Behind the Scenes: Docs That Define A Culture

Made when she was just 18 years old, Barbara Rubin's art-porn masterpiece Christmas On Earth (1963-65) shocked NYC's experimental film scene and inspired NYC's thriving underground. For the next four years her filmmaking and irrepressible energy helped shatter artistic and sexist boundaries. A mythical "Zelig" of the sixties, she introduced Andy Warhol to the Velvet...Read More

This documentary takes you behind the scenes to explode the myths, honor the legends, and reveal the incredible stories and never-before-seen photographs of rock giants like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Davies, Frank Zappa, Patti Smith and many, many others. This tell-all reveals anecdotes and unpublished photos from...Read More

Wall Writers is the story of the birth of graffiti from Philadelphia and New York City during 1967 to 1973, narrated by the legendary John Waters. The documentary explores graffiti’s eruption into the mainstream society during a period of social turmoil and takes a closer look not only at early graffiti’s place on the wall but its place in the culture of the time. F...Read More

Last Shop Standing charts the rapid rise of record shops in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s, the influence of the chart, the underhand deals, the demise of vinyl and rise of the CD as well as new technologies. Hear from over 20 record shop owners and music industry leaders as well as musicians including Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, Norman Cook, Billy Bragg, Nerina Pallot, Ri...Read More

In the middle of nowhere lived an unexpected piece of skateboarding and punk music history: The Crest, a skateboarding mecca of the 80's tucked in the suburbs of the nation's Capital. Here, skateboarding and punk rock music collided and made history. Follow the story of a one of a kind skateboarding playground that attracted skaters and bands from all over to create a legend.

Over 100 collectors, filmmakers, producers, and video store owners express how VHS changed their lives. Some see VHS as worthless plastic, but Adjust Your Tracking shows a vibrant world of collectors and movie fans who are keeping the format, and the movies, alive. Travel back to the days of video rental stores with those who still buy, sell, rent and trade the form...Read More

Over the last fourteen years, Plan-it X Records helped foster a huge cultural revolution -- uniting geographically divided DIY punk communities under one umbrella. With a united ethic and common goals, this scene has grown to a critical mass while some bands flirted with mainstream success and others choose to remain firmly rooted in the basement punk scene. This or...Read More

WSOU 89.5 FM Seton Hall University's Pirate Radio has broadcasted for 65+ years & 25 of those years with a Metal format! We love a great underdog story, and the history of WSOU flows through that very vein. Legends such as Slayer's Tom Araya, Killswitch Engage, Overkill's Bobby Blitz, Neil Fallon of Clutch, Lamb of God have teamed up to help tell the tale of WSOU. N...Read More

From the mid 80-s through the mid 90's, Amphetamine Reptile Records defined the term "Underground." For blistering genre-creating sounds, graphics and attitude, AmRep had no equal. The label began what was then a first - the cheap self-published Video Compilation. Enlisting the insane "Dr. Sphincter", the "Dope, Guns..." video series documents a seminal movement i...Read More

This original documentary focuses on a group of kids who have built a community around a love of music and a passion for creating an alternative to dominant consumerist society. By putting on shows in basements, booking and traveling on national tours, and releasing their own records, these kids attempt to distance themselves from the corporate influence that they c...Read More

In the early 1980s, Massachusetts radio personality John Garabedian came up with a plan to launch a TV channel to function as music television for the Boston-based college crowd. His goal was to take the Music Video TV concept and make it live (real time) and local (catering to Boston's interests). On February 12, 1985, V66 (on WVJV-TV channel 66) went live on the a...Read More

In just under an hour, "$lOO & a T-Shirt" brings zine culture to life! Using broken and borrowed equipment, Joe Biel illuminates the world of self-publishing. He gives us glimpses of the Portland Zine Symposium, takes us on a a zine-themed bicycle tour around Portland, and interviews local zinesters. The documentary answers a wide array of questions, including: what...Read More

Guerilla filmmaker Brendan Toller unleashes I NEED THAT RECORD! THE DEATH (OR POSSIBLE SURVIVAL) OF THE INDEPENDENT RECORD STORE, "an elegy for a vanishing subculture...a lively, bittersweet film that examines - with caustic humor, brutal candor, and, ultimately, great affection - why roughly 3,000 indie record stores have closed across the nation over the past deca...Read More

Director Robert Mugge, having recently made the film DEEP BLUES (1991) about the blues traditions of Mississippi, decided to follow up with a tribute to Alligator and its roster of top contemporary blues artists from Chicago and elsewhere. The resulting film, PRIDE AND JOY: THE STORY OF ALLIGATOR RECORDS, presents musical highlights from one of the 4-plus-hour conc...Read More

Records Collecting Dust II focuses on the East Coast cities of Boston, New York and Washington DC and includes in depth interviews with twenty eight highly influential people from the 1980's hardcore punk rock music scene. Talking about the music, the bands and the records that forever changed their lives. Including Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat, John Joseph of Cro-Ma...Read More

See what would become a legendary music venue in Lancaster, PA through 20 plus years of music, politics, and success. Told by the staff and musicians including live, August Burns Red, The Innocense Mission, The Pink Spiders, Tommy Conwell, Joan Osborne and more!

