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03:52

The Story of the Butcher of Lyon

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews the documentary Hotel Terminus, about Nazi officer Klaus Barbie, who fled to South America after the end of World War II. Despite the dark subject material, Stone says the movie is a pleasure, and praises director Marcel Orphuls unblinking camerawork.

Review
03:28

Holding the Keys to the Nuclear Arsenal

PBS will soon air the documentary Missile, about the fourteen-week training program for launch operators. TV critic David Bianculli says it gives real life context to the hit film Wargames. Director Frederick Wiseman's signature eschewing of interviews sometimes detracts from the narrative, but the movie is overall worth watching.

Review
09:45

A Sea of Conflicting Facts

Errol Morris thinks of himself as much a detective as a documentary filmmaker. Known for his off-beat subjects, he's adopted a more serious tone with his new movie, The Thin Blue Line, about a murder investigation in Dallas. Errol believes the man sentenced to death for the crime, Randall Dale Adams, is innocent.

Interview
10:00

The "Decline" of Aging Rockers

Part I of Terry Gross's interview with filmmaker Penelope Spheeris. Spheeris talks about her new movie, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: the Metal Years, a documentary about the heavy metal scene. She thinks stereotypes of the inarticulate and unskilled metal musicians are unfair -- though it's often true that they embrace a drug-fueled, self-destructive lifestyle.

Interview
03:35

Give Me Superstardom or Give Me Death

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: the Metal Years. He says the compelling movie is a revealing look at how fans and musicians participate in the decadent culture of heavy metal music.

09:43

Finding the Roots of Great Music

Robert Mugge makes documentary films about unique and vital American music. His subjects include Al Green, Sonny Rollins, and native Hawaiian musicians. PBS will broadcast six of his movies this summer.

Interview
27:29

Cinematographer and Director Nestor Almendros.

Cinematographer Nestor Almendros. The films he has photographed include "Sophie's Choice," "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Days of Heaven," for which he won the Academy Award. He has directed the photography for films by Eric Rohmer and Francois Truffaut. Almendros worked in Havana in the early years of the Castro regime before he had a falling out with the authorities.

Interview
27:26

Albert Maysles' Direct Cinema.

Filmmaker Albert Maysles. He was a pioneer of the cinema verité style, where the camera acts as an eye and the film proceeds without narration or script. With his late brother David, Albert Maysles made the films "Gimme Shelter," and the recent "Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic," which won two Emmys.

Interview
03:33

Recognizing the "Masters of Comic Book Art"

Critic Ken Tucker believes the new film, now on home video, highlights the importance of an often overlooked medium. His only quibble is with sci-fi author Harlan Ellison's narration, which Tucker says is unnecessary.

Review
51:37

Terry Zwigoff's "Louie Bluie."

Terry Zwigoff is the director and producer of the documentary "Louie Bluie," about jazz violinist and mandolinist Howard Armstrong. Armstrong continues the tradition of black string bands in the nineteen-teens and the nineteen-twenties. Armstrong's career was revived in the nineteen-seventies on the college circuit. Zwigoff plays the cello and mandolin himself, including in cartoonist R. Crumb's band, and collects jazz records.

Interview
29:24

Reggio's Unconventional Documentary, Koyaanisqatsi.

Godfrey Reggio is an experimental filmmaker whose work makes uses of montage and sound. His first film, a documentary, "Koyaanisqatsi," derives its title from the Hopi word meaning "unbalanced life." The film manipulates images of cityscapes, and Reggio describes it as showing "the beauty of the beast." The film's music is composed by Philip Glass. Reggio intends the documentary to produce a mind-opening experience for the viewer through the fusion of music and image--to be inspiration, not entertainment.

Interview
11:41

The Burden of Werner Herzog's Dreams.

Les Blank is one of the filmmakers who directed the documentary "Burden of Dreams," which will be playing at the International House in Philadelphia. The documentary is about the making of Werner Herzog's fictional film "Fitzcarraldo," which chronicles an Irishman trying to build an opera house in the Amazonian jungle. This interview originally aired on Michael Goodwin's radio program about film on Pacifica Radio Station KPFA in Berkeley. (INTERVIEW BY MICHAEL GOODWIN)

46:19

Bob Mugge Showscases Gil Scott-Heron in "Black Wax."

Documentarian Bob Mugge's new film "Black Wax" is a performance documentary with poet and activist Gil Scott-Heron. The film documents performances by Scott-Heron, including some with wax figures. Mugge's previous film "Amateur Night at City Hall," was a documentary about Frank Rizzo. The film includes Scott-Heron performing a portion of his poem/song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Interview
25:34

Photographer and Filmmaker Danny Lyon

As a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lyon documented many of the violent clashes between polices and protestors during the civil rights era. He continues to produce politically-charged photos and movies today.

Interview

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