MecÂca — MuhamÂmad’s birthÂplace and the heart of Islam – beauÂtiÂfulÂly capÂtured by Hosain Hadi, using just his Canon 5D mark ll.
H/T @MatthiasRascher
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
MidÂdle EastÂern HisÂtoÂry: Free CoursÂes
36 Hitchcock Murder Scenes Climaxing in Unison
It’s a litÂtle morÂbid, I’ll give you that. But you have to give this video some points for creÂativÂiÂty and many for effort. Some fine soul pulled togethÂer murder/death scenes from 36 of Alfred HitchÂcockÂ’s movies, then synÂchroÂnized them to cliÂmax in uniÂson. We have listÂed the films below, many of which can be found in our colÂlecÂtion of Free HitchÂcock Films (and also our Free Movie colÂlecÂtion)…
Row 1: BlackÂmail, MurÂder!, Rich and Strange, NumÂber 17 (?), The Man Who Knew Too Much, Waltzes from VienÂna (?)
Row 2: The 39 Steps, SabÂoÂtage, The Secret Agent, Young and InnoÂcent (?), The Lady VanÂishÂes, Jamaica Inn
Row 3: ForÂeign CorÂreÂsponÂdent, RebecÂca, SusÂpiÂcion, ShadÂow of a Doubt, Lifeboat, SpellÂbound
Row 4: Rope, Under CapriÂcorn, Stage Fright, Strangers on a Train, I ConÂfess, Dial M for MurÂder
Row 5: To Catch a Thief, The TrouÂble with HarÂry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, VerÂtiÂgo, North by NorthÂwest, PsyÂcho
Row 6: The Birds, Marnie, Torn CurÂtain, Topaz, FrenÂzy, FamÂiÂly Plot
via MetafilÂter
Inception Redone in 60 Seconds
As CarÂtoon Brew explains it: “WolfÂgang MatÂzl remade IncepÂtion with vinÂtage paper cut-outs, shot frame-by-frame on his digÂiÂtal camÂera, for the Done In 60 SecÂonds comÂpeÂtiÂtion (where entrants recreÂate a movie in no more than a minute). His film was one of the 10 finalÂists in Berlin, GerÂmany.” You can watch othÂer shortÂlistÂed films here…
via Boing Boing
James Bond in Drag For International Women’s Day
We Are Equals proÂduced this 2‑minute video for the 100th anniverÂsary of InterÂnaÂtionÂal WomÂen’s Day. Daniel Craig and the great Dame Judi Dench reprise their roles from the last two James Bond films — with a twist. We’d say more, but the video speaks for itself. Enjoy!
Ahead of Time: The Life & Times of Ruth Gruber
Ahead of Time, a new docÂuÂmenÂtary, tells the remarkÂable true stoÂry of Ruth GruÂber. Born in BrookÂlyn in 1911, GruÂber became the youngest perÂson in the world (let alone woman) to earn a Ph.D degree; she did so at the age of 20 from the UniÂverÂsiÂty of Cologne, where she majored in GerÂman PhiÂlosÂoÂphy, ModÂern EngÂlish LitÂerÂaÂture, and Art HisÂtoÂry.
While in GerÂmany, GruÂber witÂnessed Nazi ralÂlies and latÂer returned to AmerÂiÂca with an acute awareÂness of the danÂgers posed by Nazism. BeginÂning her career in jourÂnalÂism, she returned to GerÂmany on a secret misÂsion for the FDR adminÂisÂtraÂtion and phoÂtographed HoloÂcaust refugees. (You can see the phoÂtos GruÂber capÂtured in this post, and absoluteÂly don’t miss the video interÂview with the 99-year-old Ruth at the botÂtom of that page). After the war, GruÂber conÂtinÂued workÂing as a forÂeign corÂreÂsponÂdent and phoÂtoÂjourÂnalÂist – a career that has spanned sevÂen decades.
The short clip above offers a preÂview of Ahead of Time, which airs on ShowÂtime tonight (MonÂday, March 7) at 5:30PM ET/PT, tomorÂrow (TuesÂday, March 8) at 8PM ET/PT, and FriÂday, March 11 at 4PM ET/PT. For a comÂplete list of Ahead of Time showÂings, see here. Ahead of Time promisÂes to explain the long and incredÂiÂbly inspirÂing career of Ruth GruÂber as a jourÂnalÂist, lecÂturÂer, author, phoÂtogÂraÂphÂer, and humanÂiÂtarÂiÂan. Don’t miss it!
