Yahoo! Movies: New Documentary DVD Releases

Buena Vista Social Club

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:52 -0000

In 1996 Ry Cooder gathered together some of the greatest names from the history of Cuban music to collaborate on the best selling and Grammy winning album The Buena Vista Social Club. This ground-breaking documentary, inspired by the album, includes appearances by legendary performers Ry & Joaquim Cooder, Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzales, Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo, Compay Segundo and many other renowned Cuban Musicians. (1 hr. 44 min.) Release date: Jan 12, 2010

Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:51 -0000

Along with 1970s icons like Patti Smith, curator Sam Wagstaff and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe made up a large part of New York's '70s and '80s art culture. James Crump's documentary explores their relationship and the larger art scene through interviews with Ralph Gibson, Richard Tuttle, Joan Juliet Buck, Dominick Dunne, and Eugenia Parry. (1 hr. 27 min.) Release date: Feb 2, 2010

Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:50 -0000

This documentary chronicles the career of the massively popular British funnyman Eddie Izzard on his journey from humble stand-up comic to internationally recognized actor and comedian. With rare footage from his early performances--including the infamous "Wolves" sketch--the film follows him backstage during the most trying moments of his comeback tour, and delves into the personal struggle for inspiration and success that predicated his return to the spotlight. (1 hr. 44 min.) Release date: Mar 2, 2010

Eleven Minutes

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:49 -0000

Fans of PROJECT RUNWAY will be curious to find out exactly what happened to the first season's winner, Jay McCarroll, after he was declared "in" by Heidi Klum. Featuring appearances from fashion elite such as Carson Kressley, this documentary follows the talented designer in the year he spent preparing for New York Fashion Week (1 hr. 48 min.) Release date: Feb 23, 2010

The End of the Line

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:48 -0000

Rupert Murray (UNKNOWN WHITE MALE) directs this troubling documentary that examines the impending catastrophe that threatens the world's oceans. Overfishing has resulted in declining fish populations that might not only mean extinction for some species, but deadly ramifications for the humans that utilize them. (1 hr. 30 min.) Release date: Feb 23, 2010

To Play and To Fight

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:47 -0000

As youth music programs in the United States continue to decline in both quality and quantity, filmmaker Alberto Arvelo offers a fascinating look at how the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System, among other music programs across the South American country, are having an incredibly positive impact on the very fabric of Venezuelan society. Though once a simple, modest program designed to teach youngsters about classical music and provide them with the skills needed to become a professional orchestral performer, the unprecedented success Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System has inspired numerous other South American countries to implement similar programs. In addition to offering impoverished children a means of transcending their hardships, TO PLAY AND TO FIGHT also encourages to allow the viewer to notice the power of music as an effective tool in promoting social growth. (1 hr. 10 min.) Release date: Feb 23, 2010

The September Issue

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:46 -0000

Vogue has been the most powerful and best-respected fashion magazine in the world for decades, and each year the journal devotes a fall issue to the designs and designers that the editors feel will be influential in the coming year. The September 2007 issue of Vogue, that year's annual Fall Fashion issue, became the biggest single issue in the magazine's long history, and filmmaker R.J. Cutler was given unprecedented access to Vogue's creative team as the issue was being prepared. THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE is a documentary which focuses on Vogue editor Anna Wintour as she visits the annual Fashion Week shows, accepts or dismisses the latest creations of the biggest names in fashion, works with the models, photographers, and writers who help bring her vision to the page, and labors with her staff to determine what the world's fashionistas will be wearing for the next 12 months. THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, where it received an award for excellence in documentary cinematography. (1 hr. 28 min.) Release date: Feb 23, 2010

Blood on the Flat Track

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:45 -0000

No description available (1 hr. 35 min.) Release date: Feb 23, 2010

Good Hair

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:44 -0000

In the movie SCHOOL DAZE, Spike Lee staged a dance number in which two bands of African-American college students debated the merits of "Straight and Nappy" hair in song, and now comedian Chris Rock and filmmaker Jeff Stilson have extended the conversation to a full-length film in this witty documentary with serious undertones. Rock says he was inspired to make the film when his young daughter asked him, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" and he and Stilson examine black America's obsession with their hair. They visit the Bronner Brothers International Hair Show, an annual trade show for the African-American haircare industry which includes fierce competitions among stylists from around the country and demonstrations of new hair products and techniques. Along the way, Rock also talks to a number of African-American luminaries about their hair issues (including Maya Angelou, Reverend Al Sharpton, Nia Long, Raven Symone, Ice-T, and Paul Mooney), researches the dangers of many common hair-straightening treatments, reveals the surprising expense of regular hair "relaxing" and weaves, and ponders what the pursuit of straight hair says about African-American cultural identity. GOOD HAIR received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. (1 hr. 35 min.) Release date: Feb 16, 2010

The Reinactors

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:43 -0000

No description available (1 hr. 35 min.) Release date: Feb 9, 2010

A Powerful Noise

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:42 -0000

No description available (2 hrs. 30 min.) Release date: Feb 2, 2010

Michael Jackson's This Is It

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:41 -0000

Michael Jackson takes a final bow in this theatrical concert film featuring rehearsal footage of the late megastar as he practiced for the 100 shows in London that never came to be. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL's Kenny Ortega handles direction duties as well as choreography chores for the HD-shot film. (1 hr. 51 min.) Release date: Jan 26, 2010

Chevolution

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:40 -0000

On March 5, 1960, Che Guevara, one of the architects of the Cuban revolution, attended a memorial service for 75 men who died while explosive cargo was being unloaded from a ship in the Havana harbor. Photographer Alberto Korda snapped a picture of Guevara at the event, and while it went unpublished at the time, in the late '60s an Italian publisher, Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, asked Korda's permission to reproduce the image of the then-martyred revolutionary leader. Korda agreed, and within a few years his portrait of Che, wearing a beret and looking with determination to some point in the distance, became one of the most famous photos in the world. Korda didn't mind seeing the photo appear in unlikely places, from banners at protests to T-shirts, but in 2000 he filed suit against the producers of Smirnoff vodka after they used the picture in a magazine advertisement, arguing that he never intended it to be used for commercial purposes. Filmmakers Trisha Ziff and Luis Lopez trace the strange journey of Korda's portrait of Che, from revolutionary symbol to advertising logo and an iconic but little-understood image often adopted by young people who aren't sure who the man is, in the documentary CHEVOLUTION. The film includes interviews with actors Antonio Banderas and Gael Garcia Bernal, both of whom have played Guevara on screen, and Tom Morello of the leftist rock band Rage Against The Machine, who have used the Che portrait on their T-shirts. (1 hr. 26 min.) Release date: Jan 19, 2010

Brothers at War

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:39 -0000

Filmmaker Jake Rademacher gets rare access to American and Iraqi troops in this gripping documentary. For BROTHERS AT WAR, Rademacher chronicles the experiences of his two soldier siblings as they serve in the Middle East, tracking them from their missions in Iraq to their journeys home, giving him a detailed picture of what life as a soldier is like. (1 hr. 50 min.) Release date: Jan 12, 2010

The Cats of Mirikitani

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:38 -0000

Jimmy Mirikitani grew up in Hiroshima, survived the Japanese-American internment camps in California, and was living on the streets of New York by the time the World Trade Center came down. Perhaps it's ironic, or sad, that he is an artist whose main message is peace. But how did Mirikitani end up on the streets of Manhattan and what amazing secrets are hidden in his past? This is an amazing portrait of the man, but also a fascinating example of the process of documentary filmmaking. What started as the filmmaker's interest in the peaceful artist blossomed into something neither of them would have ever expected. (1 hr. 14 min.) Release date: Jan 12, 2010

Passing Strange The Movie

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:37 -0000

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee turns his camera toward the stage for this filmed performance of the acclaimed Broadway musical by singer-songwriter Stew and his creative partner, Heidi Rodewald. Developed at the Sundance Theater Lab, the story follows a young black man from Los Angeles as he attempts to make sense of the conflicted cultural signals constantly bombarding him from all sides. Raised in a religious household somewhere south of Interstate 10, the frustrated adolescent feels suffocated by his mother's fixation on family ties, her unwavering devotion to the church, and her unapologetically bourgeois aspirations in life. He longs to experience something "real" in life, ultimately making the decision to follow in the footsteps of James Baldwin and Josephine Baker by traveling to Europe and exploring the world. From outrageous Amsterdam to ultra-militant Berlin, the impressionable wanderer experiences misadventures with sex, drugs, politics, and art as his eyes are opened ever wider to the world around him. (2 hrs. 15 min.) Release date: Jan 12, 2010

By the People: The Election of Barack Obama

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:36 -0000

The 2008 American presidential election kept viewers around the world riveted with the tight race between the young Democrat Senator Barack Obama and the veteran Republican John McCain. Directed by Amy Rice (FROM ASHES) and Alicia Sams (TOOTS), this documentary reveals previously unseen footage of Obama�s path to the White House, and includes his candidacy announcement, campaign highlights, election night, and his inauguration. (1 hr. 55 min.) Release date: Jan 12, 2010

The Universe of Keith Haring

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:35 -0000

No New York painter has bridged the gap between the city's vibrant street culture and its downtown galleries as brilliantly as the iconic �80s art-star Keith Haring. THE UNIVERSE OF KEITH HARING is director Christina Clausen's affectionate portrait of the late artist's swift ascent from small-town misfit to internationally acclaimed Pop Art evangelist and social activist. Clausen pieces together a loving hagiography out of candid interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, all interspersed with some remarkable footage of Haring in action, etching his spontaneous works onto subway stations and other public spaces. Featuring a bouncy soundtrack of quirky �80s electro and disco, the music's boundless energy matches the vibrancy of Haring's art and the New York scene of the time. The list of interviewees is a veritable who's who of the downtown New York art and music scenes: Kenny Scharf, Yoko Ono, and Fab 5 Freddy recount personal, often touching, episodes in Haring's life and his inevitable battle with, and loss to, AIDS. Less a critical assessment of Haring's work than a celebration of the unique creative energy that he brought to world, THE UNIVERSE OF KEITH HARING seals the legacy of an artist whose distinctive iconography has penetrated the consciousness of popular culture. (1 hr. 30 min.) Release date: Jan 12, 2010

X Games 3D: The Movie

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:34 -0000

Captures the drama and spectacle that play out every year at the X Games events, highlighting the behind-the-scenes stories of the featured athletes and the sacrifices they make in pursuit of glory and the advancement of their sports on the industry's biggest stage. (1 hr. 35 min.) Release date: Jan 12, 2010

The Hip Hop Project

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:33 -0000

IN THEATERS MAY 11, 2007 (LIMITED)

A group of teenagers in New York City are captured on camera as they take part in the Hip Hop Project in this documentary. The Hip Hop Project is an outreach program designed to help kids channel their energies into making music instead of falling into a life of crime. (1 hr. 30 min.) Release date: Jan 5, 2010

Facing Ali

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:32 -0000

It�s one thing when your fans will sing your praises, but you�re at another level when former rivals will come to your defense. Directed by Pete McCormack (UGANDA RISING), this documentary looks at the career of boxing legend Muhammad Ali from the perspective of his opponents, including George Foreman, Joe Drazier, and Larry Holmes. (1 hr. 40 min.) Release date: Dec 29, 2009

Capitalism: A Love Story

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:31 -0000

What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism? Years ago, that love seemed so innocent. Today, however, the American dream is looking more like a nightmare as families pay the price with their jobs, their homes and their savings. Michael Moore takes us into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down; and he goes looking for explanations in Washington, DC and elsewhere. What he finds are the all-too-familiar symptoms of a love affair gone astray: lies, abuse, betrayal�and 14,000 jobs being lost every day. (2 hrs. 7 min.) Release date: Dec 29, 2009

It Might Get Loud

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:30 -0000

IT MIGHT GET LOUD is a slick documentary about three seminal guitarists from successive generations of rock royalty: Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, U2's the Edge, and the White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather's Jack White. The film follows the guitarists individually, in evocative settings like Headley Grange, the studio where "Stairway to Heaven" was written, and the Dublin high school where U2 first played together as teenagers. The three subjects sidestep music-biz gossip and open up about their influences, their approach to songcraft, and their aesthetic goals. Music lovers--guitar fanatics in particular--will thrill to some behind-the-scenes tech-talk as the artists explain how they get their respective sounds.

These fascinating individual interviews are intercut with impressionistic bits, animation, cool titles, mesmerizing vintage footage of the guitarists and their blues-singer heroes, and a round-robin jam featuring all three guitarists learning and playing each other's tunes. The live-music segments are at times awkward, as the men eye each other warily and shyly, seemingly unsure of how to interact. But when the music works--as it does on the trio's impromptu "Whole Lotta Love"--sparks fly and genuine smiles break out all over. Fortunately, these inspired moments outshine the clumsy onstage socializing, and viewers are left with the impression that these three very different masters have more in common than previously suspected. (1 hr. 37 min.) Release date: Dec 22, 2009

As Seen Through These Eyes

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:29 -0000

Maya Angelou narrates this moving documentary that examines the artists who used their craft to fight against the Nazi regime. (1 hr. 10 min.) Release date: Dec 22, 2009

Know Your Mushrooms

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:31:28 -0000

Award-winning filmmaker Ron Mann (GRASS, COMIC BOOK CONFIDENTIAL) investigates the miraculous world of fungi with this documentary shot largely at the Telluride Mushroom Festival in Colorado. It was during a conversation with his friend Jim Jarmusch that Mann first learned of the bizarre subculture surrounding the mushroom, and once his interest was piqued there was no turning back. Some of the oldest and largest living organisms on the planet are fungi, but where did mushrooms come from, and could they hold secrets that we've yet to discover? Recently, a new breed of maverick scientists have made the claim that mushrooms possess the power to cleanse sites corroded by toxins, and that they could be used as a "clean" pesticide, among other things. By traveling to the Telluride Mushroom Festival and speaking with festival president Gary Lincoff, as well as numerous other mycophiles (mushroom aficionados) who frequent the event, Mann reveals why the popular fungus has emerged to become one of our greatest mysteries. A neo-psychedelic soundtrack by The Flaming Lips and campy clips from such features as ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE keep the mood whimsical as Mann explores every wonderful facet of the mushroom kingdom. (1 hr. 14 min.) Release date: Dec 15, 2009