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1968 ( HISTORY CHANNEL )
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The History Channel presents this feature-length special on "the year that       changed everything." Journalist Tom Brokaw revisits key moments from a           watershed year, including the triumphs (the first successful lunar orbit and     the Civil Rights Movement) and the tragedies (the Tet Offensive, the Chicago   riots, and the murders of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy). Footage  from the period is joined by provocative interviews with eyewitnesses of these momentous events. USA, 2007, 94 mins.
30 DAYS: SEASON ONE
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With the success of his "Do as I say, not as I do" documentary Super Size     Me, Morgan Spurlock was given the reigns to 30 Days, a fascinating      reality television program with social awareness in mind. Like Super Size     Me, Spurlock and other brave individuals spend 30 days living outside their comfort zone in hopes of finding some common ground for common problems. Could you live on minimum wage? Could you live with a gay person? Could you live     with an evangelical Christian? Could you drink as much as your daughter? The  se questions and more are posed over six episodes from Season One. Originally     aired on FX. USA, 2005, 354 mins.
30 DAYS: SEASON TWO
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With the success of his "Do as I say, not as I do" documentary Super Size     Me, Morgan Spurlock was given the reigns to 30 Days, a fascinating      reality television program with social awareness in mind. Like Super Size     Me, Spurlock and other brave individuals spend 30 days living outside their comfort zone in hopes of finding some common ground for common problems. Over  the course of six episodes from Season Two, a border patrolman goes to live    with a family of illegal immigrants, an atheist and a Christian learn to         coexist, Spurlock goes to jail, and abortion, new age lifestyles and           outsourcing are addressed. Originally aired on FX. USA, 2006 288 mins.
ALTERED CONSCIOUSNESS COLLECTI
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Three trips in one. This box set includes a trio of documentaries related to     mind-expansion and countercultural icons. Flicker (Nik Sheehan, Canada,    2008, 75 mins.) tells the life story of Brion Gysin, who in 1961 invented "the   Dream Machine," a light device that could induce hallucinations. Hofmann's  Potion (Connie Littlefield, Canada, 2002, 56 mins.) is all about the work   of Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who first experimented with a strange     elixir known as LSD. Hippie Masala (Ulrich Grossenbacher/Damaris Luthi  ,  Switzerland, 2006, 93 mins.) looks at aging flower children who left the West  in search of enlightenment in India back in the late 60s and early 70s. In     English, Swiss German, Hindi, and Kannada with English subtitles.              Nik Sheehan/Connie Littlefield/Ulrich Grossenbacher/Damaris Luthi---Canada/S  witzerland---2002-2008---221 mins.
AMERICA! COMPLETE SERIES
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As seen on Hallmark, this documentary series celebrates American perseverance    as shown through 13 hour-long, inspirational stories and some breathtaking       cinematography.                                                                  Louis Schwartzberg---USA---2000---572 mins.
AMERICAN BREW, THE
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We love NOVA just as much as the next elbow-patched person, but the plebeian in us is stoked that PBS is finally tackling such a worthy topic. This hour-long documentary looks at the rich and surprising history of beer in America, from early colonial recipes up through today's micro- and massive breweries.

Roger M. Sherman---USA---2007---60 mins.
AMERICAN CARNY
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Step right up for Nick Bastile's documentary that goes behind the curtain with   Carnival Maestro Todd Robbins and explores a world of circus freaks, fire        eaters, human blockheads, bearded women, magicians, contortionists, lunatics,    and more. Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller provides opening narration.           Nick Bastile---USA---2005---99 mins.
AMERICAN DRUG WAR: THE LAST WHITE HOPE
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Kevin Booth's documentary goes from the street corner to the Capitol in order to survey the current state of drug use, drug policy, and drug enforcement in America. He interviews drug advocates, drug addicts, drug dealers, gang members, police, CIA, DEA, attorneys, judges, governors, congressmen, researchers, doctors, reverends, and even Tommy Chong, finding equal amounts of blood, corruption, greed, and racism on both sides of the unwinnable war.

Kevin Booth---USA---2007---120 mins.
AMERICAN PIT BULL
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Once known as the "All American Dog," the story of the pit bull is as tragic as it is intriguing. Pit bulls have gone from being America's sweethearts--companions to everyone from the Little Rascals to Helen Keller--to being branded killer canines. American Pitbull explores the evolution of the breed from an upper-class working dog and beloved companion to a deadly fighter. It also examines stereotypes associated with the breed and includes footage of dog fighting, protection training, and dog shows.      Marilyn Braverman---USA---2007---63 mins.
AMERICAN RULING CLASS, THE
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Lewis Lapham, editor of Harper's Magazine, wrote this "cleverly contrived non-fiction film" (New York Press) that follows two fictional Yale grads around as they ask some of America's cultural, political, and economic elite (Walter Cronkite, James Baker III, Robert Altman, Pete Seeger, Lawrence Summers, Kurt Vonnegut, Bill Bradley, Howard Zinn) to define America's ruling class. The film premiered at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, followed by a party at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

