Distress Signals
Genres
Overview
American television programming dominates around the world at the expense of regional cultural voices.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
55 min
Release Date
1991-06-04
Status
Released
Original Language
English
Vote Count
0
Vote Average
0
Jackie Burroughs
Self - Narrator (voice)
0.0
Never a Backward Step
This feature documentary is a profile of Canadian press tycoon Roy Thomson, whose single-minded attention to business brought him riches, power, and even a baronetcy in England. A native of Timmins, Ontario, Thomson had a tremendous career as publisher, television magnate, financier, and owner of many newspapers, including leading London dailies. The film is a frank study of an equally frank man.
1966-01-01 | en
7.4
Ask the Sexpert
A sex columnist gains popularity even while a ban on comprehensive sex education in schools is adopted by approximately a third of India’s states.
2017-05-01 | en
6.7
The U.S. vs. John Lennon
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
2006-09-15 | en
7.6
Cirque du Soleil: Quidam
A young girl has already seen everything there is to see and her world has lost all meaning. Her anger shatters her world and she finds herself in the universe of QUIDAM, where she is joined by a playful companion, as well as another mysterious character who attempts to seduce her with the marvelous, the unsettling and the terrifying.
1999-12-26 | en
5.1
American Swing
Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.
2009-10-17 | en
7.3
Up the Yangtze
At the edge of the Yangtze River, not far from the Three Gorges Dam, young men and women take up employment on a cruise ship, where they confront rising waters and a radically changing China.
2007-09-30 | zh
7.5
Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
In the spring of 1984, a strange new comic book sat beside cash registers in select shops, too big to fit in the racks, and too weird to ignore. Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles presented a completely original breed of super hero. It was too bizarre, too crazy. It broke all the rules and should never have worked. Until it sold out. Again and again and again. For 30 years. Now, peek under the shell and see how this so-called "happy accident" defied every naysayer to become one of the most popular and beloved franchises in the world.
2014-08-12 | en
7.5
Control Room
A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.
2004-01-15 | ar
5.4
Thot-Fal'N
This film describes a psychological state "kin to moonstruck, its images emblems (not quite symbols) of suspension-of-self within consciousness and then that feeling of falling away from conscious thought. The film can only be said to describe or be emblematic of this state because I cannot imagine symbolizing or otherwise representing an equivalent of thoughtlessness itself. Thus the actors in the film, Jane Brakhage, Tom and Gloria Bartek, Williams Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Olovsky and Phillip Whalen are figments of this 'Thought-Fallen Process', as are their images in the film to find themselves being photographed."
1978-06-27 | en
7.7
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man is a comprehensive look at political strategist, racist, and former Republican National Convention Committee chairman, Lee Atwater, who reinvigorated the Republican Party’s Southern Strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. He mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush and played a key role in the elections of Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
2008-09-26 | en
6.8
Bukowski: Born Into This
Director John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary about infamous poet Charles Bukowski, Bukowski: Born Into This, is as much a touching portrait of the author as it is an exposé of his sordid lifestyle. Interspersed between ample vintage footage of Bukowski’s poetry readings are interviews with the poet’s fans including such legendary figures such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Fante (wife of John), Bono, and Harry Dean Stanton. Filmed in grainy black and white by Bukowski’s friend, Taylor Hackford, due to lack of funding, the old films edited into this movie paint Bukowski’s life of boozing and brawling romantically, securing Bukowski’s legendary status.
2003-01-18 | en
6.4
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.
2008-01-18 | en
4.0
The Real Cancun
Sixteen American college students drink, flirt, fight and canoodle during their Spring Break vacation in Cancun, Mexico.
2003-04-23 | en
0.0
Behind Your Radio Dial
Familiar radio voice Ben Grauer leads the viewer on a behind the scenes tour of the National Broadcasting Company studios -- both radio and television -- in Rockefeller Center and Hollywood. The original 25-minute film previewed by network execs and affiliates in the fall of 1948 was cut down to 20 minutes before its first broadcast, reportedly to excise high-profile stars and programs such as Amos 'n' Andy, Jack Benny, and Edgar Bergen that had since left NBC for other networks.
1949-01-09 | en
6.7
Sir! No Sir!
Sir! No Sir! is a documentary film about the anti-war movement within the ranks of the United States Military during the Vietnam War. It consists in part of interviews with Vietnam veterans explaining the reasons they protested the war or even defected. The film tells the story of how, from the very start of the war, there was resentment within the ranks over the difference between the conflict in Vietnam and the "good wars" that their fathers had fought. Over time, it became apparent that so many were opposed to the war that they could speak of a movement.
2005-05-19 | en
7.4
In My Mind
The film recounts one of Chris' early filmmaking experiences: an attempt to interview Patrick McGoohan - something McGoohan had resisted previously - about his enigmatic series for a Channel 4 commissioned documentary. A documentary that didn't quite go to plan. In a series of frank interviews conducted by Chris, most of which ultimately remained unused in the 1983 documentary 'Six Into One-The Prisoner File', McGoohan slowly reveals his innermost thoughts about his concept.
2017-09-29 | en
6.2
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
This intimate ethnographic study of Voudoun dances and rituals was shot by Maya Deren during her years in Haiti (1947-1951); she never edited the footage, so this “finished” version was made by Teiji Ito and Cherel Ito after Deren’s death.
1993-03-20 | en
8.0
Hell on Wheels
Year after year hundreds of thousands of fans line the route of the Tour de France, cheering on their heroes and willing them to victory, while millions of viewers worldwide tune in on their televisions. Academy Award-winning director Pepe Danquart, fascinated by the spectacle of the three week race, chose to focus on the courage, the pain and the fear of the riders of the Tour. Training his lens on German superstar sprinter Eric Zabel and his loyal domestique Rolf Aldag, Danquart captures the thrill of the race and the teamwork behind the stars of the peleton. He also shines light on the Tour's supporting cast - the director sportifs, masseurs, and, of course, the wildly enthusiastic fans. Reveling in the stunning landscape - from the Alps to the Pyrenees to the Massif Central to Paris - and with a nice dollop of Le Tour's history, HELL ON WHEELS transcends the sport it celebrates to reveal an astonishing human endeavor.
2004-06-10 | de
7.0
Into Great Silence
An intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. The Carthusians finally contacted Gröning 16 years later to say they were now willing to permit Gröning to shoot the movie, if he was still interested.
2005-09-04 | de
7.0
The Latino List
Documentary film interviews leading Latinos on race, identity, and achievement.
2011-09-29 | en