Documentaries about Directors
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- DirectorKevin BrownlowDavid GillStarsRoy AitkenLindsay AndersonWilliam BakewellBrilliant pioneer of the feature film and discoverer of Hollywood - yet some say he single-handedly re-awakened the Ku Klux Klan.
- StarsJames MasonHans-Joachim KulenkampffJackie CooganUsing in part rare out-take footage, the film-making methods and techniques of Charles Chaplin are explored.
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsCharles ChaplinSydney PollackBill IrwinNarrated by Sydney Pollack, film critic Richard Schickel's dazzling two-hour plus documentary to one of the towering figures in film: Charles Chaplin. Hardcore Chaplin fans may not find much new material here, but more unfamiliar admirers will gain some valuable information about one of the most famous personalities of the 20th century. Schickel has constructed the documentary as a chronological survey of Chaplin's work, starting with his most significant shorts and covering all of his features. Schickel supports his narration with testimony from artists familiar with Chaplin's work and family members who offer personal insights into the comedian's life. The documentary plays down but doesn't ignore the controversies that swirled around Chaplin's private life. But the main focus is on the films. They include some of the best-loved movies of all time. Clips from "Kid Auto Races at Venice," the 1914 Keystone short in which Chaplin first used his Tramp costume, reveal a startlingly modern technique and sensibility, as if the filmmakers were predicting and mocking reality TV. Subsequent shorts show Chaplin refining his 'Little Tramp' character while absorbing the essentials of filmmaking. By the time he made "Easy Street," in 1917, Chaplin had perfected a combination of knockabout farce and Victorian sentiment that still proves irresistible. Chaplin's early features, including "The Kid," "The Gold Rush" and "City Lights," were such blockbuster hits that he could essentially ignore the coming of sound for almost a decade. Those making appearances on the program include Woody Allen, Richard Attenborough, Jeanine Basinger, Claire Bloom, Geraldine Chaplin. Sydney Chaplin, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr., Milos Forman, Bill Irwin, Norman Lloyd, Marcel Marceau, David Raksin, David Robinson, Andrew Sarris, Martin Scorsese and Jeffrey Vance.
- StarsLindsay AndersonCharles LamontWilliam R. CoxA series about the life, career and works of the movie comedy genius.
- DirectorPatrick MontgomeryStarsEdward BinnsPaul KohnerMarcel DalioErich von Stroheim was an director of silent movies, as well as an actor in both silents and talkies. Uncompromising and rigid, he battled the studio system for control over his pictures' content, and his career had many ups and downs as a result. Through interviews, photos, and archival footage, The Man You Loved to Hate explores von Stroheim's career. The title refers to von Stroheim's frequent casting as a German villain in films of the early 1940s. Von Stroheim's last famous acting role was in Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd.
- DirectorJorge DanaStarsFritz LangArtur BraunerClaude Chabrol
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsWilliam FriedkinFritz LangAmerican director William Friedkin interviewed Austrian director Fritz Lang on February 21st and 24th, 1975.
- DirectorJosé Luis López-LinaresJavier RioyoStarsJosé SanchoCarlos FuentesClaudio IsaacDocumentary about spanish director Luis Buñuel.
- 1995–19983h 45m8.5 (5.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorMartin ScorseseMichael Henry WilsonStarsMartin ScorseseAllison AndersKathryn BigelowMartin Scorsese describes his initial and growing obsession with films from the 1940s and 50s as the art form developed and grew with clips from classics and cult classics.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsJohn FordPeter BogdanovichOrson WellesA documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.
- DirectorNick RedmanStarsRudy BehlmerJanet BergstromJames D'ArcA documentary focusing on Ford's time at Fox and his relationship with Darryl F. Zanuck.
- DirectorGeorge Stevens Jr.StarsFred AstaireWarren BeattyPandro S. BermanBiography of the Academy Award winning director including dramatic color footage of WWII.
- DirectorRobert TrachtenbergStarsGeorge CukorPeter BogdanovichJean SimmonsCukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. Noted films include What Price Hollywood? (1932), A Bill of Divorcement (1932), Our Betters (1933), and Little Women (1933)
- DirectorKent JonesMartin ScorseseStarsMartin ScorseseElia KazanElias KoteasA documentary on the late Elia Kazan.
- DirectorNicholas RayWim WendersStarsGerry BammanRonee BlakleyPierre CottrellWim Wenders abandons the shoot of one of his own films in order to help his friend and fellow director Nicholas Ray create his swan song before he dies.
- DirectorAnnie TresgotMichel CimentStarsBilly WilderMichel CimentJack LemmonFrench film critic Michel Ciment interviews Billy Wilder about his life and film-making.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsMartin ScorseseWorld-renowned director Martin Scorsese narrates this journey through his favorites in Italian cinema.
- DirectorDamian PettigrewStarsFederico FelliniRoberto BenigniLuigi 'Titta' BenziA look at Fellini's creative process. In extensive interviews, Fellini talks a bit about his background and then discusses how he works and how he creates. Several actors, a producer, a writer, and a production manager talk about working with Fellini. Archive footage of Fellini and others on the set plus clips from his films provide commentary and illustration for the points interviewees make. Fellini is fully in charge; actors call themselves puppets. He dismisses improvisation and calls for "availability." His sets and his films create images that look like reality but are not; we see the differences and the results.
