Jolly Roger (2003)

(0) based on 0 votes
"Jolly Roger" could mean Roger Schawinski. But by definition, a "Jolly Roger" is the classic black pirate flag with skull and crossbones. This documentary tells the unvarnished story of the Swiss radio pirates who emerged in the 1970s. The focus is on Radio 24 in its wild years, when Schawinski's team broadcast from Italy, with the strongest FM station in the world at the time, straight down from Pizzo Groppera, 130 kilometers all the way to the Zurich area. Supported by numerous original documents from private filmmakers and from the SRG archives, the viewer relives the absurd radio war between David and Goliath that lasted almost four years, 24 years after this war between the radio pirates and the state power began on November 13, 1979. The many known and unknown fighters, who rallied behind their Radio Winkelried Schawinski in 1979 to help usher Switzerland into a new media age, remember the good and bad times, the demonstrations and the numerous threatened and actual closures.
Directors
Release Date
Nov 20, 2003
Runtime
01h 20m
Available in streaming on

"Jolly Roger" could mean Roger Schawinski. But by definition, a "Jolly Roger" is the classic black pirate flag with skull and crossbones. This documentary tells the unvarnished story of the Swiss radio pirates who emerged in the 1970s. The focus is on Radio 24 in its wild years, when Schawinski's team broadcast from Italy, with the strongest FM station in the world at the time, straight down from Pizzo Groppera, 130 kilometers all the way to the Zurich area. Supported by numerous original documents from private filmmakers and from the SRG archives, the viewer relives the absurd radio war between David and Goliath that lasted almost four years, 24 years after this war between the radio pirates and the state power began on November 13, 1979. The many known and unknown fighters, who rallied behind their Radio Winkelried Schawinski in 1979 to help usher Switzerland into a new media age, remember the good and bad times, the demonstrations and the numerous threatened and actual closures.

Movies like Jolly Roger

Bed Peace

John and Yoko in the presidential suite at the Hilton Amsterdam, which they had decorated with hand-drawn signs above their bed reading "Bed Peace." They invited the global press into their room to discuss peace for 12 hours every day.
Search similar movies
7.0
Bed+Peace
Acorn and the Firestorm

For 40 years, the community-organizing group ACORN advocated for America’s poorest communities, while its detractors accused it of promoting the worst of liberal policies. Riding high on the momentum of Barack Obama’s presidential victory in 2008, ACORN was at its political zenith when a hidden-camera video sparked a national scandal and brought it crashing down. The story involves voter fraud, a fake prostitute, and the rise of Breitbart.com.
Search similar movies
5.0
Acorn+and+the+Firestorm
Acorn and the Firestorm

2017

Search similar movies
England 79

"England 79" - 17 scenes from Great Britain the winter of discontent, 1979.
Search similar movies
England+79
England 79

2019

Search similar movies
Detroit Rock City

In 1978, a Kiss concert was an epoch-making event. For the four teen fans in Detroit Rock City getting tickets to the sold-out show becomes the focal point of their existence. They'll do anything for tickets -- compete in a strip club's amateur-night contest, take on religious protesters, even rob a convenience store!
Search similar movies
6.7
Detroit+Rock+City
Detroit Rock City

1999

Search similar movies
The Society of the Spectacle

Guy Debord's analysis of a consumer society.
Search similar movies
6.7
The+Society+of+the+Spectacle
The Society of the Spectacle

1974

Search similar movies
Pouvoir Oublier

Pouvoir Oublier is a political documentary first constructed from the words of the speakers whose lives changed on the tragic day of May 10, 1972 in Sept-Îles. Their word will be juxtaposed with archival material from the events, some of which are unpublished, which will reflect the collective euphoria in which Sept-Îles and all of Quebec were then bathed.
Search similar movies
Pouvoir+Oublier
Pouvoir Oublier

2025

Search similar movies
Pump Up the Volume

Mark Hunter, a lonely high school student, uses his shortwave radio to moonlight as the popular pirate DJ "Hard Harry." When his show gets blamed for a teen committing suicide, the students clash with high school faculty and the authorities.
Search similar movies
7.1
Pump+Up+the+Volume
Pump Up the Volume

1990

Search similar movies
Revolution of Our Times

Throughout Hong Kong’s history, Hongkongers have fought for freedom and democracy but have yet to succeed. In 2019, a controversial extradition bill was introduced that would allow Hongkongers to be tried in mainland China. This decision spurred massive protests, riots, and resistance against heavy-handed Chinese rule over the City-State. Award-winning director Kiwi Chow documents the events to tell the story of the movement, with both a macro view of its historical context and footage and interviews from protestors on the front lines.
Search similar movies
8.3
Revolution+of+Our+Times
Revolution of Our Times

