Peter Jones Movies

This insightful documentary looks back at the founding of the Los Angeles Times, and chronicles the various generations of the Chandler family who have served as publisher. ~ Carly Wray, All Movie Guide

Galileo Galilei was one of the first truly revolutionary men of science; between 1585 and 1638, this pioneer was one of the first to employ mathematics to determine laws of motion, develop a telescope to help chart the heavens, observe the movements of stars and planets, and declare that the Earth moved around the sun, rather than the sun around the Earth. While many branded Galileo as a dangerous heretic in his day, today he's regarded as the father of modern physics and astronomy. Galileo's Battle for the Heavens stars Simon Callow as the great scientist; he reconstructs and re-creates many of the crucial moments in Galileo's career, and explains the methods behind his pioneering work. The film also examines letters Galileo wrote to his illegitimate daughter in which he discusses his personal feelings about his work and the measures taken to silence him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This documentary, produced for PBS's American Masters series, is based on A. Scott Berg's well-received biography of Samuel L. Goldwyn (1882-1974), Hollywood's first and likely still greatest independent producer. (Berg cowrote the screenplay.) Like many Hollywood pioneers, Goldwyn was born in Europe in modest circumstances, began his professional life in America in another business (selling gloves), and then fell into motion pictures, in Goldwyn's case, just as production was moving to the West Coast. His first film, with partner Jessie L. Lasky, was The Squaw Man, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and shot on location in the newly minted community of Hollywood. Goldwyn's career was slow getting started, but he hit his stride in the sound era, with literary adaptations of Sinclair Lewis's Arrowsmith and Dodsworth, Lillian Hellman's These Three and The Little Foxes (which Goldwyn, famous for slips of speech, always referred to as The Three Little Foxes), Sidney Kingsley's Dead End, and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. He also made the first two screen versions of the venerable weepie, Stella Dallas, produced Eddie Cantor's big foray into film, Whoopee, and made the iconic baseball biography, Pride of the Yankees. Goldwyn finally reached the pinnacle of movie success in 1946 with The Best Years of Our Lives, which brought him his first Oscar for Best Picture. His postwar career arc was largely downward; two big musicals, Guys and Dolls and especially Porgy and Bess, failed to capture the public attention in spite of lavish production values and big-name casts. The newly filmed interviews, mostly with the surviving members of the Goldwyn family, including his son Sam Goldwyn, Jr., his daughter from his first marriage, Ruth Capps, and his actor grandson Tony Goldwyn, offer insights into Goldwyn the man, while excerpts from vintage interviews with Bette Davis, William Wyler, John Huston, Rouben Mamoulian, Lillian Hellman, Danny Kaye, Dana Andrews, Merle Oberon, and Laurence Olivier (doing a hilarious impression of Goldwyn) offer glimpses into his working persona. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

In the early days of rock & roll in the '50s, while the public knew the voices and faces of the folks who snag the tunes, it was often the people behind the scenes who truly held the talent that made a song a hit, and as the sounds of "teenage music" took over the charts, a new breed of young songwriters and producers became giants in the industry. Hit Makers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music tells the story of the kids (mostly Jewish, mostly from Brooklyn) who wrote the tunes and brainstormed the sessions for some of the biggest hits of the era out of offices in New York City's Brill Building, where music publishing mogul Don Kirschner had the likes of Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Neil Sedaka under contract. Beginning with the start of the rock era and ending with the rise of hard rock and singer/songwriters at the dawn of the '70s, Hit Makers tells the story of some of the truly unsung heroes of American popular music, complete with interviews from the songwriters and producers, as well as the performers who helped bring their great songs to life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This edition of Biography chronicles the life of one of America's foremost boys of summer, Brian WIlson. Brian Wilson was the leader of the singing/instrumental group the Beach Boys, formed in California in 1961. The group consisted originally of the Wilson brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis with cousin Mike Love and Alan (Al) Jardine. They found fame in the 1960s with Brian's cheerful songs and falsetto vocals of teenage West Coast life, surfing, fast cars and motorcycles, and all-American girls, including I Get Around, California Girls, and Good Vibrations. Ironically, the only Beach Boy who actually lived the surfing lifestyle they sang about was Dennis.

