Film Snail

History

The Last Days of the Raj

March 12, 2007

Lord Louis Mountbatten arrives in India in March 1947 as Britain's Last Viceroy. He is committed to transfer administrative and authoritative power to an independent and sovereign India. Six months later India indeed was set free, but it had also been partitioned and overwhelmed by an orgy of sectarian violence involving Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.

Russian Revolution in Color

Russian Revolution in Color

March 8, 2007

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917 (March in the Gregorian calendar; the older Julian calendar was in use in Russia at the time). In the second revolution, during October, the Provisional Government was removed and replaced with a Bolshevik (Communist) government.

Rozhovor s nepriateľom

Rozhovor s nepriateľom

March 8, 2007

The heart of this dramatic story based on the novel by Leopold Lahola is the search for the principle of humanism. The story plays in a single day towards the end of World War II in a rough, snow-covered landscape where a German soldier escorts his prisoner with orders to shoot him. The background of the story is formed by the flashbacks of the partisan soldier being interrogated by a Russian commissar who wants to know all about him being taken prisoner. The German soldier Helmut Kampen escorts the captive partisan who is condemned to death but finally manages to flee. The commissar wants to know why the Germans did not kill him and accuses the partisan soldier of collaboration

Bad Blood: The Border War That Triggered the Civil War

Bad Blood: The Border War That Triggered the Civil War

March 7, 2007

In the years leading up to the Civil War, a bloody conflict between slaveholders and abolitionists focused the nation's eyes on the state of Missouri and the territory of Kansas. Told through the actual words of slave owners, free-staters, and border ruffians, "Bad Blood" presents the complex morality, and life-and-death decisions faced by those who lived on the border from 1854 through 1860.

The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord & Conflict

March 6, 2007

Documentary of the history of the American flag which highlights collections of various American historical flags, all illustrating the reason to establish a flag museum.

The Dark Ages

The Dark Ages

March 4, 2007

Beginning with Rome's fall in the fifth century, tis History Channel presentation sheds light on the Dark Ages, covering the continent-wide chaos, including raids by Vikings Vandals, and Visigoths, bubonic plague, famine, civil unrest and more. The program takes viewers from the darkest of times to the dawn of a new beginning as the turmoil besieging Europe gives rise to the Crusades, the Enlightenment, and the Renaissance.

Soundies: A Musical History Hosted by Michael Feinstein

Soundies: A Musical History Hosted by Michael Feinstein

March 3, 2007

Before MTV and the age of television, there were Soundies. First appearing in 1941, these three minute black-and-white films featured artists of the Big Band, Jazz and Swing era, like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa, The Mills Brothers, Les Paul, Cab Calloway, and Fats Waller. The Soundies helped launch the careers of Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Liberace, and Dorothy Dandridge, among others. Viewed for a dime through a special machine called a Panoram, a movie jukebox, these forerunners to the music video could be seen in nightclubs, roadhouses, restaurants and other public venues across the U.S. These classic films remain as glorious time capsules of music, social history, popular culture, and tell the story of a crossroads in our country, when the uncertainties of war, race relations, and emerging technologies combined to write one of the most influential chapters in our nation¹s history.

Brush with Life: The Art of Being Edward Biberman

March 3, 2007

This documentary brings alive a remarkable artist’s passionate journey through a turbulent century. Both epic and surprisingly intimate, the film presents a classic American immigrant saga, an inspiring search for artistic independence, and a great romance. Along the way, Biberman's growing commitment to social justice and struggle against McCarthy-era repression (his brother, director Herbert Biberman, went to prison as one of The Hollywood Ten) combine with his efforts to create both a loving family life and a groundbreaking body of work. With its grand scope, rich personalities, and vast array of breathtaking artwork, Brush With Life connects us in a deeply personal way to a brilliant artist who lived by the same high standards he set for his paintings.

Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth And Sea

Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth And Sea

March 3, 2007

A look at Genghis Khan's life, from his birth to conquests in Asia.

From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks

March 1, 2007

Marvel at the all-star musical cast of Jackson Browne, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Sarah Lee Guthrie, many other musicians as well as an audience of one-thousand longshore workers. Bridges was an immigrant working stiff who loved Karl Marx and Jack London, and who fought government persecution for 21 years to become an American citizen. He had a profound effect on the American labor movement, at the same time counting Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and Paul Robeson among his friends, He was revered by some, hated by others --a hero or the devil incarnate--but he faced it all with a twinkle in his eye. As Harry Bridges, Ian Ruskin takes you on a captivating journey through some of America's most exciting and turbulent years.

A Distant Shore: African Americans on D-Day

A Distant Shore: African Americans on D-Day

February 24, 2007

The role of African American soldiers during the World War II Allied invasion of Normandy.

MURAMASA Final Chapter: Advent

MURAMASA Final Chapter: Advent

February 22, 2007

The final installment in the series of fantasy swordplay action movies starring Riki Takeuchi.

The Sovereign's Servant

The Sovereign's Servant

February 20, 2007

Europe, 1709. Russia and Sweden are at war. Two French duelists are exiled by King Louis XIV of France: one to the side of Czar Peter the Great of Russia, the other to the side of King Charles XII of Sweden. Although separated by war and allegiance, fate has not finished with them.

King Naresuan Part: 2

King Naresuan Part: 2

February 15, 2007

Prince Naresuan is now the crown prince of Ayutthaya and the king of Burma is dead. While the new Burmese king is waging war, the crown prince plots to assassinate Naresuan. Hearing this, the prince decides to evacuate Thais out of the Burmese capital and declare that Siam will no longer bow to Burma. The war for the kingdom's independence begins.

The Marines

The Marines

February 14, 2007

For longer than the United States has been an independent nation, there has been a Marine Corps. They consider themselves the very best America has to offer. Embodying fierce patriotism, extraordinary courage, and innovative weapons, they are a force. This documentary focuses on their training and examines what it means to be a Marine.

Moto Is Missing

Moto Is Missing

February 13, 2007

Featurette about the demise, during the early 1940s, of the once-popular Mr. Moto B-films series that starred Peter Lorre.

Ricky Jay Plays Poker

Ricky Jay Plays Poker

February 13, 2007

This is the companion video to Ricky Jay's selection of poker tunes entitled "Ricky Jay plays poker." It features John C. Riley and other famous people, sitting around a table headed by the incomparable Mr. Jay, discussing poker, sleight of hand, and proposition bets.

New Orleans

New Orleans

February 12, 2007

In the wake of hurricane Katrina, as Americans begin a dialogue about the future of one of the nation's most distinctive cities, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE presents a provocative history of the city that lies at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi. Walled in on almost all sides by water, pressed together by the demands of geography, New Orleans has always been a laboratory where the social forces play out in dramatic and, at times, disastrous fashion.

Breach

Breach

February 12, 2007

Eric O'Neill, a low-level surveillance expert with the FBI, believes he is accomplishing his dream of becoming a full-fledged agent, with his unexpected promotion and assignment to clerk for Robert Hanssen, a renowned senior agent with 25 years in the FBI. However, he soon learns the reason for his promotion is to gain Hanssen's trust and find proof that he is a traitor to the country. Determined to draw the suspected double-agent out of deep cover, O'Neill finds himself in a lethal game of spy vs. spy, where nothing is as it seems.

Goodbye Bafana

Goodbye Bafana

February 11, 2007

The true story of a white South African racist whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner he guarded for twenty years. The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela.