Photography Series
American Photography: A Century of Images
Directed by Muffie Ellen and Meyer Hovde, produced by John Schott, 1999, 3 hours
Produced for PBS, American Photography: A Century of Images looks at the story of pictures and how they have impacted the 20th century. Segments focus on The Developing Image, 1900-1934, The Photographic Age, 1935-1959, and Photography Transformed, 1960-1999.
Early Photography: Camera and Moving Pictures Series
Granada Television, 1991, 27 minutes
Broken into two parts, The Camera Series (Volumes 1-7) and Camera Moving Pictures (Volumes 8-10), this series tracks the evolution of photography.
Images: 150 Years of Photography
Produced by Martin Sandler Productions with Eastman Kodak Company, 1991, 26 minutes each
This six-part documentary series traces the technical and aesthetic development of early photographers, the beginnings of documentary, and the use of photographs in exploration, science, and art.
Women Photographers
Annie Leibovitz: Celebrity Photographer
Directed by Rebecca Frayn, produced by RM Arts and Middlemarch Films, 1993, 51 minutes
A portrait of a celebrated portrait photographer, currently the world’s highest-paid photographer, known for her famous subjects. Covers her years with Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.
Dorothea Lange: A Visual Life
Directed by Meg Partridge, 1994, 50 minutes
Dorothea Lange is revealed through examples of her work and interviews with both the artist and her family.
Imogen Cunningham: Never Give Up
Produced by Ann Hershey, 1993, 28 minutes
Starting in 1901 and spanning over 70 years, this film chronicles the work and career of Imogen Cunningham.
Jan Groover: Tilting at Space
Directed by Mark Trottenburg, 1999, 30 minutes
This film provides an intimate examination of Jan Groover's fine art photography, from triptychs and still-lives to her recent images of France.
Masters of Photography: Diane Arbus
30 minutes
This video explores the controversial work of Diane Arbus through her own words and images.
Nan Goldin: In My Life
Directed by Paul Tschinkel, 1997, 28 minutes
More than 25 years of Nan Goldin’s work can be seen in this program, as well as interviews with Goldin and curator Marvin Heiferman.
The Frontier, The American West
The Frontier Photographers
Produced and directed by Ken Verdoia, co-produced by Nancy Green, 1998, 90 minutes
This film shows the work of three photographers who captured the images of the raw and wild American West and chronicled its transformation through the westward expansion.
She Even Chewed Tobacco
Produced by Elizabeth Stevens and Estelle Freedman, 1983, 40 minutes
This film explores the ways in which nineteenth-century California offered women the opportunity to pioneer new roles for themselves. This is a rare work of lesbian experience.
The West
Directed by Ken Burns and Stephen Ivins, 1996, 12.5 hours
Focusing primarily on the period of 1800 to 1915, when America was virtually redefined by westward expansion, this film explores the impact of “the West” on American history and collective consciousness.
The Wilderness Idea: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot and the First Great Battle for Wilderness
Directed by Lawrence Hott and Diane Garey, 1989, 58 minutes
An exploration into the first national controversy about American wilderness in the late nineteenth century.
Women Artists and Filmmakers
The Female Closet
Directed by Barbara Hammer, 1998, 60 minutes
This film combines rare footage, interviews, and visual documentation to survey the lives of lesbian women artists from different segments of the twentieth century.
My Filmmaking, My Life
Directed by Patricia Diaz, 1990, 30 minutes
This film explores the life and career of early Mexican filmmaker Matilde Landeta.
Paris Was a Woman
Directed by Greta Shiller, 1996, 75 minutes
A portrait of the creative community of women writers, artists, photographers and editors who flocked to the Left Bank of Paris between the World Wars.
Women Filmmakers in Russia
Directed by Sally Potter, 1990, 51 minutes
Since Lenin's embrace of cinema in the 1920s, more women have worked in the film industry in Russia than in the west. This documentary includes interviews with actresses, critics, technicians and leading directors.
The Women Who Made the Movies
Directed by Gwendolyn Foster and Wheeler Dixon, 1992, 55 minutes
This film traces the careers and films of such pioneer women filmmakers as Alice Guy Blaché, Ruth Ann Baldwin, Ida Lupino, Leni Riefenstahl, Dorothy Davenport Reid, Lois Weber, Kathlyn Williams, Cleo Madison, and many others.
Women’s History, Turn of Century, Changing Lives
America 1900 (American Experience)
Directed by Jacqueline Shearer, 1999, 3 hours
This film takes a look at the pivotal year: 1900. Following a range of characters, the film chronicles a year in the life of the nation by examining the forces of change that would ultimately shape the coming century.
America’s Victoria: The Victoria Woodhull Story
Directed by Victoria Weston, 1997, 82 minutes
In 1872 Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to campaign for president. The film chronicles her life and times.
Heart and Hands
Directed by Pat Ferrero, 1989, 60 minutes
The film chronicles the lives of ordinary women as well as famous figures through the great events of the nineteenth century: industrialism, the Civil War, abolitionism, westward expansion, the temperance movement, and suffrage.
One Woman, One Vote (American Experience)
Written and produced by Ruth Pollack, 1995, 109 minutes
This film documents seventy years of struggle for women’s suffrage.
Photography – General
Alfred Eisenstaedt: Photographer
Directed by David Hoffman and Scott Sorensen, 1982, 30 minutes
A definitive film portrait of LIFE magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.
