The film depicts the life and work of opera singer Maria Callas in her own words by using performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs nearly all of which have never been shown to the public. Maria by Callas reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time. Her letters and unpublished memoirs are read by opera singer Joyce DiDonato. (Click CC for subtitles)
George Michael is honored in a fine documentary released in October 2017, a film he wrote and directed and supervised about his life in show business before his death on Christmas Day 2016. The film was completed under David Austin's direction. The movie is a frank and honest account of George Michael's professional life and career. Though the film, various artists add to the narrative – Tony Bennett, Mary J. Blige, Emmanuelle Alt, Naomi Campbell, Ricky Gervais, Elton John, Liam Gallagher, Cindy Crawford, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Kate Moss Nile Rodgers, James Corden, Stevie Wonder, and many others. The film highlights conversations with Michael, his crisis with Sony, his 'coming out' as a gay man, his driving force to be the best performer and songwriter ever known, his many successful videos and clips from live performances and much, much more. This is a very beautifully made film, steaming with love from Michael and from his many fans, and filled with information about the positive impact he made on the world. Completely entertaining and a fine tribute to an enormously gifted artist.
From the age of 15, Whitney Houston began to enter the world of music. In 1983, she signed a contract with Clive David from Arista Records. From then on, she began a life of excess, luxury, fame, drugs, and many scandals. The documentary pays special attention to her relationships with her mother, father, husband and daughter, as well as her former best friend Robyn Crawford. It also addresses the singer's history of drug use, including overdose allegations in the 1990s, her early days as a gospel singer, her discovery by Arista Records boss Clive Davis, and key moments such as the releases of her debut album in 1985 and the film The Bodyguard in 1992. The film tells the story of the life and death of Whitney Houston, who marked a before and after in the history of music. It has been made with archival footage of the artist, from her concerts, interviews and home videos.
Edgar Froese, band leader of Tangerine Dream and pioneer of electronic music, is on a lifelong mission to find the ultimate sound. His constant quest takes him and his fellow band members to worldwide success, all the way to the Hollywood studios in Los Angeles. At his death in January 2015, Edgar Froese leaves a legacy of 48 years of music history. The film shows previously unreleased footage shot by the band leader himself: For the first time, we see the band backstage, on tour in Europe and the US, at photoshoots with Jim Rakete or on holiday at the seaside. Records and interviews with his wife Bianca Froese-Acquaye, with band members, close associates and fellow artists map the unique history of Tangerine Dream: a tribute to the musician Edgar Froese and the era of electronic music.
A boxing match in Brooklyn; life in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina; the daily routine of a Nigerian midwife; an intimate family moment at home: these scenes and others are woven into Cameraperson, a tapestry of footage collected over the twenty-five-year career of documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. Through a series of episodic juxtapositions, Johnson explores the relationships between image makers and their subjects, the tension between the objectivity and intervention of the camera, and the complex interaction of unfiltered reality and crafted narrative. A hybrid work that combines documentary, autobiography, and ethical inquiry, Cameraperson is both a moving glimpse into one filmmaker's personal journey and a thoughtful examination of what it means to train a camera on the world.
Four and a half billion years ago, the young Earth was a hellish place, a seething chaos of meteorite impacts, volcanoes belching noxious gases, and lightning flashing through a thin, torrid atmosphere. Then, in a process that has puzzled scientists for decades, life emerged. But how? Join mineralogist Robert Hazen as he journeys around the globe. From an ancient Moroccan market to the Australian Outback, he advances a startling and counterintuitive idea—that the rocks beneath our feet were not only essential to jump-starting life, but that microbial life helped give birth to hundreds of minerals we know and depend on today. It's a theory of the co-evolution of Earth and life that is reshaping the grand-narrative of our planet’s story.
Maria by Callas reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time. Her letters and unpublished memoirs are read by opera singer Joyce DiDonato. (Click CC for subtitles)