Calling the Ghosts
Director Mandy Jacobson & Karmen Jelincic
Year 1996
Language English
Running Time 60 minutes
Distributor Women Make Movies
Comments: A story about rape, war and women...An extraordinarily powerful
first-person account from Bosnia-Herzegovina of women caught in a war where
rape was as much a daily weapon as bullets or bombs. Calling the
Ghosts chronicles the struggle for survival by two women interned at
Omarska, the notorious Serb concentration camp, and its remarkable
transformation into a larger fight for justice. Widely hailed as an
indispensable resource for deepening understanding of human rights abuses and
combating violence against women in the global arena.
Camille Claudel
Director Bruno Nuytten
Year 1990
Subject Feature Film
Language French with English Subtitles
Running Time 159 minutes
Distributor Alliance Releasing Home Video
Comments: Biography of sculptor Camille Claudel. Her talent and ambition
catch the attention of the legendary sculptor Rodin, who serves first as her
mentor, and then as her lover. But Camille's independence and fierce desire to
win acceptance for her own work clashes with the social restrictions of
turn-of-the-century Europe, leading to her eventual destruction. Review by
Daniel Butler: Camille Claudel captures the period very well. The performances
of Isabelle Adjani, and Gerard Depardieu as Rodin are captivating.and
authentic. Those familiar with the details of the history of the 30-year
relationship between Claudel and Rodin--she was both protege and mistress--may
feel that the film downplays Rodin's ruthlessness in using his influence to
keep her in his shadow, and in the end he bribed her brother to sign commitment
papers to end her career completely when she became vocal about how many
figures on Rodin's masterpiece--(the Gates of Hell)--were her creation. Despite
this softening of the facts, the film captures the grandeur and angst of the
great female artistic genius in 19th century France. Scenes portraying the
creative process in sculpture are truly inspiring. An aesthetic feast.A 'must'
for the video library of any artist.
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
Director J.D. Athens
Year 1988
Subject Feature Film
Artists Adrienne Barbeau, Bill Maher, Shannon Tweed, Karen Mistal, Barry
Primus
Language English
Running Time 90 minutes
Distributor Malofilm Group
Comments: A noted anthropologist embarks on a search for the long-lost Dr.
Kuntz. Accompanied by her assistant Bunny and wisecracking guide, their journey
takes them into the treacherous Avocado Belt where the Piranha women live.
Carrington
Director Christopher Hampton
Year 1996
Subject Feature Film
Language English
Running Time 122 minutes
Distributor PolyGram Video
Comments: Oscar winner Emma Thompson stars as Dora Carrington, the Victorian
era painter whose passionate life created one of England's greatest scandals.
Carrington is unable to possess the one man she loves, Lytton Strachey.
Rebuffed, she embarks on a long string of loveless sexual encounters. Her heart
remains true to him, but she refuses to curtail the sexual pursuits which erupt
again and again in angry passion. In Carrington, one finds unmatched
sensuality, desire, and tenderness. And ultimately, a better understanding of
the passion that burns within us all.
Castro; Portrait of Castro's Cuba, Parts One and Two
Director Varied Directions International & Barraclough Carey Productions
Ltd.
Year 1991
Subject Documentary
Artist James Earl Jones
Language English
Running Time 46 minutes (part I) 45 minutes (part II)
Distributor Ambrose Video
Comments: For thirty years, Cuba has been a place more imagined than visited
by most Americans. In many minds it remains la perla de Las
Antilles--the pearl of the Antilles--a former playground for the rich and
famous, drawn there as much by its decadence and corruption as by its beauty.
Host/narrator James Earl Jones explores Cuba as it has become. Once-imposing
mansions, subdivided now to house Havana's masses hint at the "pearl's" former
luster. But everywhere there is evidence of change-- and of its perpetrator--in
this dramatic Portrait Of Castro's Cuba. Viewers will meet the Cuban people,
see the sights and experience the uncertainty of this country's future. Fidel
Castro has delivered to his people the education and health care he promised.
But the communist bloc that has thus far backed him-- both economically and
ideologically-- is crumbling. Both he and the Cuban people are confronted with
the pressing question: What next? Will the Revolution outlast the
revolutionary?
Celebrating the American Family
Director Martin W. Sandler
Year 1992
Subject Documentary
Artist Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker
Language English
Running Time 60 minutes
Distributor PBS Video
Comments: This one-hour program takes an emotional and evocative look at the
most basic, most important, and least understood human institution -- The
American Family. Through hundreds of photographs, diaries, letters, journals,
and oral histories, along with excerpts from the best of American fiction and
poetry, Celebrating the American Family traces the evolution of
American family life over the past century and a half, providing a dramatic
exploration of the circumstances, influences, and profound changes that have
affected the family since the Civil War.
The Celluloid Closet
Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Year 1996
Artists Lily Tomlin, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Whoopie Goldberg, Tony
Curtis, Harvey Feinstein, and Gore Vidal
Running Time 102 minutes
Distributor HBO
Comments: Lily Tomlin narrates as Oscar-winning moviemaker Rob Epstein and
Jeffrey Friedman assemble fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing
face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist
triumphs of the 1990s. Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Whoopie Goldberg, Tony
Curtis, Harvey Feinstein, and Gore Vidal are just a few of the many actors,
writers, and commentators who provide funny and insightful anecdotes.
A Century of Women
Director Olympia Dukakis
Subject Documentary Narrator Jane Fonda
Running Time 95 minutes
Comments: Part 1: Image and Popular Culture - A fascinating exploration of
the changing concepts of "ideal beauty" illuminates the discrepancy between the
way women are supposed to appear and their own self image. Clips of fashions
reveal how this ideal has repeatedly denied the physical reality of a woman's
body. Part 2: Sexuality and Social Justice - This comprehensive look at women's
efforts to shape their own destinies and establish a system of justice shows
that they fought not only for themselves, but for all Americans. Part 3: Work
and Family - The balancing act of labor and family love is not an invention of
the 1990's. For many women in the early years of the century, it was a matter
of life or death.
