Robert J. Flaherty

Documents one year in the life of Nanook, an Eskimo (Inuit) and his family. (imdb)

For the last 200 years the Aran Islands have exercised a romantic fascination on the outside world. They were believed to contain the essence of the ancient Irish life, represented by a pure uncorrupted peasant existence centred around the struggle between man and his hostile but magnificent surroundings. This myth, strengthened by the writings of Yeats and especially Synge was hugely expanded by the release in 1934 of Man of Aran, a documentary on the life of the Island people. (imdb)

A young Cajun boy battles the elements in the Bayou while an oil rig does some drilling in the area.

Customs of Polynesian natives on a Samoan island, centered on the daily life and on the coming of age ceremony of the young man Moana. It reconstructs Polynesian culture before the coming of Western culture, though iron blades are used. Daily tasks like cooking, fishing, hunting and gathering are most of the picture. (imdb comments)

Matthew Lloyd has drifted away from a respectable career as a physician, and lives a mediocre existence in a Polynesian island. There, pearl-trader Sebastian and his associates recklessly exploit the natives working for them as divers. After witnessing the appalling consequences of "civilization" on the local population, Matthew vehemently condemns Sebastian's greed and ruthlessness. Sebastian, however, will not shy away from any means to crush opposition to his activities. (imdb)

This rarity (cut about by Pathé and at one point apparently used as backdrop for a ballet) is a celebration of Manhattan on the 300th anniversary of its purchase from the locals at a knockdown price. (TimeOut)

This black and white movie is based on Rudyard Kipling's "Toomai, of the Elephants", in which a small native lad claims he knows the congregating place of the elephant hordes. (imdb)

Documentary showing the poor state that American agriculture had fallen into during the Great Depression. (imdb)

Grierson set out to make "propaganda," and this film--with it's voice-over proclaiming the great value of the British industrial worker, without a hint of ambiguity or doubt--fits that category well. The authoritatarian narrator feels out-of-date and unsophisticated, but the footage is well shot and interesting, and the transparency of the propaganda aspect is almost a reflief at a time when so many films have hidden agendas. (imdb)

The life and works of the great artist Michelangelo Buonarroti are shown against the historical background of his time. It begins with his earliest artworks and follows his life and career as he achieves lasting fame. The documentary includes detailed looks at some of the artist's most renowned creations. (Snow Leopard)

A little girl watches the craftsman at work while inter-titles explain the particulars of pottery-making.

Four islanders gather around a fire to listen to an old tale told by a traditional Irish storyteller.