A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.
In 2176, a Martian police unit is sent to pick up a highly dangerous criminal at a remote mining post. Upon arrival, the cops find the post deserted and something far more dangerous than any criminal — the original inhabitants of Mars, hellbent on getting their planet back.
Amiable slackers Bill and Ted are once again roped into a fantastical adventure when De Nomolos, a villain from the future, sends evil robot duplicates of the two lads to terminate and replace them. The robot doubles actually succeed in killing Bill and Ted, but the two are determined to escape the afterlife, challenging the Grim Reaper to a series of games in order to return to the land of the living.
Into the 9.6-quaked Los Angeles of 2013 comes Snake Plissken. His job: wade through L.A.'s ruined landmarks to retrieve a doomsday device.
An employee of a secret company operation becomes the victim of the company's special weapons project. He is transformed into a robotic killing machine that, because of his programming must destroy anything that comes near him.
After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Women rebel against slave labor in a filthy jungle prison where they feed sugar cane to a mechanical maw.
Over 20 years after his death, local legend and benefactor Jimmy Bones returns as a ghost to get revenge on those who killed him and restore his neighborhood.
The year is 2087, the setting is the moon. Pluto Nash, the high-flying successful owner of the hottest nightclub in the universe, finds himself in trouble when he refuses to sell his club to lunar gangster Mogan, who just happens to be helping the mysterious Rex Crater mastermind a plan to take over the entire moon.
Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole. But as Cole takes on an assumed identity to penetrate Gittens' criminal empire, he makes a disturbing discovery -- he kind of likes being a gangster.
The time is in the future and the youth gang violence is so high that the areas around some schools have become "free-fire zones", into which not even the police will venture. When Miles Langford, the head of Kennedy High School, decides to take his school back from the gangs, robotics specialist Dr. Robert Forrest provides "tactical education units". These are amazingly human-like androids that have been programmed to teach and are supplied with devastatingly effective solutions to discipline problems. So when the violent, out-of-control students of Kennedy High report for class tomorrow, they're going to get a real education... in staying alive!
Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.
From the sight of a police officer this movie depicts the life in New York's infamous South Bronx. In the center is "Fort Apache", as the officers call their police station, which really seems like an outpost in enemy's country. The story follows officer Murphy, who seems to be a tuff cynic, but in truth he's a moralist with a sense for justice.
In a small American town, a diabolical circus arrives, granting wishes for the townsfolk, but twisted as only the esteemed Mr. Dark can make them. Can two young boys overcome the worst the devil himself can deal out?
In one final attempt to achieve victory, an aging professional runner is training vigorously for a very tough marathon race.
Nico Toscani is an Italian immigrant, American patriot, ex-CIA agent, aikido specialist and unorthodox Chicago policeman. He is as committed to his job as he is to his personalized brand of justice—expert and thorough bone-crushing.
A young man slides back into a life of crime after reuniting with a shady acquaintance from his past.
Sheba, a Chicago private detective returns back home to Louisville, Kentucky, to help her father fight mobsters.
Carol Jeffries is a naive American woman staying in the Philippines. She is given ten years in prison after being set up by her drug-dealer boyfriend, Rudy. She endures the harsh conditions, sadistic head matron and attempts on her life, then convinces her cell-mates to try to escape with her through the jungle, in spite of the knowledge that ruthless trackers will be sent out after them.
The Rebels rule the streets of Gary, Indiana. They shoot storekeeper Marvin Bookman for giving the police information about a drive-by shooting they committed. Marvin’s son, former NFL star and Rebel founder John returns to be with his father and, with a little help from some friends, to destroy the gang his way.
When two troublemaking female prisoners (one a revolutionary, the other a former harem-girl) can't seem to get along, they are chained together and extradited for safekeeping. The women, still chained together, stumble, stab, and cat-fight their way across the wilderness, igniting a bloody shootout between gangsters and a group of revolutionaries.
While on a journey of discovery in exotic India, beautiful young Ruth Barron falls under the influence of a charismatic religious guru. Her desperate parents then hire PJ Waters, a macho cult de-programmer who confronts Ruth in a remote desert hideaway. But PJ quickly learns that he's met his match in the sexy, intelligent and iron-willed Ruth.
Richard Butler is the director of a Montreal advertising agency. When he meets Dyanne, a young beautiful model, he falls in love.
Female gladiators fight to the death. Inspired by the story of Spartacus, follow the adventures of a bevy of slave girls who, upon finding themselves thrust into the gladiator ring, mount a vicious rebellion to fight their way to freedom.
A group of mostly black infantrymen return from the Spanish-American War with a cache of gold. They travel to the West where their leader searches for the men who lynched his father.
