Lord of the Dance/Destroyer of Illusion

Jan 1, 1985

0h 56m

★ 9.0

In the West, we think of magic as the art of creating illusions. For Tibetans, destroying illusions is the highest form of magic.

Overview

The documentary focuses on the annual Mani Rimdu festival of Tibet and Nepal, an event which encapsulates the Himalayan Buddhist experience.

Genres

Documentary

Lord of the Dance/Destroyer of Illusion Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

himself

Trulshig Rinpoche

Narrator (English language version)

Richard Gere

Narrator

Peter Hudson

A testimony to the performance of ritual dances. Although they were performed only during the so-called “unbaptized days”, the 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany in the Orthodox Christianity, these dances are associated by some researchers with the Roman rosaries, the cult of the dead. Ritual clothing and the use of wooden swords to disperse the demons are important props in the dances that are believed to protect the folks from temptations and demons until they are baptized.

6.7

Sikkim

Apr 1, 1971

Satyajit Ray's poetic documentary was commissioned by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim at a time when he felt the sovereignty of Sikkim was under threat from both China and India. Ray's documentary is about the sovereignty of Sikkim. The film was banned by the government of India when Sikkim merged with India in 1975. The ban was finally lifted by the Ministry of External Affairs in September 2010. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

5.3

The Naked Mountain

Jan 10, 2020

The first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat was achieved in 2016 by Pakistani Muhammad Ali Sadpara and Spaniard Alex Txikón, accompanied by Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger. Alex Txikón made headlines again by attempting K2 in the winter of 2019, then Everest in the winter of 2020 (each time unsuccessfully); but also by participating in the search operations led by Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi on Nanga Parbat in March 2019, even claiming to have spotted two figures on the face. Confined during the Himalayan season, the Basque climber took the opportunity to work on a film recounting his own adventure on Nanga Parbat four years earlier.

No Image

7.0

Farther Than the Eye Can See

Jan 1, 2003

Blind climber Erik Weihenmayer and his team's highly successful ascent of Mount Everest along with four other remarkable milestones on the mountain. Time magazine called this the most successful Everest expedition of all time.

0.0

L'alpinisme au Népal

Nov 25, 2024

No overview available.

0.0

Rising Nepal

Sep 10, 2015

No overview available.

8.0

The Zen Mind

Jan 1, 2007

In the last fifty years the culture of Zen has spread far beyond Japan. Zen centers and zen retreats have sprung up throughout America and Europe. When Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen, brought Zen to Japan from China 800 years ago, it quickly took root and became an integral part of Japanese life. Yet what do we know about zen practice in Japan today? The Zen Mind is a fascinating journey across Japan to explore zen in its natural habitat.

9.0

Becoming Who I Was

Sep 27, 2017

Angdu is no ordinary boy. Indeed, in a past life he was a venerated Buddhist master. His village already treats him like a saint as a result. The village doctor, who has taken the boy under his wing, prepares him to be able to pass on his wisdom. Alas, Tibet, Angdu’s former homeland and the centre of his faith, lies far away from his current home in the highlands of Northern India. On top of that, the conflict between China and Tibet makes the prospect of a trip there even more daunting. Undeterred by these harsh facts, the duo set off for their destination on foot, accompanied by questions of friendship and the nature of life. With its narrative approach steeped in a serene sense of concentration, this documentary film, composed over a period of eight years, stands as a fundamental experience in its own right.

10.0

Marco Étoile Filante

Nov 18, 2008

Avid for steep slopes, Marco Siffredi (1979-2002) obeys only one rule: not to fall. This gifted kid with hair sometimes blond peroxidized, green or blue clashed in his valley: Chamonix, mecca of mountaineering. His thing was to go up and down on a snowboard. . 90 minutes September 8, 2002, altitude 8848 meters, rare oxygen, his head already brushing the sky and his snowboard running, Marco Siffredi, 23, rushes from the summit of Everest in the Horbein corridor and its slopes at 50 degrees . A year earlier, he had already made the first descent of the mountain on a snowboard. But there remains another corridor… more direct. It's not a challenge, just a reason to be... However, that day, at the top of the roof of the world, his trace is lost...

