All Films

Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die

1981 • 60 min • Netherlands

Philo Bregstein tells us this film looks at Pasolini's life and art to explain why he died. The film traces Pasolini's life chronologically - family roots, hiding during World War II, teaching, moving to Rome, being arrested and acquitted many times, publishing poems, getting into film, being provocative, and being murdered. Interviews with Alberto Moravia, Laura Betti, Maria Antonietta Macciocch, and Bernard Bertolucci are inter-cut with readings of Pasolini's poems and with clips from four films - primarily the Gospel According to St. Matthew - to illustrate his changing ideas and points of view. Bregstein makes a case for Pasolini's being lynched.

Mozart in Prague

1981 • 12 min • Czechoslovakia

Mozart's life was turbulent, even in Prague in 1787, when he was pressed for time to compose the overture to »Don Giovanni«.

The Clash On Broadway

1981 • 23 min

Aborted film project begun by Don Letts and The Clash. The intent of the film was to document the events and performances centering around the band's historic seventeen consecutive shows at Bond's International, a club located in Time's Square, NYC, extending from May 28-June 13, 1981. Footage included Topper Headon strolling around NYC at night & being interviewed while riding in a taxi, the group sitting on a rooftop watching a group of young black kids rap and breakdance, the graffitti artist Futura plying his trade, the backstage scene, and stellar perfomances from the Bond's shows.

Talmage Farlow

1981 • 59 min • United States of America

A documentary about the life and career of American jazz guitarist Tal Farlow

Three Blue-Blue Lakes of Crimson Color

1981 • 9 min • Soviet Union

Based on a tall tale, The Liar Hunter by Hovhannes Tumanyan.

The Birth of Solidarity

1981 • 29 min • Poland

A film showing the social mood and tensions in the period between the end of the strikes in August 1980 and the registration of the Solidarity Trade Union in November 1980.

Mary Millington's World Striptease Extravaganza

1981 • 46 min • United Kingdom

As a 'tribute' to the late Mary Millington, a bunch of would-be strippers compete in London to become the 'World's Best'. Blue comedian Bernie Winters punctuates the action with a load of dirty jokes.

Tough Girl

1981 • 60 min • United States of America

Streetwise teenager is sent to live in the suburbs with her father new family.

Iron Maiden: Live At The Rainbow

1981 • 31 min

Live At The Rainbow, 21 December 1980

Bamse and the Two Horse Rides

1981 • 37 min

Bamse saves a little donkey from a nasty man. Together with his friends he builds a stable for it.

Death of a Prophet

1981 • 60 min • United States of America

After breaking ties with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X became a man marked for death...and it was just a matter of time before his enemies closed in. Despite death threats and intimidation, Malcolm marched on - continuing to spread the word of equality and brotherhood right up until the moment of his brutal and untimely assassination. Highlighted by newsreel footage and interviews, this is the story of the last twenty-four hours of Malcolm X. Featuring the music of jazz percussionist Max Roach.

The Fox and the Hound: A Lesson in Caution

1981 • 8 min • United States of America

The important lesson that warnings should not be ignored is stressed in this film.

Bondage and Pleasure Hell

1981 • 30 min • Japan

Women are trained in BDSM...

Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City

1981 • 24 min • United States of America

Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City chronicles Strawberry Shortcake's trip to Big Apple City, so she can compete in a baking contest at "the little theater off Times Pear". Strawberry's journey, however, is in jeopardy due to the constant interference of the Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak, who is her only competition in the bake-off. The Pieman counts on his kohlrabi cookies and a little trickery to beat Strawberry and her famous shortcake.

Unconscious London Strata

1981 • 22 min • United Kingdom, United States of America

This film, photographed in London, is an exploration into the depths of unconscious reactions.

Magic in the Sky

1981 • 57 min • Canada

Magic in the Sky investigates the impact of television on the Inuit people of the Canadian Arctic. The film also documents the establishment of the first Inuit-language television network, called Inukshuk, which began broadcasting to six Inuit communities in December 1980. The Inuit's efforts to create an indigenous television network mirrors the struggle of any culture trying to preserve its unique identity.

The Cramps: Live in New York

1981 • 29 min • United States of America

The Cramps perform live from NYC's Mudd Club in 1981. Highlights include: "TV Set", "Goo Goo Muck" and "I Was a Teenage Werewolf".

Romeo and Smurfette

1981 • 22 min • United States of America

Spring has the Smurfs all competing for Smurfette's affection and Gargamel decides to put a spell on her to help him capture the Smurfs.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

1981 • 2 min • United States of America

A collage of two-dimensional images of vegetation, each appearing only for a moment, sometimes as a single image, more often with other bits of stem, leaf, bud, or petal. Often we see only the outline of objects against a black background. Black and green are occasionally joined by fragments of orange or of white and blue. The objects in the frame don't move but they are quickly replaced by another collage, giving the feel of rapid motion. Each collage is crisp, its lines etched against the background of black and later of white. Whitman anyone, or Hieronymus Bosch? Although there is no soundtrack, the rapidity of changing images and colors suggests a riot.

Elvis Gratton

1981 • 30 min • Canada

Robert Gratton is a small-town shopkeeper. A right-wing man, he has an unbounded devotion to Elvis Presley. He decides to enter an Elvis impersonation contest.

The Greatest Man in the World

1981 • 51 min • United States of America

This version of James Thurber's tale tells the story of a young amateur pilot who beats Charles Lindbergh's feat of nonstop flying around the world--with his own unique ways of conserving fuel and energy.

Balzaquianas

1981 • 20 min • Brazil

Based on interviews with married women, aged 20 to 40, from different social classes, the film portrays with a certain irony the hardships and the petty side of marriage. An actress plays five different women who, living in banal situations, reproduce multiple facets of subordination to the role of a good wife.

Van Halen: Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena 1981

1981 • 13 min • United States of America

On June 11-13, 1981, Van Halen recorded their performances of "Hear About It Later", "So This Is Love?", and "Unchained" at the Oakland Coliseum. The three videos were aired as promos on MTV and other tv networks.

Somewhere More Central

1981 • 30 min

A TV play by Beryl Bainbridge. Formby. As the family gathers for Grandma's funeral, it seems to Olive that the eccentric old lady they have come to bury is far from dead.