Eugene Buchko is a blogÂger and phoÂtogÂraÂphÂer livÂing in Atlanta, GA. He mainÂtains a phoÂtoÂblog, EruÂdite ExpresÂsions, and writes about what he reads on his readÂing blog.
Free Movies by Category
Just a quick note: We took our Free Movie colÂlecÂtion and neatÂly placed the films into catÂeÂgories this weekÂend, makÂing the big colÂlecÂtion a litÂtle easÂiÂer to navÂiÂgate. If you’re lookÂing for free movies, we have 340 films listÂed in the folÂlowÂing catÂeÂgories.
- ComÂeÂdy & DraÂma
- Film Noir, HorÂror, Thriller & HitchÂcock
- WestÂerns & John Wayne
- Silent Films
- DocÂuÂmenÂtaries, and
- AniÂmaÂtion
Find the full colÂlecÂtion here. Enjoy…
Michael Moore Tells Wisconsin Teachers “America Isn’t Broke”
Jon StewÂart put it niceÂly. Now filmÂmakÂer Michael Moore takes the gloves off. VisÂitÂing MadiÂson, WisÂconÂsin this SatÂurÂday, he told the crowd “AmerÂiÂca isn’t broke.” Rather, the monÂey that used to run the counÂtry simÂply got siphoned out of the sysÂtem and put into unproÂducÂtive Wall Street accounts. Strong words, but if you conÂsidÂer that most US corÂpoÂraÂtions pay no US taxÂes, that bilÂlionÂaire hedge fund manÂagers pay far lowÂer taxÂes than the rest of you, that we’re preÂservÂing the unsusÂtainÂable Bush tax breaks that overÂwhelmÂingÂly benÂeÂfit the extremeÂly wealthy, then you start to think about our nationÂal deficits and WisÂconÂsin’s batÂtles with teachÂers in a difÂferÂent light.
Make no misÂtake about it. The deficits are a real probÂlem. And any truÂly excesÂsive perks for pubÂlic workÂers should be cut. But the midÂdle class shouldÂn’t bear the sole brunt of the nationÂal sacÂriÂfice. And, so far, that’s all we see. Main Street took the hit in 2008 while Wall Street walked. And that’s what’s hapÂpenÂing again…
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Jon StewÂart: The TeachÂers Have it Too Good (Wink)
North Korea’s Cinema of Dreams
Kim Jong-Il, North KoreÂa’s leader, is revered as a genius of cinÂeÂma by his own peoÂple. Or so the North KoreÂan proÂpaÂganÂdists would have you believe. In this fasÂciÂnatÂing video from Al Jazeera, we folÂlow two reporters (Lynn Lee and James Leong) as they gain unpreceÂdentÂed access to Pyongyang’s UniÂverÂsiÂty of CinÂeÂmatÂic and DraÂmatÂic Arts, where young actors are picked to serve the masÂsive proÂpaÂganÂda machine. Along the way, Lee and Leong encounter two young film stuÂdents – Kim Un Bom and Ri Yun Mi – as they rehearse, take music and dance lessons, and call attenÂtion to their privÂiÂleged lives.
How are films difÂferÂent in capÂiÂtalÂist counÂtries vs. North Korea? Leave it to Ri Yun Mi, the film stuÂdent, to explain (3:27 in the video):
“Films made in capÂiÂtalÂist counÂtries are comÂmerÂcial prodÂucts. Movies in our counÂtry bring out the ideÂolÂoÂgy of the peoÂple. We could say we are repÂreÂsenÂtaÂtives of our [ComÂmuÂnist] ParÂty.”
The young reporters go on to explain the chalÂlenges they faced in creÂatÂing this film. They were repeatÂedÂly denied perÂmisÂsion to film at the UniÂverÂsiÂty, and freÂquentÂly told to delete footage when it didÂn’t conÂform to North KoreÂa’s stanÂdards. All in all, this film does a good job illuÂmiÂnatÂing anothÂer hidÂden part of North KoreÂan life: the cinÂeÂma of dreams.
Eugene Buchko is a blogÂger and phoÂtogÂraÂphÂer livÂing in Atlanta, GA. He mainÂtains a phoÂtoÂblog, EruÂdite ExpresÂsions, and writes about what he reads on his readÂing blog.
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