6.0

Le deuxième sexe : Sur les traces de Simone de Beauvoir

Feb 26, 2025

Published in 1949, The Second Sex became the bible of global feminism. An essential work that passionately advocates for gender equality, women's independence, and the liberation of morals. Today, how does this seminal work continue to resonate in our contemporary world? Conceived as an initiatory journey to the origins of Simone de Beauvoir's thinking, the film The Second Sex: In the Footsteps of Simone de Beauvoir takes us to the United States, to the places that inspired the philosopher and nourished her theories. An American road trip bringing together the worst and the best, predatory capitalism and mad love. A unique reinterpretation in the company of the great thinkers of our century.

No Image

0.0

National Geographic - Everest, Una Sfida Lunga 50 Anni

May 6, 2003

In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay made history as the first people to reach the top of Everest. Now, 50 years later, three sons of Everest's most celebrated climbers return to the mountain to challenge it again. Join their journey as they brave the elements and face death to climb 29,000 feet of wind-blasted rock and ice. And, relive the dramatic history of Everest from great triumphs to deadly tragedies, enduring rivalries and the unsung role of the Sherpa people—as National Geographic exposes the untold stories that lurk in the mountain's epic shadow and takes you on the ultimate Everest experience.

6.6

The Venerable W.

Jun 7, 2017

A view of the religious tensions between Muslims and Buddhist through the portrait of the Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, leader of anti-Muslim movement in Myanmar.

6.2

E. M. Cioran. Sa vie. Son oeuvre

Apr 14, 1999

No overview available.

0.0

A Leap of Faith

Dec 28, 2023

A girl, 23, solo travels a great deal looking for an emotional transformation within herself. She lands in Pokhara during the hustle and bustle of the new year festivities. Pokhara, as beautiful as it is, also looks extremely alive due to all the energy that's in the air. She's looking for the same energy within herself. She believes that the lakes, the mountains, the ever-buzzing streets are going to somehow help her face the fears that she'll be carrying all her life.

6.5

Examined Life

Sep 5, 2008

Examined Life pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets. Offering privileged moments with great thinkers from fields ranging from moral philosophy to cultural theory, Examined Life reveals philosophy's power to transform the way we see the world around us and imagine our place in it.

5.0

Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within

Jan 1, 2006

A feature length documentary which invites the viewer to rediscover an enchanted cosmos in the modern world by awakening to the divine within. The film examines the re-emergence of archaic techniques of ecstasy in the modern world by weaving a synthesis of ecological and evolutionary awareness,electronic dance culture, and the current pharmacological re-evaluation of entheogenic compounds.

6.3

Animation Outlaws

Sep 27, 2019

Walt Disney said “We have created characters and animated them in the dimension of depth, revealing through them to our perturbed world that the things we have in common far outnumber and outweigh those that divide us.” Outside of Walt himself there are few people who have brought together and united more animators in the history of the genre than Craig "Spike" Decker and Mike Gribble, known to all as Spike & Mike. They created an animation festival that helped launch the careers of John Lasseter, Peter Lord, Will Vinton, Bill Plympton and Mike Judge to name just a few. Their Spike & Mike festival had an enormous impact on animation that was felt the world over. The festival was known as much for the breakthrough animation it presented as the outrageous antics of the founders.

7.0

Brilliant Moon: Glimpses of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Jan 1, 2010

Brilliant Moon chronicles the life of the writer, poet, and meditation master Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Tibet's most revered 20th-century Buddhist teachers. Spiritual guide to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Royal Family of Bhutan, his life and teachings were an inspiration to all who encountered him. Richard Gere and Lou Reed provide the narration for his dangerous journey out of China, the subsequent spread of his influence and the search for his reincarnation after his death.

0.0

Walk with the Master: The Story of the Sites of the Buddha

Jun 29, 2010

The history of Buddhism is told in this unique program, as we make the journey Buddha himself took during his lifetime. Walk with the Master explores Buddha's life and legacy and the Buddhist religion. This detailed documentary is filled with facts and information and is accompanied by a wonderful blend of visuals, including present day footage of the sites, reconstructions of key events, art and animations. Filmed entirely on location in India at the actual sites that are a part of the Walk with the Master, this is the journey of the Master in his long quest to gain Enlightenment.

7.3

Heal

Oct 20, 2017

A documentary film that takes us on a scientific and spiritual journey where we discover that by changing one's perceptions, the human body can heal itself from any disease.

Lord of the Dance/Destroyer of Illusion

Overview

Genres

Lord of the Dance/Destroyer of Illusion Trailers