Pinball 101 (2009)

Special When Lit

What made more money than the entire American movie industry through the 50s and 60s? Pinball. Special When Lit rediscovers the lure of a lost pop icon. A product of the mechanical and electrical age, the American invention swept the world and defined cool. Now it is relegated to a nostalgic footnote deserving a better fate. Joining the fans, collectors, designers and champion players from across the globe who share a world many of us didn't know still existed.

Still Standing

Discover the untold story of Pinball and Arcade in Australia in this heart-warming, and at times heart-breaking, nostalgic journey through the golden era of gaming.

A World Under Glass

A married couple working together at a pinball museum explore the state of pinball and what it means to them.

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.

Licorice Pizza

The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.

Vivre Sa Vie

Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.

Big

When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big—he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight. But he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.

Laserblast

Happy go-lucky teen Billy Duncan discovers an otherworldly laser gun in the southern California desert, making him the target of a pair of aliens who had recently executed its previous owner.

Tilt

Tilt is the story of a precocious young girl who is a pinball wizard. Because she does not get on with her parents, Tilt is contemplating running away from home. Skipping school one day, she decides to go to to Mickey's Bar. Mickey, who is Tilt's good friend, helps her set up a gambler for a pinball game. Because the gambler is unaware of Tilt's pinball wizardry, he is easily hustled out of his money. While watching the confrontation, a young man named Neil Gallagher, who is an aspiring musician, is impressed with Tilt's ability, congratulating her after the win. Neil invites Tilt to watch him sing at a rock concert, and after his performance she believes he can become a great singer. Because Neil needs money for a demo tape of his songs, he has an idea of taking Tilt with him and having her hustle would-be gamblers.

The Verdict

Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit by serving it to Galvin on a silver platter—all parties are willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, Galvin suddenly realizes that the case should actually go to court—to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients... and to restore his standing as a lawyer.

Heavy Traffic

An "underground" cartoonist contends with life in the inner city, where various unsavory characters serve as inspiration for his artwork.

Naked Over the Fence

Rick Lemming (Rijk de Goyer) lives in the heart of Amsterdam, where he holds a dovecote and a saloon with slot machines. His best friend Ed Svaan, the champion of karate in the Netherlands, is deeply in love with singer Lily (Sylvia Christelle). With the help of Ed, Lilly concludes a contract with a television director who assures everyone that he will make a high-profile film. Rijk wants to check where his boyfriend and girlfriend are being drawn in and secretly watches the shootings. In fact, a pornographic film is being shot.

Van Nuys Blvd.

A small-town kid hears about the wild nights of cruising the boulevard in Van Nuys, California. He drives out there to check it out, and gets involved with drag racers, topless dancers and bikers.

Dangerous Dan McFoo

An arctic saloon. The tiny dog, Dan McFoo, is playing a pinball-like marble game in the back. His girlfriend, Sue, sounding like Katharine Hepburn, stands by. A stranger comes in with eyes for Sue; he begins a boxing match with Dan. After Dan gets knocked down, he accuses the stranger of having something in the glove; the ref finds four horseshoes and a horse. After the fight goes on a while with no conclusion, the narrator tosses a couple of guns, the lights go out, and Dan is shot or is he?

Pinball Summer

It's a summer of fun for two teenaged boys who spend their time chasing two sisters, annoying a biker gang, and basically getting into typical sophomoric hijinks whenever they can.

Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

The dramatic comedy is based on the true story of writer and pinball wizard Roger Sharpe, chronicling his journey to overturn New York City’s 35-year ban on pinball.

The King of Oakes and Commerce

A night in the life of a pinball wizard.

A Place Called Music

The musical journey between Mexican Wixárika musician Daniel Medina and American composer Philip Glass.

Venezuela O Inferno na Terra

Plot unavailable

Albrecht Dürer: Through the Looking-Glass

An approach to the life and extravagant career of the German painter Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), genius of the Renaissance, through the analysis of twelve of his self-portraits.

Leonard Rossiter: Comedy Great

A celebration of the actor's life and career, featuring contributions from friends, co-stars and fans including Don Warrington, Sue Nicholls and Mark Lester. The programme also includes a never-before-seen interview with Rossiter himself, and brings new perspectives on one of Britain's best-loved actors, from his upbringing in Liverpool to his remarkable, late-blossoming TV career.

