Tales of the American

Nov 30, 2017

1h 46m

★ 4.0

You don't just live at the American Hotel, you become part of the American Hotel

Overview

Seemayer Studios presents a new documentary about the American Hotel in downtown Los Angeles and the Arts District that surrounds it. Since 1979, the American Hotel has been the beating heart of a rich community of artists who began moving into the deserted factory buildings between Alameda and the Los Angeles River.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Seemayer Studios LLC

Tales of the American Trailers

Cast

Self

Sandra Cruze

Self

Steven Lamprinos

Self

Jake La Botz

Self

Michael Shamus Wiles

Filmed on the rooftops of lower Manhattan, this performance film features the original Last Poets performing 28 numbers adapted from their legendary Concept-East Poetry appearance at New York's Paperback Theater in 1969. Described as “a conspiracy of ritual, street theater, soul music and cinema."

0.0

NYC Point Gods

Jul 29, 2022

An in-depth look at the legendary point guards of New York City who honed their craft and developed their legendary showmanship in the 1980s and ’90s. The documentary spotlights the ascent of Rafer Alston, Kenny Anderson, Mark Jackson, Stephon Marbury, God Shammgod, Kenny Smith, Rod Strickland and Dwayne “Pearl” Washington in the midst of a cultural renaissance.

3.6

Trade Center

Mar 16, 2021

The voices of five gay men who cruised for sex at the World Trade Center in the 1980s and 1990s haunt the sanitized, commerce-driven landscape that is the newly rebuilt Freedom Tower campus.

6.6

Foreigners Out! Schlingensief's Container

Mar 22, 2002

FOREIGNERS OUT! SCHLINGENSIEFS CONTAINER is a thrilling, insightful, funny chronicle and reflection of one of he biggest public pranks and acts of art terrorism ever committed. Austria 2000: Right after the FPÖ under Jörg Haider had become part of the government, the first time an extreme right wing party became state officials after WW2, infamous German shock director Christoph Schlingensief showed a very unique form of protest. Realising public xenophobia and the new hate politics in the most drastic ways possible, he installed a public concentration camp right in the middle of Vienna's touristic heart, right beside the picturesque opera where hundreds of tourists and locals pass by daily. And it was no concentration camp you had ever feared to return from the old times, but one that cynically reflected our new multimedia culture. Satirising reality TV shows, "Big Brother" especially, a dozen asylum seekers were surveilled by a multitude of cameras, could be fed and watched by.

6.0

Night Life in Chicago

Nov 27, 1948

This short Traveltalk visit to Chicago looks at some hotels known for their evening entertainment and for the rich and famous people who come to their dining rooms. Featured are the Walnut Room of the Bismarck Hotel, the Ambassador Hotel's Pump Room, and the boardwalk at the Edgewater Beach Hotel.

6.9

24×36

Mar 5, 2016

A documentary exploring the birth, death and resurrection of illustrated movie poster art. Through interviews with a number of key art personalities from the 70s and 80s, as well as many modern, alternative poster artists, “Twenty-Four by Thirty-Six” aims to answer the question: What happened to the illustrated movie poster? Where did it disappear to, and why? In the mid 2000s, filling the void left behind by Hollywood’s abandonment of illustrated movie posters, independent artists and galleries began selling limited edition, screenprinted posters — a movement that has quickly exploded into a booming industry with prints selling out online in seconds, inspiring Hollywood studios to take notice of illustration in movie posters once more.

6.6

Los Sures

Sep 29, 1984

A documentary on the inhabitants of South Williamsburg, New York, whose lives are explored through the testimony of five inhabitants of the Brooklyn neighborhood. In the late 70s and early 80s, Los Sures was one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City. In fact, it had been called the worst ghetto in America. Diego Echeverria's film skillfully represents the challenges of its time: drugs, gang violence, crime, abandoned real estate, racial tension, single-parent homes, and inadequate local resources. The complex portrait also celebrates the vitality of this largely Puerto Rican and Dominican community, showing the strength of their culture, their creativity, and their determination to overcome a desperate situation.

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7.7

Amargosa

Apr 16, 2000

The inspirational story of Marta Becket: 76-yr old singer, writer, dancer, painter, visionary, and her creation Amargosa.

6.9

Off the Rails

Nov 4, 2016

The remarkable true story of Darius McCollum, a man with Asperger's syndrome whose overwhelming love of transit has landed him in jail 32 times for the criminal impersonation of NYC subway drivers, conductors, token booth clerks, and track repairmen.

6.9

Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock

Jul 21, 2017

A reckless joyride into the darkest corners of popular music that delves deep into the mind of Mick Rock, the genius photographer who immortalized the seventies and the rise to rock stardom of many legendary musicians.

5.7

Goo

Jun 11, 1991

In 1991, a long-form music video version of Goo was released on VHS and LaserDisc. A music video for each song from the album was included; the track listing was identical to that of the original album.

4.9

Koch

Feb 1, 2013

A documentary on the former mayor of New York City, Ed Koch.

5.0

La Garoupe

Dec 29, 1937

Home movie from Man Ray while on vacation with Pablo Picasso, Paul, Nusch and Cecile Eluard, Emily Davies, Valerie and Roland Penrose. The friends have fun with themselves and performing for the camera.

6.0

Ady

Dec 29, 1938

Very brief view of Man Ray and his friend Ady Fidelin while at a seaside resort

5.6

Kusama's Self-Obliteration

Dec 31, 1967

A film exploration of the work and aesthetic concepts of Yayoi Kusama, painter, sculptor, and environmentalist, conceived in terms of an intense emotional experience with metaphysical overtones, an extension of my ultimate interest in a total fusion of the arts in a spirit of mutual collaboration. —Jud Yalkut

6.5

Ai Weiwei: Without Fear or Favour

Nov 16, 2010

Arts documentary, first broadcast before Ai Weiwei's arrest by the Chinese authorities in April 2011, and his subsequent release after being detained for 11 weeks. Architect, photographer, curator and blogger, Ai Weiwei is China's most famous and politically outspoken contemporary artist. Alan Yentob explores the story of Ai Weiwei's life and art, and reveals how this most courageous and determined of artists continues to fight for artistic freedom of expression while living under the restrictive shadows of authoritarian rule.

5.0

Where is Rocky II?

May 1, 2016

Pierre Bismuth hires a private detective and a duo of screenwriters to investigate on an enigmatic artwork.

No Image Available

0.0

beweistheorie I

Mar 26, 2016

A video puzzle using mathematical principles and prime numbers, daring the audience to decode it's journey.

6.0

Goya

Oct 1, 1950

Presents life in 18th century Spain as the painter Francisco de Goya showed it to us.

Tales of the American

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Tales of the American Trailers

Cast

Sandra Cruze

Steven Lamprinos

Jake La Botz

Michael Shamus Wiles

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