sassy film about coming of age in a small New Mexico town. Seventeen year old Trudi Evans is beautiful, rebellious & very promiscuous - much to the dismay of her mother. Her younger sister Shade fantasizes about love watching afternoon movie matinees. And Nora auditions a colorful cast of suitors while waiting tables in the local diner. But life takes a wild turn when Trudi announces she's pregnant & the father of her baby mysteriously disappears. The girls' long-lost father appears out of nowhere hoping to make up for lost time. Shaping their lives in unpredictable ways each new change teaches Nora & her daughters about love, life & each other. 101 min


Faces of Women
HIS VT1239

A lively, adventurous film that combines raucous comedy & pulsating African music in two intriguing stories about women in today's Africa. In the first, a young woman is unhappily married to a jealous husband. Attracted to her visiting brother-in-law she decides to give her husband something to worry about. In the second story a successful businesswoman tries to open a new restaurant but runs into difficulties that only her daughter's traditional wiles can solve. Linked by vibrant festival scenes of dancing crowds and a chanting female chorus, thers stories explore the lives of two women trying to balance the demands of tradition with the modern world. 103 min


Last Days
HIS VT1242

The winner of the 1998 Academy Award for Best Documentary, this powerful film traces the compleeing experiences of five Hungarian Holocaust survivors who fell victim to Hitler's brutal war against the Jews during the final days of World War II. Including newly-discovered historical footage & a rare interview with a former nazi doctor at Auschwitz, the film tells the remarkable story of five people - a grandmother, a teacher, a businessman, an artist & a U.S. Congressman - as they return from the United States to their hometowns & to the ghettos & concentration camps in which they were imprisoned. Through the eyes of the survivors & other witnesses, The Last Days recounts one of the most brutal chapters of this dark period in human history, when families were taken from their homes, stripped of their dignity, deported to concentration camps & untimately murdered. Above all, The Last Days is a potent depiction of personal strength & courage, & a testament to the power of the human spirit. 87 min


War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us
HIS VT1246

Seven women share their extraordinary true love stories set during the Second World War. Simply constructed as a series of interviews overlaid with beautifully restored archival footage & popular songs of the War period, War Stories presents seven women of different classes, races & cultural back grounds speaking about the impact of World War II on their lives. Revelation follows revelation as stories of sexual passion, illicit love, heroic adventure, & painful death are uncovered. color + b&w 95 min


Thirteen Days
HIS VT1248

For thirteen extraordinary days in October 1962, the world stood on the brink of an unthinkable castastrophe. After the discovery of Soviet weaons in Cuba, events & tension escalate between two military superpowers & within the White House. President John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy & Special Assistant to the President Kenneth P. O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) are in the hot seat as they struggle to prevent nuclear war. 147 min


Paragraph 175
HIS VT1253

Comparing Germany then and now learning/discovery of persecution of homosexuals by the Nazi finding the few survivors of the Holocaust that went through that persecution and hearing their stories (revisiting the past). 81 min Subtitles


Legend of a Sigh
HIS VT1254

This strikingly feminist film draws on the literature of Azarbayejan province. According to legend, Ah is a handsome young man who materializes to succor those in need whenever he hears a heartfelt sigh. Milani's protagonist is a woman novelist, suffering from writer's block, who, with the halp of Ah, experiences the lives of four women from different social strata. From a wealthy Tehrani who feels unfulfilled by her life, to a poor servant, to a Turkman wife unable to leave the house without her husband's permission, to a rebellious student, the film offers a facinating portrait of a range of Iranian women and their problems. Milani considers "The Legend of a Sign" her favorite film. 1991 color 105 min Farsi dialogue, English subtitles


Taira Clan Saga
HIS VT1260

(Aka. New Tales of the Taira Clan) (Orig. Shin Heike Monogatari) Mizoguchi's last color film was this rich & spectacular epic which examined the conflict between the decadent ruling courts & the exploited warrior class at the end of the 12th century. Japan 1955 110 min


Daughters of the Dust
HIS VT1261

A film of spellbinding visual beauty & brilliant resonant performances, Julie Dash's film has become a landmark of American film. With great lyricism, 'Daughters' tells the story of a large African-American family as they prepare to move North at the dawn of the 20th century. Using this simple tale, the film brings to life the changing values, conflicts & struggles that confront every family as they leave their homeland for the promise of a new & better future. In addition to this highly charged epic drams, Daughters of the Dust explores the unique culture of the Gullah people, descendants of slaves who lived in relative isolation on the Sea Islands off the Georgia coast. As the generations struggle with the decision to leave, their rich Gullah heritage & African roots rise to the surface. Amongst a score of extraordinary performances are Nana, the matriarch of the Peazant clan, Eula, who has been raped by a white landowner & Yellow Mary, a woman of the world who has come home "ruint" from Cuba. Film is an African-American heirloom. U.S. 1991 113 min


Sansho the Bailiff
HIS VT1262

Hailed by critics as one of the best films ever made, Sansho the Bailiff delivers a compelling story of injustice & suffering made even more remarkable by its extraordinary imagery. In this legendary tale set in the 11th century, a kindly governor is exiled, his wife forced into prostitution, & his son & daughter sold into slavery to the tyrannical bailiff Sansho. Film chronicles the son's escape 10 years later, his rise to power, & his harrowing search for his mother. In Japanese with English subtitles 125 min


My Name is Ivan
HIS VT1263

My Name Is Ivan is the tender movie about the innocence & beauty of the bonds that form between people during wartime. Set during WWII, twelve year old Ivan is hell-bent on revenge after his family is killed by German soldiers. Because of his youthful size & agility, Ivan becomes a spy for his homeland & risks his life as he crosses the German border. Under a sky of exploding shells & a rain of machine gun fire, Ivan makes a new family out of the Russian soldiers who find his courage to be an inspiration. B&W 84 min Russian with English subtitles


Solaris
HIS VT1264A

A science fiction cult classic, Solaris is a mesmerizing & poetic masterpiece that can now be viewed in its original & unedited entirety. From a futuristic orbiting space station come reports of strange behavior & unexplained hallucinations from the cosmonauts who inhabit it. The mindbending images & altered consciousness surrounding Solaris seem to emanate from the planet itself as it communicates with its visitors. The surreal & intriguing images create a psychological thriller unlike any other movie you've ever experiences. 167 min color Russian with English subtitles two parts