The Changing Role of Hispanic Women
Subject Documentary
Running Time 44 minutes
Distributor Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Comments: The traditional role of wife and mother is changing rapidly to
that of independent, self-sufficient working woman for many American Latina
women. In this program, several prominent Latina women, including author Isabel
Allende, discuss their changing role within the context of Hispanic family
values, male machismo, and the traditional role of females as the center of
family and community life. Actress Jennifer Lopez explains her choice of career
over marriage. A psychiatrist and several Hispanic men examine the issue from
the male perspective. Hosted by actor Hector Elizondo.
Chasing Amy
Director Kevin Smith
Year 1997
Subject Feature Film
Language English
Running Time 113 minutes
Distributor Miramax
Comments: From the talented young writer and director of Clerks comes this
wickedly witty and insightful story of hip young comics artist Holden (Ben
Affleck), who, against the advice of his jealous collaborator Banky (Jason
Lee), falls for Alyssa, a funny and sexy fellow comics artist--who happens to
be a lesbian. "Ripe with Smith's trademark virtuosic verbosity, raunchy sexual
discussions, intense dramatic confrontations"
Children of a Lesser God
Director Randa Haines
Year 1986
Subject
Feature Film
Language English
Running Time 119 minutes
Distributor Paramount
Comments: One of the most critically acclaimed movies of the 80s,
Children of a Lesser God garnered four Academy Award nominations and a
Best Actress Oscar for Marlee Matlin. Based on the hit Broadway play, it's the
uplifting love story of John Leeds, an idealistic special education teacher and
a headstrong deaf girl named Sarah. At first, Leeds sees Sarah as a teaching
challenge. But soon their teacher/student relationship blooms into a love so
passionate it shatters the barrier of silence that keeps them apart.
The Children's Hour
Director William Wyler
Year
1961
Subject Feature Film
Language English
Running Time 109 minutes
Distributor MGM/UA Video
Comments: Lillian Hellman's classic play about two teachers who are accused
of lesbianism by a student receives powerful treatment from Shirley MacLaine,
Audrey Hepburn and James Garner.
Cincinnati's Imperfect Moment: The Robert Mapplethorpe Exhibit
Controversy
Year 1998
Subject Documentary
Language English
Running Time 87 minutes
Distributor University of Cincinnati, "Friends of Womens' Studies"
Comments: In April 1990, The Contemporary Arts Center on Cincinnati and it?s
director Dennis Barrie were charged with pandering obscenity. It was the first
time in American history that an art museum and its director were charged for
displaying works of art. Seven out of 171 photographs from the late Robert
Mapplethorpe?s "Imperfect Moment" were considered to be pronographic. These 7
photos depicted homosexual sado-masochistic acts and 2 photos of nude children.
This documentary explores the issues raised by the different segments of the
city?s communities and how these segments used different forms of mass media to
communicate their messages to the public. Were the city?s actions homophobic?
Or did the city?s prosecution represent the city?s community standards?
Clothes
Director Gloria Kaufman
Year 1983
Subject Documentary
Screenplay Gloria Kaufman
Language English
Running Time 32 minutes
Distributor G. K. Video Productions
Comments: An amusing feminist analysis of the psychology and politics of
clothes. The tape is profusely illustrated from costume and dress museums all
over the world. It illustrates the 1620s clothes controversy in England when
women cut their hair and donned "men's" apparel. It examines shoe styles of the
16th and 20th centuries, underwear such as electric corsets, crinolines, breast
styles, and much more. The commentary is designed to stimulate class
discussion. The tone is mostly light and playful. Black and White.
Coming Out Under Fire
Director Arthur Dong
Year 1994
Running Time 71 minutes
Distributor Fox Lorber Home Video
Comments: The experiences of nine gay and lesbian veterans are documented in
this powerful new film directed by Academy Award nominee Arthur Dong. Combining
declassified documents, rare archival footage, interviews and photographs,
Coming Out Under Fire returns back to World War II where the current
"don't ask, don't tell" policy originated. Hear the dramatic first-person
stories of a group of men and women who volunteered to fight for their country
only to be later persecuted, rounded up in witch hunts and labeled as
"undesirables."
Creating Health Through Menopause: A Video Lecture by Christiane Northrup,
M.D.
Subject Documentary/Lecture
Language English
Running Time 54 minutes
Distributor The Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning
The Crying Game
Director Neil Jordan
Year 1992
Running Time 112 minutes
Distributor Miramax Films
Comments: An unlikely kind of friendship develops between Fergus, an Irish
Republican Army volunteer, and Jody, a kidnapped British soldier lured into an
IRA trap by Jude, another IRA member. When the hostage-taking ends up going
horribly wrong, Fergus escapes and heads to London, where he seeks out Jody's
lover, a hairdresser named Dil. Fergus adopts the name "Jimmy" and gets a job
as a day laborer. He also starts seeing Dil, who knows nothing about Fergus'
IRA background. But there are some things about Dil that Fergus doesn't know,
either...
Curie; Madame Curie
Director Mervyn LeRoy
Year 1943
Subject Feature
Artist Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon
Screenplay Paul Osborn
Language English Running Tine 113 minutes
Distributor MGM/UA
Comments: Madame Curie shines as brightly as the residue of radium that
ultimately illuminated the night in the Curie lab. Nominated for seven Oscars
(including Best Picture), the film makes science accessible as it traces the
Curies' pioneering research. Ambitious and enjoyable, Madame Curie takes its
place alongside other meritorious works from the heyday of film
biographies.
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