Documentaries

If you were at the NuArt Theater in Los Angeles on May 15 or 16, you could have gotten a ticket for a tat. If that tattoo was based on the work of H.R. Giger, that is, and you wanted to see the premiere of 'Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World.' H.R. Giger was a relatively obscure surrealist artist until 1979 when the world saw his design work in Ridley Scott’s 'Alien'. From that moment, the world of science fiction and horror, rock music album covers, punk and goth culture, and tattoos and fetish art was changed forever.

Blogcritics' interview with Director Cosima Spender, who has has created an amazing documentary of the iconic Palio of Siena, the oldest and one of the most crazy and exciting horse races in the world.

The Palio, the phenomenal horse race which has been held every summer since 1238 in Siena, Italy is indescribable in its beauty, its corruptions and its excitement. The Palio's culture and the strategies necessary to understand in order to win the race have been like following a dark passage into the arcane unknown, until now.

Every day we are using products which contain chemicals that have not been tested or their use regulated by the EPA or FDA. The Safe Chemicals Act that Frank Lautenberg (Sen. D. NJ) introduced in congress is in limbo. There are 80,000 chemicals on the market. How many of these are toxic and shouldn't we know the risks we are taking when we are using them? The film shows why we don't know, and in a moderate tone points out this position is egregious and patently indefensible

A new documentary tells Sinatra's story through archived interviews and commentary from friends and family; the new collection 'Ultimate Sinatra' is packed with key recordings from Sinatra's recording career.

SXSW presents three documentaries: "Best of Times," "They Will Have to Kill Us First," and "Disaster Playground."

Two remarkable biographies premiered on the screens of SXSW this year. 'The Last Man on the Moon,' profiling Astronaut Gene Cernan, and 'Love and Mercy,' which brings us into the life of Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.

Every ten minutes a woman dies from not having access to a safe abortion-Upworthy. Dutch physician Rebecca Gomperts treated women who had gravely injured themselves trying to induce a miscarriage in countries with restrictive abortion laws. The misery, the suffering, the death was so disheartening when just beyond their grasp, these women could have been in safety with non surgical medical abortions if they had only been given access. How Dr. Gomperts finds a solution to this global issue that is also threatening to become an issue in the US is the subject of the incredible documentary 'Vessel.'

Olympia Dukakis has stated that the Greek Civil War was one of the worst civil wars in modern Europe. "Tens of thousands of innocent people were accused of being enemies of the state and found guilty of crimes they never committed." They were thrown into concentration camps and brutalized. Why have you not heard of this? Events have been politicized and kept hidden. Until now.

The Last Pogo is a brilliant documentary recounting the people and places of Toronto Canada's punk rock scene from 1976-78.