Solaris
HIS VT1264B

A science fiction cult classic, Solaris is a mesmerizing & poetic masterpiece that can now be viewed in its original & unedited entirety. From a futuristic orbiting space station come reports of strange behavior & unexplained hallucinations from the cosmonauts who inhabit it. the mindbending images & altered consciousness surrounding Solaris seem to emanate from the planet itself as it communicates with its visitors. The surreal & intriguing images create a psychological thriller unlike any other movie you've ever experiences. color 167 min Russian with English subtitles


House of the Spirits
HIS VT1265

The House Of The Spirits is a hauntingly romantic epic tale spanning three generations of the Trueba family. At its core is the stormy, yet passionate relationship between the supernaturally gifted Clara and her controlling husband Esteban, who resists change both politically and personally. It is a timeless story about secrets and seduction, revenge and forgiveness, and the ultimate power of love to conquer any obstacle - even death. Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas, Vanessa Redgrave and Maria Conchita Alonso also star in this compelling adaptation of Isabel Allende's best-selling novel. 109 min


Cromwell
HIS VT1269

Richard Harris and Sir Alec Guinness star in this sweeping, handsomely-mounted epic drama recounting the battle which raged between the monarchy and a commoner over the very soul of Great Britain. In 17th-century England, ambitious country gentleman Oliver Cromwell (Harris) dared to challenge the political oppression and corruption which besieged his nation. Watching his power being unsurped by a commoner, King Charles I (Guinness) springs to challenge his adversary. One man will become absolute ruler - the other will be executed. Rousing battle sequences, excellent lead and supporting performances make Cromwell an outstanding historical drama. 134 min


Silences of the Palace
HIS VT1279

Tunisia in the 1950s: a time of rule by the Beys, the country's last princes. Within the confines of the palace walls, Prince Sid'Ali & his brother exercise their "rights of the bed chamber" over the women servants imprisoned forever under their command. Alia, the proud & beautiful daughter of one such servant is a gifted & enchanting singer still largely innocent of what is going on around her. But as she watches her mother dance for the princes, Alia begins to question her destiny. The director powerfully conveys the opulent & oppressive atmosphere of the palace & the resilience of its servants: the women are sensual, strong & full of humour, despite their serv itude. Outstanding performcnces, sumptuous visuals & haunting music from one of Tunisla's most popular musicians make the movie powerful & triumphant. 128 min Arabic with English subtitles


Diary of a Chambermaid
HIS VT1280

A chambermaid takes a position with a decadent family on a Normandy estate in 1930 & finds herself in the middle of a hotbed of hypocrisy & perversion. The old man has a foot fetish, his daughter is a frigid hysteric, her husband a dissolute rake, the gamekeeper a racist & sadist, while the fascist neighbor compulsively throws his garbage on their property. When a child is raped & murdered, Celestine becomes obsessed with discovering & exposing the killer, even though she finds herself sex;ually attracted to him. Bunuel's first film to feature an international star (an exquisitely enigmatic Jeanne Moreau), DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID exerts a hypnotic fascination with the erotic while striking out against human hypocrisy & moral decay. B&W 97 min France: 1964


Chess Players
HIS VT1282

The Chess Players, Satyajit Ray's first feature in English & Hindi, is a quietly humourous & sharply observed social satire set against the enchanting beauty of India. ray uses the powerful symbolism of the game to make an acute commentary on Anglo-Indian relations in Victorian times. Two noblemen indulge their destructive obsession for chess, regardless of the larger political game that surrounds them. The East India Company is moving to bring their province of Avadh under British rule. The company's resident manager uses the governmental nonchalance of the territory's musician-poet king as a pretext for deposing him. Fearful that they may be forced to fight for their ruler, the two noblemen run away from home & continue their game away from the gathering political storm - instead they end up fighting bitterly with each other. 125 min


An Enemy of the People
HIS VT1283

In this version of Ibsen's play An Enemy of the People, Satyajit Ray has transposed the action to contemporaty India. When Dr. Ashok Gupta, chief medical oficer at the hospital in the West Bengal town of Chandipur, discovers that the local 'holy waters' are dangerously polluted, his efforts to solve the problem are blocked by powerful local interests determined that nothing shall interfere with the lucrative flow of pilgrims & tourists. Gupta is, however, eventually supported by a coalition of progressive local interests, & the scene is set for a powerful conflict between science & superstition, idealism & self interest. A fine example of 'late' Ray, & a fascinating fusion of Ray & Ibsen. 98 min


Les Parents Terribles
HIS VT1288

Les Parents Terribles is a gut wrenching tale of incestuous, emotional rivalries that destroy an already neurotic family. Michel, the son of a middle class Parisian family, announces his love for Madeline. Unknown to him , or his domineering & possessive mother, Madeline is the mistress of his philandering father, George. The mother & aunt plot to disrupt the affair between the two youngsters, but a change of heard & the mother's death brings the story to resolution. 1948 b&w 98 min


Woman In The Dunes
HIS VT1289

Stranded in a remote region of Japan, an entomologist is given shelter for the night in a sand pit inhabited by a hapless woman. She slaves day & night to unearth the enormous amounts of sand necessary for her community's survival. When morning comes, he finds himself a prisoner to the sand pit, expected to work at her side & be her mate. To his surprise, the scientist develops an intense bond with his companion & resigns himself to an eternity of fypnotic routine. One of the most hauntingly beautiful films ever made, each shot is a powerful sensual tapestry of sand, flesh, water & wood. An allegory probing the depths of identity & alienation, Woman In The Dunes has become an enduring classic & is best known as a heavily symbolic erotic drama which effectively uses extreme closeups so that the characters become part of the landscape. 1964 123 min b&w In Japanese with English subtitles.


