Grierson
Release date: 1973-09-13
Votes: 2
Genres: Documentary
A portrait of John Grierson, the first Canadian Government Film Commissioner and founder of the National Film Board in 1939. Interweaving archival footage, interviews with people who knew him and footage of Grierson himself, this film is a sensitive and informative portrait of a dynamic man of vision. Grierson believed that the filmmaker had a social responsibility, and that film could help a society realize democratic ideals. His absolute faith in the value of capturing the drama of everyday life was to influence generations of filmmakers all over the world. In fact, he coined the term 'documentary film'.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Born in Edinburgh, Jack Grierson grew into an activist on a Clydeside soapbox in his teens advocating improvements in the lives of the poverty stricken shipbuilders struggling to make ends meet in early 20th century Scotland. The Great War took him into the Royal Navy and thence to university where a degree in moral philosophy saw him move to Chicago. This was at a time when Capone and prohibition dominated the city and when he fell in with journalist Walter Lipman. It was with him that Grierson decided that he must find a way to harness the increasing power of mass communication to get his message across to what he knew was a willing but dis/mis/uninformed public. A sojourn to Hollywood saw him further develop both his skills and his contacts and soon he was on his way to producing documentaries that delivered potent and effective storytelling on an whole range of subjects. As his successes grew and his methods attracted more to similar styles of programming, he became instrumental in establishing the National Film Board of Canada and to supervise and inspire it’s enormous variety of content both overtly commercial and more niche. This is as much a compelling look at the development of the art of documentary film making as it is an evaluation of a tenacious and visionary thumper who gradually learned how to take the tools of the written press and adapt them to more modern technology. There are a few quite revealing interviews included from both himself and from many whose life he touched as his role - despite the fact that he didn’t ever actually act himself - made him one of the industry’s ultimate and most respected critics. If you are at all interested in the development of movies with a more educational purpose, then you ought to give this an hour.
Movie Recommendation
Six: Inside2009-01-01Delves deep into the anxiety, thrill and uncertainty of six aspiring animation artists as they are plunged into the twelve-week trial-by-fire that is the NFB's Hothouse for animation filmmakers.More...
The Way to the Heart2024-04-02Ava, an award-winning chef at a big-city restaurant, has lost her spark. Her boss sends her out to find herself to save her menu and her job. She returns home and finds little to inspire her, but when she reunites with her childhood friend Logan, Ava has to get her head out of the clouds and her foot out of her mouth to rediscover her passion for food.More...
Tel chi el telùn1999-05-12A comedy show.More...
I could have been offended!2001-10-18Live stage recording of the stand-up comedy show, with sketches and videos of old skits from 'Mai dire Gol'.More...
Naruto OVA 8: Naruto x UT2011-01-01Naruto x UT is the eighth Naruto OVA. Approximately 200,000 copies of this OVA were distributed by Uniqlo to promote a line of Naruto-themed shirts designed by Masashi Kishimoto in conjunction with Studio Pierrot. It shows the aftermath between a fight between Naruto and Sasuke and shows clips of their times together and the story so far.More...
Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace2013-09-24Mecha Mutt, a revolutionary remote-controlled lunar rover resembling a large canine, goes rogue at Houston's Annual Science Expo. Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace is the fourth in a series of direct-to-video short films.More...
Secret of Naruto1957-09-29From the pen of Yoshikawa Eiji comes this exciting story. The Naruto Strait separates Tokushima from the islands of Awaji and Honshu. On Tokushima the mad lord dreams of conquest and forges a bloody revolt against the Tokugawa shogunate. A mysterious swordsman named Noriyuki Gennojo has crossed Naruto’s waters to uncover the Awa clan’s secrets. He puts his life on the line after finding a testament of Awa’s secrets, written in blood by a dying man. Joining Noriyuki are a female ninja who loves him, and the beautiful daughter of an enemy who’s sworn to kill him. Awa’s defenders willl stop at nothing to prevent the blood-soaked letter from reaching the shogun.More...
The Prince & Me: A Royal Honeymoon2008-10-28At last! The newly crowned King of Denmark, Edward, and his wife and Queen, Dr. Paige Morgan, find time to fly to Belavia for their secret honeymoon. What better way to spend the Christmas holidays than at a fabulous ski resort? But as they take a tour of Belavia's natural beauty, Eddie and Paige discover that the evil Prime Minister Polonius has given orders to bulldoze the precious forests - to drill for oil. Then, the couple bump into Paige's ex-boyfriend, Scott. Eddie immediately becomes jealous - furthermore he suspects Scott cannot be trusted. Paige and Eddie must do everything they can to save the forest, even if it means putting aside their honeymoon.More...
