Film History Documentaries on FilmStruck

Time for another non-traditional entry.  I’ve been gobbling up documentaries about film on FilmStruck before it goes out of business November 29.  I’ve seen too many to write in my usual format about all of them but they have been mainly fantastic so I wanted to share.

Lon Chaney: Behind the Mask (1996)
Directed by Bret Wood

An excellent full-length documentary on the Man of a Thousand Faces, crammed with wonderful clips covering his entire career.

James Stewart, Robert Mitchum: The Two Faces of America (2017)
Directed by Gregory Monro

Solid one-hour look at two very different classic actors that died within 24 hours of each other. I love both so really enjoyed this film. Here a shot of Stewart and Mitchum on the set of “The Big Sleep” (1975).

Hitler’s Hollywood (2017)
Directed by Rutger Rüdiger Suchsland

A look at the sick  fantasy world that was Josef Goebbel’s Dream Factory 1933-1945. Interesting in an icky way.

The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl (Die Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl) (1993)
Directed by Ray Müller

It’s a three-plus hour two part documentary on the life and films of director Leni Riefenstahl who rose to fame and infamy as “Hitler’s filmmaker”. At age 90, she is completely unrepentent, insisting that she cared nothing for politics. Also she was apparently deaf and blind. Riefenstahl is a terrible liar and feels disgustingly sorry for herself. And then come the images …. She was a fantastic filmmaker and a determined, courageous woman. The documentary is crammed with some of the most gorgeous clips you ever will see. Highly recommended.

Tokyo-ga (1985)
Directed by Wim Wenders

I am a huge Ozu fan and I loved this documentary/essay. Few but choice clips from the films. Lovely, intimate looks at then modern Tokyo and interviews with Ozu-regular Chishu Ryu, cinematographer Yuharu Asuta, and a cameo from Werner Herzog who rails against the lack of “adequate images” left in the world. Everyone who knew Ozu seemed to have loved and respected him. Recommended.

The World of Jacques Demy  (L’univers de Jacques Demy) (1995)
Directed by Agnes Varda

A loving tribute to the French director of such classics as “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” from his wife director Agnes Varda. I love both Demy and Varda. The gorgeous clips made me want to binge on films by both directors.  Can’t do that though or I never will finish 1965!