Beyond Silence
HIS VT1290

Acclaimed by critics & audiences everywhere, Beyond Silence is the powerful story of a young woman's battle for independence & her deaf parents' struggle to understand her gift for music. given a clarinet by her free-spirited aunt, Lara is immediately consumed by a new passion her parents cannot begin to fully comprehend. Determined to follow her dreams, Lara's ongoing pursuit of music creates an ever-widening rift that eventually threatens to tear apart her once close-knit family! An inspirational & highly entertaining motion picture. You'll be riveted as this family must somehow learn to reach beyond differences, expectations & beyond silence to bring their two worlds together once again! 1997 German with English subtitles 107 min


Steamboat Bill
HIS VT1292

Flavored with Americana & loaded with cinematic inventiveness, Steamboat Bill, Jr. was Buster Keaton's final independent production before joining MGM (where his work suffered a steady decline in quality), a comic masterpiece that represents the full breadth of its maker's remarkable talents. Set on the Mississippi River in the old sidewheeler days, Steamboat Bill, Jr. follows the adventures of a spoiled young man who is forced by his crusty father to learn the ropes of riverboating. Over the course of the narrative, the scale of comedy gradually expands, from small-scale, nostalgic humor (as when Bill Sr. outfits his son with a new wardrobe) to some of the most elaborate sight gags of Keaton's career. Junior's attempts to single-handedly pilot the rag-tag "Stonewall Jackson" recall the mechanical brillance of The General & The Navigator, but the film's crowning achievement is its hurricane climax. highlighted by remarkable special effects (including the destruction of full-size structures) it includes the legendary stunt in which the front of a building collapses over Junior, who passes unharmed through an open window. 1928 b/w 69 min


Traffik
HIS VT1295A

Traffik sweeps us into one of the most dangerous worlds imaginable - the world of international drug smuggling. From the fields of Pakistan through the docks of Hamburg to the halls of London's elite, it carries us across continents to the dark side of the human soul. it's an adventure fueled by greed, paved with gold, & shadowed by sudden death. vivid characters bring Traffik to life as their stories interwine. From the opium farmer & the drug lord to the smugglers, the users, & the government agents in between, Traffik spins a web of poerful intrigue....An epic story you will talk about & remember long after it ends. Part One of Traffik takes us into a place of surreal, exotic beauty - the poppy fields of Pakistan, where the heroin trade begins. We are drawn into the lives of people who are tangled in its web...Fazal, the poor farmer whose land yields little else but opium poppies...Tariq Butt, the heroin exporter who turns the peasant's crop into "the riches weeds in the world"...Karl Rosshalde, the German businessman who's building a water system so farmers can grow food instead of poppies...Jack Lithgow, the British 'drug czar' who must decide if the water project warrants foreign aid. The danger rises as Traffik moves to Hamburg, & the deadly, high-stakes game played by....Dieter & Ulli, undercover policemen willing to risk anything for a major drug arrest....helen Rosshalde, the wealthy matron who'll stop at nothing to protect her life of privilege...Domenquez, the lawyer with motives as mysterious as his past. Traffik takes us finally to London, & into the carefree life of Caroline Litygow, the politician's daughter who brings the danger home in unexpected ways. 120 mi


Traffik
HIS VT1295B

Traffik sweeps us into one of the most dangerous worlds imaginable - the world of international drug smuggling. From the fields of Pakistan through the docks of Hamburg to the halls of London's elite, it carries us across continents to the dark side of the human soul. It's an adventure fueled by greed, paved with gold, & shadowed by sudden death. vivid characters bring Traffik to life as their stories intertwine. From the opium farmer & the drug lord to the smugglers, the users, & the government agents in between, Traffik spins a web of powerful intrigue...An epic story you will talk about & remember long after it ends. Part Two of Traffik takes us into the underworld - from the huts of the Pakistani heroin makers to the palaces of the drug lords. In Pakistan, the desperately poor farmer Fazal is lured more deeply into the heroin trade. The murderous exporter Tariq Butt pays off politicians & soldiers to protect his illegal game, but a trail of guilt moves closer to him each day. Back in Britain, the steely government minister Jack Lithgow wrestles with the drug problem while his daughter, his marriage & his career come apart at the seams. Meanwhile, in Germany, the smugglers' empire starts to crack as the pressure mounts. Karl Rosshalde fights for his freedom in court, while Helen rosshalde must outwit creditors, kidnappers & the police & make a deal with the devil himself. To detectives Dieter & Ulli, the lawyer Domenquez may be the key to solving their case. As the noose around him begins to tighten, murder pays the policemen a call, & the search for justice explodes into a passion for revenge. 120 min


Traffik
HIS VT1295C

Traffik sweeps us into one of the most dangerous worlds imaginable - the world of international drug smuggling. From t fields of Pakistan through docks of Hamburg to halls of London's elite, it carries us across continents to the dark side of the human soul. It's fueled by greed, paved with gold, & shadowed by death. Vivid characaters bring Traffik to life as their stories intertwine. From the opium farmer & the drug lord to the smugglers, the users, & the government agents in between, Traffik spins a web of powerful intrigue...An epic store you will talk about & remember long after it ends. Part Three of Traffik is a journey through dangerous terrain - from the lawless Khyber Pass to the ruthless politics of Karachi & London. Corruption is rampant in Pakistan as British envoy Jack Lithgow faces final negotiations to stem the tide of drugs. Meanwhile, in the undercover world of Hamburg, detective Ulli gets the lawyer Domenquez where he wants him, while Helen Rosshalde flies to Pakistan to face Tariq Butt - & a challenge beyond anything she's ever dared. In Part Four the debts come due - for the cutthroat herion smugglers, users & government agents who would stop it if they could. For Caroline Lithgow, the crisis has reached the breaking point & it takes everything Jack Lithgow can do to save her. At the source in Pakistan, Tariq Butt finds yet another way to sneak heroin across borders. The peasant Fazal will pay the price forever & he finds justice the only way he knows. 120 min


Battle of San Pietro
HIS VT1310

John Huston's acclaimed exploration of the tragedy of war. He details the losses encountered in capturing a military objective and the ultimate frustration and futility of war. As the Italian citizens reappear following a battle, we wonder again at man's determined inhumanity to man and the innocent bystanders crucified at the cross of war. We celebrate the ultimate resiliancy of man as those citizens recommence their lives. 39 min


