FILM, VIDEO, DVD: ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS
A B C D E F G H I J K L MN O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Film, Video, DVD: G
Ga ED-276
4 min / color / 1983 / CS / 16mm
Preschool through adult
Filmmaker Stephanie Maxwell used a combination of animation techniques, including collage, painting, and etching, to create this film. Ga, according to Maxwell, portrays the activity in an African forest from morning until night. Simplified animal forms-antelope, lions, elephants, pigs, and fish-run and swim across the screen. As the day progresses, the animals and their environment change colors and pace. A lively soundtrack of African music and voices is perfectly synchronized with the moving animal and plant forms to create an intriguing foray into the jungle world. This film provides opportunities for music and art classes to discuss harmony, rhythm, movement, and color.
Suggested Classroom Activity: Have students list changes that occur in the film, including colors, tempo, and intensity of music, and the animals’ activities from morning to night.
Galatea ED-192
12 min / b&w / 1935 / CS / 16mm
Middle school through adult
This silhouette-animation by German filmmaker Lotte Reiniger (1899-1981) was produced in 1935. It relates the familiar Greek myth about a nude female statue that comes to life and creates havoc in the town. Galatea has been called one of Reiniger’s most beautiful films, one that reveals her unself conscious sensuality and her belief in women’s independence. It is an excellent film for general audiences, as well as for the study of filmmaking, silhouette making, and mythology.
Gallery ED-111
6 min / color / 1971 / PFP / 16mm
Middle school through adult
In a fast-paced visual montage, this film reviews masterpieces from the history of Western art. It is excellent both for introductory art classes and for general entertainment.
Gari Melchers: True and Clear WA-530
13 min / color / 1995 / CBAR / VHS
Middle school through adult
Best known for his honest portrayals and his realistic approach, American artist Gari Melchers was well respected, had an international reputation, and held such leadership roles as a seat on the Smithsonian Commission to establish a national gallery of art. He supported himself and his wife by teaching and as a portrait artist, painting such notables as Vanderbilt, Mellon, and Roosevelt. When World War I forced the Melchers to return to the United States from Germany, they discovered the ideal studio and retreat in the Virginia estate of Belmont, located halfway between Washington, DC, and Richmond. There he created the landscapes and murals so dear to his heart until his death in 1932. This program captures the timeless appeal of Melchers’ work and is a tribute to this great artist.
Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers ED-524
51 min / 1980 / VHS
High school through adult
Legendary documentary maker, Les Blank, takes the viewer on an
exhaustive and delicious foray into the history, consumption,
cultivation, culinary, and curative powers of allium sativum,
or "garlic". He visits the kitchens of Chez Panisse
in San Francisco, Flint's Bar-B-Que in Berkeley, La Vielle Maison
in Truckee, and the Gilroy Garlic Festival all backed-up with
a piquant soundtrack of Cajun, French Provincial, Flamenco, and
Swiss Italian music.
Gene Davis WA-127
15 min / color / 1975 / PFI / 16mm
Middle school through adult
In this film portrait we look at the work of Gene Davis, a 20th-century American artist known for his striped, hard-edged paintings that emphasize color and spatial relationships. Davis began the series in 1958 because “it seemed like a very outrageous thing to do.”
The Genji Scrolls Reborn OA-39
60 min / 2002 / DVD, VHS
College through adult
This video combines readings from chapters of the world's oldest
novel, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the Heian period of 11th
century Japan, with the corresponding painted scrolls done 100
years later. Digital technology and painstaking reproductions
allow the ancient pictures to be enjoyed in their original splendor.
A gift from the Toshiba International Foundation.
George Caleb Bingham WA-426
24 min / color / 1976 / FFH / VHS / DVD
Middle school through adult
This program provides a portrait of one of America’s foremost 19th-century painters, whose vivid work provides us with an unrivaled view of life along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Bingham’s role as the creator of political genre painting is emphasized.
George Segal WA-126
58 min / color / 1980 / BPI / 16mm
High school through adult
This film, covering 2 decades of the work of American sculptor George Segal, was assembled for a retrospective exhibition at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Segal candidly discusses his personal philosophy and style, which found their resolution in his white plaster figures. He is shown casting one of his figures from a live model. The film includes interesting footage of Segal overseeing installation of the Walker exhibition, scenes that give a rare insight into the importance of how and where his figures are placed.
George Segal: American Still Life
WA-567
60 min / 2000 / KUL / VHS
High school through adult
This video chronicles the life and work of George Segal whose sculptures have captured seemingly uneventful moments of life in the form of plaster casts of actual humans. As he says, “It strikes me that daily life is baffling, mysterious, and unfathomable.” View Segal at work casting a model in his studio with commentary from friends, critics, art historians, and rare archival footage from the 1960s Pop Art scene.
George Stubbs WA-231
26 min / color / 1983 / YCBA / 3/4"vc, VHS
College through adult
George Stubbs (1724-1806), known in his day merely as “Mr. Stubbs, the Horse Painter,” is now recognized at the forefront of British art. He is one of the most original and searching of all animal painters, whether his subject is a brood mare, a monkey, or a poodle in a punt. He is also a realistic and perceptive portraitist, as much a master of the art of class distinction in 18th-century England as he is of horse anatomy.
Georges Rouault WA-91
30 min / color / 1971 / TEXFLM / 16mm
High school through adult
The painter’s daughter, Isabel Rouault, directed this film about 20th-century French painter Georges Rouault. Scenes recall the artist’s childhood, his work in the atelier of Gustave Moreau, the scandalous Fauves, violent social protest, his Miserere series, and his last glowing Biblical Landscape.
Georges Seurat: Point/Counterpoint WA-362
74 min / color / 1989 / FI / VHS
High school through adult
George Seurat, one of the most influential artists of the Post-Impressionist generation, is presented in this visually rich program. Highlighted by conversations with artists Henry Moore and Bridget Riley, Seurat provides a close look at the creator of the pointillist technique. This revolutionary style, the application of paint in small dots, coupled with Seurat’s masterful draftsmanship, made this artist a formidable influence on early 20th-century art.
Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz WA-524
60 min / color / 1998 / CTC / VHS
College through adult
Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe, companions in life and art in spite of a 23-year age difference, symbolize the juxtapositions characteristics of the American modernist period. In this program, Professor Wanda Corn from Stanford University uses O’Keeffe’s paintings and Stieglitz’s photographs to show the impact each had on the other’s work and on the evolution of American art. Corn emphasizes the artistic collaboration between the couple and points out O’Keeffe’s modernist style of abstraction in her use of strong form and color and unusual vantage point on a traditional subject. As O’Keeffe is influenced by her sojourns to New Mexico, so does her art consciously change in subject matter as a reflection of her strong artistic spirit and determination to reconnect with traditional America.
Getting to Know Color in Art GTK-2
24 min / 2005 / DVD
Kindergarten through fourth grade
This entertaining program covers basic information about color
in art for early elementary students. The colors of the world
around us, the use of color in great works of art, and the emotional
impact of color are all discussed in simple terms and connected
to the design of the color wheel.
Getting to Know Line in Art GTK-1
17 min / 2005 / DVD
Kindergarten through fourth grade
This graphics and sound-filled program covers basic information
about line in art for early elementary students. The definition
and types of lines, media for creating lines, lines in the world
around us, and line in great works of art are discussed in simple,
entertaining terms. Two special topics that relate to line, calligraphy
and cartooning, are also clearly explained.
Getting to Know Shape and Form in Art GTK-3
24 min / 2005 / DVD
Kindergarten through fourth grade
This delightful program covers basic information about shape and
form in art for early elementary students. Colorful animated sequences
define shape and form. Other topics include: geometric and organic
shapes, shape and form in the world around us, shape in painting,
form in sculpture, shape and pattern, negative and positive shapes,
and shape as a tool for drawing.
Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists series
22 min ea / 2000 / CRYS / VHS
Elementary school
Children can have fun learning about great painter’s lives and paintings through a playful combination of their art and delightful, off-the-wall animated cartoons. Based on the highly acclaimed, best-selling children’s books by Mike Venezia, this video makes great art accessible to the young.
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Monet GK-1
Van Gogh GK-2
Rembrandt GK-3
Ghosts before Breakfast ED-233
9 min / b&w / 1926 / CS, EPA / 16mm, VHS
Middle school through adult
This is German filmmaker Hans Richter’s witty mini-classic on the universal theme of the revolt of the objects. It is an absurd Dada-like film that defies many social and cinematic conventions. Objects such as derby hats fly in formation through the air, bearded men advance into the camera. The original version of this film, which was created for the 1928 Baden-Baden musical festival, was destroyed by the Nazis as “degenerate art.”
The Gift of the Little People ED-497
22 min / 2000 / LUC / VHS
Elementary school through adult
Stunning clay animation depicts a mother telling her two children a Mohegan tribe legend about a time when humans lived in harmony with nature and mystical creatures called Little People populated the forests. But the arrival of Europeans threatened the well being of the land and its creatures. Brave warrior, Weegan, and his comical nephew, Bent Feather, performed a feat that magically restored balance to the Earth.
Giotto: The Arena Chapel WA-591
50 min / 1997 / FFH / VHS
College through adult
Giotto’s decorative scheme for the Arena Chapel frescoes at Padua in the early 1300s is considered a pivotal moment in the progression of Western Art. This BBC-TV program presents a detailed interpretation of the Biblical imagery, a biographical and historical investigation into the commissioning of the chapel, and how Giotto resolved the immense technical challenges.
Giotto and the Pre-Renaissance WA-275
47 min / color / 1986 / APPL / VHS
College through adult
The style innovations and frescoes that made Giotto di Bondone (1266-1337) the undisputed master of 14th-century Florentine painting are explored. Giotto demonstrated the changing vision of the pre-Renaissance when he left behind the inward vision of medieval times to seek knowledge of nature in the visible world. Examined in detail are frescoes in the Arena Chapel in Padua, the Bardi Chapel in the Church of Santa Croce, Florence, and the St. Francis frescoes in the Upper Church at Assisi. Music by Ennio Moricone.
The Giving Tree ED-199
10 min / b&w / 1954 / CF / VHS
Preschool through adult
Shel Silverstein’s best-selling book comes to life in this sensitive and gentle film. Unselfishly, a tree offers itself to a boy for climbing, shade, and pleasure. As the boy grows, he wants different things from the tree. Life’s adventures draw the boy away from the tree, but old age brings him back, completing the circle of their relationship. This is an excellent film for discussing story illustrations and for sharing thoughts about the meaning of friendship.
Suggested Classroom Activity: Have children write a short story about their affection for something that is special to them (a boat, a stuffed animal, etc.). If possible, have them also draw simple pictures to illustrate their stories.
Glass
25 min each/ color / 1987 / FI / VHS
High school through adult
There are few substances on earth as useful as glass. Delicate or as tough as steel, it can shatter or stop a bullet in its path. It can be manipulated into artful shapes. What is it about glass that makes it such a versatile substance? This BBC series examines 5 properties of glass, and, in the process, draws upon art history, craft, science, and technology to create an informative and highly entertaining series.
- 1. Shaping Glass GS-1
The first glass on earth was made by volcanos and lightning. 4,000 years ago people learned to duplicate these natural processes to fabricate glass. This program examines glass as a substance-how it is made and formed into shapes. Examples range from ancient beads and vessels to the works of master Venetian glassmakers.
2. Transparency GS-2
Glass, initially an opaque substance, must undergo several processes before it is made transparent. When perfected in the 19th century, glass influenced many aspects of culture, in particular, architecture.
