All Films

Happy Birthday to John

1997 • 24 min • United States of America

On October 9, 1972, the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse hosted an exhibition of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s work, designed by Fluxus artist George Maciunas. That same day, friends including Ringo Starr, Allen Ginsberg, and Paul Krassner gathered to celebrate Lennon’s birthday. Jonas Mekas’s film records the event in both image and sound, capturing the spirit of the moment and the community around Lennon and Ono.

Hawaii's Last Queen

1997 • 52 min

Honeymooners, tourists and surfers flock to Hawaiian shores every year, but life wasn't always serene in the tropical paradise. In the 1890s, the islands -- ruled by Queen Liliuokalani -- faced financial ruin thanks to colonial business interests and the U.S. government, which rescinded Hawaii's preferential sugar market position. "The American Experience" recounts the events and intrigues that resulted in the monarch's ouster ... at gunpoint.

Boyzone: Something Else

1997 • 41 min • Ireland, United Kingdom

Follow the tuneful Irish lads as they go about preparing for their tour, making promo videos and recording new singles.

Barney's Sense-Sational Day

1997 • 52 min

Barney discusses the subject of our five senses, and he encourages the kids to use video to capture everything they see, hear, touch, smell, or taste over the course of a day. When they're done with that, everyone gets involved in making a movie with BJ in the lead, much to his delight. There's only one word to describe this much fun: Sense-Sational!

Billabong Challenge: Alley Oop & Wide Open

1997 • 45 min

As modern surfing leaps into the future, a new breed of hot young surfers merge the energetic moves of snow & skateboarding with the traditions of rhythm and flow, as they feverishly attack any wave, in any condition. Challenging eight of the world's best juniors in a revealing expose of the next generation, 'ALLEY OOP' stars Andy Irons, Taj Burrow, Chris Ward, Michael Lowe, Shaun Holmes, Ono, Yuri, and Tim Curren. The winners of seven international BILLABONG regional events were invited to compete in the 1998 BILLABONG JUNIOR CHALLENGE. Contested over 3 rounds with accumulative point scores, the extreme energy and intense rivalry set the stage for top Aussie Juniors to do battle with hot major talent from Hawaii and the USA. Featuring Andy Irons, Taj Burrow, Trent Munro, C J Hobgood.

The Online Adventures of Ozzie the Elf

1997 • 22 min

Ozzie's a temp in Santa's workshop, but he wants to become a permanent helper, so he begins to make points by showing Santa how computers and automation can help production. But when the reindeers walk out, Ozzie's going to have to figure out how to get them back and the true meaning of Christmas.

Historias Breves II: Alma Zen

1997 • 17 min • Argentina

A group of friends transform into ninjas when a curious situation arises.

The Stoas

1997 • 24 min • Greece

Named for the colonnades of the ancient Lyceum, the film juxtaposes industrial arcades in golden morning light with lush images of streams and wooded glens. Empty of human figures yet rich in presence, Beavers composes landscapes that evoke both 19th-century painting and a quiet sense of spiritual immanence.

Heaven

1997 • 28 min

This playful video from famed director and photographer Tracey Moffatt turns the tables on traditional representations of desire to examine the power of the female gaze in the objectification of men’s bodies. HEAVEN begins with surreptitiously taped documentary footage of brawny surfers changing in and out of bathing and wet-suits. While the soundtrack switches between the ocean surf and male chanting, Moffatt moves closer to alternately flirt with and tease her subjects, who respond with a combination of preening and macho reticence.

Floor Tiles

1997 • 2 min • United States of America

The Secret of Anastasia

1997 • 57 min • United States of America

The Secret of Anastasia is an American 1997 direct-to-video animated musical film, about Anastasia and her quest to find her identity.

Heritage Minutes: Marion Orr

1997 • 1 min • Canada

The ferry command pilot delivers fighter planes to Britain during the Second World War, and plans her post-war career as Canada's first female flight school operator.

Yggdrasill: Whose Roots Are Stars in the Human Mind

1997 • 17 min

This film, a combination of hand-painting and photography, is a fulsome exposition of the themes of DOG STAR MAN. In that early epic I had envisioned The World Tree as dead, fit only for firewood; and at end of DOG STAR MAN I had chopped it up amidst a flurry of stars (finally Cassiopia's Chair): now, these many years later, I am compelled to comprehend YGGDRASILL as rooted in the complex electrical synapses of thought process, to sense it being alive today as when nordic legendry hatched it. I share this compulsion with Andrei Tarkovsky, whose last film The Sacrifice struggles to revive The World Tree narratively, whereas I simply present (one might almost say "document") a moving graph approximate to my thought process, whereby The Tree roots itself as the stars we, reflectively, are.

Halloween... The Happy Haunting of America!

1997 • 50 min • United States of America

This documentary on Halloween visits haunted houses around the U.S. and presents interviews with horror celebrities.

Skin Deep

1997 • 40 min • Israel

Skin Deep is a tragic comedy of a destined loser who will do anything to prove that the destiny is wrong. A story of a hopeless romantic who wants to surprise his love one with a tattoo on his left arm carrying her name, and ends up by surprising her with another lover. Now he has tow options: abandon his belief in an eternal love or find another girl with the same name.

Lee Strasberg: The Method Man

1997 • 50 min

Documentary about the life of Lee Strasberg and the creation of Actor's Studio and the introduction of The Method in the USA.

Piranha: Wolf in the Water

1997 • 50 min

The piranha shares a notoriety with the shark and the wolf as one of nature's most relentless killers. It's very name has become synonymous with mindless consumption. The Piranha: Wolf in the Water explores the myth and mystique surrounding these exotic creatures while documenting the habits and behavior of the various species that comprise its widespread family. It's a world of cunning and savage justice acted out between predator and prey where the waters team with a menace that brings to mind vivid images of flashing teeth and shredded flesh.

Selena Remembered

1997 • 60 min

A collection of moments and triumphs that helped Selena, and her band Selena y Los Dinos, into superstardom in North America.

The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart

1997 • 52 min • United Kingdom

Elaine Shepherd’s classic BBC documentary, introduced and narrated by John Peel. Completely wonderful, a 50 minute joy: reviews, articles, blog posts, etc. relating to The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart.

The Making of 'DragonHeart'

1997 • 47 min

This documentary was first released on the laserdisc for DragonHeart, and was then re-released on both the Collector's Edition and Franchise Collection DVDs.

The Harryhausen Chronicles

1997 • 58 min • Germany, United States of America, United Kingdom

As an actor, director and producer, Ray Harryhausen has been a vibrant figure in Hollywood, working on everything from family films to mind-bending sci-fi. But his true genius lay in the creation of special effects for movies such as Mighty Joe Young and It Came from Outer Space. Narrated by Leonard Nimoy and featuring appearances by George Lucas and Ray Bradbury, this film documents Harryhausen's remarkable life's work.

On a Full Moon

1997 • 17 min • Australia

"On a Full Moon could be described as a poem to my mother who had died not long before. I wanted it to be as beautiful and contemplative as I could possibly make it. But I also know it had to be absolutely honest about what it's like to be a mum." -Lee Whitmore

Christmas

1997 • 14 min • Russia

The story of Jesus' birth and what happened during it.

Heritage Minutes: Avro Arrow

1997 • 1 min • Canada

Canadian aerospace engineers design and test the world's fastest, most advanced interceptor aircraft.