- DirectorCarlo LizzaniStarsBjörn AndrésenLaura AntonelliTina ApicellaActors who worked with and knew Luchino Visconti are interviewed about his life.
- DirectorMario CanaleStarsMichele PlacidoRafael AzconaNicoletta BraschiDepicts the highlights of director/writer Marco Ferreri's career. A nonconformist man, extreme, provocative in his ways, always close to the bleeding edge, and considered a visionary experimentalist.
- DirectorCarlo Di CarloStarsMichelangelo AntonioniA documentary on the life, work, and character of Michelangelo Antonioni.
- DirectorJan HarlanStarsKatharina KubrickMalcolm McDowellStanley KubrickThe career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise.
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsJohn CusackClint EastwoodAutobiography of Clint Eastwood up to his movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."
- DirectorAdam LowStarsAkira KurosawaSam ShepardPaul ScofieldAdam Low's Kurosawa is a 90-minute documentary that looks at Kurosawa's life and works. Originally broadcast on PBS in the US, the film follows a fairly conventional approach as it chronicles Kurosawa's career. The film includes many interviews, more of which are provided on the documentary's home video releases. The film is narrated by Sam Shepard, with sections of Kurosawa's autobiography read by Paul Scofeld. It is a tribute, a celebration and an hommage. A DVD, which comes with almost two hours of extra interviews, has been released as a region free disc by the Australian Madman Entertainment.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsShigehiko HasumiChris MarkerAkira KurosawaA documentary that shows the production of Ran and discusses the film techniques of Kurosawa himself.
- DirectorMarie NyrerödStarsIngmar BergmanErland JosephsonMarie NyrerödAll three documentaries were mainly shot in the home of Ingmar Bergman. This was the first time ever that a filmmaker had access to Ingmar Bergman in his home at the small island Fårö in the Baltic Sea. 'Bergman and Cinema' starts with "Frenzy" from 1944 and ends with "Saraband" from 2003. It contains unique behind-the-scenes material from Bergman's private archive. 'Bergman and Theatre' is about some of Bergman's 125 theatrical stagings and about his delight with the TV medium, with successes as "Scenes from a Marriage". In 'Bergman and Fårö Island' he talks about the childhood that shaped him. He shows where he shot his film "Persona" and fell in love - and he lists his worst demons.
- DirectorEmmanuel LaurentStarsIsild Le BescoAnouk AiméeJean-Pierre AumontJean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut, their careers, their friendship and their impact on the French New Wave of the 1960s.
- DirectorTed DemmeRichard LaGraveneseStarsFrancis Ford CoppolaWilliam FriedkinRobert AltmanA documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
- DirectorFax BahrGeorge HickenlooperEleanor CoppolaStarsDennis HopperMartin SheenMarlon BrandoDocumentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleA documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).
- DirectorWim WendersStarsWim WendersMichelangelo AntonioniMaroun BagdadiDuring the '35th Cannes International Film Festival' (14th-26th May 1982), German director Wim Wenders asked a sample of 15 other international film directors to get, each one at a time, into the same hotel room to answer in solitude the same question about the future of cinema, while they were filmed with a 16mm camera and recorded with a Nagra sound recorder. In social sciences the goal of standardization is that each person is exposed to the same question experience, and that the recording setting of answers is the same, too, so that any differences in the answers can be correctly interpreted as reflecting differences between persons rather than differences in the process that produced the answer. The wide sampling frame in "Room 666" included European 'auteurs' and Hollywood directors, narrative and experimental filmmakers, male and female professional film directors that presented their films or were simply present at the 35th Cannes Festival in May 1982. The directors came from France, Italy, Brazil, Lebanon, Germany, Turkey, the Philippines and the USA. This unique documentary shows the complete footage (or selected parts) of the 15 answers that resulted from this 'standardized survey interviews'. The historical value of "Room 666" has increased over time: The 5 directors Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Yilmaz Güney, Maroun Bagdadi, Robert Kramer and Michelangelo Antonioni have died since then in this order. Fassbinder died only a few weeks later on June 10th 1982 and gave his last 'interview' in "Room 666".
- 1985– 3h 12mNot Rated7.7 (5.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert B. WeideStarsWoody AllenLetty AronsonMarshall BrickmanA documentary on Woody Allen that trails him on his movie sets and follows him back to Brooklyn as he visits his childhood haunts.
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsMartin ScorseseCharles ScorseseCatherine ScorseseDirector Martin Scorsese discusses his life growing up in Manhattan and his filmmaking career.
