The Great Yiddish Love

Set in Berlin and New York's Lower East Side, The Great Yiddish Love stars the self-exiled Marlene Dietrich and her Nazi-endorsed replacement, Zarah Leander. It is a melodrama of love, emigration, and betrayal reassembled from Hollywood, German Ufa and Yiddish films from the 1930s and 40s.

2002-01-01 | en

A Yiddish World Remembered

Elliott Gould narrates this affectionate look at life in the shtetls of Eastern Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. "It's unreal that all this could have just disappeared," says Polish native Mariem Adler Stok, one of the seniors whose memories of this "Yiddish world" give this documentary its life. The hour traces Jewish history in Europe and explores Jews' focus on education, their religious customs, clothing, food, music and theater.

2004-11-14 | en

The Paper Brigade

Lithuania, 1941, during World War II. Hundreds of thousands of texts on Jewish culture, stolen by the Germans, are gathered in Vilnius to be classified, either to be stored or to be destroyed. A group of Jewish scholars and writers, commissioned by the invaders to carry out the sorting operations, but reluctant to collaborate and determined to save their legacy, hide many books in the ghetto where they are confined. This is the epic story of the Paper Brigade.

2018-03-15 | fr

Welcome to Yiddishland

An upbeat, witty, and timely exploration of a global community of artists creating innovative work in their quest to rediscover and revitalise the endangered Yiddish language. From behind-the-scenes with an acclaimed Yiddish-language version of Yentl in Melbourne, to enjoyably transgressive punk-Klezmer musicians, and Barrie Kosky’s latest trailblazing production in Berlin – the endangered Yiddish language is alive and well in this rousing documentary. The language originated amongst the Jewish community in Eastern Europe, but almost disappeared when more than half of the world’s Yiddish speakers were murdered during the Holocaust. Most of the artists and performers (aka Yiddishists) in the film didn’t grow up speaking Yiddish, but all have found solace, identity, and inspiration in its rich traditions and culture. Ros Horin has mapped a fascinating cultural history.

2024-06-09 | en

A bissele Glik

2009-05-12 | de

The Man Without a World

The Man Without a World is credited to the legendary (and imaginary) 1920s Soviet director, Yevgeny Antinov. But the film is anything but old. In fact, Antinov himself is the creation of contemporary filmmaker Eleanor Antin. Her film is a moving, comic melodrama set in a typical shtetl (village) in Poland. The Jews’ struggle against poverty and racial hatred is complicated by their own division into hostile political factions of the religious orthodoxy, assimilationists, socialists, Zionists, anarchists and survivors. While the Jews of the shtetl pursue their loves, politics, religion, business and dreams for the future, the Angel of Death is ever near...

1991-05-28 | en

40 Nickels

Based her grandfather’s boyhood in St. Louis, Yasmin Gorenberg tells a story of the pain passed from refugee parents to their children and the hope that can overcome it. “40 Nickels” captures the image of a generation of immigrants to the United States in the 1920’s and 1930’s and through that spotlights the effects of the 1919 pogroms in Eastern Europe. This is a film about parents and children: how trauma never leaves a family, and how hope and resilience is also passed down. It asks the question: Can a new generation look at the world with wonder rather than fear?

2021-03-19 | en

Motel the Operator

Motel, a poor laborer, loving husband and new father, leads cloakmakers in a strike for better working conditions. When he is severely injured by strikebreakers, his wife, Esther, and infant son are left destitute. Desperate to save her starving child, Esther gives him up for adoption to a wealthy couple, and then commits suicide. The richly-rendered beautiful Yiddish songs by Sholem Secunda featuring Cantor Leibele Waldman and Joel Feig's famous choir are a good example of the bittersweet melodrama in the finest tradition of the Yiddish theater.

1940-01-15 | yi

Gold for Fools

Raised in rural isolation by an extremist Hasidic sect, Chaim is torn between his devotion to his grandmother, an aging Holocaust survivor, and his attraction to a sexy blond in a Liberty car insurance ad.

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An American Pickle

An immigrant worker at a pickle factory is accidentally preserved for 100 years and wakes up in modern day Brooklyn. He learns his only surviving relative is his great grandson, a computer coder who he can’t connect with.

2020-08-06 | en

Coral Dreamscapes: An Exotic Aquarium

Fascinating species bursting with color Gentle, meditative ocean water bubble away as exotic fish swim to the soft sounds of piano and strings. In this video, over 700 salt water fish will glide and drift across your screen. No feeding, no water testing and no clean up. It's as simple as hitting play on your DVD. Fascinating species bursting with color like you've never seen. Kick back and float along in the tidal pools of your very own trouble-free T.V. Aquarium. Turn your television into a coral reef teeming with underwater life.

2000-11-04 | en

Amicus: House of Horrors

For the first time on DVD, the Alpha Archives Collection proudly presents a two part feature length documentary celebrating the history of the Amicus Productions film company. Founded in the early 1960s by Americans Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg, Amicus produced some classic (now cult) horror movies, including Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors, The House That Dripped Blood, Tales From The Crypt, Asylum and From Beyond The Grave. Featuring interviews with key individuals who worked for Amicus (actors, directors, etc.), and with many rare photographs and production designs throughout, this documentary is a must-see for fans of British horror cinema.

2012-10-30 | en

As Pedras e o Tempo

Documentary short film on the city of Évora, Portugal. Usually regarded as the first film of the Portuguese New Wave.

1961-03-17 | pt

Man in the Glass: The Dale Brown Story

Born on Halloween, 1935, Dale Brown's fight for justice began the day his father walked out - two days before he was born. About how an overachiever from tiny Minot, North Dakota relentlessly fought his way to the top.

2012-05-08 | en

Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage

Explores the deep bond between Nelson and Winnie and their marriage in the struggle against apartheid. An intimate portrait of their connection from the early years through to the dismantling of apartheid and Mandela's historic presidency.

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8 Arms to Hold You

An "Ock-umentary" exploring the character of Doc Ock and the way he as well as his tentacles were brought to life on the silver screen.

2004-11-30 | en

Angst spür' ich, wo kein Herz ist

Children from poor families recount experiences from their daily lives.

1998-10-25 | de

Mladí muži poznávají svět

The docu-drama takes place during the war in the former Yugoslavia. A young journalist arrives in destroyed Sarajevo and finds out how people live in the middle of war. He encounters everyday problems that an individual, especially young people, has to deal with.

1996-03-01 | cs

WRC 2024 - FIA World Rally Championship

From Monte Carlo in January to Rally Japan in November, the pedals were pressed hard to the metal as the best of the best of the World's rally drivers fought furiously fpr points and the ultimate prize in rallying; the FIA World Rally Championship. Get right into the heart of the action with stunning course-side and on-board camerawork. Fascinating interviews and informative commentary. If you're not flinching from the flying rocks, bracing yourself as the cars hurtle over jumps and leaning into the corners, you'd better check your pulse! Get ready, this one's going to blow you away!

2024-12-06 | en

Adeus und Goodbye

Director Peter Patzak visits and interviews friends who decided to move from Germany to Rio de Janeiro and New York City.

2001-11-17 | de