In 1966, with the technically innovative album Pet Sounds Brian Wilson emulated the Beatles' imaginative use of recording techniques, and produced a masterpiece of popular music. Brian became increasing reclusive as the Beach Boys fame grew and stopped touring with the group all together while they were reaching the height of their popularity. Addicted to drugs, Brian remained in seclusion for over a decade coming out to reunite with the Beach Boys during the 1980s. Brian is still recognized as one of the best pop songwriters for his unique use of complex vocal harmonies and catchy melodies.

~ John Patrick Sheehan, All Movie Guide

The history of color photography in motion pictures is lovingly detailed with vibrant film clips and first-person interviews in this 60-minute cable TV special. Beginning with such experimental processes as hand-tinting each frame of film (a specialty first of Edison, then perfected by the French Pathe company) and the "Kinemacolor" technique (a cumbersome procedure requiring special high-speed projectors and two separate strips of film), the special then moves on to the swaddling days of Technicolor, with rare vignettes from such silent films as The Toll of the Sea (1922), The Black Pirate (1926), and Ben-Hur. The two-color Technicolor process gives way in 1933 to an improved three-strip format, yielding such splendiferous results as Becky Sharp (1935), The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Gone With the Wind. But because of the dictatorial policies of Technicolor consultant Natalie Kalmus (who gained control of the company in a divorce proceeding), moviemakers were forced to adhere to firmly controlled policies of how the colors could be arranged and toned, with no wiggle room for individual creativity. Fortunately, Kalmus did not wield as much power over British filmmakers like Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger who freed the Technicolor process from the shackles of conformity and corporate thinking in the 1940s, yielding such visual feasts as The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. The special concludes with the final years of the three-strip format in the early '50s, with interviews from such Technicolorful stars as Esther Williams and Arlene Dahl. Drawing heavily from Turner's vast MGM film library, Glorious Technicolor originally aired over the Turner Classic Movies service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Narrated by F. Murray Abraham, Nova: Einstein Revealed is a 120-minute dramatized documentary on the life and career of physicist Albert Einstein. Actor Andrew Sachs portrays Einstein as a man of formidable genius, passionate emotions, and powerful obsessions. The dramatized interview is coupled with historical photography, computer animation, and comments from experts. Interviewees include Jurgen Renn, of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Robert Schulmann from the Einstein Papers Project at Boston University, Francoise Balibar of the Universite de Paris, independent researcher Julian Barbour, Abraham Pais from Rockefeller University, Martin Klein of Yale University, Michio Kaku from City College of New York, and family friends Gabrielle Oppenheim and Peter Plesch. ~ Kathleen Wildasin, All Movie Guide

This video is part of a series produced by the BBC, which examines the lives of animals in the wild. The series is hosted by naturalist David Attenborough, who is a knowledgeable guide on this tour of animal habitats and behaviors. In this episode, Attenborough introduces the viewer to some animals who are natural friends or enemies. When two animal foes meet, the result is often a fight. First-rate photography captures some skirmishes. Other animals have developed symbiotic relationships, such as the raven and the wolf or the cowbird and its namesake. The film captures some touching moments among friends. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

Renowned British naturalist David Attenborough narrates the highly acclaimed 12-volume video series, Trials of Life. Attenborough offers a penetrating and knowledgeable look into the natural world. Winner of two Ace Awards, the series uses stunning photography and advanced technology to reveal new discoveries of how animals meet the tests of survival. The volume Finding Food explores the complex network of nutritional dependencies within the animal kingdom and the astounding solutions animals engage to endure. Videos in the series include Arriving, Courting, Friends and Rivals, and others. ~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide