Yasiin Bey
Biography: Yasiin Bey (/jæˈsiːn ˈbeɪ/; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def, is an American retired rapper, singer-songwriter, and actor. Regarded as one of hip hop's most introspective and insightful artists, Mos Def, has shaped a career that transcends music genres and artistic medium. With the release of "Universal Magnetic" (1996), he became an underground favorite in the hip-hop world, leading to his legendary collaboration with Talib Kweli. The two formed Black Star whose debut album, Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, would become one of the most critically acclaimed hip-hop albums. He followed with his 1999 solo debut, Black On Both Sides, which was certified gold and credited by critics as bringing hip hop back to its soapbox roots. He was a former child actor in television films, sitcoms, and theater, and continued acting as an adult after launching his rap career. He appeared in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera, 2002's critically acclaimed Monster's Ball, Showtime, and the 2002 romantic comedy Brown Sugar, for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination. He hosted Def Poetry Jam from 2002 to 2007. He completed his Broadway debut in 2002 in the Tony-nominated, Pulitzer Prize-winning, Topdog/Underdog. He then re-teamed with Topdog playwright, Suzan Lori Parks and director George Wolfe for the off-Broadway play Fucking A, for which he earned an Obie Award. In 2003, he starred in The Italian Job alongside Ed Norton, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. In 2004, he starred opposite Alan Rickman in the critically acclaimed HBO movie Something the Lord Made, for which he received a 2004 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie. He was also nominated for both a Golden Globe Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture) and Golden Satellite Award (Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television) for the same role. He continued his music career by releasing his highly anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore solo release, The New Danger (2004). The first single, "Sex, Love and Money" earned him a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative/Urban Performance, and the album has been certified gold by the RIAA. The following year, he appeared alongside Bruce Willis in the crime thriller 16 Blocks (2006), in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, and had a cameo appearance in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Also in 2006, he released his third solo album, True Magic. The next year, he appeared in the 2007 PBS historical documentary, Prince Among Slaves, and in 2008 he played the role of Chuck Berry in Cadillac Records. In 2009, he released the album The Ecstatic, which proved to be his second highest-charting album to date. He then appeared in the urban comedy Next Day Air, and (as himself) in the 2010 mockumentary film I’m Still Here, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Mos Def announced in September of 2011 that he changed his name to Yasiin Bey, and would go by it henceforth. In the first month of 2016, Bey declared his retirement from both the film and music industries. In 2014, About.com listed him 14th on its "50 Greatest Rappers of All Time".
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: December 11, 1973
Deathday: N/A
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Known For
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
2005-09-12
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Overview: 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.
Genres: Comedy Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-09-12
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Monster's Ball
2001-12-26
Monster's Ball
Overview: A prison guard begins a tentative romance with the unsuspecting widow of a man whose execution he presided over.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-12-26
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16 Blocks
2006-03-01
16 Blocks
Overview: An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse, but they find themselves running the gauntlet as other forces try to prevent them from getting there.
Genres: Action Adventure Crime Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-03-01
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Be Kind Rewind
2008-01-20
Be Kind Rewind
Overview: A man whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-01-20
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Civil Brand
2003-08-29
Civil Brand
Overview: Forced to work under slave-like conditions in a "prison for profit" program, the inmates of a mostly-African-American female prison, Whitehead Correctional, try to take over the institution.
Genres: Crime Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-08-29
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Something the Lord Made
2004-05-30
Something the Lord Made
Overview: A dramatization of the relationship between heart surgery pioneers Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.
Genres: TV Movie Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-05-30
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The Hard Way
1991-03-08
The Hard Way
Overview: Seeking to raise his credibility as an actor and to land a role as a tough cop on a new show, Hollywood action star Nick Lang works a deal with New York City Police Capt. Brix, who by chance is one of his fans. Nick will be paired with detective Lt. John Moss and learn how to act like a real cop. But when Nick drives John crazy with questions and imitating him, he gets in the way of John's pursuit of a serial killer.
Genres: Action Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-03-08
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I'm Still Here
2010-09-10
I'm Still Here
Overview: I'm Still Here is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, the film follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician. The film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads and explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.
