New Videos - January 2008
On DVD:
The Hoax – DVD TAC-1658
Pathological liar Clifford Irving stages a complex hoax. In the 1970's Irving managed to fool a major publisher and LIFE magazine into thinking he was writing an authorized biography of Howard Hughes. Irving and his best friend and partner, Dick Susskind, go to extreme lengths to pull off the hair-brained scheme. The more outrageous the lies they concoct, the more believable they become and the more money gets thrown at them. Inspired by the unbelievable true story of the man who faked the authorized autobiography of Howard Hughes and nearly pulled off the media scam of the 20th century.
10 Questions for the Dalai Lama – DVD TAC-1660
Ten questions are posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader.
Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson’s American Journey – DVD TAC-1662
Few judges provoke the ire of conservatives more than Thelton Henderson, Senior Judge of the Federal District Court of Northern California. His career in many ways parallels the larger historic arc of the Civil Rights movement and the changing vision of government -- from Jim Crow laws to Civil Rights victories and back again with recent attacks on affirmative action. Similarly reflected are the changes and conflicts in judicial philosophy during those 40 years. Henderson's decisions on affirmative action, environmental protection and prison reform --and the furors that surrounded them --serve as a prism on these changes and what they mean for American society.
Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel) – DVD TAC-1663
Set in post-war Tokyo in 1945, a tuberculosis-infected criminal starts an unhealthy relationship with an alcoholic doctor. The patient needs to feel better so that he can retain his status as gang-leader after the ex-leader is released from prison, and the doctor needs to feel like he has a place in society and that life is worth living.
Amazing Grace – DVD TAC-1664
Based on the life of William Wilberforce--his passion and perseverance to pass a law ending the slave trade in the late 18th Century--and the people, including his minister, who pushed him to pursue it to the end.
The Blue Planet: Seas of Life – DVD TAC-1665 v. 1-5
Five years in the making ... Explore the oceans ... one place researched by fewer people than have been into space. Also, explores the Arctic and Antarctic worlds. Go from the deep oceans of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans to the Earth's frozen seas.
Kudzu – DVD TAC-1666
Kudzu is a vine that threatens to devour the South. Imported by the Dept. of Agriculture for erosion control, its spreading growth has made it a menace. This off-beat documentary features a former Kudzu Queen, the Kudzu band, President Jimmy Carter, and James Dickey reciting part of his poem "Kudzu," and examines the transformation of a plant into a source of folk wisdom and humor.
Blood in the Face – DVD TAC-1667
A closeup view of today's far right movement that reveals the workings of the Ku Klux Klan, the American Nazi Party, the Aryan Nations, and David Duke.
This is England – DVD TAC-1668
School is out for the summer and twelve-year-old Shaun is about to find a dangerous new group of friends. Having lost his father in the Fakland War, life has been lonely in this grim coastal town in northern England. But when Shaun meets the local skinheads, their companionship, and even their violence, appeal to Shaun's hurt and rage. Combo is an older volatile skinhead whom Shaun finds to be like a big brother and under his leadership, the gang and young Shawn will arrive at an irreversible act of violence.
A Killer Bargain – DVD TAC-1669
An indictment of the corporate irresponsibility of various Indian textile companies, who expose their workers to dangerous chemicals (long since banned in the developed world) and pollute their surrounding environments.
Addiction – DVD TAC-1670 pt. 1 & 2
Strives to break through the myths and explain what addiction really is, what causes it, and how to get the best available treatments.
King Corn – DVD TAC-1671
In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, nitrogen fertilizers, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most productive, most subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat-- and how we farm.
Outsourced – DVD TAC-1672
Todd Anderson manages a customer service call center in Seattle. Then he gets the bad news from his boss: his job has been outsourced. Adding insult to injury, he must travel to India to train his own replacement. He expects the worst experience of his life, and it certainly begins that way. The chaos of Mumbai assaults his senses, and his new office there is paralyzed by cultural misunderstandings. But as he gets to know his co-workers, Todd finds them impossible to dislike, including his friendly replacement Puro, and the beautiful, opinionated Asha. He realizes that he has a lot to learn -- about India, America and himself -- and that being outsourced may be the best thing that ever happened to him.
The Beloved Community – DVD TAC-1673
Explores the effects of chemical pollution on the inhabitants and environment of Sarnia, Ontario.
On VHS:
Twin Views of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse – Videorecord TAC-1935
Consists of two segments which describe the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940 and provide an explanation for the large amplitude resonance vibration of the bridge, the nodal line on the surface of the roadway, and the total collapse.
