Various

www.bfi.org.uk wrote:
The BFI’s fascinating collection of 60 short films all made before 1911 comes to DVD with the aim of giving wider access to some of the extraordinary film material held in the National Film and Television Archive, much of which has been restored. Although most films made at this time were actualities and newsreels, this collection contains mostly fiction films, ranging from the dramatic to the comic and the fantastical.

This double-disc set provides an entertaining look at how many film devices such as the close-up, the cut-away and editing, were first invented by film-makers before the turn of the century.Read More »

01. Georg von Peuerbach, Theoricae novae planetarum, Nürnberg 1473

Quote:
Peuerbach’s renowned work on the theory of planets – actually a lecture script
by his student Regiomontan – was written in 1460, one year before his death.
The Theoricae novae planetarum are based on the familiar teachings of
Ptolemy, Al-Battani, Al-Farghani and caliph Al-Mammun’s astronomer, whose
name is unknown. The word “novae” in the title is not meant to refer to a
completely new theory but only to emphasize that this work is a compilation of
the latest contemporary scientific knowledge.

Peuerbach’s work gradually replaced leading textbooks of the time such as
Sphaera materialis by Johannes de Sacrobosco. By 1653 the Theoricae novae
was printed no less than 56 times, which made it to one of the most significant
scientific books in the Renaissance. Even Kepler and Kopernikus founded
their theories on this work.Read More »

Directors (credited as Grupp 13)
* Roy Andersson
* Kalle Boman
* Lena Ewert
* Staffan Hedqvist
* Lennart Malmer
* Jörgen Persson
* Ingela Romare
* Inge Roos
* Axel Rudorf-Lohmann
* Rudi Spee
* Bo Widerberg

imdb user review:

An in-the-face documentary in the height of the 1968 student rebellions, 8 August 2004
Author: rundfunk

Some people might claim that Den vita sporten (The White Match/Sport) is dated. Others might claim that the film too closely bound with the whole 1968 student movement, the new left, the student uproar. And some might consider it as mere propaganda. This phenomenal film is all of the above – and that’s why it’s such a shocker.

The question the filmmakers wishes to explore is if sports and politics don’t mix, with the Davis Cup tennis matches between Sweden and Rhodesia as a backdrop. Of course the answer is already given – sports are politics as much as anything that goes down in society as a whole. Naturally, politicians and sports organizers disagree, but a regular but diverse army consisting of angry students, self-righteous liberals and crazed fanatical Maoists set their course toward the small beach resort Båstad. Here, things go really ugly as the demonstrators are determined to stop the match at any cost.Read More »

CONTENTS:

DISC 1: AMERICAN IMPERIALISTS

BLACK AND WHITE (1933) Whenever the collection criticizes American racism, its credibility goes way up. We start with this shocking, graphic exaggeration (?) of America as a land where slavery still rules.

MISTER TWISTER (1963) This poem-based tale uses cute animation to tell the story of a racist American who rejects a St. Petersburg hotel room because a black man is in the next room. This is a fine film, except for the fact that racism can be found in any country. I don’t see why Russia should call herself an exception.Read More »

These World War II era shorts, produced in the United States and around the world, were never meant to survive past wartime, and understandably many have been shelved, lost or forgotten since the mid-1940s.Fortunately, these films still exist and serve as an interesting social document of the attitudes prevalent at the time some imposed by the government in the form of propaganda and some by the filmmakers.Read More »

Directed by Nicolas Roeg, Bruce Beresford, Charles Sturridge, Julien Temple, Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Derek Jarman, Robert Altman, Franc Roddam, Bill Bryden

Starring Theresa Russell, John Hurt, Elizabeth Hurley, Bridget Fonda, Buck Henry, Anita Morris, Beverly D’Angelo, Tilda Swinton, Marion Peterson, Valerie Allain, Gary Kasper, Peter Birch, James Mathers, Andreas Wisniewski, Angela Walker, Sophie WardRead More »

O Estado do Mundo is a compilation of 6 different short movies, retracting differents views of people above the world, showing people from different continents.

Luminous People from Thailand.
People traveling from Thailand to Laos on a boat, most part of the people seems to be dislocated with the travel, every one lost in their own reverie.

Germano from Brasil.
Some fishermans are trying to explore different parts of the ocean, trying to find better fishes and unpolluted areas. In their trip, their boat broke down, and they need help to back home safely.

One Way from India.
A man travel from Nepal to India. At his new country, he’s working as a security man, thinking about his trip, his expectations from a new and free Nepal and his future.Read More »

Promotional omnibus film, made for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, featuring portraits of 12 Italian cities.
For all those who will not be going to Italy for a vacation this year… here is the next best thing. A who’s who of Italian directors anno 1990 turn their cameras on a specific Italian city. Most of these (very) short films do not have dialogue of any kind, and rely instead solely on the beauty of the images and music to depict the various cities.

Directed by
Michelangelo Antonioni (segment “Roma”)
Bernardo Bertolucci (segment “Bologna”)
Giuseppe Bertolucci (segment “Bologna”)
Mauro Bolognini (segment “Palermo”)
Alberto Lattuada (segment “Genova”)
Carlo Lizzani (segment “Cagliari”)
Mario Monicelli (segment “Verona”)
Ermanno Olmi (segment “Milano”)
Gillo Pontecorvo (segment “Udine”)
Francesco Rosi (segment “Napoli”)
Mario Soldati (segment “Torino”)
Lina Wertmüller (segment “Bari”)
Franco Zeffirelli (segment “Firenze”)Read More »

A compilation of sixteen short films from British filmmakers: Includes: About A Girl – Brian Percival, Boy And Bicycle – Ridley Scott, Dear Phone – Peter Greenaway, Doodlebug – Christopher Nolan, Eight – Stephen Daldry, Gasman – Lynne Ramsay, Girl Chewing Gum – John Smith, Home – Morag McKinnon, Joyride – Jim Gillespie, Inside Out – Tom and Charles Guard, Je T’aime John Wayne – Toby McDonald, The Sheep Thief – Asif Kapadia, The Short And Curlies – Mike Leigh, Telling Lies – Simon Ellis, UK Images – Martin Parrand, and Who’s My Favourite Girl? – Adrian McDowall.Read More »