The best Kirk Douglas’s documentary movies
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor, producer, director and author. He grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II. During his career, Douglas appeared in more than 90 movies and was known for his explosive acting style. He became an international star for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion (1949), which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other early films include Young Man with a Horn (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), and Detective Story (1951), a film for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor in a Drama. He received a second Oscar nomination for his role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and his third nomination for portraying Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956), which landed him a second Golden Globe nomination. In 1955, Douglas established Bryna Productions, which produced films as varied as Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). He took the lead roles in both films. Douglas has been praised for helping to break the Hollywood blacklist by having Dalton Trumbo write Spartacus with an official on-screen credit. In 1963 Douglas starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a story that he purchased and later gave to his son Michael Douglas, who turned it into an Oscar-winning film. As an actor and philanthropist, Douglas received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As an author, he wrote ten novels and memoirs. He is No. 17 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema. Kirk Douglas died at age 103.
And the Oscar Goes To...
7.1/10
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
Kubrick by Kubrick
7.1/10
A rare and transcendent journey into the life and films of the legendary Stanley Kubrick like we've never seen before, featuring a treasure trove of unearthed interview recordings from the master himself.
Trumbo
7.4/10
Through a focus on the life of Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976), this film examines the effects on individuals and families of a congressional pursuit of Hollywood Communists after World War II. Trumbo was one of several writers, directors, and actors who invoked the First Amendment in refusing to answer questions under oath. They were blacklisted and imprisoned. We follow Trumbo to prison, to exile in Mexico with his family, to poverty, to the public shunning of his children, to his writing under others' names, and to an eventual but incomplete vindication. Actors read his letters; his children and friends remember and comment. Archive photos, newsreels and interviews add texture. Written by
Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary
7.2/10
Celebrities are interviewed about the social and working lives of Bugs, Daffy, Porky and the rest of the Looney Tunes.
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
7.7/10
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
7/10
Kirk Douglas achieved the kind of cinematic stardom that dreams are made of. As the torch was passed to his talented son Michael, it became obvious to everyone that the Douglas dynasty would continue to thrive…
A Century of Cinema
6.4/10
A look back at the first 100 years of the movies.
Completely Cuckoo
7.4/10
Behind the scenes interviews for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Untameable Kirk Douglas
6.4/10
The story of actor Kirk Douglas, the man and the legend, one of the last stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. An epic journey through the 20th century and the entire history of Hollywood. A testimony of the huge scope of his life and the scale of the myth. The untameable Kirk Douglas, the ragman's son.
James Bond: The First 21 Years
7/10
A look back at the first 21 years of Britain's most successful film series.
Kirk Douglas
6.8/10
The 1966 visit of Hollywood movie star Kirk Douglas at the legendary Polish State Film School in Lódz.
The Universal Story
7.2/10
Richard Dreyfuss hosts a celebration of the 80 year history of Universal Studios. Founded as IMP by Carl Leammle to oppose Edison's Motion Picture Tust, it soon grew under the leadership of 21 year old production head Irving Thalberg with classic silents from artists like John Ford, Erich Von Stroheim, and Lon Chaney and prospered further in the Sound Era under the leadership of Carl Leammle Jr. with such classics as "All Quiet on The Western Front," "Showboat," and the studio's signature monster franchises, "Frankenstein" and "Dracula."
If You're Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast
7.5/10
Irrepressible writer-comedian Carl Reiner, who shows no signs of slowing down at 94, tracks down celebrated nonagenarians, and a few others over 100, to show how the twilight years can truly be the happiest and most rewarding. Among those who share their insights into what it takes to be vital and productive in older age are Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Kirk Douglas, Norman Lear, Betty White and Tony Bennett.
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Al Pacino
8.3/10
The American Film Institute (AFI) presents its 35th Life Achievement Award to Al Pacino.
Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir
7.1/10
A rare behind the scenes look at the tragedies and bitter disappointments that plagued one of MGM's most popular leading ladies
Walt Disney's Where Do the Stories Come From?
6.9/10
Walt answers the often-asked question of just where the stories for his studio's cartoons come from, which is from practically anywhere.
The Making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The 47 minute making of documentary is an edited version of the 86 minute Charles Kiselyak film, Completely Cuckoo, which focused as much on Ken Kesey's role as the author of the book on which the film is based as on the movie. The present version focuses solely on the movie and eliminates all the Kesey footage.
