A visit to the Isle of Man to discover why it wants greater independence.
A visit to the Isle of Man to discover why it wants greater independence.
1969-01-01
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The Isle of Man TT is described as the world's most dangerous race, a complicated and unforgiving course. Yet every year more and more motorcycle enthusiasts come to this tiny British island to race in the event. Is it some kind of fatal attraction? It is a three-hour ferry ride from Liverpool to Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man, which is a self-governing British Crown Dependency. Year after year in late May more than 25,000 people make this journey to the small island about 70 kilometers off the English coast in the middle of the Irish Sea. The TT race has claimed almost 150 lives in its 105-year history and the course itself has claimed more than 250 lives. Most of the riders are amateurs with full-time jobs a world away from the megabucks of Grand Prix racing, and for them this is a very expensive business.
Road racing driver Juha Kallio sits on a leather couch with a beer in his hand, watching a DVD of one of the fiercest motorcycle races in the world. ‘Could you do that?’ asks his friend sitting beside him. ‘Yeah, I could,’ answers Juha calmly, even though the Isle of Man TT Race circuit is challenging for any driver. The dangerous route has over 200 turns that need to be memorized beforehand. Participation doesn’t hang on ability alone. It takes not only skills but also luck to get a spot on a team, not to mention cash to cover the expenses. The few tenners worth of gas vouchers won on Finnish circuits barely cover the ride back home to Imatra. Maybe the local chicken farmer would sponsor a familiar face? The road to the legendary race is bumpy. The Fast of the Forest is a film about the daredevil world of road racing. It is also a story about perseverance. Quitting is not an option, even if the dream starts crumbling only moments before it is to become a reality.
Documentary film of the late great Mike Hailwood's return to the 1987 Isle Of Man TT motorcycle championship race.
CHARGE is proof that maniacs on motorcycles can be a force for global good. The movie follows several teams to the world's first zero-emissions grand prix on the Isle of Man – the most demanding and deadly circuit on the planet – in 2009 and on their return in 2010, 2011, and 2012. For the visionaries, it's history. For the petrol-heads it's blasphemy. What's racing without the sound and fury of internal combustion engines? CHARGE is about the future. It's about change. It's about the dream of a clean, green world. It's about the dream of winning.
In 1935, Hungarian-American para-psychologist Nandor Fodor began his investigation of a strange occurrence on the Isle of Man. An average British family, the Irvings, claimed to have been contacted by a mysterious entity at their farm. A talking mongoose. Named Gef (Pronounced "Jeff".)
A fisherman and a rising lawyer who grew up together as brothers fall in love with the same woman.
A washed up actor best known for playing the title character in the 1980s detective show "Mindhorn" must work with the police when a serial killer says that he will only speak with Detective Mindhorn, whom he believes to be real.
In the winter of 1891 a stranger arrives in a small coastal town on the Isle of Man. His presence soon disturbs the lives of the local inhabitants, especially the beautiful daughter of the parson.
This official film provides a definitive history of the only Victorian Railway system in the world which is still in full working order. The Isle of Man Steam and Electric Railways are featured here in graphic detail, utilising exclusive archive film showing the early workings of the long forgotten Prospect Hill Cable Cars and the Douglas Head Tram Cars, as well as the early days of the Steam and Snaefell Mountain Railways. In addition to the extensive archive footage the programme takes us onboard the restored electric railway from Douglas to Ramsey via Laxey and the dramatic ascent to Snaefell with its spectacular views over the Island. We also travel on the Steam Railway through the picturesque countryside to Port Erin visiting the Railway Museum with its extensive range of memorabilia and artefacts. Railways of the Isle of Man provides a fascinating insight and a lasting memento of one of the worlds truly unique transport systems.
A vivid journey into the mysterious subterranean world of mycelium and its fruit— the mushroom. A story that begins 3.5 billion years ago, fungi makes the soil that supports life, connecting vast systems of roots from plants and trees all over the planet, like an underground Internet. Through the eyes of renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, professor of forest ecology Suzanne Simard, best selling author Michael Pollan, food naturalist Eugenia Bone and others, we experience the power, beauty and complexity of the fungi kingdom.
The film traces Sam McKinlay’s early days as a punk skateboarder through his academic development as a conceptual artist into a highly esteemed noise practitioner whose work bridges the gap between the gallery world and the sleaze of exploitation film imagery. It documents the physical processes of his work and the distillation of visuals into sound, most notably addressing the appeal of abstraction—from the cheap effects of old monster movie makeup to the ‘masks’ created by the heavy cosmetic makeup of 1920s flapper culture and actresses like Pamela Stanford in Jess Franco’s Lorna the Exorcist (The Rita has albums or EPs named after several eurotrash actresses, including The Nylons of Laura Antonelli (2009) and Monica Swinn/Pamela Stanford (2016)).
For three days in August 1969, nearly a half-million young people descended upon Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York for the rock 'n' roll event that defined a generation. Mythologized for 50 years, the filmmakers set the record straight with "Creating Woodstock," the most comprehensive examination of how the festival came to be.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, this documentary reveals how Diana learned to manipulate and control the photographers who pursued her ever since she started seeing the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, in the early '80s. Contributions from tabloid editors, royal photographers, Diana's friends, and former Press Attaché and her royal bodyguard.
A discussion of infidelity told through confessional interviews of sex, marriage, and adultery. The film explores our hunger to find fulfillment through acts of committing to—and straying from—our partners and how the secrets we keep--and the lies we tell--in our search for love and desire reveal who we are. It is also the story of the director’s unexpected transformation, as she discovers her future partner through the process of making the film.
Fareed Zakaria explains the modern explosion in white supremacy, why the ideology is growing in the U.S. and abroad, who the leaders are, and what they want.
A documentary following Iliza Shlesinger behind-the-scenes as she prepares for her fourth special: Elder Millennial.
This classic short film shows how to make an igloo using only snow and a knife. Two Inuit men in Canada’s Far North choose the site, cut and place snow blocks and create an entrance--a shelter completed in one-and-a-half hours. The commentary explains that the interior warmth and the wind outside cement the snow blocks firmly together. As the short winter day darkens, the two builders move their caribou sleeping robes and extra skins indoors, confident of spending a snug night in the midst of the Arctic cold!
The forceful feature-length documentary Journey to Jah by Noel Dernesch and Moritz Springer catches the global phenomenon of crossing borders by documenting the experiences of integration in a foreign culture. The film follows the internationally acclaimed European musicians Gentleman and Alborosie, which found a new spiritual home within the reggae culture while Jamaican singer Terry Lynn takes the other direction integrating European styles into her music.