3. Color GS-3
Various chemicals and additives affect the color of glass. This segment investigates colored glass from its origins in the 7th century B.C. through modern applications for decorating and technology. Various types of decorated glass, including cut, etched, and stained glass, are explored.
4. Bending Light GS-4
Transparent window glass was once an astounding invention. Today, glass is equally remarkable for its applications in the field of communications. In the field of medicine, fiber optics allow surgeons to see inside the human body through a glass filament. These developments and others are explored, focusing on the ability of glass to break light down into the spectrum and to bend light.
5. Strength GS-5
How is it that one substance can be as strong as steel, yet fragile enough to shatter into a million pieces? The molecular structure of glass, when observed on the microscopic level, reveals the unique bonding system that makes it such a uniquely vulnerable yet durable material.
The Glassmakers of Herat AT-20
30 min / color / 1979 / BEN / 16mm
Middle school through adult
Photographed by Elliott Erwitt on location in Afghanistan, this film is about an ancient “lost” process for making glass, and the way of life of its craftsmen and of their fellow villagers. In Herat, Afghanistan, 2 artisans were discovered making glass by the same method described in 7th-century Assyrian cuneiform tablets. Intercut with scenes of the glassmakers at work are vignettes from the village life of the craftsmen. With the Soviet Union’s invasion of Herat, it is likely that this film and the Assyrian tablets are now the only records left of the lost art of ancient glassmaking.
Glenna Goodacre WA-464
30 min / color / 1994 / CTC / VHS
Middle school through adult
In this lively interview, sculptor Glenna Goodacre shares her thoughts on public art, commissioned pieces, and the balance between making art and making money from art. Best known for her sculpture commemorating the women of the Vietnam War that is installed in Washington, D. C., Goodacre discusses this project and the process of competing for its commission. This is an excellent program to explore the dynamics between figurative and non-representational sculpture.
The Glory of Byzantine Art WA-593
12 min / 1999 / FFH / VHS
College through adult
This segment of the PBS Jim Lehrer News Hour, gives a mini-history of Byzantium. Journalist Paul Solman discusses a magnificent display of Byzantine art with noted Harvard professor Ioli Kalavrezou. The examples include paintings, mosaics, carvings, and ceramics representing Byzantine iconography as it evolved from Hellenistic and Roman themes to abstractions.
The Glory of Goya WA-14
17 min / b&w / 1953 / PIC / 16mm
High school through adult
The social makeup and violence of 18th-century Spain are reflected in the paintings, etchings, and lithographs of Francisco Goya. This film includes images from Goya’s Disasters of War series and many of his famous court paintings.
God Film ED-73
1 min / color / 1976 / SBC / 16mm
Middle school through adult
American filmmaker Gil Beach presents an amusing animated version of just how it really was “In the Beginning.” God Himself takes just one minute of the viewer’s time to relate his tale. God Film is an excellent ice-breaker for many programs.
Godzilla Meets Mona Lisa ED-167
30 min / color / 1985 / NDF / 16mm
High school through adult
What is the role of the art museum in the 20th century? For whom is art created? Why do people often feel uncomfortable in museums? Ralph Arlyck’s film Godzilla Meets Mona Lisa addresses these and other issues raised by France’s Pompidou Center and its attempts to “democratize” art. He also considers the Louvre and its more traditional approach to the display of art. This film will have particular relevance to those interested in the function of museums, art in public places, urban planning, and environmental design.
Goya WA-614
58 min / 2004 / DVD
College through Adult
A narrator guides the viewer through Francisco Goya's career and
life, thoughts and techniques, entirely with exquisite reproductions
of his works. All paintings, murals, and sketches are shown in
full and in detail with beautiful crisp, color. This survey elucidates
the amazing range of Spain's most beloved painter from the very
beautiful and lovely to the satiric and grotesque to depictions
of war and cruelty.