Genres: Music Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-09-10
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2005-04-28
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Overview: Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Genres: Adventure Comedy Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-04-28
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Bamboozled
2000-10-06
Bamboozled
Overview: Frustrated when network brass reject his sitcom idea, producer Pierre Delacroix pitches the worst idea he can think of in an attempt to get fired: a 21st century minstrel show. The network not only airs it, but it becomes a smash hit.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-10-06
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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
2006-08-04
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Overview: The fastest man on four wheels, Ricky Bobby is one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. A big, hairy American winning machine, Ricky has everything a dimwitted daredevil could want, a luxurious mansion, a smokin' hot wife and all the fast food he can eat. But Ricky's turbo-charged lifestyle hits an unexpected speed bump when he's bested by flamboyant Euro-idiot Jean Girard and reduced to a fear-ridden wreck.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-08-04
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The Italian Job
2003-05-30
The Italian Job
Overview: Charlie Croker pulled off the crime of a lifetime. The one thing that he didn't plan on was being double-crossed. Along with a drop-dead gorgeous safecracker, Croker and his team take off to re-steal the loot and end up in a pulse-pounding, pedal-to-the-metal chase that careens up, down, above and below the streets of Los Angeles.
Genres: Action Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-05-30
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Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!!
2003-01-01
Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!!
Overview: This documentary praises comedian Richard Pryor by showing fragments of various shows Pryor made and having famous comedians talk about the importance and greatness of Pryor. Different themes are reviewed this way. Among others, they are the use of the word nigger, the way Pryor talked about racism, the fact Pryor talked openly about his own faults on-stage and the fact he didn't mince matters.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-01-01
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The Woodsman
2004-12-24
The Woodsman
Overview: After twelve years in prison, Walter returns home. His family has abandoned him, save for his brother-in-law. Few know he's a sex offender and pedophile. Walter finds an apartment and is regularly visited by his parole officer. He gets a job at a lumber mill and starts seeing a coworker. Then his new world begins to unravel; as his past becomes known, he strikes up a high-risk friendship with a young girl and realizes that a man loitering near a schoolyard is a child molester prowling for his next victim.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-12-24
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Journey to the End of the Night
2006-04-21
Journey to the End of the Night
Overview: In a dark and decadent area of São Paulo, the exiled Americans Rosso and his son Paul own a brothel. Paul is a compulsive gambler addicted in cocaine and his father is married with the former prostitute Angie, and they have a little son. When a client is killed by his wife in their establishment, they find a suitcase with drugs.
Genres: Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-04-21
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Ghosts
1997-09-04
Ghosts
Overview: In the town of Normal Valley, an eccentric magician named Maestro entertains the local children every day in his spooky mansion. One stormy night, the town's mayor leads a group of angry citizens to the mansion in an attempt to run Maestro out of town.
Genres: Music Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-09-04
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Brown Sugar
2002-10-05
Brown Sugar
Overview: Sidney and Dre can attribute their lifelong friendship and the launch of their careers to one single childhood instant... witnessing the birth of hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic at a national magazine and he is a successful, though unfulfilled, hip-hop record company executive. Both come to realize that their true life passions will only be fulfilled by remembering what they learned that day on the corner.
Genres: Romance Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-10-05
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Carmen: A Hip Hopera
2001-05-08
Carmen: A Hip Hopera
Overview: An engaged Philadelphia policeman falls in love with a beautiful woman while dealing with a corrupt superior.
Genres: Drama Music Romance TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-05-08
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You're Watching Video Music Box
2021-12-03
You're Watching Video Music Box
Overview: The untold story of the world’s longest running video show, Video Music Box. A hip hop mainstay since 1983, VMB gave a platform to artists like Jay-Z, Nas and Mary J. Blige before they hit it big. Host Ralph McDaniels’ archives — amassed over nearly 40 years — reveal the show’s importance to numerous big-name musicians, as well as to the kids that grew up watching.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-12-03
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Next Day Air
2009-02-06
Next Day Air
Overview: Two inept criminals are mistakenly delivered a package of cocaine and think they've hit the jackpot, triggering a series of events that changes ten people's lives forever.
