Antiquaria
Shinto: Nature, Gods, and Man in Japan (1977)
updated
A vintage Merv Thomas tour of Paris.
A vintage Merv Thomas tour of Madrid.
A vintage Merv Thomas tour of Bruges.
A vintage Merv Thomas tour of Neuschwanstein & Upper Bavaria.
A vintage Merv Thomas tour of Salzburg.
From Archive.Org:
Uses animation and time-lapse photography in describing cross-pollination, self-pollination and fertilization. Discusses special pollination devices and describes the part played by insects.
Description:
French Mime Marcel Marceau shares his thoughts on the art of pantomime. From the series "The Art of Silence".
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The roles inns have played in England over the years and the social centers they are today.
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A Technicolor guide to some of the coastline, countryside, and properties preserved by the National Trust.
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The history of Westminster Abbey and a tour of the monuments within it; accompanied by choral music and including footage of the coronation of King George VI in 1937.
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A colourful look at the various types of gardens to be found in England, a nation of gardeners.
From Archive.Org:
The film lumps industrial, interior and product design efforts together as "styling," and characterizes them as responses by industry to insistent consumer demands for the most modern products and environment. During the last third of this twenty-eight-minute film, it becomes clear that it was produced to celebrate modern design as exemplified in the "look" of the 1959 Chevrolets, the year that tailfins stretched to their greatest extent. Since, in that year, many General Motors models shared similar mechanical components, the film promotes the many alternative design options available to car buyers, stating that "America's greatest freedom [is] the freedom of individual choice." This visually dazzling and technically excellent film presents a great variety of clean and antiseptic late Fifties products and environments, and those interested in design history would do well to listen closely to its narration.
From Archive.Org:
This film taces the story of Egypt from the prehistoric period to the time of the Ptolemies, focusing on the Nile, temples, pyramids and the Sphinx. Here, Garner showcases a single shot of ruins as light and dark as clouds pass, a signature of his. The filmmaker waxes poetic in this statement: "For Egypt is a monument, not to the conqueror or statesman, but to the artist, the architect, the painter, the sculptor, whose works will remain in the minds of men, when pomp and ceremony are but whispering echoes in the corridors of time."
Description:
A fun documentary look at Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
From Archive.Org:
Writer Brian Thompson travels by train in India, south from Bombay, passing though four states, crossing the dusty Decca Plain, into the Nilgiri Mountains.
From Wikipedia:
Bird of Paradise is a 1932 American pre-Code American romantic adventure drama film directed by King Vidor, starring Dolores del Río and Joel McCrea. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures.
From Wikipedia:
The Rains Came is a 1939 20th Century Fox film based on an American novel by Louis Bromfield (published in June 1937 by Harper & Brothers). The film was directed by Clarence Brown and stars Tyrone Power, Myrna Loy, George Brent, Brenda Joyce, Nigel Bruce, and Maria Ouspenskaya.
A remake of the film was released in 1955 under the name The Rains of Ranchipur.
From Wikipedia:
In World War II, Chinese guerrillas fight against the occupying Japanese forces. A young woman is the secret leader of the villagers, who plot to rescue two downed Flying Tigers pilots who are currently in the custody of the Japanese. The rescue mission takes on even more importance with the arrival of a Japanese general, which signals a major offensive taking place in the area.
From Archive.Org:
Depicts the search for the origins of Chinese civilization (... to 1100 B.C.). The earliest inhabitants -- Lan-t'ien Man, Peking Man, and Upper Cave Man -- were followed about 6000 years ago by Neolithic cultures, one of which, Lung-shan, developed into the first Chinese historical dynasty, Shang. When China entered the Bronze Age, advances were made in technology, art, and architecture.
From Archive.Org:
Describes the conquest of Shang and the rule of Chou (c. 1100 to 475 B.C.). The Chou dynasty established a type of feudal system with a king as absolute ruler. In 770 B.C. the capital was moved eastward to protect it from invasion, dividing the dynasty into Western and Eastern Chou periods. This latter period witnessed the replacement of serfdom with land ownership, the advent of the Iron Age, and the search by Confucius for the deeper meaning of man and nature.
From Archive.Org:
Describes that period in China's history when the warring between the states and the technological and agricultural revolution led to the formation of the empire of Ch'in (475 to 221 B.C.) In this period of major social changes the so-called "hundred schools of thought" emerged as competing ideologies to address society's problems. The triumph of the Legalist school set the stage for the making of an empire.
From Archive.Org:
An examination of the advent of China's imperial age with Ch'in and the expansion of the empire under Han (221 B.C. to 220 A.D.). The Great Wall was built, a central army was formed and the powerful were brought to the capital and placed under the emperor's control. In 210 B.C., the first peasant rebellion occurred.
