The Great American Hobo (1980)

The American Hobo: History of the Railriding Worker

Documentary - Ernest Borgnine, star of the classic train movie Emperor of the North, hosts and narrates this remarkable examination of the uniquely American Hobo.

Hobo

Irish director John T Davis stashes a camera in his bedroll, catches out, and rides the rails from Minneapolis to Seattle with Beargrease, a part-time hobo and full time philosopher, who narrates their way through the incredible scenery of the Northwest and gives us his views on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The pair meet up several other men living life on the margins: in particular a scene in which Duffy - an ex-corporate executive now living under a bridge in Spokane & collecting cans - describes how he got there is riveting.

Sullivan's Travels

Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.

Bound for Glory

A biography of Woody Guthrie, one of America's greatest folk singers. He left his dust-devastated Texas home in the 1930s to find work, discovering the suffering and strength of America's working class.

Ironweed

An alcoholic drifter spends Halloween in his hometown of Albany, New York after returning there for the first time in decades.

Down and Out in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills couple Barbara and Dave Whiteman find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.

Shoot 'Em Up

A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.

C.H.U.D.

A rash of bizarre murders in New York City seems to point to a group of grotesquely deformed vagrants living in the sewers. A courageous policeman, a photojournalist and his girlfriend, and a nutty bum, who seems to know a lot about the creatures, band together to try and determine what the creatures are and how to stop them.

Blues in the Night

A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.

He Who Lives In Hidden Lakes

The fanatic beliefs of an internet mystic, a cult leader, and a rookie cop gone rogue are tested on the hunt for the "Hidden Man" -- an elusive forest-dwelling cryptid that terrorizes their idyllic suburb.

The Great McGinty

Told in flashback, Depression-era bum Dan McGinty is recruited by the city's political machine to help with vote fraud. His great aptitude for this brings rapid promotion from "the boss," who finally decides he'd be ideal as a new, nominally "reform" mayor; but this candidacy requires marriage. His in-name-only marriage to honest Catherine proves the beginning of the end for dishonest Dan...

Emperor of the North

Hobos encounter a sadistic railway conductor that will not let anyone "ride the rails" for free.

Dwellers

While shooting a documentary on the suspicious disappearances within the homeless community, a filmmaker and his crew go missing while uncovering a terrifying and vicious secret below the city's surface.

Beggars of Life

After killing her treacherous step-father, a girl tries to escape the country with a young vagabond. She dresses as a boy, they hop freight trains, quarrel with a group of hobos, and steal a car in their attempt to escape the police, and reach Canada.

Wild Boys of the Road

At the height of the Great Depression, Tommy's mother has been out of work for months when Eddie's father loses his job. Eager not to burden their parents, the two high school sophomores decide to hop the freight trains and look for work.

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!

A streetcar conductor has adventures with a would-be passenger hippo, a cow blocking the tracks, and a runaway train while he, his passengers, and some hobos sing the title song.

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet

A 10-year-old child prodigy cartographer secretly leaves his family's ranch in Montana where he lives with his cowboy father and scientist mother and travels across the country on board a freight train to receive an award at the Smithsonian Institute.

Burn 'Em Up Barnes

Car racer Burn 'em Up Barnes, son of a wealthy manufacturer, leaves home to make his own way in the world. After being robbed by hoodlums, Barnes joins a group of hobos who take him in and show him the carefree life.

Love on a Bet

An aspiring theater producer convinces his wealthy uncle to finance a play on the condition that he lives the play’s far-fetched plot: making a cross-country trip with no money.

Rail Kings

An irresponsible preppie, Preston West, is presumed to have murdered his parents for a sizable inheritance, so he flees to find the real killer, Phantom 13, a crazed freight train hobo. Riding speeding boxcars, Preston encounters hostile train yards, vicious railroad cops, hidden hobo jungles, mysterious Lacy, the notorious Baron and his colorful Hobo Gang. In a surprise ending, Preston finally confronts Phantom 13.

Flare

As a solar flare is heading towards Earth, a family man named Arthur befriends a homeless man and faces a pivotal choice.

Friendly Neighbors

The Weaver Brothers hit the road and taste the hobo's life in this, the sixth, entry in the eleven-film "Weaver Brothers and Elviry" comedy-drama series. The singing hayseed family's journey begins when a drought destroys their farm. The young travelers soon hook up with a band of tramps and end up in a small town that has been nearly destroyed by the floods that occasionally roar through it. The Weavers' are moved by the townsfolk's plight and so decide to stay a spell and help out.

Oh, Yeah!

A couple of roving vagabonds hitch a freight to the railroad town of Linda, and between bouts with the fright-yard bulls and other drifters, find romance in the persons of two waitresses at the camp restaurant. American-slang rules the dialogue to the point non-USA viewers need a slang-glossary to follow the dialogue.

A Stinking Fairytale

Moma is a hobo and suffers from depression. Ema is a hobo and had been treated for alcoholism. Moma lives in the abandoned factory premises. Ema lives in the shaft. Moma liked Ema at first sight. Ema liked Moma at second sight.

