Keep Smiling

Though very polite and British, this feature-length documentary about German filmmaker Wim Wenders offers the most penetrating insights and the best overall critique of his work that I have encountered anywhere. Paul Joyce, who directed it, has also made documentaries about Nicolas Roeg, David Cronenberg, Nagisa Oshima, and Dennis Hopper, and he knows the conventional format well enough to get the most out of it. There are good clips and interesting commentaries from the interviewed subjects, who include Wenders himself, cinematographer Robby Muller, filmmaker Sam Fuller, novelist Patricia Highsmith, musician Ry Cooder, actors Harry Dean Stanton, Peter Falk, and Hanns Zischler, and critic Kraft Wetzel, who is especially provocative. A must-see for Wenders fans, highly recommended for everyone else. –Jonathan Rosenbaum, 1989

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

A documentary chronicling the making of Kubrick's final film, 'Eyes Wide Shut', and his legacy.

This straight-talking program seeks to understand the enigmatic and controversial Sam Peckinpah, whose violent films such as The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs had a telling effect on the cinema of the 1970s and 80s. Those who knew and worked with him, including actor James Coburn, actress Ali MacGraw, his associate Katherine Haber, his cousin Bob Peckinpah, and several screenwriters and producers, examine his life in an attempt to separate the man from the persona. Clips from key films reinforce this detailed discussion of Peckinpah's art and a fixation on violence that still permeates Hollywood today.

Documentary about the making of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 film "Straw Dogs."

Interviews with celebrities such as Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, Dennis Hopper and Willie Nelson examine the remarkable career of actor-performer Kris Kristofferson, who successfully bridged the gap between Hollywood and Nashville. From his mastery of the "New Nashville" sound on his 1972 album "Jesus Was a Capricorn" to his role in the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Kristofferson has shown an agility that's hard to match.

Cinefile episode with Paul Joyce profiling Robert De Niro with copious commentary from Quentin Tarantino.

The making of Stanley Kubrick's classic space epic, presented by James Cameron, including unseen footage.

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

An examination of the craft of Marlon Brando, narrated by professionals of the film industry. The film follows his career from the stage with "A Streetcar Named Desire", through the Actors Studio and professional relationships with Elia Kazan and Stella Adler to Hollywood. An actor who redefined the limits to which a professional may go in becoming the character not only intellectually but emotionally, Brando changed the meaning of film acting.

Hell on Earth is a documentary about Ken Russell's 1971 film, The Devils. Film critic Mark Kermode chats to Russell as well as two of the film’s stars, Georgina Hale and Murray Melvin. Also included are scenes that were cut from the released film for being too controversial.

Exploring the reputation of Stanley Kubrick by means of extracts from his work and contributions of people with whom he worked.

The Doctor, Romana, Adric and K9 encounter the enslaved time-sensitive Tharils, who lead them to a white void occupied only by the ruins of an old building and a spaceship - a dimension that might be the key to escaping E-Space.

Produced by Channel 4, Still Tickin´: The Return of A Clockwork Orange examines the controversy over Kubrick’s iconic film, explaining the film’s “demonic level of attention,” and its influence on culture, politics and society, which led to the director’s self-imposed ban.

A Paul Joyce documentary on the American independent film scene.

What makes European cinema so special? Find out in Paul Joyce’s feature-length documentary, Pictures of Europe, which examines the differences between American independent and Hollywood movies and films from European directors. Featuring luminary iconoclasts from European cinema such as Agnes Varda, Bernardo Bertolucci and Pedro Almodovar, as well as American counterpoints from Paul Schrader, and those who have crossed back and forth, such as Paul Verhoeven