Goya WA-276
54 min / color / 1986 / APPL / VHS
High school through adult
The life and career of the Spanish painter Francisco Goya (1746-1826) are explored in this revealing video portrait. An artist whose works bridged the 18th-century Rococo period and 19th-century Romanticism, Goya was a master of many styles. The survey begins with his early, light-hearted genre scenes and continues through his court paintings of Charles IV and his satirical works executed during the invasion of Spain by the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. The program concludes with a discussion of the famous “black paintings” executed in Goya’s home in the final years of his life.
The Grand Louvre WA-444
46 min / color / 1993 / ND / VHS
Middle school through adult
The Grand Louvre provides an overview of the historical and architectural development of one of the world’s finest museums, with the focus on the latest wing of the structure. When American architect I. M. Pei revealed his design for the expansion wing of the Louvre, a controversy ensued. Parisians believed his pyramid plan, integrating the existing museum with the new wing, to be too radical for their tastes. Only after a model was displayed and support given from prominent Frenchmen, including the prime minister, was the wing popularly approved. This video is an excellent case study into art and design, light, function and purpose. It explores the study of architecture and art, as well as the role museums can play in our cultural experience and aesthetic appreciation.
The Grand Museum Series
Varied times; see below / color / 1980 / APP / VHS
High school through adult
Each program in this 3-part series is an escorted tour of one of the world’s great art museums. The programs contain background information on the buildings themselves and present images of many of the works in their collections.
- 1. A Visit to the Prado (60 min) GMS-1
Nearly 150 works of art are shown in this video exploration of Madrid’s famous Prado Museum. Special emphasis is given to the works of El Greco, Francisco de Zurbarán, Diego Velázquez, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and Francisco de Goya.
2. A Visit to the Louvre (105 min) GMS-2
The magnificent structure of the Louvre in Paris is presented in this video tour along with celebrated masterpieces by Giotto di Bondone, Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein, Michelangelo Caravaggio, Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Georges de la Tour, Rembrandt van Rijn, Antoine Watteau, and Eugéne Delacroix.
3. A Visit to the Vatican Museums (53 min) GMS-3
This program visits the major buildings that together make up Rome’s Vatican Museums. Explored are the Sistine Chapel, the Stanza della Segnatura, the Loggia, the Vatican Library, and the Pinacoteca. Many well-known works by Renaissance masters Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo are examined.
Grandfather’s Mitten ED-138
10 min / color / 1975 / PFI / 16mm
Elementary school through adult
In this animated film from Bulgaria, an old woodcutter drops his mitten in the forest on an extremely cold winter’s night. Found by a family of mice, the mitten gradually becomes a home for several animal families. Each family brings something new to its “home,” making it more comfortable for each of them, and all live together in harmony, sharing everything they have. The peace is disrupted by a selfish bear, who breaks up the home and tries to take it for himself. All are surprised when the woodcutter returns unexpectedly for his lost mitten.
Grant Wood’s America WA-209
29 min / color / 1986 / IFB / 16mm, VHS
High school through adult
American Gothic is the painting that established Grant Wood’s reputation. The memorable portrait begins this documentary about this well-known American artist. One can imagine that Wood, who possessed a wry sense of humor, would appreciate the many parodies of his famous image that have since been created. The film covers Wood’s life and artistic development, placing special emphasis on the growth of his distinctive Regionalist style and his interest in American traditions.
Graphic Design: What's in a Logo? NEW!
15 min / 2004 / DVD
The consulting firm Navy Blue has been hired by Digital Animations Group, a Scottish firm on the cutting edge of 3-D technology, to create a corporate identity and logo. This concise video takes the viewer through the actual process from sitting down with the client, to brainstorming, to pitching proposals, to unveiling the finished product. .