Alfred Stieglitz—Photographer
Produced by Paul Falkenburg and Hans Namuth, Museum of Modern Art, 2000, 30 minutes
Celebrates the remarkable achievements of one of the seminal figures in the history of photography and modern art in America.
America and Lewis Hine
Directed by Nina Rosenblum, produced by David Allentuck and Nina Rosenblum, 1984, 56 minutes
The winner of several major awards, this film chronicles the life and art of Lewis Hine, whose 40-year career recorded the changing face of America in more than 10,000 images. Using historical photographs and footage, this film follows America’s pioneer industrial photographer on his odyssey through the mines, mills, and factories of American in the first half of the twentieth century.
The Civil War Photographers
Parade Video, 1989, 30 minutes
Featuring the photographs of Matthew B. Brady, Alexander Gardner, George N. Barnard, George S. Cook, Timothy H. O'Sullivan, James Gibson and many others. Narrated by Gary Merrill.
Coming to Light: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian (American Masters)
Directed by Anne Makepeace, 1999, 60 minutes
A comprehensive documentary focusing on the work of photographer Edward S. Curtis and his extensive project to photograph and record the images and traditions of over 80 North American Indian tribes.
Early Motion Pictures of World’s Fairs and Expositions
New Deal Films, Inc. 1997, 45 minutes
Films are from the Paper Print Collection at the Library of Congress. Views of three major fairs: 1900 Paris Exposition; Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo; and Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. Quality is uneven.
Helmut Newton: Frames from the Edge
Directed by Adrien Maben, 1998, 60 minutes
Helmut Newton talks of his life and work, his approach to photography, and how he selects the right girl.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Home Vision Arts, 1998, 37 minutes
This video documentary is about Cartier-Bresson and includes portraits of Ezra Pound, William Faulkner, Alberto Giacometti, and Henri Matisse.
John Szarkowski: A Life in Photography
Directed by Richard B. Woodward and Sandra McLeod, 1999, 47 minutes
A portrait of the director of the Department of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art, this film covers John Szarkowski’s career as a curator.
Masters of Photography: Andre Kertesz
30 minutes
Leading a walking tour of New York City, Andre Kertesz photographs a young girl, The Cloisters, and his beloved Washington Square.
Masters of Photography: Edward Steichen
30 minutes
This film highlights images from Edward Steichen’s whole career, ranging in subject from celebrities to architecture to advertising to nature. Steichen made this profile when he was 86.
The Real Weegee
Rhino Video, 1993, 60 minutes
A biography of the street photographer “Weegee” (Arthur Fellig), whose photographs captured post-war, urban American life.
Remembering Life
1985, 60 minutes
A journey through the great years of Life magazine, covering World War II, the Korean War, civil rights, Hollywood, the atom bomb, teens in the 50s, and more. Narrated by Walter Cronkite.
Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light
Directed by Helen Whitney, RM Arts, 1998, 87 minutes
A look at one of the most celebrated fashion and portrait photographers of our time.
Sebastiao Salgado: Looking Back At You
Directed and produced by Andrew Snell, BBC, RM Arts, 1993, 59 minutes
A portrait of one of the world's leading photojournalists, featuring archival footage and commentary from artists, photographers, critics, and writers such as Arthur Miller and Jorge Amando.
Stereo Photography: Places and Times Remembered
Directed by Pamela Glintenkamp, 1992, 40 minutes
Philip Brigandi charts the evolution of stereo (3-D) photography between 1850 and 1940. His memories highlight the career of President McKinley, the destruction of the Civil War, the birth of the transcontinental railway, the birth of aviation, and the inventions of the Wright Brothers.
Telefoto
Directed by R. Saint-Jean, J. Malaterre, V. Kriptchenko, and V. Tarantchenko, 1995, 47 minutes
This documentary profiles several different photojournalists, whose work offers a witness to current events and explains what personally motivates their efforts.
The Wizard of Photography (American Experience)
Directed by James DeVinney, 2000, 60 minutes
This film shows how George Eastman persisted until he succeeded in producing the Kodak Brownie camera, which made photography possible.
African-American History
Conversations with Roy DeCarava
Directed by Carroll Parrot Blue, 1984, 28 minutes
This film highlights the life of the first Black photographer to win a Guggenheim Fellowship. Contributor to The Family of Man.
Ethnic Notions
Produced and directed by Marlon Riggs, 1987, 56 minutes
Looks at the popular culture images of African-Americans, beginning in the 1870s through the Civil Rights period.
One Shot: The Life and Work of Teenie Harris
Produced by Kenneth Love, 2001, 56 minutes
Teenie Harris’s photographs show the camaraderie, friendship, and spirit of community that the mainstream press simply ignored. The film follows Harris’s life through his work as one of the “soldiers” of the Black press.
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Produced and directed by Richard Wormser, Bill Jersey, and Sam Pollard, four part series, 2002
Beginning at the end of the Civil War, the first two parts of the series deal with figures such as Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois.
W. E. B. DuBois: A Biography in Four Voices
Directed by Louis Massiah, written by Thulani Davis, 1995, 116 minutes
Du Bois was the consummate scholar-activist whose groundbreaking work remains among them most significant and articulate ever produced on race. Program One: Black Folk and the New Century (1895-1915), is of special interest.
