In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema

Sep 15, 2007

0h 59m

★ 6.5

The true story of a lost era.

Overview

This documentary captures the sounds and images of a nearly forgotten era in film history when African American filmmakers and studios created “race movies” exclusively for black audiences. The best of these films attempted to counter the demeaning stereotypes of black Americans prevalent in the popular culture of the day. About 500 films were produced, yet only about 100 still exist. Filmmaking pioneers like Oscar Micheaux, the Noble brothers, and Spencer Williams, Jr. left a lasting influence on black filmmakers, and inspired generations of audiences who finally saw their own lives reflected on the silver screen.

Genres

Documentary

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Cast

Narrator

Lawrence Varnado

Himself

Herb Jeffries

Herself

Ruby Dee

Herself

Jeni Le Gon

Himself

Leroy Collins

Herself

Pearl Bowser

How are the sex scenes filmed? What tricks are used to fake the desire? How do the interpreters prepare and feel? Spanish actors and directors talk about the most intimate side of acting, about the tricks and work methods when narrating exposed sex. In Spain the general rule is that there are no rules. Each film, each interpreter, faces it in very different ways.

6.7

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory

Mar 22, 1895

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

6.0

Satan's Blood: recuerdos de «Escalofrío»

Oct 15, 2016

The story of the shooting of Satan's Blood (Escalofrío), a film directed by Carlos Puerto in 1978.

0.0

Foghorn: Child Actor, Veteran, Friend

Apr 1, 2021

Over the serene and verdant landscape of Northern California, a man with an everlasting childlike spirit lived his last years in a cabin. A story of friendship and loneliness, George Carl Wenzlaff was a Navy veteran and postal service worker with unique artistic talents and an amazing past.

1.0

David Against Goliath

Mar 2, 2023

Haunted by three unfinished films, a filmmaker seeks to demystify his relationship with failure through encounters with past collaborators.

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6.5

Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler Is Born

Apr 20, 2005

This documentary is featured on the DVD for Captain Blood (1935), released in 2005.

6.7

Chaplin Today: City Lights

May 14, 2003

In 1928, as the talkies threw the film industry and film language into turmoil, Chaplin decided that his Tramp character would not be heard. City Lights would not be a talking picture, but it would have a soundtrack. Chaplin personally composed a musical score and sound effects for the picture. With Peter Lord, the famous co-creator of Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit, we see how Chaplin became the king of slapstick comedy and the superstar of the movies.

3.8

Montgomery Clift

Jan 1, 1983

A documentary incorporating footage of Montgomery Clift’s most memorable films; interviews with family and friends, and rare archival material stretching back to his childhood. What develops is the story of an intense young boy who yearned for stardom, achieved notable success in such classic films as From Here to Eternity and I Confess, only to be ruined by alcohol addiction and his inability to face his own fears and homosexual desires. Montgomery Clift, as this film portrays him, may not have been a happy man but he never compromised his acting talents for Hollywood.

9.0

France, le plus beau décor de cinéma

Jan 7, 2024

No overview available.

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8.0

Gina Carano in Training

May 1, 2012

No overview available.

6.4

A Gray State

Aug 7, 2017

In 2010 David Crowley, an Iraq veteran, aspiring filmmaker and charismatic up-and-coming voice in fringe politics, began production on his film Gray State. Set in a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government, the film’s crowd funded trailer was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning online community of libertarians, Tea Party activists and members of the nascent alt-right. In January of 2015, Crowley was found dead with his family in their suburban Minnesota home. Their shocking deaths quickly become a cause célèbre for conspiracy theorists who speculate that Crowley was assassinated by a shadowy government concerned about a film and filmmaker that was getting too close to the truth about their aims.

7.3

Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget

Nov 24, 2009

Kirk Douglas recounts his remarkable life in a celebrated one-man theater performance augmented with rare film highlights. He shares memories of family, marriages, other Hollywood greats, breaking the blacklist and his life-altering stroke – all with honesty and humor.

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7.7

Dearly Departed

Dec 14, 2006

Hollywood is a hot spot for celebrities, and tour guide Scott Michaels (E!'s "20 Most Horrifying Hollywood Murders," FindADeath.com) knows their, well, haunts. DEARLY DEPARTED is an all-access tour of the "backlots" of L.A. - locations where the most infamous murders, suicides and bizarre crimes involving A-listers have taken place. The Viper Room, the site where "The Black Dahlia" was discovered, and dozens more legendary spots are explored in this funny and equally shocking ride into L.A.'s seedy underground.

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0.0

Easter Parade: On the Avenue

Mar 15, 2005

This documentary tells the story of the making of Irving Berlin's Easter Parade.

6.6

Becoming Cary Grant

May 23, 2017

For the first time one of Hollywood's greatest stars tells his own story, in his own words. From a childhood of poverty to global fame, Cary Grant, the ultimate self-made star, explores his own screen image and what it took to create it.

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0.0

Censored!

Dec 31, 1999

A documentary about the cultural effect of film censorship, focusing on the tumultuous times of the teens and early 1920s in America.

7.2

Horror Movie: A Low Budget Nightmare

Oct 13, 2017

A filmmaker's lifelong dream quickly becomes his worst nightmare when he attempts to make a low budget horror film about an aborted fetus that seeks revenge on its family.

0.0

Cocaine: History Between the Lines

Aug 30, 2011

Cocaine has always gotten a bad rap, and for a reason. It is a drug used by the rich and the poor legally and illegally, Mexican cartels fought over it with Colombia once associated with the brutal cocaine wars, and a source of tension between the American and Mexican borders on the people who are illicitly bringing in cocaine from one side of the border to another and will do anything to do it. So it can be surprising at times to the viewer throughout the course of the documentary special, that it was never always like this.

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0.0

John Huston War Stories

Sep 3, 1999

During World War II, the propaganda engine of the U.S. government made a pivotal decision with unforeseeable results: they tapped John Huston to shoot war documentaries with an expressly patriotic spin. Few could guess the degree to which Huston's documentaries would depict the sheer brutality and horror of modern warfare - particularly his Let There Be Light and The Battle of San Pietro. The films served (by default) as cinematic protests, even as they graced new and brilliant heights within the scope of American documentary. (Indeed, Light was banned by the government for 35 years). Midge Mackenzie's 1998 documentary John Huston: War Stories explores this little known facet of Huston's career, intercutting clips from the various documentaries with a Huston interview shot just prior to his death.

0.0

Somewhere Between New York and LA

Nov 8, 2020

Since he was 18 years old, Blake Eckard has written and directed six feature length films in his hometown of Stanberry, Missouri (population 1186). Aside from a short distribution deal in Canada and a few festival screenings, his movies have largely gone unseen.

In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema

Overview

Genres

In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema Trailers