2021

Search similar movies
Straight Outta Compton

In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.
Search similar movies
7.8
Straight+Outta+Compton
Straight Outta Compton

2015

Search similar movies
Still Crazy

In the 1970s, Strange Fruit were it. They lived the rock lifestyle to the max, groupies, drugs, internal tension and an ex front man dead from an overdose. Even their demise was glamorous; when lightning struck the stage during an outdoor festival. Twenty years on, these former rock gods they have now sunk deep into obscurity when the idea of a reunion tour is lodged in the head of Tony, former keyboard player of the Fruits. Tony sets out to find his former bandmates with the help of former manager Karen to see if they can recapture the magic and give themselves a second chance.
Search similar movies
6.8
Still+Crazy
Still Crazy

1998

Search similar movies
24 Hour Party People

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.
Search similar movies
6.9
24+Hour+Party+People
24 Hour Party People

2002

Search similar movies
Songs of Paradise

A young musician, Rumi, seeks the truth behind Noor Begum, a reclusive icon of Kashmiri music. Once Zeba, the valley’s first female radio singer, Noor’s journey from silence to song broke social barriers. As Rumi unearths her past, Songs of Paradise reveals a legacy of defiance, resilience, and the power of a voice that refused to be forgotten.
Search similar movies
8.5
Songs+of+Paradise
Songs of Paradise

2025

Search similar movies
Storm

Plot unavailable
Search similar movies
Storm
Jim Morrison: The End

Paris, Rue Beautreillis, July 3, 1971. The corpse of rock star Jim Morrison is found in a bathtub, in the apartment of his girlfriend Pamela Courson. The chronicle of the last months of the life of the poet, singer and charismatic leader of the American band The Doors, one of the most influential in the history of rock.
Search similar movies
7.4
Jim+Morrison%3A+The+End
Jim Morrison: The End

2021

Search similar movies
The Big One

The Big One is an investigative documentary from director Michael Moore who goes around the country asking why big American corporations produce their product abroad where labor is cheaper while so many Americans are unemployed, losing their jobs, and would happily be hired by such companies as Nike.
Search similar movies
6.7
The+Big+One
The Big One

1997

Search similar movies
American Swing

Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.
Search similar movies
4.9
American+Swing
American Swing

2009

Search similar movies
What We Do Is Secret

The true-life story of Darby Crash, who became an L.A. punk icon with his band The Germs. Along with Lorna Doom, Pat Smear, and Don Bolles, Darby Crash completely transformed the L.A. punk scene, while sacrificing everyone he loved, his career, and ultimately his life.
Search similar movies
5.1
What+We+Do+Is+Secret
What We Do Is Secret

2007

Search similar movies
A Long Way From Heaven: The Rainbow Y Story

The true story of the students of Brigham Young University's queer underground, as they lit the school's iconic "Y" in rainbow colors. But, A Long Way From Heaven does a lot more than tell the story of the Rainbow Y. It outlines the history of queer treatment at BYU - the good (where it exists), the bad, and the very, very ugly. The film combines new, original footage with a huge variety of historical images, videos, newspaper articles, and other mixed media from every conceivable source to tell the story of BYU's queer students, and the bravery and risks they constantly take to make their voices heard.
Search similar movies
A+Long+Way+From+Heaven%3A+The+Rainbow+Y+Story
A Long Way From Heaven: The Rainbow Y Story

2024

Search similar movies
René Goscinny, Our Uncle From Armorica

The career of French comic author René Goscinny was a living blend of cultures and an expression of the great importance this artist attached to the production and dissemination of sophisticated popular culture. Goscinny left behind an extremely extensive body of work: "Asterix", "Lucky Luke", "Isnogud", "Little Nick" and many more.
Search similar movies
6.8
Ren%C3%A9+Goscinny%2C+Our+Uncle+From+Armorica
René Goscinny, Our Uncle From Armorica

2017

Search similar movies
When the Garden Was Eden

This nostalgic sports documentary captures the New York Knicks at the height of their golden era during the 1970s, revealing in the process a singularly gifted and inspired team revered by its fans.
Search similar movies
7.0
When+the+Garden+Was+Eden
When the Garden Was Eden

2014

Search similar movies
Monica in the South Seas

Finnish filmmaker and artist Sami van Ingen is a great-grandson of documentary pioneer Robert Flaherty, and seemingly the sole member of the family with a hands-on interest in continuing the directing legacy. Among the materials he found in the estate of Robert and Frances Flaherty’s daughter Monica were the film reels and video tapes detailing several years of work on realising her lifelong dream project: a sound version of her parents’ 1926 docu-fiction axiom, Moana: A Romance of the Golden Age.
Search similar movies
Monica+in+the+South+Seas
Monica in the South Seas