John Kirby---Great Britain/USA---2005---88 mins.
AMERICAN SWING
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In the tradition of Inside Deep Throat, this penetrating documentary       details the coming and going of the very first, very controversial swingers      nightclub, Plato's Retreat. Situated in New York City's Upper West Side,         Plato's opened in 1977, and adventurous couples came to dance, make merry, and swap partners. Hey, it was a different time.                                   Jon Hart/Matthew Kaufman---USA---2008---81 mins.
ASKING AYAHAI: AN AYOREO STORY
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Lucas Bessire's documentary focuses on Ayahai, an 80-year-old Ayoreo elder       whose life spans the period of dramatic transition for the Ayoreo of South       America's Gran Chaco as they moved from nomadic hunter/gatherers to wage         laborers. Interviews with Ayahai, urban Ayoreo, and other Bolivian             citydwellers reveal the opposition and hardship they continue to face. A       humanistic portrait of the lives of indigenous peoples which raises questions  about the politics of memory, representation, and native rights in Latin         Lucas Bessire---USA---2004---41 mins.
B.I.K.E. ( BIKE )
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With B.I.K.E., Filmmakers Anthony Howard and Jacob Sepitmus focus their    lens on the punk-rock, anti-materialist Black Label Bicycle Club, a New          York-based bike collective that fits into the larger "tallbike" subculture.      "Best scenes offer intriguing glimpses into group dynamics" (Variety).   Anthony Howard/Jacob Sepitmus---USA---2005---89 mins.
BABIES (2010)
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In this unreasonably cute documentary, filmmaker Thomas Balmes charts the early childhood developments--sleeping, eating, crawling, babbling, giggling, and crying--of four newborns-to-toddlers from Mongolia, Namibia, Japan, and California. This isn't rigorous documentary work like the Seven Up! series, and that's the point. No matter where you go, from the richest to the poorest country, babies are simply adorable.

Thomas Balmes---France---2010---79 mins.
BANANAS!* (BANANAS GERTTEN)
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"David-vs.-Goliath docu Bananas!* arrives with an asterisk in its title...intended to make auds consider the Nicaraguan plantation workers who blame Dole for their myriad medical conditions...Swedish helmer Fredrik Gertten offers a front-row seat to a landmark Erin Brockovich-style trial...an incredibly polished film" (Variety).
BEAUTY ACADEMY OF KABUL
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This absorbing and optimistic documentary focuses on a group of young Afghan     women and Western missionaries working together in postwar Afghanistan. The      odd part: the missionaries are American and British beauticians come to show     these girls how to style hair the right way. Laugh all you will, but under the Taliban's regime, these women were only able to operate underground as         outlaws. In this light, the "Beauty Without Borders" project is a sign of      progress. "Democracy might not really come from a bottle of shampoo, but         Beauty Academy teaches us that, sometimes, mascara really matters"       (Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune).                                   Liz Mermin---USA---2004---74 mins.
BHUTAN: LAND OF THUNDER DRAGON
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A land and culture largely unknown to the rest of the world are explored in      this documentary program. Delve into the rich history, traditions and natural    beauty of the Kingdom of Bhutan and see how its people struggle to adapt to      21st century life while holding on to their values and way of life. Suitable   for grades 5-12 and adults. 2002, 60 mins.
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
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Filmed over the course of two years, this engaging documentary turns the camera on Bill Cunningham, the celebrated New York Times street-fashion photographer. Whether covering society events or darting through traffic to capture a shot of an ordinary person wearing something extraordinary, Cunningham's work is all about interpreting.
BLANK CITY
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In the late seventies, the city of Manhattan was virtually bankrupt, leaving the crumbling tenements of the Lower East Side overrun with squatters. Young artists--writers, musicians, actors, painters, and filmmakers--quickly formed a loose tribe built around a spirit of freedom and collaboration. From this cross-pollination came a vibrant cacophony of ideas and transgressive images seared onto Super-8 film. Today these films stand as raw and visceral testaments to the roots of punk, a guerrilla-film parade exploding the rules of sex, race, gender, and politics through the cracked lens of a lost generation. In Blank City, filmmaker Céline Danhier has gathered the faces and icons that defined the scene, including filmmakers Richard Kern, Susan Seidelman, Nick Zedd, Lizzie Borden, Amos Poe, and Jim Jarmusch; as well as performers Debbie Harry, Steve Buscemi, and Lydia Lunch--granting us a brash insider's take on this cinematic "No Wave."

Celine Danhier---USA---2010---94 mins.
BOMB IT
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Documentary filmmaker Jon Reiss (Better Living Through Circuitry)          focuses his energies on the aesthetic history of graffiti art, which he          broadly traces from cave paintings to Picasso to 1970s Brooklyn, when it fused   with hip hop to become an art form. Reiss travels the world over to interview  contemporary bombers, famed old-school artists, and vocal opponents,           interspersed with footage of jaw-dropping artworks from Spain, America, Japan, South Africa, and Brazil, to name a few. Soundtrack includes tracks from         Supreeme, DJ Wise, Immortal Technologies, and Dr. Onionskin.                   Jon Reiss---USA---2007---93 mins.