Jeff Towne revisited four years after the release of the original film.
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King Corn is a fun and crusading journey into the digestive tract of our fast food nation where one ultra-industrial, pesticide-laden, heavily-subsidized commodity dominates the food pyramid from top to bottom – corn. Fueled by curiosity and a dash of naiveté, two college buddies return to their ancestral home of Greene, Iowa to figure out how a modest kernel conquered America. With the help of some real farmers, oodles of fertilizer and government aide, and some genetically modified seeds, the friends manage to grow one acre of corn. Along the way, they unlock the hilarious absurdities and scary but hidden truths about America’s modern food system in this engrossing and eye-opening documentary.
Denese Joy Becker, a manicurist living in Iowa, discovers she is indeed Dominga Sic Ruiz, a survivor from a 1982 Guatemalan massacre, when more than 200 people were killed in the small village of Rio Negro, after opposing the construction of a dam, sponsored by World Bank. She then tries to unveil the truth.
The story of WWF villain, Luna Vachon. Raised by a family of wrestling legends, wrestling was her first love. Reaching the peak of her fame in the 90s, Luna’s biggest hurdle was challenging the mainstream wrestling industry and their view on women at that time She aimed to be the biggest, baddest wrestling villain that ever lived. But despite her successes, both her stage persona and reality started to blur. The guilt of abandoning her two sons to pursue her dream job, being diagnosed as bipolar, abuse, and addiction would prove too much. While the crowd yelled out ‘Lunatic’ to her in-ring heel character, little did they know a dark cloud of mental health struggles plagued her in real-life.
Using newly uncovered historical documents, this documentary short pieces together the most complete and accurate account of the life of Viro Small ever told. Nicknamed "Black Sam of Vermont" for his ties to the Green Mountain State, Small was a pro wrestling pioneer who reached the height of his notoriety in 1880's New York City.
Offers an intimate look into the life of controversial third generation pro-wrestler Teddy Hart as his layers are peeled back to expose his unique and fascinating world.
16-time World Champion and 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is one of the most prolific and controversial superstars in professional wrestling history. Flair is a true American icon: from his famous “Woooo” that is still heard in stadiums and arenas throughout the US, to his influence on hip hop music. At 73 years-old Flair remains a constant in American pop culture, but who is the real man behind the outrageous persona? Finally, Flair reveals all, opening up about his storied career, inside and outside of the ring, over the last 50 years.
The fourth film in a long series about Martina Schaub, a woman with Down's Syndrome. Tom Alandh documented part of her life from age 5 to 50. In this film, she is in her early twenties.
Hear from the stars that worked for and with The Funks including Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr., Bret Hart, Jim Ross, Gerald Brisco, Steve Corino, Bill Apter, Stan Hansen, JJ Dillon, The Blue Meanie, Bob Armstrong, Dr. Tom Prichard, Harley Race, Larry Matysik, Jimmy Hart, and Ricky Steamboat!
Behold La Lucha, a "roller derby gone awry" type of sport -- but without the skates -- that calls drag queens, transvestites, mobsters and a menagerie of other characters its fans. But what is it, exactly? This fascinating documentary answers that burning question and more as it examines how this strange duck first came to be and how it grew to become a cult hit, capturing the imagination of audiences far and wide.
Paying tribute to some of America's only surviving drive-ins – and those who keep them running – this heartfelt documentary captures efforts to preserve these nostalgic theaters in small-towns across the country.
"Wrestling's Last Rebel" is the definitive look at the life and career of Bruiser Brody told by the people who knew him best. Bruiser Brody was the most unpredictable and charismatic wrestler of all time. Independent, blood, guts, and box office, no one matched Bruiser Brody. Many have tried but there will never be another like him. From becoming a star in the United States to an international mega-star in Japan, Bruiser Brody marched to the beat of his own drum and did things his way. With a rebellious spirit running through his veins, Brody carved out a niche as an independent wrestler before the indies ever existed.
10 years before the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri dreamed up a contest pitting barroom bigmouths against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers and brawlers, billed as no-holds-barred new type of competitive fighting. When the fights succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, they were swept up in a chain of events that ended in the first mixed-martial arts ban in the nation. “Tough Guys” chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Viola’s first bouts and the colorful, crazy cast of fighters who made them a hit as well as the politicians who brought it all crashing down. The film brings to life a moment when the national martial arts craze was building to a crescendo as the economies of Pennsylvania steel towns were plummeting to levels of unemployment never seen, breeding desperate men looking for a chance to prove their worth and make some money in the ring.
A short documentary chronicling Jamie Noble's journey to his return to the ring.
A heartfelt documentary focusing on the day-to-day lives of professional wrestlers, some on the rise, some on the wane, and others fighting for their lives.
Paris, Latin Quarter. A small cinema that is both famous and marginal, Action Christine. The cashier has taken her camcorder and takes us to this public place, her workplace. Place of life, of passage, of meeting, a window open on the street, behind the hygienic phone, it is the daily life of the cashiers and the openers punctuated by the alternation of surging entrances and idle intersession.
The rise and fall of wrestler Joanie Chyna Laurer, whose life was cut short in 2016. Her contributions to the WWE business and her pioneering work and her gripping tale of the "comeback" starting in 2015.
Former WWE Wrestler Nora Greenwald, AKA Mighty Molly Holly, talks about getting into the business.
An essay style film in the vein of Orson Welles' "F For Fake" and Jon Jost's "Speaking Directly". From 2011 to 2013, filmmaker Kristian Day randomly documented the art and actions of the award winning metal sculptor, James Bearden. Refusing to make another artist documentary, Day insisted on illustrating Bearden's creative process through surreal and id oriented story telling.
Wilbur: The King in the Ring is a comedic documentary, which wrestles with the worldwide obesity plight. Wilbur McDougall, a former pro-wrestler, agrees to let his best friend J. Ollie Lucks make a documentary about his gastric sleeve surgery and subsequent transformation. But in order to stay literally half the man he was, Wilbur will be forced to maintain a healthier lifestyle while Ollie’s altruistic intentions verge on exploitative.
State of Bacon tells the kinda real but mostly fake tale of an oddball group of characters leading up to the annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. Bacon-enthusiasts, Governor Branstad, a bacon queen, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, members of PETA, and an envoy of Icelanders are not excluded from this bacon party and during the course of the film become intertwined with the organizers of the festival to show that bacon diplomacy is not dead.