2023

Search similar movies
Man on Wire

On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit's "highest" achievement.
Search similar movies
7.4
Man+on+Wire
Man on Wire

2008

Search similar movies
El Cantante

The rise and fall of salsa singer, Héctor Lavoe (1946-1993), as told from the perspective of his wife Puchi, who looks back from 2002.
Search similar movies
7.1
El+Cantante
El Cantante

2006

Search similar movies
Airheads

The Lone Rangers have heavy-metal dreams and a single demo tape they can't get anyone to play. The solution: Hijack an FM rock radio station and hold the deejays hostage until they agree to broadcast the band's tape.
Search similar movies
6.2
Airheads
Becoming Led Zeppelin

The individual journeys of the four members of the band, as they move through the music scene of the 1960s, playing small clubs throughout Britain and performing some of the biggest hits of the era, until their meeting in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal that changes their lives forever.
Search similar movies
7.2
Becoming+Led+Zeppelin
Becoming Led Zeppelin

2025

Search similar movies
The Last Waltz

Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.
Search similar movies
7.6
The+Last+Waltz
The Last Waltz

1978

Search similar movies
Dislocation Blues

Filmed during the 2016 Standing Rock protests in South Dakota, Sky Hopinka's Dislocation Blues offers a portrait of the movement and its water protectors, refuting grand narratives and myth-making in favour of individual testimonials.
Search similar movies
5.8
Dislocation+Blues
Dislocation Blues

2017

Search similar movies
1979: Big Bang of the Present

Deng Xiaoping's economic and political opening in China. Margaret Thatcher's extreme economic measures in the United Kingdom. Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution in Iran. Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland. Saddam Hussein's rise to power in Iraq. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The nuclear accident at the Harrisburg power plant and the birth of ecological activism. The year 1979, the beginning of the future.
Search similar movies
5.7
1979%3A+Big+Bang+of+the+Present
1979: Big Bang of the Present

2019

Search similar movies
The Incredible Mr. Piccoli

A captivating portrait of French actor Michel Piccoli, who has worked with the greatest filmmakers of his time and has built a dazzling career of remarkable merit and success, focusing on his work during the 1970s and his professional relationship with Claude Sautet, Romy Schneider, Marco Ferreri and Luis Buñuel.
Search similar movies
6.9
The+Incredible+Mr.+Piccoli
The Incredible Mr. Piccoli

2017

Search similar movies
What's Love Got to Do with It

Singer Tina Turner rises to stardom while mustering the courage to break free from her abusive husband Ike.
Search similar movies
7.1
What%27s+Love+Got+to+Do+with+It
What's Love Got to Do with It

1993

Search similar movies
Disco Europe Express

Despite its Afro-American origins, the history of disco music, the soundtrack of the seventies, would be inconceivable without a handful of legendary European music producers who conjured up some of the biggest world-wide hits in the anonymity of their studios.
Search similar movies
7.0
Disco+Europe+Express
Disco Europe Express

2019

Search similar movies
Inside Deep Throat

In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self-appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star.
Search similar movies
6.4
Inside+Deep+Throat
Inside Deep Throat

2005

Search similar movies
Apollo 13: Survival

Using original footage and interviews, this documentary tells the nail-biting story of Apollo 13 and the struggle to bring its astronauts safely home.
Search similar movies
7.2
Apollo+13%3A+Survival
Apollo 13: Survival

2024

Search similar movies
The Rocker

In the 1980s, a drummer is abandoned by his band just before they become rock superstars. Twenty years later, the drummer sees his second chance at stardom arise when he is asked to perform with his teenage nephew's high school rock band.
Search similar movies
6.0
The+Rocker
The Rocker

2008

Search similar movies
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

Down the road from Woodstock in the early 1970s, a revolution blossomed in a ramshackle summer camp for disabled teenagers, transforming their young lives and igniting a landmark movement.
Search similar movies
7.2
Crip+Camp%3A+A+Disability+Revolution
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

2020

Search similar movies
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution

From the sweaty basement bars of 70s New York to the glittering peak of the global charts, how disco conquered the world - its origins, its triumphs, its fall and its legacy.
Search similar movies
8.0
Disco%3A+Soundtrack+of+a+Revolution
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution

2023

Search similar movies
Tommy

After a series of traumatic childhood events, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult.
Search similar movies
6.5
Tommy