Ang Lee

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

I Am Heath Ledger

The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - A Retrospective

A three-part feature in which Cultural Critic/Film Journalist Tasha R. Robinson interviews three key members of the filmmaking team. The first features Director Ang Lee discussing the film in In Conversation with Ang Lee. In Conversation with Tim Squyres looks at how the American-born Editor cut the film, which was shot in Mandarin. Finally, In Conversation with James Schamus features the Screenwriter and Producer discussing the film's worldwide success and his relationship with Ang Lee.

The Moment: Fifty Years of Golden Horse

In 2013, the Golden Horse Film Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary. The ministry of Culture commissioned director Yang Li-chou to make a documentary about the history of Golden Horse. What is unique to this film is that it's not an ode to celebrities but about the role cinema plays in ordinary people's lives. It's a love letter to cinema, filmmakers and audiences.

And the Oscar Goes To...

The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.

Past Present

A contemplative trip down memory lane with one of the leading voices of the Second New Wave of Taiwanese Cinema. Saw Tiong Guan clearly established a very personal bond with his subject, and also found many of Tsai Ming-liang’s colleagues prepared to complete this portrait of a quiet yet outspoken artist.

Trespassing Bergman

In the sixties, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) built a house on the remote island of Fårö, located in the Baltic Sea, and left Stockholm to live there. When he died, the house was preserved. A group of very special film buffs, came from all over the world, travel to Fårö in search of the genius and his legacy. (An abridged version of Bergman's Video, 2012.)

Life of Pi: A Filmmaker's Epic Journey

An enormous four-part making-of documentary chronicling the four-year creation of the film, from the adaptation of the script to the extensive post-production effects and editing. Features interviews with all the key players, with a special emphasis on Ang Lee and acting newcomer Suraj Sharma.

Silence

Claire Denis visits Bergman's home, browses his collection, and discusses his impact on her work. Part of Trespassing Bergman.

Heath Ledger: A Tribute

On January 22, 2008, the entertainment world was rocked by news that one of its brightest young stars had unexpectedly died. This film is a commemorative special dedicated to the life and works of this complex and unique talent who died before his time.

Lights, Action, Music

A wonderful journey through the meaning and relevance of film music composition. Featuring great, albeit brief, insights from some of the modern greats.

Hollywood Chinese

Hollywood Chinese is a captivating look at cinema history through the lens of the Chinese American experience. Directed by triple Sundance award-winning filmmaker, Arthur Dong, this documentary is a voyage through a century of cinematic delights, intrigues, and treasures. It weaves together a wondrous portrait of actors, directors, writers, and movie icons who have defined American feature films, from the silent era to the current new wave of Asian American cinema. At once entertaining and enlightening, Hollywood Chinese reveals long-untold stories behind the Asian faces that have graced the silver screen, and weaves a rich and complicated tapestry, one marked by unforgettable performances and groundbreaking films, but also by a tangled history of race and representation.

Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema

A chronological look at films by, for, or about gays and lesbians in the United States, from 1947 to 2005, Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" to "Brokeback Mountain". Talking heads, anchored by critic and scholar B. Ruby Rich, are interspersed with an advancing timeline and with clips from two dozen films. The narrative groups the pictures around various firsts, movements, and triumphs: experimental films, indie films, sex on screen, outlaw culture and bad guys, lesbian lovers, films about AIDS and dying, emergence of romantic comedy, transgender films, films about diversity and various cultures, documentaries and then mainstream Hollywood drama. What might come next?

A Forbidden Passion

Documentary about the making of Ang Lee's 'The Wedding Banquet.'

Sex at 24 Frames Per Second

Directed by Kevin Burns, this documentary from Playboy Home Video examines the oftentimes tense relationship between sex, women, and popular Hollywood culture. With a particular focus given to Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Jean Harlow, and Sharon Stone, Sex at 24 Frames Per Second studies the role of female sexuality in film throughout the years. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

The Art of Action: Martial Arts in the Movies

Hosted by Samuel L. Jackson, this in-depth documentary offers viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the history of the martial arts film -- from the genre's rebellious beginnings to high-flying modern epics. Jackson takes you through the best moments of 100 movies, including Charlie's Angels and Oscar winner Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Interviews with martial arts film veterans Sammo Hung, John Woo and Ang Lee round out the video.

Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema

An exploration of Chinese cinema and its relationships with gender and sexuality, which the film argues has been more frankly and provocatively explored than in any other national cinema. Utilizing both film excerpts and interviews with many leading directors and academics, the film examines topics such as male bonding in kung fu movies, depictions of same-sex bonding and physical intimacy, the emphasis on women's grievances in melodramas, and the career of Yam Kim-Fai, a Hong Kong actress who spent her life portraying men on and off the screen.

Jackie Chan: Down to Earth

An in-depth look at the past four decades of work by legendary martial artist, Jackie Chan.

The Wedding Banquet

A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to keep his parents off his back and to get the woman a green card. Chaos follows when his parents arrive in New York for the wedding.

Of East and West

Of East and West