Common Threads - Stories From the Quilt
HIS VT1311

From an Olympic athlete to an eleven year old suburban boy to an inner-city married man, common threads tells the story of five people who shared a common fate - they had AIDS. Their names are now commemorated in five panels of an ever-growing quilt that now covers 14 acres - the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. With compassiona dn quiet dignity, Common Threads tells of their lives and deaths - the support they found, the courage they summoned, and the love they shared. Common Threads tells the story of the first decade of AIDS in America. It shows the human face behind the cold statistics of the epidemic and provides an unforgettable testament to the strength and endurance of the human spirit. 79 min


Trojan Women
HIS VT1315

Based on a tragedy by Euripides, The Trojan Women, although dealing with the Trojan War, is strongly anti-war in its telling. The Trojan War has ended. All Trojan warriors and princes have been killed. Amidst the ruins, the conquerors must divide the only remaining spoils of war - the Trojan women and their children. The story consists of three major episodes, each centering on the fate of one of the captive women; Cassandra, Andromache, and Helen. The three are linked by the central character Hecuba, Queen of Troy who heroically withstands the tragic events. 105 min


Amistad
HIS VT1316

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey Produced by: Steven Spielberg Based on a true story, the movie chronicles the incredible journey of a group of enslaved Africans who overtake their captor's ship and attempt to return to their beloved homeland. when the ship LaAmistad, is seized, these captives are brought to the United States where they are charged with murder and await their fate in prison. An enthralling battle ensues that captures the attention of the entire nation, confronting the very foundation of the American justice system. But for the men and women on trial, it is simply a fight for the basic right of all mankind...freedom. 2 hr 35 min


Genocide in the First Half of the 20th Century
HIS VT1328

State-sanctioned violence has always existed, but technological advances have facilitated its use as a viable means of exerting political power. This program continues the examination of the history of genocide, focusing on the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot, the 1923 Rosewood Massacre, Stalin's forced Ukrainian famine, the Japanese Rape of Nanking, and the Holocaust. A host of survivors, experts, and scholars include Martha Barnett, President of the American Bar Association; Eddie Faye Gates; Iris Chang, author of the The Rape of Nanking; Yehuda Bauer, director of the Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocause Research; and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel. 57 min color


Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler
HIS VT1329

Between 1933 and 1945 the people of Germany surrendered their will to a charismatic demagogue who led them, and much of the world, to destruction. How it happened is the subject of this program. Its focus is on the appeal of Hitler's personality not only to Germans, but to leaders of other European nations. We see how Hitler's life influenced his leadership style, and how he used the Jews as scapegoats on whom to blame Germany's economic problems. Home movies of Hitler's private life, and interviews with those who knew him, complete this eerie portrait. This is an excellent catalyst for classroom discussion on how demagogues come to power, and what social and economic conditions make it possible 90 min color


Fascism
HIS VT1330

This program looks at the appeal of fascist ideologies in the 20th century. In Germany, racism was an essential part of the Nazi state. The Nazi idea of creating a pure Germanic race to dominate the world demanded the extermination of so-called impure elements, primarily Jews. The program looks at how these ideas were systematically implemented and includes interviews with two people whose lives were tragically affected. In Germany, Italy and Japan, militarism led to the waging of aggressive war. War was almost an end in itself, glorified as a process o moral purification while also fulfilling the territorial ambitions of these states. The program examines the inspiration and sense of purpose that war provided and how, in the end, war proved to be the downfall of most of the fascist states. 48 min color


Nazi Medicine: In the Shadow of the Reich
HIS VT1333

A chilling chronicle of the road travelled by the Nazi physicians from providing a medical justification for the 1933 Nuremberg sterilation laws to trying to justify their role in the Holocaust as defendants in the 1046-7 Nuremberg doctors' trial. This Documentary studies the step-by-step process that led the medical profession in the Third Reich down an unethical road to genocide. It graphically documents the racial theories and eugenics principles that set the stage for the doctors' participation in sterilization and euthanasia, the selections at the death camps, as well as inhuman and unethical human experimentation. It provides the historical basis for many current dilemmas in bio-ethical work.


Eternal Jew
HIS VT1334

A visit to the Lodz ghetto in Nazi occupied Poland, recorded by German camermen with the naive co-operation of the Jewish community, is combined with rare archival footage, clips from international newsreels and excerpts from related cultural films to portray the World's Jews as swindlers and parasites. This pseudo-logical, uncomfortably realistic and genuinely frightening documentary interprets Jewish life and history rom the viewpoint of traditional Europeon anti-semitism and Nazi ideology. A canded, cinematically unique expression of racial hatred. NOTE: This film, designed to incite its contemporary viewers against an ethnic minority, is extremely prejudicial in nature. International Historic Films wishes neither to condone nor to promote such prejudices when offering The Eternal Jew to its customers. It is being made available solely to provide further insight into a uniquely tragic epoch of civilization's recent past. 62 minutes


Theresienstadt: Gateway To Auschwitz
HIS VT1339

In 1941 the Nazis converted the fortress town of Theresienstadt, in Czechoslovakia, into a ghetto for Jewish deportees enroute to annihilation in the East. Of some 15,000 children who were fifteen years old or younger at the time of their imprisonment, less than 150 survived. this film tells their unbelievable story, recounting tales of friendship, youthful adventure, first love, adolescent enthusiam and the strength of family ties. It is to those who did not survive, that this film is dedicated.


They Risked Their Lives: Rescuers of The Holocaust
HIS VT1343

From 1886 to 1988, Gay Block and Malika Drucker interviewed over 100 Holocaust rescuers representing 12 countries. In excerpts from the interviews this video reveals the great variety of people who risked their lives and the those of their families to save jews. Their passion and heroism fills every scene but they claim theirs' was the ordinary response.


Mr. Death
HIS VT1370

From Errol Morris, the award-winning director of The Thin Blue Line, comes the provocative and chilling true story of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., the son of a prison worker and a self-taught execution expert who consulted with the prisons across the country to make capital punishment more humane. When Leuchter is called in as a high-profile expert in a sensationalistic Canadian trial, his ego, bravado and absurd testimony reach national media prominence. Soon, a firestorm of controversy erupts. Ironically, what Leuchter thought was going to be an apex in his career only ruins it. 92 minutes


Barbarian And The Geisha
HIS VT1403

In 1856, an American Diplomat embarks on a trade mission to negotiate with the hostile Japanese government. Neither threats, discomfort nor even a beautiful geisha can stand in his way as he goes about his formidagle task. Directed by John Huston, THE BARBARIAN AND THE GEISHA is a finely crafted tale of adventure, intrigue and romance set against a fascinating historical backdrop. 104 minutes, Color, 1958


Behind The Rising Sun
HIS VT1407

As one of the most powerful and controversial films to be made during World War II, Behind the Rising Sun dared to penetrate the isolated society of Imperial Japan to at once show the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers and also the decent Japanese who deplored their government's quest for world domination. the story is that of Seki, a nationalistic Japanese aristocrat who forces his American-educated son to join the military. To Seki's horror, the son ecomes a blood-thirsty kiler, And with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Seki sees many of his American friends being imprisioned and tortured. As a microcosm of the war, the film climaxes with a brutal battle between an American boxer (Robert Ryan) and a Japanese Jiujitsu expert. (88 minutes B& W)


Red Sorghum
HIS VT1412

The most popular film of the acclaimed Chinese New Wave, Red Sorghum is one of the most beautiful films of recent years. Beginning as a lusty romantic comedy about a nervous young bride's arrival and ensuing secuction at a remote winery, and ending as a heroic and harrowing drama of partisan resistance during the Japanese occupation, the film builds to a spell-binding, explosive climax. Red Sorghum is a gorgeous fable that will sweep you along with its mixture of violent action, epic lyricism and toungue-in-cheek swagger reminiscent of Leone and Kurosawa 1987/91 minutes


Cairo as Seen By Chahine
HIS VT1413

In this declaration of love to the city of Cairo from one of Egypt's greatet filmmakers, Chahine employs a rapid pace as he follows an actor in his quest to play a part. By filming with his unique sense of artistic digression, Chahine transforms this portrait of a city into a self-portrait of a filmmaker. A wry, Godardian tale that was banned in Egypt for showing too much dirt, Cairo as Seen by Chahine originally began as a commission by French TV for the news series Envoye Special. Color/Arabic with English subtitles/23 min/1991


Watergate: A Third Rate Burglary
HIS VT1423A

President Nixon declared war on his enemies and a secret police force took shape in the White House. When the president's men were caught red-handed in the Democrat's Watergate offices, exposure threatened. A massive cover-up, orchestrated by the President himself, seemed to succeed with Nixon's landslide 1972 re-election. Relive history in the words of the perpetrators themselves. Discovery Channel/color/90 min/no rating


Watergate: The Conspiracy Crumbles
HIS VT1423B

The cover-up begins to crumble when John Dean, the designated fall-guy, turns stool pigeon. the existence of the Oval Office Tapes is revealed. Nixon tries to strong-arm the FBI into shutting down the Special Prosecutor's office. And a tarnished vice-president is forced to resign. Relive history in the words of the perpetrators and prosecutors themselves. Discovery/color/52 min/not rated


Watergate: The Fall of a President
HIS VT1423C

Nixon's next, hand-picked Special Prosecutor uncovers evidence so damning that the President's staunchest supporters begin to defect. The House Judiciary Committee raises the specter of impeachment and slowly tightens the noose. A once-proud President Nixon resigns in disgrace. Relive history in the words of the perpetrators and prosecutors themselves. Discovery/color/52 min/not rated


Moulin Rouge
HIS VT1424

Lautrec spends his time at the Moulin rouge cafe sketching the Can-Can girls, barmaids, and singer Jane Avril. he soon falls passionately in love with Marie, the first woman who is not horrified by his deformity. However their short-lived relationship is a stormy one that will forever cloud the painter's life. Drowning his sorrow. Lautrec paints a series of posters for the cafe that make him famous overnight. But his father, the Count condemns his son for disgracing the family name. Public acclaim is little solace to the sensitive genius who must now struggle for happiness in spite of his personal defeats. Color/1954/approx. 2 hours/not rated


Jefferson In Paris
HIS VT1427

In this impassioned story of forbidden love! During one man's unforgettable visit to liberal and sicially permissive France, he meets and falls in love with a worldly and mysterious woman! But when the alluring charms of another prove irresistable, he finds himself courting scandal in a heated triangle of passion and desire! VHS/Color/approx 139 min/Rated PG-13


Lust For Life
HIS VT1431

Kirk Douglas plays vincent Van Gogh in a first class tratment of the tormented artist's life. A failure as an evangelist, and a loser in the game of love, the everdriven Van Gogh turns to painting. His devoted brother, Theo finances and encourages him, and the excitement of late 19th century Paris when the Impressionists were changing the art world spurs his efforts. So, too, does his stormy friendship with the painter Paul Gauguin Van Gogh's genius, however, is marred by epilepsy and madness , which send him out of control. In an inspired and courageous performance, Douglas creates "a reare, affecting portrait of the mind and character of an artist" VHS/Color/123 minutes/1956/not rated


Race For The Superbomb
HIS VT1442

In August 1945, atomic bombs destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, marking the end of World War II. Yet even as the victorious American troops arrived home, the Cold War was beginning. Scientists from the United States and the Soviet Union began a frantic race to create an even more devastating weapon-the hydrogen bomb, know as "the Super." Featuring newly discovered archival sources from Russia, civil defense films, and recently declassified military footage, Race For The Superbomb tells the story of a world at the brink of destruction. Color/Not Rated/VHS/120 minutes


Murder of Emmett Till
HIS VT1443

In August 1955, a fourteen-year -old black boy whistled at a white woman in a grocery store in Money, Mississippi. Emmett Till, a teen from Chicago, didn't understand that he had broken the unwritten laws of the Jim Crow South until three days later when two white men dragged him from his bed in the dwad of night, beat him brutally and then shot him in the head. Although his killers were arrested and charged with murder, they were both quickly acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury. Shortly afterwards, the defendants sold their story, including a detailed account of how they murdered Till, to a journalist. The murder and the trial horrified the nation and the world. Till's death was a spark that helped mobilize the civil rights movement. Three months after his body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River, the Montgomery bus boycott began. VHS/Color/60 minutes/Not Rated