From Archive.Org:
Narrates the disintegration of the Han empire, the rise to power in the north of nomadic tribes, and the eventual merging of cultural traditions (220 to 581 A.D.). In 439 A.D. the unification of several northern kingdoms initiated the era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which in turn formed the foundation for the Sui and T'ang empires. During this time, Buddhism gained acceptance
From Archive.Org:
Surveys the cultural exchanges occurring between China and foreign countries during the peak of the T'ang dynasty, between 618 and 907 A.D. The nation became a world market of ideas, people, and things. The emperor was known as the "Heavenly Khan" to neighbors in east, central, and south Asia. Land and sea trade routes stretched west to Persia and south to Java, while the Sinicization of Japan reached its apex
From Archive.Org:
Depicts the Manchu dynasty of Ch'ing (1644 to 1911 A.D.). Expansion of territories and long reigns were hallmarks of the early dynasty, and for the first time in Chinese history peace prevailed along the northern frontiers from Manchuria to Tibet. But population pressure, misrule, peasant uprisings, natural disasters, and finally challenges from the West, such as the so-called "Opium War" with Britain, defeated the regime
From Wikipedia:
BUtterfield 8 is a 1960 drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor won her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role. The film was based on a 1935 novel written by John O'Hara in the wake of the success of his critically acclaimed Appointment in Samarra.
From Wikipedia:
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American romantic black comedy drama directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot revolves around the exploits of a young man named Harold Chasen (Bud Cort) who is intrigued with death. Harold drifts away from the life that his detached mother (Vivian Pickles) prescribes for him, and slowly develops a strong friendship, and eventually a romantic relationship, with a 79-year-old woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon) who teaches Harold about living life to its fullest and that life is the most precious gift of all.
From Wikipedia:
Blithe Spirit is a 1945 English fantasy-comedy film directed by David Lean. The screenplay by Lean, cinematographer Ronald Neame and associate producer Anthony Havelock-Allan is based on producer Noël Coward's 1941 play of the same name, the title of which is derived from the line "Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! Bird thou never wert" in the poem "To a Skylark" by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
From Wikipedia:
Black Narcissus is a 1947 Technicolor religious drama film by the British writer-producer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden. It is a psychological drama about the emotional tensions of jealousy and lust within a convent of nuns in an isolated valley in the Himalayas and the cast features Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, Sabu, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Esmond Knight and Jean Simmons.
From Wikipedia:
This Happy Breed is a 1944 British Technicolor drama film directed by David Lean. The screenplay by Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan and Ronald Neame is based on the 1939 play of the same title by Noël Coward. The title, a reference to the English people, is a phrase from John of Gaunt's monologue in Act II, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Richard II.
From Archive.Org:
A guided view of the archaeological excavations of the ruins at Megiddo, Israel, conducted by archaeologist and historian Yigael Yadin of Hebrew University. Relates the interpretation of the Old Testament to the architectural and cultural clues which tie together the excavated cities of Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer as parts of Solomon's kingdom.
From Archive.Org:
A look at how Buddhism is practiced in Sri Lanka and India. A religion with high moral standards and no deity, Buddhism centers around monastic communities and personal meditation.
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Josephine Baker performs C'est Lui in the 1934 musical "Zou Zou".
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The life & loves of Zou Zou, a circus performer turned singing sensation.
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Irving Berlin & Bebe Daniels sing Lower Than Lowdown in the 1930 musical Reaching for the Moon.
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A classic 1930's Hollywood musical with original music by Irving Berlin starring Bing Crosby, Douglas Fairbanks, & Bebe Daniels.
From Archive.Org:
Lecturer David Grene analyzes Greek lyric poetry, showing the place of poetry in private social gatherings, in the temples of the gods, in the great athletic stadia, and in the theaters. Mr. Grene gives special attention to the works of Sappho, Pindar, and Aeschylus. Includes a dramatization of the choral ode from Agamemnon.
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Judy Garland's screen test for Valley of the Dolls.
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A historical account of the various precincts of the ever evolving Tower of London. Includes coverage of the Crown Jewels, the Armory, the Tower Ravens, Beefeaters, & more.
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A look at life in free West Berlin.
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Discusses Degas' favorite subject, the ballet school. Touches on the effect on Degas of other action areas, but returns to the ballet. Contrasts the color, motion and form of the dance with Degas' oil paintings and soft pastels.
From Archive.Org:
Describes the road traveled by pilgrims in the 12th century through France and Spain to the Shrine of St. James the Greater at Santiago de Compostela. Explores the four roads through France and includes many examples of art and architecture
From Archive.Org:
A tour of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey.
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A documentary on the art of totem pole carving.
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A 1961 General Motors 1961 Motorama film on the magic of new home appliances, automobiles, & other fun futuristic stuff.
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Eddie Boland is an ever scheming & ever failing cab driver. Hilarity abounds in this classic Hal Roach silent comedy.
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Stan Laurel is a hapless Scot haplessly looking for love. Hilarity abounds in this classic Hal Roach silent comedy.
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A fascinating look at the kelp beds, or silent forests, that hug California's coast.
From Archive.Org:
Discusses the place of the knight in the social structure of the Middle Ages. Recreates events in the life of a young man of the twelfth century showing his training as a page, his activities as a squire, and the ceremonies accompanying his appointment to knighthood. Filmed in France.
From Archive.Org:
Visits the vineyards, press houses, cellars, caves, and tasting rooms of the wine-producing area of the Loire Valley in Touraine, Anjou and Saumur, and the Pays Nantais. Observes the different grape varieties and production methods that yield such well-known wines as the cabernets of Bourgdeill, sparkling Saumur, Rose d'Anjou, Coteaux du Layon, Gros Plan, Muscadet, and the sparkling wines made by the champagne method in Vouvray. From the Food and Wine from France series.