The Big Lonely

Jan 1, 2014

1h 22m

★ 9.0

Overview

Documenting the 7th season of one man's extraordinary isolation in the wilderness, The Big Lonely captures the essence of loneliness, survival, and resilience of the human spirit in a uniquely filmed manner. Director David Manougian unveils the captivating, intimate and redemptive story of Michael Nelms and his dog Tic, who, after becoming homeless, chose a life in a remote wilderness hideout over "living under a bridge."

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Digital One

The Big Lonely Trailers

Cast

Self

Michael Nelms

Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They walk, marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. This amazing, true-life tale is touched with humour and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader... to adventure!!

6.7

Arctic Tale

Jun 17, 2007

Arctic Tale is a 2007 documentary film from the National Geographic Society about the life cycle of a walrus and her calf, and a polar bear and her cubs, in a similar vein to the 2005 hit production March of the Penguins, also from National Geographic.

7.1

The Living Desert

Nov 10, 1953

Although first glance reveals little more than stones and sand, the desert is alive. Witness moving rocks, spitting mud pots, gorgeous flowers and the never-ending battle for survival between desert creatures of every shape, size and description.

3.9

Miracle on Everest

Jul 1, 2008

2006 was one of the deadliest Everest seasons on record. Experienced mountaineer Lincoln Hall was invited to join an expedition as a high altitude cameraman. It was his second attempt to summit the mountain, having turned back just short 22 years earlier. Shortly after reaching the summit, Hall began to behave irrationally, suffering from lack of oxygen. Aided by his loyal Sherpas for over 9 hours, he eventually collapsed and they declared him dead. His family were informed and the news hit headlines. But something happened that night that science cannot explain. The next morning Lincoln Hall was found alive by approaching climbers and his dramatic rescue began. Never before has a man been declared dead so high on Everest and survived. This is the remarkable true story of Lincoln Hall’s extraordinary journey back from beyond.

6.0

Rikers

Nov 12, 2016

This film from Bill Moyers is the first documentary to focus exclusively on people formerly detained in New York City’s notorious Rikers Island Jail. They tell their compelling stories direct to the camera, revealing the violent arc of the Rikers experience – from the trauma of entry to extortion and control by inmates, to oppressive corrections officers, violence and solitary confinement.

7.5

Simona

Sep 30, 2022

Ida, the grandniece of Simona Kossak, travels to the Bialowieza Forest at the Polish-Belarussian border. Sorting through the photos left by Lech Wilczek, Ida uncovers the life he had with Simona, captured in the photographs, footage and memories. A moving and powerful documentary about the life of Simona Kossak, a biologist, ecologist and activist known for her efforts to preserve the remnants of natural ecosystems in Poland and for living among the animals in the Białowieża Forest for over 30 years.

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9.0

Das Dorf der Freundschaft

Aug 25, 2001

A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George Mizo to help the Vietnamese kids suffering from the Vietnam War.

6.5

Flow: For Love of Water

Sep 12, 2008

From both local and global perspectives, this documentary examines the harsh realities behind the mounting water crisis. Learn how politics, pollution and human rights are intertwined in this important issue that affects every being on Earth. With water drying up around the world and the future of human lives at stake, the film urges a call to arms before more of our most precious natural resource evaporates.

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0.0

In Memoriam

Oct 12, 2019

In the United States, there is an active shooter incident every 12 days. In Memoriam shows the wrenching perspective of wounded survivors, grieving relatives, and heroes of the horrific attacks at the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church in Texas, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

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5.0

Siddharta

Oct 31, 2019

Siddharta and Fabrizio, one of them nine years old, the other one 65, are the core of a community that renounces every civilising comfort. We are their guests – for one summer.

8.0

Nomad Solitude

Sep 13, 2023

In their vehicle, Laurie, Kristy and Linda live alone on the American roads. Like thousands of modern American nomads who can no longer afford to pay for their housing. With no money to spare, these three sixty-year old women are fleeing, in their own way, a part of their history that has left a deep mark on them. Driving away, they try to regain some form of peace. But as the miles and seasons pass, despite their impressive temerity and resilience, their quest for a better future is challenged by unexpected events that hit a country in crisis. Will they nevertheless manage, at the end of the road, to find the serenity they are looking for, in order to become someone again?

6.8

The Last Trapper

Dec 12, 2004

Norman is not just an admirer of nature, he's a part of it. He survives the harshness of the climate and the wildlife by coexisting with it. With his wife Nebraska, they live almost entirely off the land, making money by selling their furs.

7.0

Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me

Aug 23, 2024

Following Sir Brian May over a decade-long journey to understand the crisis caused by bovine tuberculosis and his opposition to the controversial badger cull, implemented to curb the spread of the disease in cattle. It’s a story surrounded by controversy, but one little known to many - a tale of tragedy for both humans and animals.

7.8

Alone in the Wilderness

Oct 8, 2004

Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin in the wilderness at the base of the Aleutian Peninsula, in what is now Lake Clark National Park. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself. The documentary covers his first year in-country, showing his day-to-day activities and the passing of the seasons as he sought to scratch out a living alone in the wilderness.

8.0

Merton: A Film Biography

Jan 1, 1984

In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.

0.0

The Story of Yellowstone National Park

Jan 1, 1991

Marvel at "Old Faithful" erupting, vast rolling forests, abundant wildlife, thundering waterfalls, gurgling hot springs and mud pots, and the beautiful, haunting wilderness. Over 2.2 million acres located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, the great Yellowstone National Park was founded in 1872. The superb camera work of Dale Johnson and Bob Landis captures the natural wonders that captivated the early mountain men of the 1840s: petrified forests, mountains of glass and rivers that cooked fish. Thrill to rare and dramatic wildlife action; an antelope doe chasing a coyote from her young, a grizzly pursuing an elk in a life and death chase, a coyote matching wits with an otter; northern elk migrating in deep snow and bighorn sheep in mating battles. See the Yellowstone fire of 1988, and the charred land in full bloom. Ride with a park range into the backcountry. Enjoy a stagecoach ride to a sunrise cookout. It's all here, the magic of the great Yellowstone.

7.8

Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same

Oct 20, 1976

The best of Led Zeppelin's legendary 1973 appearances at Madison Square Garden. Interspersed throughout the concert footage are behind-the-scenes moments with the band. The Song Remains the Same is Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden in NYC concert footage colorfully enhanced by sequences which are supposed to reflect each band member's individual fantasies and hallucinations. Includes blistering live renditions of "Black Dog," "Dazed and Confused," "Stairway to Heaven," "Whole Lotta Love," "The Song Remains the Same," and "Rain Song" among others.

0.0

The Survivalists

Jun 29, 1982

This documentary talks to women training with machine guns, to undergraduates taking courses in How to Stay Alive, to retired generals who run schools for mercenary killers, and to self-appointed clergy who say their native America has "gone soft on the Devil and the Reds" and has become a "Disneyland for Dummies".

0.0

Seeing Through the Darkness

May 30, 2025

Carried by an immersive sound environment that plunges us in the reality and the perceptions of these resilient and inspiring people, this film questions our own blindness face to violence and suffering of our time — despite the overabundance of images that reach us — and highlights the urgency of lending an ear to hear these stories.

The Big Lonely

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

The Big Lonely Trailers