John Browns Holy War
HIS VT1444

He is the father of American terrorism and an inspiration to the Civil Rights movement. More than 150 years after his execution, questions swirl around John Brown: Was he a madman or a martyr? A bloodthirsty fanatic or a great American hero? John Brown saw himself as God's messenger. Others thought him no more than a killer. This video takes us inside this complex man-farmer and warrior, family man and avenging angel, to reveal the man behind the legend. VHS/color/90 minutes/Not Rated


Eleanor Roosevelt
HIS VT1445

For more than thirty years, Eleanor Roosevelt was America's most powerful woman, yet few of us really knew her. Millions adored her, but her FBI file was thicker than a stack of phone books. She spoke out fearlessly for civil rights, and the KKK put a price on her head. She helped FDR rise to power and was one of his most valuable political assets, but the media satirized her as an ugly busybody. Drawing on interviews with her closest surviving relatives, friends, and biographers as well as rare home movie footage. She was born to wealth and power and orphaned at ten. Her private life was marked by tragedy, infidelity, and a never-ending search for intimacy. Yet she persevered, fighting tirelessly for social justice fo all and taking a lead role in the United Nations landmark Declaration of Human Rights. Today, Eleanor remains on of the most admired women in history. VHS/Color/150 minutes approx./Not Rated


Beaumarchais: The Scoundrel
HIS VT1455

An artist whose work influenced the liks of Mozart and Rossini, Beaumarchais the Scoundrel was one of history's most extraordinary figures: inventor, playwright, diplomat, playboy, Royal spay for King Louis XV, and emissary of the colonial attacks against Britain during the American Revolution. 100min\\French with English Subtitles\\color


Versailles the Visit
HIS VT1456

In the heart of Versailles, discover the palace, the park, and the gardens through a circuit arranged chronologically and by subject matter. Certain areas generally closed to the public are shown to you in all their intimacy. color/60 min/not rated/VHS


La Marseillaise
HIS VT1458

(1937)...Jean Renoir's epic tale of the events of the summer of 1789 that led up to the French Revolution and the fall of King Louis XVI. French (English Subtitles)/130min


David: The Passing Show
HIS VT1459

More than any other painter in history. David saw his art as a weapon for social change. Twice taken political prisoner during the French Revolution, he continued to work from his jail cell. His subjects were powerful and daring, including an actual murder. So incredible were his realistic details that the painting was exhibited alongside the very bathtub which was the scene of the crime! Using a replica of David's studio, the "newsreel" technique, and a commentary derived from David's own speeches, this film provides a fascinating insight into the man who became, ironically, the virtual dictator of arts in his day. VHS/color/50 minutes


Colonel Chabert
HIS VT1465

Ten years ago, history said he died a hero. Now Dolonel Chabert is back to claim what's rightfully his - but first he must prove he exists. Chabert returning from a decade of imprisonment to a society that shuns him and a wife who denies him. Robbed by fate of his wealth, his home and even his name, Chabert must fight for his honor and his future. Not Rated/111min/French with English Subtitles


A Days Work A Days Pay
HIS VT1471

A Day's Work, A Day's Pay follows three welfare recipients in New York Ciry from 1997 to 2000 as they participate in the largest welfare-to-work program in the nation. When forced to work at city jobs for well below the prevailing wage and deprived of the chance to go to school, these individuals decide to fight back, demanding programs that will help them get off of welfare and into real jobs. 2001/Color / Not rated/57 Mins.


Death in the Seine
HIS VT1475

From April 1795 to September, 1801, three hundred and six bodies were taken from the River Seine in Paris where they were cared for by two mortuarty attendants who methodically noted down the particulars of each corpse: its sex, age, hair color, bodily wounds and scars, clothing, if any, and the contents of their pockets. With information later provided by witnesses, it became possible to speculate upon the lives and manner of death of the decendents - a subject all the more intriguing since all of those taken from the Seine had witnessed the French Revolution. Peter Greenaway has used these images to construct a stark and visually shocking film. Color/44 min/English


Pandoras Box
HIS VT1476A

Originally released in 1928, G.W. Pabst's erotic adaptation of Frank Wedekind's "Lulu" plays was mutilated by censors and reviled by critics of the era. Today's restoration of Pandora's Box reveals a masterpiece of the silent era, a momentous meeting of director and star. For the role of Lulu, a destroyer of men who is ultimatly destroyed by Jack the Ripper, the German director rejected a young Marlene Dietrich in favor of American actress Louise Brooks, the epitome of the modern worman of the 1920s. Together they produced a startling sex tragedy and an unorthodox femme fatale who is the true victim- of her own carnality and German upper-class morality. Gazing through the camera, Brooks projects the animal beauty of a woman who sees the world as her sexual playground, unconscious of the havoc she wreaks on the lives of her lovers. Pabst grips the viewer with an almost violent tension, a passion for realism, and an uncompromising treatment of sexual themes. Silent with English intertitles Approx. 110 minutes


Vienna 1900
HIS VT1477

This videotape was shown at The Museum of Modern Art in conjunction with the exhibition Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture and Design. Shot on location in and around Vienna the tape includes rare archival footage and expands on the themes of the exhibition, situating the works of art on view within the broader social and political context of fin-de-siecle Vienna. The tape begins with the baroque theatricality of Vienna's historical architecture, then moves to Otto Wagner's rebellion against it with the revolutionary simplicity of his Postal Savings Bank; it explores the rare and elegant designs of the Wiener Werkstatte, the Byzantine splendor of Klimt's studies of women, and the visionary inner landscapes of Oskar Kokoschka, then concludes with Egon Schiele's astonishing series of self-portraits. 30 mins