Graphic Design AT-50
34 min / color / 1989 / FFH / VHS
Middle school through adult
This program shows the range and diversity of visual ideas appropriate to television production and the ways in which various techniques can be used by the graphic designer. It shows the role of technological developments in graphic design while stressing that technology is no substitute for good and fresh visual ideas. It describes in detail how title sequences are produced and shows how graphic designers approach designing such live programs as the weather report and sports coverage.
The Grasshopper and the Ant ED-235
7 min / b&w / 1981 / CS / 16mm
Preschool through adult
In this delightful silhouette-animation by German filmmaker Lotte Reiniger, a grasshopper fiddles away his summer days and is chastized by the industrious Miss Ant, who spends her summer stocking up on food reserves for the cold winter ahead. As the summer days shorten and snow soon covers the land, the grasshopper is found peering into the warm and well-stocked home of the ant. The ant turns the grasshopper away from her door, and soon he collapses in the snow. Discovered and revived by some other animal friends, the grasshopper begins his merry fiddling. When the ant hears the sound of his music, she tries to join in the party. The grasshopper resists the urge to seek revenge and invites her in. Both children and adults will delight in the fanciful animated figures of this talented filmmaker.
The Great Cathedral at Amiens WA-579
29 min / 1995 / FFH / VHS
High school through adult
This video thoroughly examines France’s monumental masterpiece, an architectural hymn to High Gothic in stone and glass. The skeletal construction was carried to its precarious height limit of 140 feet and capable of holding a congregation of 10,000. Religious customs, significant objects, design details, and the structure’s charmed history are also discussed with re-creations of rituals.
The Great Cognito ED-124
5 min / color / 1982 / PFP / 16mm
Middle school through adult
The virtuosity of Will Vinton as a master of clay animation can be seen in “Cognito,” man of a thousand faces. This master of metamorphosis dazzles the viewer with amazing impersonations of public figures, movie stars, and historical events. Live-action footage of the person who performs the “voice” in the film was studied frame by frame, and provided the basis for the clay animation of the figure’s mouth, eyes, and even his wrinkles, in exact synchronization with the voice.
The Great Courses: Fine Arts
These are complete, college-level, survey courses taught in classroom fashion by notable scholars of art history and brilliantly illustrated with hundreds of images.
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A History of European Art ARH-1 NEW!
48 lectures, 30 min per lecture, 8 disks w/guide books/ 2005/ DVD
College through adult
Professor William Kloss of the Smithsonian Institute presents the development of the arts in Europe from the Middle Ages to the modern era illustrated with 850 images, there are all the landmarks you would expect to find in a comprehensive survey: Giotto's Arena Chapel, Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece, Leonardo's The Last Supper, Michelangelo's David, Vermeer's View of Delft, Van Gogh's The Starry Night, Picasso's Guernica, and hundreds more. Includes transcript, if requested.
From Monet to van Gogh: A History of Impressionism ARH-2 NEW!
24 lectures, 30 min per lecture, 4 disks w/guidebooks/ VHS, DVD
College through adult
Professor Richard Brettell of the University of Texas at Dallas creates a "virtual" museum through which to appreciate the genius and enduring accomplishments of the Impressionists, men and women who forever changed the art of painting. His lectures are designed with a deft mix of history, biography, and art. Among over 200 vivid images are Degas’ Ballet Rehearsal on the Stage, Monet’s Impression: Sunrise (Marine), Manet’s Déjeuner sur l'herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), Morisot’s The Garden, and Gauguin’s Vision after the Sermon.
A Great Day in Harlem ED-555
60 min / 2005 / DVD
College through adult
In August of 1958, in front of a Harlem brownstone building, young
photographer Art Kane assembled 57 of the greatest jazz stars
of the day and snapped a picture that has become as legendary
as its subjects. Narrated by Quincy Jones, this Academy Award-nominated
documentary reveals the fascinating lives of the musicians who
showed up that day for the photo. Included are Dizzy Gillespie,
Sonny Rollins, and Art Blakely, home movies, and rare performance
films.