La tara

After finding the soundtrack of Tararira, the only Argentine surrealist film shot in 1936, lost since then, and starring their great-grand uncles, the Aguilar brothers set out to unravel the family history at the crossroads of the great political events of the 20th century. It is also a story of El Cuarteto Aguilar, a very particular music band, which had an openly lesbian member in the first half of the last century. The discovery of the soundtrack of the lost film leads to a documentary collage that travels through Argentina, Spain and other parts of the world to ask again, one hundred years later, if perhaps the revolution is not also an aesthetic.

Salmon

Transformed into a salmon, an Indigenous street artist travels through decayed urban landscapes to the forests of long ago, in this sublime mixed animation.

Remember Wilberg

A fire that started on December 19, 1984 claimed the lives of 27 miners at the Wilberg coal mine located in Emery County, Utah. 31 mine rescue teams from all over the West fought the fire and desperately looked for survivors but were forced from the mine after four days due to extreme danger. This video shares their stories and those of the miners and community members who lived through the events of the fire and the year-long struggle to reopen the mine and recover the victims. While it is specific to mining, it is a story of resilience, courage, and loss, and will be of value to any who work in hazardous jobs.

Welcome to the Queen

Beautiful documentary record of the royal visit to Teesside in 1956, shot in gorgeous Kodachrome.

Being Seen Seeing

What happens when we meet in the street? Suddenly, mistakenly, intimately. Estranged, rushed, too much, too little, too late. Smiles, small talk, and promises.

Ciudad de la Selva - Runaways & guerrilla in the forests of Casaio

Plot unavailable

Charlotte Salomon: Life and the Maiden

In 1940, the German artist Charlotte Salomon (1917-43) undertook an extraordinary artistic adventure, during which she combined painting, text and music: in only eighteen months, she painted more than a thousand paintings. In 1943, she was arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Auschwitz extermination camp.

Compound Memories

"One of the most curious and mysterious strengths of cinema is that it outlives us all. So sometimes, on camera, everything is a matter of life and death."

One Day Pina Asked...

Chantal Akerman followed famous Choreographer Pina Bausch and her company of dancers, The Tanzteater Wuppertal, for five weeks while they were on tour in Germany, Italy and France. Her objective was to capture Pina Bausch's unparalleled art not only on stage by behind the scenes.

The Monastery

For the first time, cloistered sisters agree to be filmed for one year in all aspects of their lives. The nuns of Berthierville, the only Francophone community of Dominican nuns in North America for nearly a century, engage in a rare and unique documentary in which exceptional testimonies and archives intermingle.

Dark Side of Light

Since the invention of the light bulb, natural darkness is increasingly invaded by artificial light. Once, light was considered unconditionally as an entirely positive element: the more light, the better. It increases safety and has a positive effect on our moods, but scientists are discovering that light also has a dark side as we are discovering its many unforeseen consequences.

There's No Place Like This Place, Anyplace

Over the course of over six decades, Honest Ed's became a Toronto Landmark. The neighbourhood it left behind when it closed its doors in 2016 reflects on its history and legacy.

Unien Savonlinna

Documentary about the Finnish folk group Paavoharju. Also includes an extra 58 minutes of music videos and live footage.

The Story of the Animated Drawing

Walt Disney discusses the history of animation, beginning with J. Stuart Blackton and his Humorous Phases of Funny Faces in 1906, and including Gertie the Dinosaur.

America's Greatest Animals

America's Greatest Animals takes us across North America on a revelatory mission: which of the continent's landmark creatures deserve to make the list?

Shawn Mendes: Artist Spotlight Stories

Shawn Mendes has teamed up with YouTube Music to share a part of his emotional journey to stardom in the latest YouTube Artist Spotlight Story. The short film focuses on the 20-year-old musician's life leading up to the release of his self-titled third studio album, Shawn Mendes, in May of this year.

Subject: Narcotics

Educational film about drug addiction.

American Gospel: Christ Alone

American Gospel explores the core question of Christianity, 'What is the gospel?' Through the distorting lens of American culture.

The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History

In a unique science experiment, Dr George McGavin and Dr Zoe Laughlin chronicle the history of rubbish and explore how what we throw away tells us about the way we live our lives. With unprecedented access to one of the UK's largest landfill sites, the team of experts spend three days carrying out tests all over the site, revealing the secret world of rubbish. They also carry out three other 'archaeological' digs into historic landfills to chart the evolution of our throwaway society. Ultimately, their quest is to discover whether the items we throw away today have any value for tomorrow's world.