A Hard Days Night (The Beatles)
HIS VT1482

This strikingly original classic captures all the fun, excitement and unforgettable music of John, Paul, George, and Ringo at the height of Beatlemania! It's a wildly irreverent day in the life of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band! As they prepare for a big TV appearance, the Beatles perform their songs, look for adventure...and try in vain to keep Paul's mischief-making gradfather out of trouble...all while avoiding hordes of screaming fans! Packed with all-time Beatle favorites including "A Hard Day's Night," "All My Loving," "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Should Have Known Better," "She Loves You," and "Tell Me Why," director Richard Lester's groundbreaking motion picture collaboration with the "Fab Four" is itself a treaured piece of rock history that remains influential to this day! B&W/G rated/Approx. 92 min


Twilight Los Angeles
HIS VT1490

On March 3, 1991, an African-American man was brutally beaten by four white Los Angeles police officers who stopped him for speeding. On April 29, 1992, when the jury's "not guilty" verdict dismissed the officers on trial for the assault, the city ignited into three days of rioting, looting and violence that left neighborhoods smoldering. "Twilight: Los Angeles," adapted from Anna Deavere Smith's searing one-woman play, captures this tumultuous and challenging moment in America's race relations. Conceived, written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith and directed by filmmaker Marc Levin, the film interweaves Smith's masterful performance with documentary footage to examine the tragic events that pitted blacks, whites, Latinos, and Koreans against each other, creating an indelible portrait of rage, loss and battered hope. VHS/ Approx. 90 mins/ color


Gospel According to Saint Matthew
HIS VT1504

The birth life, teachings and death on the cross of Jesus Christ presented almost as cine-verite documentary. Pasolini's second feature seemed a strange choice for such a revolutionary director, but it is an attempt to take Christ out of the opulent church and present him as an outcast Italian peasant. Applying Neo-Realist methods, the director shot the film in Calabria, using the expressive faces of non-professionals including that of his mother as the Virgin Mary. "The Gospel According to Saint Matthew" is considered the greatest screen version of the "greatest story ever told" and this freshly re-mastered version brings the film to life in a way that has never been seen before. VHS/Black and White/ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES/142 minutes/Unrated


Burning Season: The Chico Mendes Story
HIS VT1507

Some call him a hero. Others label him bad for buisness. But enemies of Brazilian rain forest activist Chico Mendes call him something else: a target. In one of his last roles, Raul Julia (the Addams Family) plays real-life hero Medes in the powerful adventure The Burning Season, directed by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate). Spurred to action after a key organizer of the rain forest's working poor is slain, Medes stands firm against slash-and-burn deforestation. He becomes a nonviolent activist, union leader, political candidate and a recognized authority who helps alert the world to the plight of the amazon. With unflinching courage, Mendes puts his principles to the test - even when the test means a deadly showdown with destiny. Edward James Olmos, Sonia Braga, Migel Havers and Esai Morales also star in this riveting story. VHS/Color/123min./Not Rated


Romero.
HIS VT1508

"If they kill me, I shall rise in the salvadoran people." ROMERO is a compelling and deeply moving look at the life of Archbiship Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who made the ultimate sacrifice in a passionate stand against social injustice and oppression in his country. This film chronicles the tranformation of Romero from an apolitical, complacent priest to a committed leader of the Salvadoran people. Acclaimed actor Raul Julia (Kiss of the Spider Woman) Stars as this man of God forced by the unspeakable events going on around him to take a stand - a stand that ultimately leads to his assassination in 1980 at the hands of the military junta. The film features powerful performances by Richard Jordan (Interiors, The Secrect of My Success) and Ana Alicia. Australian writer-director John Duigan (The Year My Voice Broke) makes his American directorial debut with Romero. VHS/Color/105min/PG-13


After Life
HIS VT3016

If you had to choose your single happiest memory, what would it be? In After Life the recently deceased are asked this question. Aided by guides who help them sift through their past, they are given three days to come up with an answer. Once a decision is reached, the guides recreate the memory and capture it on film, giving the deceased a very personal heaven they will enter for eternity. With exquisite beauty, After Life shows us that while the memories people choose may seem simple, be it a first kiss or a last cigarette, their meaning lies in the sense they give of living in the moment and feeling truly and fully alive. And while these memories may seem simple, deciding upon them is no easy task. Using humour and compassion the 'guides' lead, urge and cajole their 'clients' to discover meaning and value in their past, for without a decision the dead will be stuck in limbo, forever recreating and filming the happiness of others. 118 minutes


Danton
HIS VT3017

In this powerful historical drama, acclaimed Polish director Andrzej Wajda creates stirring portrayals of the political figures involved in the aftermath of the French Revolution. The film centers on Georges Danton (Gerard Depardieu), the popular revolutionary leader, who returns to Paris at a time when the new Republic is in disarray. Maximillian Robespierre (Wojciech Pszoniak) and his allies have set up a montrous dictatorship, beginning the infamous "Reign of Terror." In direct opposition to the government and Robespierre, Canton pleads with the people for and end to the bloodshed which violates the spirit of their revolution. What begins as a public cause, soon turns into a personal conflict between Danton and Robespierre. Robespierre subsequently has Danton arrested for treason and France's one voice for peace faces the guillotine.


Hotel Terminus - Part One
HIS VT3019A

Hotel Terminus: The life and times of Klaus Barbie is Marcel Ophuls' award winning documentary work, spanning more than 70 years, three continents and 120 hours of interviews as it explores one of World War II's greatest mysteries. Klaus Barbie, a ruthless SS interrogator know as the "Butcher of Lyon," was implicated in 4,000 deaths and the deporation of 7,000 jews from occupied France and then he disappeared. Hotel Terminus traces the 40-year hunt for Barbie, a hunt initiated by the very government that later hid him and protected his family. Klaus Barbie, a wanted Nazi war criminal, was employed by the American government as an informant in Germany. When discovery was dangerously close, Barbie was smuggled out of Europe on an underground railway with ties to the Vatican. He took refuge in South America, where his "talents" were employed by the governments in Bolivia and Peru. Until he was finally brought to trial in 1987, governments harbored Barbie at the same time that his crime were being denounced. Hotel Terminus exposes a complex web of political intrigue, collaboration and deceit almost as unforgettable as the crimes. 267 minutes