The true life story of Wendell Scott, the first black stock car racing driver to win an upper-tier NASCAR race.
After an aging voodoo priestess dies, her arrogant son Willis Daniel's believes he is next in line to lead. He is outraged when Lisa, his mother's adopted apprentice is chosen as the leader. Willis seeks revenge by reviving the African prince Blacula — but soon finds that he cannot control him.
Female prisoners in a Philippine jail are being subjected to sadistic torture. Five of the women, along with the help of two men, plot an escape.
The murder of the ex-wife of Doctor Sam Charney (Rutger Hauer) leads Detective Della Wilder (Pam Grier) to uncover a series of women's murders somehow linked to a big pharmaceutical company.
Feature Length sit down with Charles Band and Roger Corman.
Bernie Casey portrays Tyrone and Pamela Grier plays a sultry skin-flick star in this first Americanized remake of the iconic Michael Caine action film Get Carter. From Watts to the West Side, from porno parlors to a high-rise, from motel dives to a crime kingpin’s sprawling pleasure dome, from corner hangouts to a wildlife preserve, Tyrone covers a lot of real estate, busts a lot of heads.
When an entire town in upstate New York is closed down by an unexpected snowfall, a "snow day" begins when a group of elementary school kids, led by Natalie Brandston, try to ensure that the schools stay closed by stopping a mechanical snowplow driver by trying to hijack his plow truck. Meanwhile, Natalie's big brother Hal is using this day to try to win the affections of Claire Bonner, the most popular girl in his high school, while Hal and Natalie's father Tom, a TV meteorologist, faces off against a rival meteorologist for weather coverage of the day's events.
Physical therapist Leslie Wright lands the dream job of working with basketball superstar Scott McKnight, helping him recover from a career-threatening injury. All goes well and soon Leslie finds herself falling in love with him. Just as their friendship deepens, however, Scott focuses his attention back on his tenuous relationship with his ex-fiancé Morgan, Leslie's gorgeous godsister, who would love to be the basketball player's trophy wife.
Molly, Val and Gina are graduating college, but on their final night, frustrations are aired. Molly is still looking for real love and Val is beginning to doubt if that is what she has found. Gina is too busy videotaping everything to really notice. When the final party at Pacifica College kicks off, things do not go exactly as planned.
An aspiring country singer, whose money is disappearing faster than his career opportunities, enters a "Tough Man" amateur boxing contest to earn some cash to pay his bills. Amazingly enough, he wins it, and is picked to go onto the national finals. He's torn between his first love, music, and the glitz, glamor and money of the "Tough Man" world.
Chinese kid Julian, who was adopted by the black family of Joe and Annabelle Lee -- and Asian exchange student May-Ling, who is housed with a black family -- are trying to adapt to their mostly black neighborhood of South Central.
Claire, a brilliant student, seeks answers to the meaning of life in the calm of her biology laboratory. One day, she meets a mysterious young man, Jack, at the cinema, and is intrigued by his style, assurance and audacity.
When three women are asked to refurbish a house for their church, they find that they must break down their own self-perception in order to build something together.
With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.
When an exclusive clique of teenage socialites accidentally murder their best friend on the morning of her birthday, the three girls responsible conspire to hide the truth.
As a member of FBI Psychological Profile Unit, Selby Younger tracks Morrano, vicious and intelligent serial killer. Before getting caught, Morrano attacks her leaving serious psychological wounds. Two years later, Morrano escapes and Selby, now working on a desk job, must face her personal traumas again.
Set in nineteenth-century New Orleans, the story depicts the gens de couleur libre, or the Free People of Colour, a dazzling yet damned class caught between the world of white privilege and black oppression.
Friday Foster, a magazine photographer, goes to Los Angeles International airport to photograph the arrival of Blake Tarr, the richest black man in America. Three men attempt to assassinate Tarr. Foster photographs the melee and is plunged into a web of conspiracy involving the murder of her childhood friend, a US senator, and a shadowy plan called "Black Widow".
A kidnapped diver is taken to an island inhabited by a mad scientist and his half-animal, half-human creations.
When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher.
A mid-19th century mulatto slave is torn between his success as a pit-fighter and the injustices of white society.
A homicide inspector -- Lindsay Boxer -- who teams with three other professional women to catch an ingenious serial killer targeting newlyweds on their wedding nights.