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsSteven SpielbergConsidered to be one of the most respected film critics in the country, as evidenced by his work with Time magazine, Richard Schickel is widely known for writing, producing and directing a number of documentaries about Hollywood and its most important figures. As the producer of works such as "Woody Allen: A Life in Film" and "Scorsese on Scorsese", Schickel allows legendary filmmakers to explain their work. This time, Schickel has reunited with producer and director Steven Spielberg (welcome back from Mars if you haven't heard of him) for his most recent effort, "Spielberg on Spielberg", which premiered on Turner Classic Movies. The pair also collaborated on 2000's "Shooting War", a profile of World War II photographers. Already a living legend, the Oscar-winning director has chosen to share one of the most impressive American success stories: that of a young filmmaker who was brave enough to dare to dream and who would eventually give the world some of the most entertaining and successful movies, including "Jaws", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial", "Schindler's List", "Jurassic Park", and "Saving Private Ryan". In the past, Spielberg has chosen not to record audio commentary tracks for DVDs of his movies. This is the first time he talks about his films in any kind of detail. He speaks for 90 minutes about other directors and friends and about his well-known (and not so well-known) movies throughout his amazing career as one of the world's most celebrated and influential directors.
- DirectorKrzysztof WierzbickiStarsKrzysztof KieslowskiJacek PetryckiKrzysztof WierzbickiDirector/Writer Krzysztof Kieslowski shares his views on life, people, politics and comments a little about some of his films in a very casual conversation.
- DirectorMichal LeszczylowksiStarsErland JosephsonAndrei TarkovskyLarisa TarkovskayaDocumentary on the making of "The Sacrifice."
- DirectorTorben Skjødt JensenStarsClara PontoppidanHélène FalconettiLisbeth MovinCarl Theodor Dreyer is a young journalist in Copenhagen when he gets involved in the early Danish film industry. He writes scripts and inter-titles, and for some years he is the main editor at Nordisk Film. After those years of apprenticeship he gets the opportunity to direct his first film in 1917. Dreyer wanted his films to carry his personal imprints down to the smallest details, and already in his first silent movies it's possible to find stylistic traits that characterize his entire film production until his last film in 1964. The settings of his first films are naturalistic, but for Dreyer realism is not an art in itself. Only psychological realism is. His main interest is not the outer life, but the inner, emotional life of human beings. Emotions are most visible in facial expressions, and Dreyer's films are full of close-ups of human faces. By capturing the subtle, visual expressions of his characters, Dreyer tries to reveal the feelings they conceal and the storms that are raging inside them. Although many of his films end in tragedy, his intention is always to create a hymn to the triumph of the soul over life. Dreyer's own character was just as complex and contradictory as his film characters. Many of the actors he worked with describe him as a modest, amiable man, who was quiet in his statements, but intense and strong-willed inside. While his outer appearance was utterly self-effacing, he had at the same time an insistent stubbornness, which didn't accept any artistic compromises.
- DirectorLeo De BoerJurriën RoodStarsRobert BressonLouis MalleDominique SandaA Dutch documentary about legendary French filmmaker Robert Bresson.
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsCliff RobertsonVincente Minnelli
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsSydney PollackHoward HawksMarilyn MonroeA documentary filmography of Howard Hawks, including lengthy footage of Hawks himself discussing his films and many clips from his best-known pictures.
- DirectorAviva SlesinStarsA. Scott BergBette DavisSamantha EggarA tribute to director William Wyler consisting of interviews and excerpts from his many classic films.
- DirectorChuck WorkmanStarsOrson WellesSimon CallowChristopher WellesA look at the life and work of the great theatre, radio and film artist.Excellent.
- DirectorMarina ZenovichStarsAndrew BraunsbergRichard BrennemanDouglas DaltonExamines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary filmmaker Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.Good.
- DirectorLaurent BouzereauStarsRoman PolanskiAndrew BraunsbergPedro AlmodóvarA documentary about Roman Polanski, the man and filmmaker. Roman Polanski speaks about his eventful life story and career in conversation with Andrew Braunsberg, his former business partner, producer, and friend of many years.Very Good.
- 20031h 59mTV-147.5 (3.1K)DirectorKenneth BowserStarsMartin ScorseseDennis HopperPeter BogdanovichA look at 1970s Hollywood when it was known as New Hollywood, and the director was the star of the movie.Good
- DirectorRon MannStarsMichael MurphyRobert AltmanKathryn ReedA look at the life and work of American film-maker Robert Altman.Good
- DirectorBarbara KoppleStarsWoody AllenLetty AronsonSoon-Yi PrevinAcademy Award-winner Barbara Kopple directs this documentary portrait of Academy Award and Golden Globe-winner Woody Allen, seen traveling with friends and fellow musicians during their New Orleans jazz band's 1996 European tour. Allen's relationship with his wife Soon-Yi Previn is captured on film here for the first time, and others on the European jaunt include Allen's sister Letty Aronson. Followed by press, paparazzi, and gushing admirers, Allen returns home to face a more realistic critical assessment during "the lunch from hell" with his aged parents.
- DirectorJon RonsonStarsJon RonsonAnthony FrewinJan HarlanJon Ronson is asked by the widow of Stanley Kubrick to investigate the contents of about a thousand boxes left by Kubrick, shown to contain materials reflecting the work Kubrick did after the release of Barry Lyndon (1975) in 1975.