Great Poets: In Their Own Words

7.0

Dance First

Parisian bon vivant, World War II Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband and recluse…Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts. Titled after Beckett’s famous ethos “Dance first, think later”, the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.

2023-11-03 | en

4.5

Hart Crane: An Exegesis

James Franco interviews three experts on the poet Hart Crane, whose life was the subject of his feature The Broken Tower (2011).

2012-03-27 | en

8.0

Attenborough at 90

In celebration of his ninetieth birthday, Sir David Attenborough shares extraordinary highlights of his life and career with broadcaster Kirsty Young, including the inspiring people he has met, the extraordinary journeys he has made and the remarkable animal encounters he has had across the globe. Joined by colleagues and friends, including Michael Palin and Chris Packham, Sir David shares some of the unforgettable moments from his unparalleled career, from capturing unique animal behaviour for the first time to the fast-paced advances in wildlife filming technology, as well as stories of the wonder and fragility of the natural world - stories that Sir David has spent his life exploring and championing.

2016-05-08 | en

8.0

Mirror

A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.

1975-03-07 | ru

0.0

John Betjeman: A Poet in London

Poet John Betjeman is shown visiting locations including Vauxhall Park, Aldersgate Street station, Camden Town and Hatfield, where he recites a handful of his poems.

1959-03-01 | en

7.6

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The true story of Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind.

2007-05-23 | fr

5.4

To Stay Alive: A Method

Iggy Pop reads and recites Michel Houellebecq’s manifesto. The documentary features real people from Houellebecq’s life with the text based on their life stories.

2016-11-19 | en

5.0

Two Travellers to a River

When asked a question on politics, late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish once answered: “I write about love to expose the conditions that don’t allow me to write about love.” In TWO TRAVELERS TO A RIVER Palestinian actress Manal Khader recites such a poem by Mahmoud Darwish: a concise reflection on how things could have been.

2018-09-07 | ar

3.2

Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man, Celebrated Writer

Ralph Ellison was an African-American writer and essayist, who's only novel Invisible Man (1953) gained a wide critical success. Ellison's ambitious journey from a childhood of hardship and poverty to celebrated African American writer is chronicled in this inspiring program through exclusive interviews and personal recollection.

2005-01-01 | en

6.5

Nobody

Half blind and half deaf, ostraziced Cuban writer Rafael Alcides tries to finish his unpublished novels to discover that after several decades, the home made ink from the typewriter he used to write them has faded. The Cuban revolution as a love story and eventual deception is seen through the eyes of a man who is living an inner exile.

2017-01-13 | es

4.7

Prometey

The life was cruel with Ivas. The landlord sent him at war, and his girlfriend – in the house of ill fame. In the troops an ordinary peasant gets acquainted with an ideological revolutionary and becomes inspired with the feeling of inequity to the existing social structure. And when the time comes to return to the native village, he will make the sir pays by his blood for all wrong-doings against the peasants. A film based on works and biography of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko (1814 - 1861).

1936-02-04 | uk

7.0

Wè

As Black and LGBTQ+ History Month begin this February, material science clothing brand PANGAIA leads celebrations with a poetic film that honors these two communities. Following a year of isolation, and with it a deeper understanding of the importance of outdoor spaces and the environment, Wè is a portrait of the self-love and acceptance we have learned to show others and gift to ourselves.

2021-02-03 | en

5.2

The Passion of Ayn Rand

Author Ayn Rand becomes involved with a much younger and married man, to the dismay of those close to her.

1999-01-27 | en

10.0

Mes indésirables

"Before I left today, I almost forgot to answer a lot of e-mails."

2023-09-18 | fr

6.7

The Golden Era

The story of writer Xiao Hong comes alive through memories of her great love affair, literary influence and escape from China during World War II.

2014-10-01 | zh

0.0

Philip Roth Unleashed

After Portnoy's Complaint launched him as a new literary voice, not to mention a scandalous one, Philip Roth went on to be hailed by many as America's greatest living writer. Never afraid to look hard at the extremes of human experience, he has been both consistently controversial and intensely private. But now, having celebrated his 80th birthday in his home town of Newark, New Jersey, Roth, in conversation with Alan Yentob, is ready to tell the whole story in this special two-part film for imagine... Philip Roth Unleashed.

2014-05-20 | en

4.5

Elmore Leonard: "But Don't Try to Write"

Elmore Leonard, author of more than 40 novels, is renowned in the literary community. From his westerns and early novels of crime based in Detroit and South Florida, right through his complex and virtually plotless later work, Elmore Leonard dissected an America whose founding sins have continued to haunt it all the days. Leonard’s depiction of America is as real as Twain’s Hannibal, Faulkner’s Mississippi and Steinbeck’s Monterey. The new documentary ELMORE LEONARD: “But don’t try to write” explores the prolific author’s legacy and his influence on generations of writers. The documentary features exclusive images and previously unseen home movie footage, family photographs, and in-depth interviews with both literary experts and those who knew him well, including colleagues, family, and childhood friends.

2021-03-26 | en

7.2

Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive

How the inventor of the detective story became his own greatest mystery.

2017-04-29 | en

0.0

A Portrait of Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton discusses his early career as a writer, leading up to his writing of the best-selling novel "The Andromeda Strain" and his involvement with the making of the film.

2003-04-01 | en

6.8

Leopardi

In 19th-century Italy, Giacomo Leopardi channels his debilitating illness and isolation into poetry.

2014-10-16 | it

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