Great Egyptians
3 part series
52 min / color / 1998 / DSC / VHS
Middle school through adult
- 1. Hatshepsut: The Queen Who Would be King GE-1
This video traces the ascendancy of Hatshepsut to the Egyptian throne. When her son tried to ascend to her dead husband’s throne, Hatshepsut declared herself king. This video shows how she overturned Egyptian tradition to become one of the most powerful and successful pharaohs in history.
2. Ramses the Great GE-2
Ramses was the pharaoh who built more stone monuments than any other. View some of his spectacular legacies, including the massive figures at Abu Simel that inspired our own Mt. Rushmore. (See Nubia ‘64, ED-408, also.) Then examine a key battle Ramses may have lost-the one with Moses and the God of the Israelites.
3. Sneferu: King of the Pyramids GE-3
Less known than some pharaohs, Sneferu is nonetheless credited with making ancient Egypt an international power. He and his sons built the pyramids. Learn his story then take a journey through a pyramid’s Labyrinthine burial chambers.
The Great Sail WA-184
10 min / color / 1973 / PFI / 16mm
Middle school through adult
When Alexander Calder’s largest sculpture in America, La Grande Voile, was erected on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966, the artist himself directed the workmen and machinery in the realization of his creative concept. The personality of the artist and the soaring force of his work dominate this film: Calder remains absorbed in quiet concentration as bemused students and bystanders observe the improbable event.
The Great Wall of China ED-464
54 min / 2000 / DSC / VHS
Middle school through adult
Stretching 1,500 miles from the Yellow Sea to the central Asian desert, the 2,000-year-old Great Wall of China has shaped not only China’s past, but all of Europe’s as well. Meet a photographer whose passion for the Great Wall has driven him to uncover thousands of miles forgotten walls, often separate from the main structure built by China’s royal dynasties. A Discovery Channel film.
Greek Drama: Reconstructing a Greek Theater NEW!
25 min /1998/ VHS
This film made right at the famous Theater of Dionysus in Athens, reveals how it evolved over time through the Greek and Roman periods. By interpreting the clues given by actual stones, spaces, and decorative touches that still exist, referencing a play by Aristophanes, and inspecting vase paintings, the host solves many mysteries. He then takes the viewer to a renovated theater to show how it may have looked completely in tact.
Greek Mythology for Students
10 volumes, 23 min ea / 2004 / VHS
Upper elementary
This cartoon video series makes many of the major Greek myths
understandable for children who will learn about the characters
and the dramatic situations that explained the ancients' beliefs
about the wonders of the universe. A narrator highlights the
common themes that threaded throughout ancient culture and history
and shows how the myths are still powerful in our lives today.
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The Gods of Olympus GRK-1
Perseus & Medusa GRK-2
Nature Myths GRK-3
The Journeys of Odysseus GRK-4
The Trojan War GRK-5
Constellation of Myths GRK-6
Jason & the Golden Fleece GRK-7
Defying the Gods GRK-8
The Labors of Heracles GRK-9
Theseus & the Minotaur GRK-10
The Greek Myths, Part I: Myth as Fiction, History, and Ritual WA-279
27 min / color / 1971 / EBEC / VHS
High school through adult
Through the ages, Greek myths have inspired the imaginations of artists, poets, and composers. This video program explores myth as primitive fiction, as history in disguise, and as the outgrowth of prehistoric ritual. In a skillfully animated sequence, the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice is presented as early fiction. Then, Theseus is followed through a terrifying underground maze to the Minotaur’s lair; we discover how this myth retells in allegory the historical tension between Greece and Crete. The story of Demeter and Persephone, the earth-mother and her daughter, the maiden of springtime, is shown first in animation. It is then traced back in dramatic re-creation to the ancient religious ritual from which it grew long ago.