Duke Johnson visits a small Southern town, intent on burying his brother. After the funeral, he learns that he must stay for 60 days, for the estate to be processed. A few locals convince Duke to reopen his late brother's nightclub, and soon the local redneck policemen are intimidating Duke with threats of violence. Duke refuses to pay the bribes they demand, so then he and his lady friend Aretha are threatened and attacked by the crooked cops. Rather than take them on himself, Duke calls on his old pal Roy. Roy brings a few buddies to Bucktown, and they bring justice to the small town. With the redneck cops out of the way, Duke lets his guard down. Then the situation gets out of hand again. Finally, Duke must settle the score himself.
The Ames' seem to have built the perfect life until their six year old daughter is kidnapped; over the course of seven days they begin to uncover secrets about their past that could rip their marriage and lives apart.
In feudal China, a blacksmith who makes weapons for a small village is put in the position where he must defend himself and his fellow villagers.
A paroled crook masterminds a $3 million jewelry theft to fund a bank for businessmen.
When the world's most notorious criminal allies himself with a senior employee of a major shipping corporation, a lethal deal is struck to secure a multi-million dollar arms transaction. As word of the sinister deal spreads through the underworld, a big city mobster, an extreme militia force and the FBI enter the clandestine mix, blurring the lines of loyalty and trust.
A renegade cop skirts the law in order to capture a ruthless crime boss.
In 1969, young Jud Crandall has dreams of leaving his hometown behind, but soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history that forever binds him to Ludlow.
Follows a struggling small-town gas station attendant and aspiring singer, Jodi Jackson, whose life is sent into a tailspin when there’s a robbery at work.
A World War II vet is pushed to the limit when gang members and drug dealers take over his neighborhood.
Three black revolutionaries gun down two New York City police officers. The subsequent investigation puts a white assistant DA and a black police detective on the trail of the killers that leads from New York to San Francisco and down to New Orleans.
In the late '90s, James Bishop is dealing with a complicated breakup with the help of his best friend, while trying to finish his book before the impending zombie apocalypse.
A 60-minute salute to American International Pictures. Entertainment lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff founded AIP (then called American Releasing Corporation) on a $3000 loan in 1954 with his partner, James H. Nicholson, a former West Coast exhibitor and distributor. The company made its mark by targeting teenagers with quickly produced films that exploited subjects mainstream films were reluctant to tackle.
An all-girl rock band moves to Hollywood in the hope of achieving success, only to fall into a whirlpool of wickedness and decadence.
Having outgrown her role, a pampered child actor returns to her family and tries to be an ordinary youngster.
Robby Durrell is the prince of the vice squad. A man who's seen it all and done a little of it too. But when the enchanting Sela hires him to help track down her stripper-stepdaughter, Robby learns there's more to Sela than meets the eye.
A young married couple who are pregnant with their first child moves into their turn-of-the-century home where they discover that a great evil has resided there for nearly a century, unleashed by a previous occupant.
Experience veteran comedian Sinbad as he returns to his college town of Denver and performs at the Paramount Theatre for this next installment of his famed HBO Comedy Specials. Sinbad: Son of a Preacher Man is a self-styled monologue that comments on the perils of skiing, para-sailing during a bad vacation, fashion trends in lingerie, and more!
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
John Brennick once again finds himself imprisoned, but this time in a new, more sophisticated fortress prison in outer space. But Brennick's not a man to give in easily, and with a 10-year-old son waiting for him back on earth, he's going to pack some serious assault on the evil corporation.
The feature film directing debut of Spike Lee protege Lee Davis takes the viewer into the world of taxi drivers. Developed in the Sundance Laboratory, this film offers dove-tailing stories centering on the lives of individual taxi drivers as they reflect on and experience romance, politics, sociology, and spirituality.
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
Co-curated by Jenni Olson and the late Black gay activist Karl Knapper, this entertaining showcase of vintage movie trailers traces the evolution of African American cinema through its most crucial period, 1952-1976. Filled with insights on race and social dynamics, this fascinating compendium of coming attractions explores an extensive range of stylistic approaches—Blaxploitation, Comedy, Music Bio, Plantation Drama and more—offering an outrageous joyride through motion picture history. Beyond mere camp, these marvelously condensed gems crystallize a range of African American identities and personalities, tracking the meteoric careers of Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Pam Grier and others through their bold performances in movies both hugely popular and practically forgotten. Afro Promo provides a compact glimpse at the representation of African Americans through twenty-five dynamic years of American cinema history.
A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film industry, a pioneer of independent filmmaking and discoverer of new talent.
Four grandmothers accidentally kill a conman and, to cover it up, they get rid of the body. When the conman's partner shows up, things go south.
