The Magical Eye

Features clips from 21 documentary and animation film classics, interviews with NFB filmmakers past and present, and incisive commentary from film critics and historians on the role and influence of the NFB during its first half century of existence.

Cast

William Whitehead

as Narrator (Voice)

Louis Applebaum

as Self

Denys Arcand

as Self

Ronald Blumer

as Self

Donald Brittain

as Self

Claude Fournier

as Self

Pauline Kael

as Self

Caroline Leaf

as Self

Helen Lewis

as Self

Grant Munro

as Self

Reviews

Similar Movies

Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story

In 1981, a film about the misadventures of a German U-boat crew in 1941 becomes a worldwide hit almost four decades after the end of the World War II. Millions of viewers worldwide make Das Boot the most internationally successful German film of all time. But due to disputes over the script, accidents on the set, and voices accusing the makers of glorifying the war, the project was many times on the verge of being cancelled.

⭐ 7.2🤍

The Unknown Peter Sellers

Documentary about the life and career of a comic genius, Peter Sellers.

⭐ 8.2🤍

The Five Obstructions

In 1967, experimental filmmaker Jorgen Leth created a striking short film, The Perfect Human, starring a man and women sitting in a box while a narrator poses questions about their relationship and humanity. Years later, Danish director Lars von Trier made a deal with Leth to remake his film five times, each under a different set of circumstances and with von Trier's strictly prescribed rules. As Leth completes each challenge, von Trier creates increasingly further elaborate stipulations.

⭐ 6.9🤍

U-96, The True Story of 'Das Boot'

The international success of the film Das Boot by Wolfgang Petersen made U-96 one of the most famous submarines in cinematic history. But the true story of one of Hitler's most fearsome U-boats and its crew goes far beyond fiction. For the first time, this documentary sheds light on the reality behind the fiction through exclusive interviews with the makers and actors of Das Boot, as well as the last survivors of the time. In doing so, this documentary explores how Hitler's propaganda images may have influenced the visual and narrative force of Das Boot.

⭐ 6.3🤍

John Ford Goes to War

When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7."

⭐ 5.5🤍

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.

⭐ 7.1🤍

Not Quite Hollywood

As Australian cinema broke through to international audiences in the 1970s through respected art house films like Peter Weir's "Picnic At Hanging Rock," a new underground of low-budget exploitation filmmakers were turning out considerably less highbrow fare. Documentary filmmaker Mark Hartley explores this unbridled era of sex and violence, complete with clips from some of the scene's most outrageous flicks and interviews with the renegade filmmakers themselves.

⭐ 6.8🤍

Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson

Brought to life through archival material and the reflections of over 40 colleagues, friends and fans, BLOOD & FLESH is much more than the story of a moviemaking life most unusual. It beautifully captures the worlds of outsider filmmaker communities that existed in California in the ’70s, and the weird ways they intersected with Hollywood mainstream and union indies. On Adamson shoots, regular Orson Welles crew and cinematographers like Gary Graver, Vilmos Szigmond and Lazlo Kovaks worked alongside Bud Cardos — and at one point, Charles Manson! Director David Gregory (founder of Severin Films, director of LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU) spent years making this film, speaking to everyone down to the cops who investigated Adamson’s murder, vividly encapsulating both a bold life and tragic demise, with alien conspiracies, go-go dancers and Colonel Sanders coming in along the way. If you’ve got even a passing interest in cinema, you want to see this

⭐ 6.8🤍

That Guy Dick Miller

Documentary about veteran character actor Dick Miller, whose career in and outside of Hollywood has spanned almost 200 films across six decades, featuring a diverse range of interviews with directors, co-stars, and contemporaries.

⭐ 7.0🤍

Happy Birthday Mr Bean

A celebratory documentary looking back at the 30 years since comedy legend Mr Bean landed on our screens. This documentary explores the magic behind this unlikely hero.

⭐ 7.8🤍

Auteur on the Campus: Jack Arnold at Universal!

A documentary about the career of director Jack Arnold at Universal-International Studios. (An early version of this film, only 20 minutes in length, was screened in 2012.)

⭐ 7.0🤍

Alex to the Max: The Making of Max Keeble's Big Move

This documentary treats movie fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Max Keeble's Big Move, about a young boy who uses his imminent move to another town as his big chance for revenge on everyone who's tormented him, only to have his plan backfire. Included are interviews with the cast and crew who talk about the experience of making the film, as well as all of the effort that went into it.

⭐ 10.0🤍

The Dinosaur

Acclaimed Finnish director Rauni Mollberg made several scandalous yet widely appreciated films. Former co-worker Veikko Aaltonen’s eye-opening documentary The Dinosaur looks at the relentless, often disturbing directing techniques behind Mollberg’s art and success.

⭐ 5.8🤍

A Gray State

In 2010 David Crowley, an Iraq veteran, aspiring filmmaker and charismatic up-and-coming voice in fringe politics, began production on his film Gray State. Set in a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government, the film’s crowd funded trailer was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning online community of libertarians, Tea Party activists and members of the nascent alt-right. In January of 2015, Crowley was found dead with his family in their suburban Minnesota home. Their shocking deaths quickly become a cause célèbre for conspiracy theorists who speculate that Crowley was assassinated by a shadowy government concerned about a film and filmmaker that was getting too close to the truth about their aims.

⭐ 6.4🤍

The Belgian Road to Cannes

A cheerful road movie all about Belgian films at Cannes over the past 70 years. Filmmakers from the past converse with those from the present to paint the portrait of a cinema that is both diverse and free. An account of Belgium’s participation in the greatest film festival in the world.

⭐ 0.0🤍

The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?

The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major filmmakers: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.

⭐ 6.7🤍

Filmworker

The story of Leon Vitali, who surrendered his promising acting career to become Stanley Kubrick's devoted right-hand man.

⭐ 7.1🤍

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno

In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot's production of L'Enfer came to a halt. Despite huge expectations, major studio backing and an unlimited budget, after three weeks the production collapsed. This documentary presents Inferno's incredible expressionistic original rushes, screen tests, and on-location footage, whilst also reconstructing Clouzot's original vision, and shedding light on the ill-fated endeavor through interviews, dramatizations of unfilmed scenes, and Clouzot's own notes.

⭐ 7.3🤍

Visions of Light

Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

⭐ 7.0🤍

Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The 'Plan 9' Companion

A documentary detailing the making of the cult favorite "Plan 9 from Outer Space," featuring interviews with cast members and prominent filmmakers about the film, its lasting legacy, and its creator, Edward D. Wood Jr.

⭐ 7.2🤍