Written and directed by San Diego based musician and filmmaker Jason Blackmore, Records Collecting Dust documents the vinyl record collections, origins, and holy grails of alternative music icons Jello Biafra, Chuck Dukowski, Keith Morris, John Reis, and over thirty other underground music comrades.

An in-depth account of the life and times of one of the most important cultural epicenters in Portland's history, "X-Ray Visions" tells the story of the X-Ray Café, R.I.P. 1994. Did you ever wonder how Portland appeared on the map as THE epicenter for weird, alternative arts and culture - it was because of the X-Ray - a wholly singular all-ages venue with a true "an...Read More

In a time of increasing competition from mega-chains and online retailers, many local businesses are fighting for survival. Through the tumultuous story of two beloved Bay Area booksellers, Cody's and Kepler's, PAPERBACK DREAMS captures the David and Goliath struggle faced by countless independents around the country.

From sleeping in the concession stand to working entirely for free, the quirky film fanatics at the struggling Mahoning Drive-in face uncertainty when Hollywood announces it will switch to digital projection for all new movies. Unable to purchase an expensive digital projector, the Mahoning gang pin their hopes of survival on showing only vintage 35mm film prints on...Read More

Featuring Ted Leo, Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), D.A. Pennebaker and more. Haunted by uncanny similarities between Nazi stage techniques and the showmanship employed by modern entertainers, a filmmaker investigates the dangers of audience manipulation and leader worship. Documentary filmmaker Aidan Prewett meets with various performers and masters of concert orches...Read More

Director Eric Von Haessler spent three years looking for reasons why his favorite band, Drivin' N' Cryin', hadn't enjoyed more national success. With the help of fellow fans Peter Buck, Darius Rucker, Jason Isbell, David Lowery, Ed Roland, Ty Pennington and others, he uncovers the fascinating, behind-the-scenes story of a band that has spent the last 30 years both c...Read More

Guitar God Billy Gibbons along with Jon Spencer, J.Mascis and Chris Ross from Wolfmother, weigh in with their own insight into baddest boxes and rattiest fuzztones. Internet forums ,"gear oriented" chat rooms and electronic product conventions have become the battlefield where these master box builders meet... the ensuing trade is anything but free!

The late American extreme punk rock musician, GG Allin, is best remembered for his notorious live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including self-mutilation, eating his own feces, and attacking the audience. In 1993 he died of an heroin overdose. Aired on Showtime as "All In The Family", In director Sami Saif's (Family) upcoming film The Allins...Read More

Make sure to follow and stream Gruen's exclusive playlist for Night Flight on Spotify while watching. For 40 years, Bob Gruen’s name has been synonymous with rock and roll. From taking early photos on tour with Ike and Tina Turner, to capturing the early CBGB/Max’s Kansas City, Gruen has always been at the right place at the right time—and he’s always gotten the sho...Read More

1992 documentary featuring interviews with legendary Scream Queens and the behind-the-scenes stories about the making of some of the most classic horror films of our time. Featuring interviews with legendary Scream Queens Michelle Bauer, Brinke Stevens, Mary Woronov, Melissa Moore, Elizabeth Kaitan and many more. NOTE: This is a VHS rip and the quality here is no...Read More

Welcome to a weird and definitely wired world of avant-garde rock musicians, DIY circuit benders, vodka-swilling dealers and urban archaeologists/collectors, all fascinated with obsolete Soviet-era electronic synthesizers: primitive and ungainly beasts like the Polyvox, ESKO, Yunost and the fabulous ANS Photo-Electronic Synthesizer, a surreal device that translates ...Read More

A sequel to the original, Athens, Ga traces the rise of a political movement in Athens-Clarke County. While still driven by the powerful music of the Athens scene, the new film traces the rise of a political movement in Athens-Clarke County and how it (along with many other groups within Georgia, of course) has filtered out, impacting the region and most recently ar...Read More

Do you remember the long lost era of sharing your feelings with someone through a "mix tape?" Analog Love is an analysis of why this ritual of communication through music still continues to be so important. With the insights of Henry Rollins, Money Mark (Beastie Boys), Kim Shattuck (The Muffs), Jennifer Finch (L7), Jimmy Urine (Mindless Self Indulgence), Chantal Cla...Read More

This new documentary arrival explores McQueen's obsession with speed and the invention of a racing bike, the Desert Racer, a by-product of his relationship with Bud Ekins, his stunt double on "The Great Escape." "Desert Racer" boasts new and candid interviews with Chad McQueen from his Malibu home.