Sperm Whale2015-05-20Arjang, who was born before the revolution in Iran, has been in love with his childhood sweetheart, Roya, for the past 40 years. Roya, however, has brought him nothing but trouble. Now 50, and having experienced a revolution, a war, a divorce and both poverty and wealth, Arjang finds himself still in love with Roya.More...
Matrimonio alle Bahamas2007-11-16Getting ready for the wedding that will unite two very different families- the humble Italian taxi driver Cristoforo Colombo and his wife Rosy, and the rich Italian-Americans Alessandro and Patricia Di Giacomo.More...
Do You See Me?2014-11-20Serena Bruno is an architect who studied and got several masters in different countries of the world but she decides to go back to Italy so she can live and work there. She will soon find out that her native country is not as open minded and she will struggle to find a job that she truly loves and is passionate about. Along the way she will meet Francesco a gay man who will help and support her throughout her journey.More...
My Fault: London2025-02-1218-year-old Noah moves from America to London, with her mother who's recently fallen in love with William, a wealthy British businessman. Noah meets William’s son, bad-boy Nick, and soon discovers there is an attraction between them neither can avoid. As Noah spends the summer adjusting to her new life, her devastating past will catch up with her while falling in love for the first time.More...
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby2019-12-05Christmas brings the ultimate gift to Aldovia: a royal baby. But first, Queen Amber must help her family and kingdom by finding a missing peace treaty.More...
Fight Club: Members Only2006-02-17Four friends head off to Bombay and get involved in the mother and father of all gang wars.More...- Азбука Уральских Пельменей - Ф - Уральские Пельмени2020-12-05There is no descriptionMore...
“The Shorts” by Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo1996-03-29I Corti ("Shorts") by Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo was the first stage show of the comedy trio, with the participation of Marina Massironi. It was recorded live at the Teatro Nuovo in Ferrara on 28 and 29 March 1996. Produced by Agidi, with the theatre direction of Arturo Brachetti.More...
Strange Object2020-10-07An archival investigation into the imperial image-making of the RAF ‘Z Unit’, which determined the destruction of human, animal and cultural life across Somaliland, as well as Africa and Asia.More...
Tutto l'amore del mondo2010-02-24Four friends to the discovery of the most fun and romantic of Europe: Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam and finally Scotland. A road trip that will bring our protagonists to know each other better and to fall in love.More...
The Hard Hit2023-10-20An Interpol agent hunting the head of a global crime syndicate tracks his target to Las Vegas, but when the criminal organization kills his wife and daughter, he goes above the law to get his revenge.More...
Similar Movies
The 10 Minute Project...
2017-05-26An experimental project made up of 10 minute silent portraits with 60+ participants.A Free Man
2025-03-28In the 1970s, Agustín Gómez Arcos rose to the top of French literature, while in his own country, Spain, his name remained hidden. A Free Man reflects on the recent history of Spain through silences, lost stories and the role of culture and memory.À ton tour Mireille
2008-11-16There is no descriptionOrlando
2024-11-07With an original staging of text and music, Orlando follows the trail of one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance: Orlando di Lasso (also known as Roland de Lassus). His life and masterful oeuvre continue to move people to this day. Although he was a European star at the time, di Lasso had to endure the indignities of his social status as a servant. This documentary explores the relationship between art and power, musically accompanied by the ensemble La Tempête.Daughter of the Crate...
2019-09-13A woman with a deep love of the land, Yolande Simard Perrault sees her life as having been shaped by a planetary upheaval in Charlevoix, Quebec, millions of years ago. As enduring as the Canadian Shield, she’s a woman of strength and spirit, a child of the crater left by the meteor’s impact. This documentary portrays a determined woman who’s the reflection of a land created on an immense scale. She was the creative and life partner of filmmaker Pierre Perrault, who gave up everything to be by her side. The film charts the influence of her unquenchable dreams and her contribution to the building of a people’s collective memory. In a stream of images and words, Simard Perrault recounts the splendours of the landscape and the people who shaped it. Generous and boundless, she embarks on a quest for identity that nurtures and perpetuates the oeuvre of the man who breathed new life into Quebec cinema.Never a Backward Step...