The Incorrigible Dukane

A rich contractor sends his son to supervise the building of a new dam. His clothes are stolen by a tramp and dressed in the tramp's clothes he's mistaken for a laborer.

Charlie Chaplin & the Hobo

Charlie Chaplin meets a hobo and he is in desperately in need of food and shelter. What transpires is Charlie’s mission to help this hobo however he can.

Jean Rochefort, l'irrésistible

If Jean Rochefort remains so dear to our hearts, it is because this extraordinary actor alone embodies a cinema and a France imbued with freedom and carelessness. Through his films, archives and the testimony of those close to him, we discover a complex man, a sad clown saved by his taste for words and for fun.

Standard Operating Procedure

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Waltz with Bashir

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks

The murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist in 2004, followed by the publishing of twelve satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed that was commissioned for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, provides the incendiary framework for Daniel Leconte's provocative documentary, It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks.

Maradona by Kusturica

A documentary on Argentinean soccer star Diego Maradona, regarded by many as the world's greatest modern player.

Bios: Mercedes Sosa

Abel Pintos explores the legacy and great influence of Mercedes Sosa, the woman who revolutionized Argentine folklore. Thus, through interviews with musicians and intellectuals who supported her at the beginning of her career, with her grandchildren who knew her most intimate side, and with artists such as Fito Páez and Charly García, Abel reconstructs and honors the Mercedes figure.

Compassion in Exile: The Story of the 14th Dalai Lama

A portrait of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, which includes historical footage of China's repression of Tibetan Buddhism in 1959.

Aquí se construye (o Ya no existe el lugar donde nací)

Agüero is able to look at the scene in all it's complexity around architectonical brutality that Santiago de Chile underwent around the year 2000.

Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery

Wolfgang Beltracchi got away with forging art masterpieces for over 40 years. He may be egotistical and nihilistic, but his genius in undeniable. He managed to fool gallery owners, historians and investors with the stroke of a brush. This documentary follows his last days as a free man.

Other Music

A documentary highlighting the 20 year history of influential indie record store Other Music in Manhattan's East Village.

Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked

A behind-the-scenes look at the highly-anticipated two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, featuring interviews with the cast and crew.

Miracle Landing on the Hudson

In 2009, just two minutes into US Airways flight 1549, a flock of birds struck the plane taking out both engines. With no power, the Captain decided to attempt the near impossible - to land it in New York's Hudson River.

Titanic's Final Mystery

The sinking of the RMS Titanic remains one of the most enduring and mysterious tragedies of the 20th century. For decades, investigators and amateurs alike have floated theories for why it occurred and who was to blame for the extraordinary loss of life, but no one answer could fully explain what happened. Until now. To mark the 100th anniversary of the infamous disaster, Smithsonian Channel will premiere Titanic's Final Mystery. The two-hour special investigates a century of theories and uncovers astonishing new forensic evidence that proves the most likely theory for the case.

Nas: Time Is Illmatic

Time Is Illmatic is a feature length documentary film that delves deep into the making of Nas' 1994 debut album, Illmatic, and the social conditions that influenced its creation.

Climate Change: The Facts

After one of the hottest years on record, Sir David Attenborough looks at the science of climate change and potential solutions to this global threat. Interviews with some of the world’s leading climate scientists explore recent extreme weather conditions such as unprecedented storms and catastrophic wildfires. They also reveal what dangerous levels of climate change could mean for both human populations and the natural world in the future.

Brené Brown: The Call to Courage

Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent more than a decade studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity and shame. With two TED talks under her belt, Brené Brown brings her humor and empathy to Netflix to discuss what it takes to choose courage over comfort in a culture defined by scarcity, fear and uncertainty.

Grizzly Man

Werner Herzog's documentary film about the "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one man's attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.

Riding Giants

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Spheres

An immersive journey through the cosmos, its origins and its songs.

The Accidental President

In 2016, almost anyone you asked, or any poll you consulted, pointed you to a Hillary Clinton landslide. The Accidental President is a balanced feature documentary that is seeking to answer one question - how the hell did Trump win?

Anatomy of a Dandy

An account of the life and work of genius Spanish writer Francisco Umbral (1932-2007), author of almost 200 books and more than 1000 articles; as well as an analysis of his both hieratic and strambotic public figure and certain unresolved personal enigmas in order to find an answer to what a real dandy is in this modern and convoluted times.

Through the Looking Glass: Making 'Ex Machina'

This documentary features interviews which get into some of the philosophical as well as the technical issues confronting the filmmakers behind Alex Garland's 2014 science fiction film 'Ex Machina'.

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Michael Strahan x Jon Bon Jovi: Halfway There

In a candid discussion, Bon Jovi reflects on his journey to fronting one of the most successful bands of all time and the challenges he and the band faced along the way.

PQ17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster

Jeremy Clarkson tells the dramatic story of the Arctic convoys of the Second World War, from Russia to the freezing Arctic Ocean.