Zoot Suit Riots
HIS VT1537

A brutal murder. A sensational trial. A city erupts in violence. In August 1942, the murder of a young Mexican American man ignited a firestorm in Los Angeles. The tensions that had been building up for years between Mexican and whilte Los Angelenos boiled over. The press claimed Mexican youth- known as "zoot-suiters" for the clothes they wore- were terrorizing the city with crime. Police fanned out across Los Angeles, arresting 600 Mexican Americans. Seventeen "zoot-suiters" were tried for murder. Despite a lack of evidence, they were all found guilty. Using evocative original photography and moving interviews with eyewitnesses, Zoot Suit Riots tells the story of the trial and the violent events of the following summer. Several months after the teens were convicted, racial tensions led to full-scale riots between servicement and the Mexican American community. During the week long riot, "soot-suiters" were beaten and stripped of their clothes. The violence climaxed on the fifth night when 5,000 civilians converged on downtown Los Angeles eager to assist the sailors. Despite the odds, Mexican American kids organized and fought back. This charged yet little known story follows a generation of young Mexican Americans who dared to challenge racial attitudes in Los Angeles during World War II. Their subjection to racial profiling and discrimination by a xenophobic society makes this story resonate with young people of color today. VHS/Color/60 min/


Americas 5: In Womens Hands: The Changing Roles of Women
HIS VT0435B

The people of South and Central America and teh Caribbean reflect on their lives, their history, and socities in AMERICAS. This intimate look at contemporary Latin America examines issues confronting the entire region by focusing on individual communities. Campesinos, city dwellers, artists, government officials, revolutionaries and others bring forth the multi-layered diversity of the region. 60 min


Nova: Holocaust on Trial
HIS VT1538

This program contains historical footage of the Holocaust that some viewers may find disturbing. Parental discretion is advised. Approximate running time is 60 minutes


Man For All Season
HIS VT0693B

Henry VIII's wife Catherine is unable to produce heir. Henry, in love with Anne Boleyne, asks Pope to grant him divorce. King is backed by everyone except Sir Thomas More. When Cardinal Wolsey, Chancellor of England, names More as his successor, it becomes important for Henry to get More's support. But More cannot be swayed. Henry demands clergy renounce Pope & name him head of Church of England. Cromwell, leader of divorce campaign, frames More forcing him to resign. Eventually More is brought to trial, found guilty of treason & beheaded. 120 min.


Schindlers List - Part 2
HIS VT0755B

True story of how German war profiteer & prison camp director Oskar Schindler came to save more Jews from gas chambers than any other single person during WWII. 3 hr. 17 min


Umberto D
HIS VT1077

The heart-wrenching yet unsentimental tale features Carlo Battisti-not an actor but a university professor-as a retired civil servant who struggles to live on a meager pension. Evicted from his boarding house, Umberto maintains his dignity in isolation except for the priceless companionship of his dog. 90 min


Bicycle Thief
HIS VT1078

On the surface it is a simple story of an unemployed man and his son in war devastated Rome. The father finds a job pasting up posters, work requiring a bicycle to get around. The bicycle is stolen, setting up the film's tragic and ironic ending. Panic striken at being unable to recover his bicycle-and the prospect of losing his means of employment -the father is compelled to steal a bicycle only to be caught and humiliated in front of his son. 1948. B&W. 90 min


Maedchen in Uniform
HIS VT1541

Today considered one of the masterpieces of German cinerma, Maedchen in Uniform was orginally banned in Germany and the U.S. Set in a strict boarding school, the table of a lonely girl's crush on a female teacher proved too sensual for some, and its condemnation of Fascist authoritarianism outraged the Nazis. With eleanor Roosevelt's help, the U.S. ban was lifted, and the film was later named best film of the year by the New york press. Brilliant acting and direction sensitively depict the schoolgirls' yearnings in their frenzied whispers, hysterical lampoons of rigid teachers, and open adoration of one sympathetic teacher. though the original negative was destroyed during the war, the film was restored from rediscovered prints years later. An early feminist classic, this all-female production is a tender potrayal of female bonding and love. B&W. 90 mins.


Last Days
HIS VT1242B

The winner of the 1998 Academy Award for Best Documentary, this powerful film traces the compleeing experiences of five Hungarian Holocaust survivors who fell victim to Hitler's brutal war against the Jews during the final days of World War II. Including newly-discovered historical footage & a rare interview with a former nazi doctor at Auschwitz, the film tells the remarkable story of five people - a grandmother, a teacher, a businessman, an artist & a U.S. Congressman - as they return from the United States to their hometowns & to the ghettos & concentration camps in which they were imprisoned. Through the eyes of the survivors & other witnesses, The Last Days recounts one of the most brutal chapters of this dark period in human history, when families were taken from their homes, stripped of their dignity, deported to concentration camps & untimately murdered. Above all, The Last Days is a potent depiction of personal strength & courage, & a testament to the power of the human spirit. 87 min


Children Are Watching Us
HIS VT1284

A devastating portrait of the destruction of innocence, records the unintentional cruelties that shatter a four-year-old boy's vulnerable world. His mother, consumed by an extramarital affair, and his suicidal father abandon the child emontionally and physically. Unwanted and unloved, he drifts away from any attachment with teh adult world. 1942.B&W . 85 min


Lamerica
HIS VT1293

Background on: Albania and Italy joining. Italy investing in Albania. Fasusm on the rise.


Hotel Terminus - Part Two
HIS VT3019B

126 minutes/ Color & B/W


Holocaust On Trial
HIS VT1576

The slaughter of millions of Jews during World War II was the defining tragedy of the 20th Century. But som e claim the Holocaust was a myth and that the few who did survive the death camps are liars. NOVA reconstructs the charged and dramatic courtroom proceedings as Irving defends himself and Hitler's Nazi atrocities. Haunting, unsettling, moving and enlightening. Holocaust on Trial traves the origins of the Finals Solution and recounts the unimaginable horros of the Nazi death camps through devastating and rare footage. VHS/ Color/ 60 mins


Degenerate Art
HIS VT0440

58 minutes