1966-01-01This feature documentary is a profile of Canadian press tycoon Roy Thomson, whose single-minded attention to business brought him riches, power, and even a baronetcy in England. A native of Timmins, Ontario, Thomson had a tremendous career as publisher, television magnate, financier, and owner of many newspapers, including leading London dailies. The film is a frank study of an equally frank man.Le Dernier Voyage de ...
2017-02-18There is no descriptionIris Berben - Ein per...
2024-11-17She is the grande dame of German and international cinema, always a bit of a rocker chick, freedom-loving, adventurous and willing to take risks. This portrait unfolds Iris Berben's career, which has spanned more than five decades - between the art of film and television, between rock 'n' roll and political commitment.In Viaggio: The Trave...
2022-12-14A chronicle of the first nine years of Pope Francis' pontificate, including trips to 53 countries, focusing on his most important issues - poverty, migration, environment, solidarity, and war - while also giving rare access to the public life of the pontifical.Dogs of War
2024-10-20The untold true story of how Dave Tomkins, originally a safe-cracker from London, rose from small-time criminal to international mercenary and arms dealer, enabling death and destruction around the world.Lex Barker - Westernh...
2023-10-01He is the most sought-after man in Europe in the 1960s. Lex Barker embodies the flawless hero in his films and, as Old Shatterhand, becomes a role model for generations of fans. Revered in Europe, misunderstood and almost forgotten in his native America. But who was this American who rode through Yugoslavia in a leather costume for the European audience? In 1973, Lex Barker died of a heart attack on the streets of Manhattan in New York. But no one recognizes the man who was Tarzan in Hollywood. Nobody knows him or cares about that he, as Winnetou's friend, is revered as an icon in Europe. Lex Barker's European western adventures are just a footnote in American film history. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death, the documentary tells the story of one of the most beautiful men who ever flickered across Europe's cinema screens, for whom European cinema proved to be a stroke of luck and for whom a failed Hollywood career took him via Italy to Germany.Fahrenheit 9/11
2004-06-25Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.Nelson Mandela, Beyon...
2019-10-26Mandela’s legend is built on his absence, during his 27- year incarceration. In 1990, when Nelson Mandela is released, South Africa is waiting for their Messiah. But he doesn’t know it yet, he is the most famous political prisoner of the Planet. Will he be up to the challenge?The Bubble
2018-07-12Diving deep into the true causes of the Great Recession, the financial crisis of the 2010s, renowned economists, investors and business leaders explain what America is facing if we don't learn from our past mistakes. Is the economy really improving or are we just blowing up another Bubble?The Patent Scam
2017-08-15The corruption runs deeper than you'd ever imagine. A multi-billion dollar industry you've never heard of. This is the world Patent Trolls thrive in: A world created for them by our own U. S. Patent system. You can be sued for clicking on a hyperlink, using your own scanner, or sharing your Wi-Fi! It sounds insane, but the reality is even crazier. Patent Trolls look for obvious ideas, patent them, and then sue anyone they claim is infringing on their idea. People's lives and businesses are being destroyed.. and they have no way out. “The Patent Scam” exposes the underbelly of this system, and the people that commit this practice.imagine… Russell T Da...
2023-12-18imagine... follows celebrated British TV writer Russell T Davies as he prepares to return as the showrunner of Doctor Who – with two Doctors and bigger ambitions.Fall of the Republic:...
2009-10-21Fall Of The Republic documents how an offshore corporate cartel is bankrupting the US economy by design. Leaders are now declaring that world government has arrived and that the dollar will be replaced by a new global currency.The Hunting of the Pr...
2004-04-27Previously unreleased material outlines the campaign against Bill Clinton's presidency, from his days in Arkansas up to his impeachment trial.Miss Americana
2020-01-31A raw and emotionally revealing look at one of the most iconic artists of our time during a transformational period in her life as she learns to embrace her role not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice.The Fall of Fujimori
2006-05-05A character-driven, political-thriller documentary that explores the volatile events that defined Alberto Fujimoris decade-long reign of Peru: His meteoric rise from son of poor Japanese immigrants to the presidency; his fateful relationship with the shadowy and Machiavellian Vladimiro Montesinos; his self-coup that dissolved overnight both Congress and the Judiciary.