American Cinema - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
The Hollywood Style
Martin Scorsese and Sydney Pollack are among the premier directors who discuss how classical Hollywood style, evolving and yet enduring over time, informs their work.
The Studio System
The studio system created the Golden Age of Hollywood, its classic film stars and big budget hits that captivated generations all across the world. However, the following decades proved that nothing lasts forever, even in Hollywood.
The Star
Early on, Hollywood saw that recognizable talent could minimize the financial risks of film production.
The Western
With clips and critical commentary on Westerns the program traces the aesthetic evolution of the genre as well as its sociological importance.
Romantic Comedy
Breezy and silly to witty and intelligent, romantic comedies barely masked issues of gender and sexuality. Directors present interpretations of the genre that reveal the underlying social and psychological messages.
The Combat Film
Critics and directors describe the evolution of these films, the rise of the Vietnam film, and the influence of the newsreel documentaries and TV news on the genre.
Film Noir
These cynical and pessimistic films from the 1930s and '40s touched a nerve in Americans. Historians link the genre's overriding paranoia to Cold War-related angst over the nuclear threat and the Hollywood blacklist.
Film in the Television Age
Television first arrived in American homes just as the Hollywood studio system was collapsing. This prompted open competition between the genres opening opportunities for innovation and employment.
The Film School Generation
Maverick filmmakers of the 1960s and '70s, capitalized on new technology and borrowed from classical Hollywood and French New Wave as they reinvented the American film.
The Edge of Hollywood
This program looks at some alternative visions from new talents who struggle with limited budgets and challenge the stylistic status quo of the Hollywood film.
Film Language
Illustrates basic terms such as tracking shots and zooms and also provides a primer on editing technique.
Writing and Thinking About Film
Provides a formal and cultural analysis of a classical film sequence. It serves as a critical how-to guide for those new to film critique.
Classical Hollywood Today
Offers interviews with contemporary directors, European filmmakers, scholars, and critics, as well as studio-era veterans who probe Hollywood's influence on both American and world culture.
Recently Updated Shows
The Daily Show
Hosted by a rotating cast of comedy greats, The Daily Show remains the go-to source for provocative satire, insightful interviews and an award-winning team of correspondents and contributors.
Critical Role
Voice actor Matthew Mercer leads a group of fellow voice actors on epic Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. These familiar voices bring the audience into the full experience of D&D, allowing imaginations to soar as the characters embark on adventures. This is Critical Role!
The Wild Ones
One of the most ambitious wildlife series ever filmed, The Wild Ones explores our planet's fragile ecosystems, uncovering insights about how to help save and protect the most precious endangered species. All of the elusive animals captured on film in The Wild Ones have one thing in common - there are fewer than one thousand of them left in the wild.
The Wild Ones follows a team of world-class filmmakers and scientists as they venture off the beaten path, capturing groundbreaking, often first-time footage of the planet's most charismatic species using cutting-edge technology. The rare species profiled include the Gobi bear, Malayan tiger, Javan rhino, Caucasian leopard, Cross River gorilla and the North Atlantic right whale.
And Just Like That...
Picking up the story of Sex and the City, And Just Like That… follows Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbes as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.