Chinatown Fair opened as a penny arcade in Manhattan’s Chinatown in 1944. Over the decades, it became an institution, surviving turf wars, changing tastes and the growth of home gaming. As the neighborhood gentrified this haven for a diverse, unlikely community faced its strongest challenge yet. The critically acclaimed documentary about the last hold out of old ...Read More

Other Music was an influential and uncompromising New York City record store that was vital to the city’s early 2000s indie music scene. But when the store is forced to close its doors due to rent increases, the homogenization of urban culture, and the shift from CDs to downloadable and streaming music, a cultural landmark is lost. Through vibrant storytelling, the ...Read More

Award winning documentary on the lost Memphis powerpop artist, Van Duren. From the ashes of Big Star in Memphis, Duren played in bands with Jody Stephens and Chris Bell, before being led to New Haven by manager Andrew Loog Oldham of the Rolling Stones. Forty years later, two Australians discover his music and on a drunken promise, embark on an amazing journey to mak...Read More

An evocative portrait of youthful possibility, The Family Jams follows Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and Vetiver as they tour the USA in 2004 playing their unique music for a newly growing audience. The film is an intimate portrait of life on the road for these young musicians early in their careers, playing tiny, obscure clubs and art galleries, but on the verge ...Read More

The '00s documentary explores the methods and motivations of independent American artists working in different genres and mediums. Featuring interviews with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), J Mascis (Dinosaur jr.), John John Jesse (Demonic Erotic painter), Jim Rose (Jim Rose Sideshow), Jim Thirwell (Foetus), Lydia Lunch, Mike Watt (Minutemen), Richard Kern (Filmmaker), Ron Ash...Read More

Ghostheads is a documentary that explores the extreme side of the Ghostbusters fandom, and looks back at the impact the franchise has had on the world over the past three decades featuring interviews with key cast and crew - including Dan Aykroyd, Ivan Reitman, Ernie Hudson and many others - as well as with Ghostbusters fans all over the world.

As much a testament to the band as it is to the city and inhabitants of Sheffield, PULP weaves exclusive concert footage with man-on-the-street interviews and dreamy staged sequences to paint a picture much larger, funnier, moving, and life-affirming than any music film of recent memory. Though culminating with the farewell concert the band played to thousands of a...Read More

In his short career, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a phenomenon. His dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work emerged in the 1980s while minimalist art was the fad and as a successful black artist, he was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions.  In this documentary portrait of the renowned artist, Basquiat's friend and filmmaker Tamra Davis shines the sp...Read More

A hypnotic rumination on the genesis of youth culture from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th, Matt Wolf's Teenage is a living collage of rare archival material, filmed portraits, and diary entries read by Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, and others. Inspired by Jon Savage's book and set to a shimmering contemporary score by Bradford Cox (Deerhunter)...Read More

OBSCENE is the definitive film biography of Barney Rosset, the influential publisher of Grove Press and the Evergreen Review. He acquired the then fledgling Grove Press in 1951 and soon embarked on a tumultuous career of publishing and political engagement that continues to inspire today's defenders of free expression. Not only was he the first American publisher o...Read More

Boy George was the coat check girl (admittedly stealing money from the purses) .... Bowie, synth beats, and a new freedom of sexual identity were in the air. The Blitz Club spell was cast and a hotbed of talent emerged: Ultravox, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club, Sade, and practically everyone else you've ever heard from the era. This is the entertainingly told story of...Read More

This engaging documentary profiles the beat generation legend, whose powerful way with words influenced the countercultural movement. Scored by Patti Smith and Sonic Youth. A Man Within features never-before-been-seen archival footage of Burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants such as David Cronenberg, John Waters, Laurie Anderson, ...Read More

In 1976, during the hottest summer on record, "Star Wars" was shot in suburban North London. Nobody involved had any idea how big the film would become and many couldn't even remember the title. Yet, for the extras and actors in smaller roles, their faces hidden in masks and helmets, this seemingly insignificant job would go on to color their lives four decades late...Read More

The Cool School is the story of the Ferus Gallery, which nurtured Los Angeles’s first significant post-war artists between 1957 and 1966. In late 1956, medical-school dropout Walter Hopps met artist Ed Kienholz for lunch at a hot dog stand on La Cienega Boulevard. The two drafted a contract on a hot dog wrapper that stated simply, “We will be partners in art for fiv...Read More

William Friedkin started his career at the age of 16 as a mail room boy at WGN-TV and ultimately became one of the most important American filmmakers of the 70s and beyond. In this documentary, the director of The Exorcist and The French Connection is interviewed about his career, and a number of colleagues and admirers weigh in with reminiscences and tributes, incl...Read More