Episodes
1. East Side Story
January 3, 1998
75 min
A look at Communist musicals that strove to be ideologically correct - and entertaining, besides.
2. When We Were Kings
May 24, 1998
85 min
On 30 October 1974, perhaps the most famous heavyweight championship boxing match of all time took place in Kinshasa, Zaire - the "Rumble in the Jungle" between champion George Foreman and challenger Muhammad Ali. In historical footage and new interviews, this documentary explores the relationship between African-Americans and the African continent during the Black Power era in terms of both popular culture and international politics, including the brutality of then-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
3. Kurt and Courtney
October 31, 1998
95 min
After rocker Kurt Cobain's death, ruled a suicide, a film crew arrives in Seattle to make a documentary. Director Nick Broomfield talks to lots of people: Cobain's aunt who provides home movies and recordings, the estranged father of Cobain's widow Courtney Love, an L.A. private investigator who worked for Love, a nanny for Kurt and Courtney's child, friends and lovers of both, and others. Although Love won't talk to him and his inquiries lose him financial backing, he comes to believe the coroner's verdict. Portraits emerge: a shy, slight Kurt, weary of touring, embarrassed by fame, hooked on heroin; an out-going Courtney, dramatic, controlling, moving from groupie to star.
4. Don't Look Back
October 31, 1998
96 min
Portrait of the artist as a young man. In spring, 1965, Bob Dylan, 23, a pixyish troubador, spends three weeks in England. Pennebaker's camera follows him from airport to hall, from hotel room to public house, from conversation to concert. Joan Baez and Donovan, among others, are on hand. It's the period when Dylan is shifting from acoustic to electric, a transition that not all fans, including Baez, applaud. From the opening sequence of Dylan holding up words to the soundtrack's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," Dylan is playful and enigmatic.
5. 444 Days
November 14, 1998
105 min
444 Days offers a detailed insight into the troubled history between the USA and Iran, telling the story of the 1979 hostage crisis at the American Embassy in Tehran. On 4 November 1979, hundreds of Islamic students occupied the Embassy, taking 52 US diplomats hostage and beginning a siege that would topple a president. Featuring exclusive interviews with captors and victims, 444 Days delivers a gripping account of the crisis as it unfolded.
6. Year of the Dogs
November 21, 1998
85 min
Year of the Dogs is a documentary detailing the turbulent 1996 season of the Australian Football League (AFL) team Footscray Football Club (now Western Bulldogs).
7. Waco: The Rules of Engagement
November 28, 1998
136 min
A reassessment of the tragedy at Waco that left 76 members of the Branch Davidian religious sect dead.
8. Gigi, Monica and Bianca
December 5, 1998
84 min
This documentary, made by several of the Dardenne Brothers regular collaborators, tells the story of a group of Romanian teenagers living on the streets of Bucharest, particularly focusing on 'Gigi' and his pregnant girlfriend 'Monica'. We watch their struggles, listen to their ambitions and witness their lives unfold as their child is born and they must find a way to support her and themselves. This is an uncompromising documentary, that shows the hardships its characters are facing in graphic detail, but without commentary or sentiment. Much like the Dardenne's feature films, the characters and situations are left to speak for themselves and it's hard not to be emotionally effected.