Genres: Action Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-02-06
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Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
2000-04-14
Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
Overview: From neighborhood ciphers to the most notorious MC battles, "Freestyle: the Art of Rhyme" captures the electrifying energy of improvisational hip-hop--the rarely recorded art form of rhyming spontaneously. Like preachers and jazz solos, freestyles exist only in the moment, a modern-day incarnation of the African-American storytelling tradition. Shot over a period of more than seven years, it is already an underground cult film in the hip-hop world. The film systematically debunks the false image put out by record companies that hip-hop culture is violent or money-obsessed. Instead, it lets real hip-hop artists, known and unknown, weave their story out of a passionate mix of language, politics, and spirituality.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-04-14
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Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
2011-07-08
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
Overview: Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective known as 'A Tribe Called Quest' have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998. Michael Rapaport documents the inner workings and behind the scenes drama that follows the band to this day. He explores what's next for, what many claim, are the pioneers of alternative rap.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2011-07-08
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Part of Me
2023-01-30
Part of Me
Overview: This is the story of the appreciation, respect and fondness of musician, actor and activist Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) for Spanish-Moroccan painter Anuar Khalifi. Yasiin reflects on the cultural, ethnic and religious issues present in Khalifi’s work while sharing his thoughts candidly and providing his very personal take on his friend’s art and life in general.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-01-30
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Gorillaz | MTV World Stage
2023-03-03
Gorillaz | MTV World Stage
Overview: Performing live from the Tonhalle, Dusseldorf, Germany. Gorillaz played live in this unique classical venue to an intimate audience.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-03-03
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God Bless the Child
1988-03-21
God Bless the Child
Overview: Single mother, Theresa Johnson, becomes homeless, loses her job and tries to survive with her young daughter, Hillary, through charities and public shelters.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-03-21
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Where's Marlowe?
1998-10-01
Where's Marlowe?
Overview: After making a disastrous 3-hour documentary on New York City's water supply, two young filmmakers focus on the goings-on of life in the LA offices of Boone and Murphy, private investigators. Cheating husbands and missing dogs fail to bring in the big bucks, however, and after sleeping with the wife of one of their clients, Murphy leaves. To stop Boone from having to close down the business, the filmmakers must resort to a more hands-on approach in the investigations to ensure the completion of their movie.
Genres: Comedy Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-10-01
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Lackawanna Blues
2005-02-12
Lackawanna Blues
Overview: In a story fueled by rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by love and the stories of a cast of characters in the boarding house where he lives in 1960s Lackawanna, New York.
Genres: Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-02-12
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In Prison My Whole Life
2008-01-18
In Prison My Whole Life
Overview: William Francome is a fairly typical, white middle-class guy. Typical except for the fact that he is about to embark on a journey into the dark heart of the American judicial system; the tangled world of renowned Death Row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-01-18
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Island of the Dead
2000-09-08
Island of the Dead
Overview: Stranded on a deserted island, a group of people struggle to survive against a swarm of supernatural flies.
Genres: Thriller Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-09-08
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Life of Crime
2013-09-14
Life of Crime
Overview: Two common criminals get more than they bargained for after kidnapping the wife of a corrupt real-estate developer who shows no interest in paying the $1 million dollar ransom for her safe return.
Genres: Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-09-14
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Bouncing Cats
2010-04-29
Bouncing Cats
Overview: This documentary follows the efforts of Abraham "Abramz" Tekya and Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU) to use dance to empower youth in war-torn Uganda. The film is a testimony of Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew and his experiences in the BPU program. The film features narration by Common and additional interviews with Mos Def, will.i.am and K'Naan. Also appearing in the film is Okot Jolly Grace, whose guidance enabled the filmmakers to see and understand the plight of children in northern Uganda.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-04-29
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Begin Again
2013-09-07
Begin Again
Overview: Gretta, a budding songwriter, finds herself alone after her boyfriend Dave ditches her. Her life gains purpose when Dan, a record label executive, notices her talent.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-09-07
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Standard Operating Procedure
2013-07-07
Standard Operating Procedure
Overview: Yasiin Bey appears in a video demonstrating the Standard Operating Procedure for force-feeding prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-07-07
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Hargrove
2022-06-12
Hargrove
Overview: Jazz trumpet legend Roy Hargrove, deemed by his peers as a musical prophet, up close and personal like you have never seen him before. The film follows Grammy award winning Roy Hargrove from Los Angeles, Paris, New York, Vienne, Perugia, Sète, Sorrento and Marseille during a summer European tour in what would be the last year of his life. An epic love letter from first time director Eliane Henri, the film features interviews and live performances by Roy inclusive of musical icons Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock, Mos Def, Robert Glasper, Wynton Marsalis and Sonny Rollins who reflect on the magic of his music, Roy's impact on the next generation and his place in the history of jazz. Key conversations reverberate beyond Roy's personal story and enter the terrain of what it means to be an artist, particularly in the American context.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-06-12
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Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
