Look at Life: New Roads for Old (1959)

Portraits of Moscow Voyages: In Search of Laika

Exploring Moscow and paying tribute to Laika, the first dog in space.

Look at Life: High, Wide and Faster

Look at Life was a regular series of short documentary films produced between 1959 and 1969 by the Special Features Division of Rank Organisation and screened in their Odeon and Gaumont cinemas. This release compiles 54 memorable films which offer a fascinating snapshot of transport in 1960's Britain. A look at road building in the United Kingdom in the 1950's.

The End Of The Line: Rochester's Subway

"The End of the Line - Rochester's Subway" tells the little-known story of the rail line that operated in a former section of the Erie Canal from 1927 until its abandonment in 1956. Produced in 1994 by filmmakers Fredrick Armstrong and James P. Harte, the forty-five minute documentary recounts the tale of an American city's bumpy ride through the Twentieth Century, from the perspective of a little engine that could, but didn't. The film has since been rereleased (2005) and now contains the main feature with special portions that were added as part of the rereleased version. These include a look at the only surviving subway car from the lines and a Phantom tun through the tunnels in their abandoned state, among others, for a total of 90 minutes of unique and well preserved historical information.

Operation Blue Line, Starring: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Ninja Turtles fight against Gridlock, a supervillain determined to 'derail' the unleashing of a new transport system in LA.

Off the Rails

The remarkable true story of Darius McCollum, a man with Asperger's syndrome whose overwhelming love of transit has landed him in jail 32 times for the criminal impersonation of NYC subway drivers, conductors, token booth clerks, and track repairmen.

Snow

Comprising train and track footage quickly shot just before a heavy winter's snowfall was melting, the multi-award-winning classic that emerged from the cutting-room compresses British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling into a thrilling eight-minute montage cut to music. Tough-as-boots workers struggling to keep the line clear are counterpointed with passengers' buffet-car comforts.

Soviet Bus Stops

“There’s a bus stop I want to photograph.” This may sound like a parody of an esoteric festival film, but Canadian Christopher Herwig’s photography project is entirely in earnest, and likely you will be won over by his passion for this unusual subject within the first five minutes. Soviet architecture of the 1960s and 70s was by and large utilitarian, regimented, and mass-produced. Yet the bus stops Herwig discovers on his journeys criss-crossing the vast former Soviet Bloc are something else entirely: whimsical, eccentric, flamboyantly artistic, audacious, colourful. They speak of individualism and locality, concepts anathema to the Communist doctrine. Herwig wants to know how this came to pass and tracks down some of the original unsung designers, but above all he wants to capture these exceptional roadside way stations on film before they disappear.

Dans les coulisses du métro de Paris

Plot unavailable

Dude, Where's My Bus?

Filmmaker Gio Petti takes an in-depth look at the city's troublesome transit system in his documentary, Dude, Where's My Bus?. His nearly 2 year-long independent investigation delves into the frustrations of daily commuters in Ottawa and more deeply explores the systemic issues plaguing OC Transpo and their effects on the community. Beginning in the South End Suburbs of Ottawa, Dude, Where's My Bus? peels back layers leading to a broader investigation into issues plaguing the once model transit system. From late buses in neglected areas of the city, sprawl and the greenbelt, to the ever more controversial Confederation Line and the P3 system that built it, Petti aims to explore the impact of policy missteps and broken promises on Ottawa's transit users, with an optimistic look to the future.

Look at Life: Eyes of the Law

A look at traffic controls in West Germany and their autobahns and how Britain can learn as they build miles of new motorway including the new Hammersmith Flyover.

Moebius

Deep within Buenos Aires's labyrinthine subway system, a train mysteriously disappears along with its 30 passengers. The subway officials are greatly troubled and call in topographer Daniel Pratt to help them find it. Unfortunately, the tunnels are so vast and complex, that Pratt needs his mentor Hugo Mistein to help him. Unfortunately, he has vanished too.

Manchester Acatitla

Miranda, the Manchester Acatitla forward, returns home after a victorious match. On her way back, she faces dangers off the court.

Madame Tutli-Putli

Madame Tutli-Putli boards the Night Train, weighed down with all her earthly possessions and the ghosts of her past. She travels alone, facing both the kindness and menace of strangers. As day descends into dark, she finds herself caught up in a desperate metaphysical adventure.

Night Ride

A cold night in December. Ebba waits for the tram to go home after a party, but the ride takes an unexpected turn.

Gerorisuto

A short experimental film by Japanese underground filmmaker Shozin Fukui. The film follows a young woman on the Tokyo subway, who may be possessed.

Train de vie

Plot unavailable

22:47 Line 34

It's 10:47 pm on a bus somewhere in a city. A few teenagers are listening to music and talking loudly. The other passengers look languidly out the window or at their cell phones. A drunk man gets in and joins the teenagers; the mood starts to shift.

Tram

In this short a tram ride through Amsterdam in the 1930's shows how close but yet separated the rich and very poor live in the metropole.

Para Jane

Plot unavailable

Pathonpatham Noottandu

Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker, a 19th century fiery social reformer and his unswerving fight against the dominant caste oppressions by the upper classes.

Ultima gara

United by the dream of setting a new world record as a relay team, five competitive swimmers reveal their lives, hopes and histories.

Mary J. Blige's My Life

Mary J. Blige set the music world on fire with her trailblazing 1994 LP "My Life." The singer, producer and actress reveals the demons and blessings that inspired the record and propelled her to international stardom. She celebrates the 25th anniversary of her most influential work by performing the album live for the first time.

The Night of Full Moon

Plot unavailable

Chasseurs de Mondes

Plot unavailable

Everton: Howard's Way

After a decade of struggle and misfortune Everton became the best side in the land. Even better than their all-conquering neighbours, Liverpool! They won the FA Cup, thrashed Man Utd 5-0, beat Liverpool, home and away, and then strolled to the league title with a record amount of points. They steamrollered the great Bayern Munich and won a first ever European trophy and, for a time, were probably the best side in Europe. We will never know for sure - because they couldn't prove it... This is the tale of a man with Everton in his blood, a team intent on greatness and a city united in defiance. A story told by all the heroes of the day - the men that made history.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

Gandhi

In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.

Night and Fog

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

JFK

Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.

Judgment at Nuremberg

In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon

It’s 1974 and Sam Bicke has lost everything. His wife leaves him with his three kids, his boss fires him, his brother turns away from him, and the bank won’t give him any money to start anew. He tries to find someone to blame for his misfortunes and comes up with the President of the United States who he plans to murder.

Black Hawk Down

When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from the militia on the ground.

Saving Private Ryan

As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

The Color Purple

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

A Man for All Seasons

A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, who refuses to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England.