One of the first US born conductors to receive worldwide fame, Leonard Bernstein is an exceptional composer and certainly not only due to The West Side Story. Instead of concentrating exclusively on his most famous work, Thomas von Steinaecker sets out to paint a complete picture of Bernstein. Thus, the documentary focusses on the American’s less known later works and on three compositions in particular: his Mass, the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the great final opera A Quiet Place. The film paints a vivid picture of the multitalented Bernstein, struggling with his role as composer and conductor, tackling the tension between successes and flops, between the politics of his time and his own liberal humanitarian claim. It looks back on Bernstein’s major achievements, such as his acclaimed conducting of Mahler and his involvement in the Young People’s Concerts, and it shows Bernstein’s work with young aspiring musicians as well as his political commitment.
Glamorously eccentric and enigmatic Theremin master Armen Ra recounts his dynamic journey in this li...
On the night of October 30, 1993, River Phoenix is set to play with his band at the Viper Room on Su...
It is the evocation of a life as brief as it is dense. An encounter with a dazzling thought, that of...
Explore the dramatic career and personal struggles of the talented and tragically short-lived entert...
A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children tells the inspiring story of Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman, ...
Frank Scheffer's (collage like) documentary on the American composer and rock guitarist Frank Zappa,...
After almost thirty years of his career, the musician Fran Nixon joins film director David Trueba fo...
Why did Simenon, a novelist who contributed so much to the seventh art, like to say that he hated th...
A deeply human portrait of a boxer with the heart of a lion who refused to give up, in and outside o...
Up until the end of her life, Beatrice Wood continued to influence younger artists with her definiti...
The work and unexplained death of Michael Ventris, the English architect, classicist, and philologis...
Co-founder of Greenpeace and founder of Sea Shepherd, Captain Watson is part pirate, part philosophe...
Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz achieved groundbreaking work in social jus...
Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD, then worked for decades counseling drug abusers. Dock's soulf...
A walk through the career of French filmmaker André Téchiné, from his own point of view and that of ...
It's the story of a child prodigy with a passion for the almighty power of code and a mission to con...