2012-06-15
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
Overview: SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP is a feature length performance documentary about the runaway juggernaut that is Rap music. At the wheel of this unstoppable beast is the film's director and interviewer Ice-T. Taking us on a deeply personal journey Ice-T uncovers how this music of the street has grown to dominate the world. Along the way Ice-T meets a whole spectrum of Hip-Hop talent, from founders, to new faces, to the global superstars like Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. He exposes the roots and history of Rap and then, through meeting many of its most famous protagonists, studies the living mechanism of the music to reveal 'The Art Of Rap'. This extraordinary film features unique performances from the entire cast, without resorting to archive material, to build a fresh and surprising take on the phenomenon that is Rap.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-06-15
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Cadillac Records
2008-12-05
Cadillac Records
Overview: The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Genres: Drama History Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-12-05
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French Tour
2016-11-16
French Tour
Overview: Far’Hook is a 20-year-old rapper. Following a violent dispute with a rival, he’s forced to leave Paris for a while. His producer, Bilal, suggests that Far’Hook acts as driver for Bilal’s father, Serge, on a tour of French ports, following in the footsteps of the classic painter Joseph Vernet. Despite the age gap and culture clash, an unlikely friendship forms between this talented rapper and a bricklayer from the north of France during a road trip that concludes in Marseille for a final concert, one of reconciliation.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2016-11-16
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Amy
2015-07-02
Amy
Overview: A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-07-02
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Prince Among Slaves
2008-02-04
Prince Among Slaves
Overview: Abdul Rahman, an African prince who was sold into slavery, spent four decades in servitude before an amazing coincidence took him to the White House to meet President John Quincy Adams, where he was granted his freedom. Mos Def narrates this PBS documentary that includes reenactments of scenes from Rahman's life and interviews with historians who discuss the conditions faced by slaves in early America.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-02-04
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Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
2003-04-14
Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Overview: Gil Scott-Heron was one of the most influential musicians and poets of the last 50 years. In Don Letts's documentary, Gil tells his own story for the first time-from being one of the first black children to integrate an all white Southern state school to becoming the Godfather of Rap. There are contributions from Chuck D, Mos Def, Richi Havens and the Last Poets, among others. Filmed in October 2003, Gil performs live and recites poetry out on the streets of Harlem, which have inspired so much of his music.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-04-14
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Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops
2006-01-01
Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops
Overview: A documentary on the secret dossiers that police, FBI, and task agencies have compiled on hip-hop performers and industry executives.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-01-01
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Showtime
2002-03-14
Showtime
Overview: A spoof of buddy cop movies where two very different cops are forced to team up on a new reality based T.V. cop show.
Genres: Action Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-03-14
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Gorillaz: Reject False Icons
2019-12-16
Gorillaz: Reject False Icons
Overview: Focused on the life of the band and their collaborators over the 3 vital years in which they developed critically acclaimed albums, 'Humanz' and 'The Now Now', and undertook their most ambitious world tour to date.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2019-12-16
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Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize
2020-01-07
Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize
Overview: An outstanding lineup of entertainers gathers in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to salute Dave Chappelle, recipient of the 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Genres: Comedy Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2020-01-07
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The Making of Plastic Beach
2010-03-03
The Making of Plastic Beach
Overview: A documentary about the production, recording and development of Gorillaz' third studio album, Plastic Beach.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-03-03
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Peculiar Contrast, Perfect Light
2021-01-21
Peculiar Contrast, Perfect Light
Overview: My Blackest self, whose whitest death, is luxury. I am no stranger anymore. The world is love to me.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-01-21
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Don't Crash: The Documentary of the Making of the Movie of the Book of the Radio Series of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
2005-09-05
Don't Crash: The Documentary of the Making of the Movie of the Book of the Radio Series of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
Overview: An in-depth examination of the complete production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005).
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-09-05
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Split Images
1992-01-01
Split Images
Overview: A journalist knows more about a grizzly murder than is good for her. All her evidence points toward a mysterious millionaire but no one will believe her.
Genres: TV Movie Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-01-01
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Coachella
2006-05-09
Coachella
Overview: Filmmaker Drew Thomas brings California's popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival to the screen with a different kind of musical documentary that not only showcases performances by some of the hottest acts to take the stage, but offers interviews with such musical icons as Beck, Joshua Homme, Mos Def, and Perry Farrell as well. From English icon Morrissey's performance at the inaugural Coachella Festival back in 1999 to Canadian indie rockers the Arcade Fire's electric 2005 set, the musical acts featured here run the gamut from hip-hop to alternative and virtually everything in between. Other artists featured include the Pixies, the Flaming Lips, Kool Keith, Radiohead, Saul Williams, and Squarepusher.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-05-09
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