Take a look at Tarantino's career from the beginning, with interviews from co-workers, critics, stars and master filmmakers alike as well as a tribute to his greatest collaborator, Sally Menke. Produced for the 'Tarantino XX' Blu-ray collection
Mike Epps, Richard Pryor Jr. and others recount the culture-defining influence of Richard Pryor - one of America's most brilliant, iconic comic minds.
A famed athlete, linguist, scholar, lawyer, actor, singer and activist, Paul Robeson left behind an irreplaceable legacy in American life. Friends, artists and writers recount the efforts of this tireless champion of African-American rights, whose actions ironically made him a target of McCarthyism. This eye-opening profile of the American icon is designed for students in middle school, high school and college.
In the final decades of the 20th century, the Philippines was a country where low-budget exploitation-film producers were free to make nearly any kind of movie they wanted, any way they pleased. It was a country with extremely lax labor regulations and a very permissive attitude towards cultural expression. As a result, it became a hotbed for the production of cheapie movies. Their history and the genre itself are detailed in this breezy, nostalgic documentary.
A making-of documentary for the 1997 film "Jackie Brown."
Lee Reston is a widow whose police officer son Greg dies in a car accident. Greg's friend and fellow officer Chris Lallek tries to help the Reston family in Greg's absence. Soon, he and Lee grow close and fall in love. But Lee is fifteen years older than Chris, something that upsets most of her family, including her college-aged daughter. When Chris proposes marriage, Lee must decide whether to risk alienating her family in order to be with the man she loves.
An homage to and investigation of the blaxploitation cinema of Pam Grier.
After moving to a retirement community, loner Martha eventually befriends her fun-loving neighbor, Sheryl, and forms a cheerleading club for young-at-heart seniors, though they face roadblocks along the way.
A widowed ex-cop discovers that she may have a life threatening illness, and decides to go on a solo road trip in a motorized wheelchair to explore the beauty of the Southwest. On her journey, Rose discovers more than just the simple beauty of New Mexico when she meets -- and falls in love with -- Max, an old cowboy who comes to a crossroads of his own. Sometimes love takes the backroads.
Every December in the small town of Ponchatoula, Louisiana a wooden wishing box is placed in the park as a Christmas tradition. After a night out together, Maddie encourages her sister Faith to put a wish in the box - a wish to experience true love for the first time. Faith and Maddie are surprised the next day when she meets the very handsome and eligible Andrew. As Christmas nears, Faith begins to wonder if Andrew is really perfect for her, or if the wish is leading her to her best friend, Wyatt.
Do I Look Like a Lady? (Comedians and Singers) presents a dynamic checkerboard of moving image footage featuring African-American actors and singers from across the 20th century: from Jackie “Moms” Mabley to Eartha Kitt, Whoopi Goldberg, Whitney Houston, and several others. The video focuses on their individual voices as they express heartbreaking roles, pointed lyrics, sharp jokes, and strong statements of resistance to the dominant culture. The work is a powerful, and often riotous, reflection on the roles of black women in the United States.
From "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to "The Big Lebowski" and everything in between, this fascinating deep-dive documentary begins its celebration of the greatest cult movies of all-time discussing the birth of the midnight movie.
The definitive documentary on the history of nudity in feature films from the early silent days to the present, studying the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped that history. Skin will also study the gender inequality in presenting nude images in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has created nude gender equality in feature films today.
Tells the inspiring story of how six iconic African American female entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.
Based on the custody case involving Elizabeth Morgan and the subsequent Elizabeth Morgan Act.
A sex in cinema retrospective that uncovers long-forgotten gems buried for years as well as some of the most significant films in the history of sex on the screen. Controversial and groundbreaking films, you’ll discover the most memorable and erotic scenes of the decade as well as insightful and controversial bios on each actress. In many cases it was their first and only nude appearance on film, making this a must-have reference guide to nudity in cinema.
Who has ever compared Reservoir Dogs? What are “Open Road” and “New World Disorder”? Why is Harvey Keitel a fairy and how did we all almost become diehard fans of Paul Calderon? Here’s a story about Quentin Tarantino. The director who needs no introduction.
A camp, affectionate look at women in prison films - the girls you love to hate and hate to love.
When the world's cutest retired couple turns detective, they put the aww in hawwmicide. (A pilot created by Pendleton Ward (known for Adventure Time and The Midnight Gospel) and Jack Pendarvis for Adult Swim/Williams Street.)
All Saints tread the path of jazzy, funky videos, spliced with interviews with the girls themselves and live footage of their travels around the world.
I have a lot of interest and respect for classic cinema. I tried to make a film with at least 20 portraits of classical actresses whose films I'm familiar with. Difficult choices from all over the world. They each have their own beauty.
An in-depth look at documentarian Rob Nilsson.