The Greek Myths, Part II: Myth as Science, Religion, and Drama WA-280
25 min / color / 1971 / EBEC / VHS
High school through adult
This engrossing video study explores how ancient man developed myths to explain natural phenomena, as well as religious, moral, and psychological problems. The legend of the young Narcissus is presented on 2 levels-as a charming nature story and as a perceptive bit of psychological analysis. The story of Hyperion and Phaethon is analyzed as an early attempt at understanding a colossal solar disturbance. Another natural phenomenon, volcanic eruption, is imaginatively described in the myth of the monster Typhoeus, imprisoned by Zeus under Mount Etna. Finally, myth is seen as the basis for many of Greek literature’s great masterpieces. The program’s closing scenes are from Aeschylus’s Prometheus in Chains, in which a timeless moral and religious problem is dramatized: How can God permit evil to exist?
The Greek Temple WA-480
60 min / color / 1984 / AA / VHS
High school through adult
For uncounted centuries, the temples at Paestum were lost to all human knowledge, shrouded in a marshy, malaria-infested coastal plain. When roads were built into this forbidding region of southern Italy in the mid-18th century, archaeologists discovered the colossal remains of a sacred city that had stood for over 2,000 years. This acclaimed film is a fascinating journey through these remains, as well as those at Delphi, Agrigento, Sounion, and the Acropolis. It traces the evolution of the temples in Magna Grecia through the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles, and includes models and animated reconstructions of some of the most magnificent of the ancient shrines. From the sprawling Greek power center, Olympia, to the largest and most lavish temple on the mainland, the Parthenon, The Greek Temple spans the golden age of the Greek empire to reveal the glorious and majestic dwelling places of the mythical gods themselves.
Greek Vases in the British Museum WA-537
31 min / color / 1998 / FFH / VHS
High school through adult
Drawing on the British Museum’s famous collection, this program focuses on the history of Greek vases from 6000 BC to the fourth century BC-from the first handmade pottery to the familiar red and black figure vases of Athens. It reveals the techniques used to make them and the designs, functions, myths, and legends.
The Greeks
20 min each / color / 1987 / FI / VHS
Elementary school through adult
This unusual elementary-level series provides access to some of the great stories of the world, and to one of civilization’s richest heritages. The 4 programs are designed to fit easily into the curriculum and cover subjects including art, crafts, language arts, math, history, drama, and science. Each program tells a Greek story, then highlights a particular aspect of Greek heritage.
- 1. Athena’s City GR-1
This first program introduces Greek gods and legends with the myth of Perseus, and shows the significance of this ancient culture. By studying its architecture, we can see that the Greek civilization left many visible marks on contemporary society.
2. Greek Pottery GR-2
The second program completes the story of Perseus and shows how archaeology helps us to learn about the past. Archaeologists are filmed excavating artifacts. Cultural contributions of the Greeks are also illustrated, such as coins and the beautiful Greek pottery from which we derive much of our knowledge of Greece.
3. Women and Children GR-3
In the eyes of the ancient Greeks, a woman’s place was definitely in the home! This program looks at domestic life, living standards, and the role of women in ancient Greek society. The second half of the program begins the story of the Golden Fleece.
4. Greek Schools GR-4
This final program completes the story of the Golden Fleece and takes the viewer to a reconstructed Greek school to illustrate a typical ancient school day and the Greeks’ contributions to language and science.
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization series
3 parts; 60 min ea / 1999 / PBS / VHS/DVD
Middle school through adult
PBS produced this fine series recounting the rise, glory, demise, and legacy of the empire that marked the dawn of Western civilization.
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Episode One: The Revolution ED-501
The troubled birth of the world’s first democracy, Athens, is told through the life of a nobleman, Cleisthenes. In 5th century BC, the Athenians struggle against a series of tyrants and their rival, Sparta, to create a new “society of equals”.
Episode Two: The Golden Age ED-502
The Greeks’ heroic victory against the mighty Persian Empire is told through the life of Themistocles, one of Athens’ greatest generals. Elected leader Pericles, oversees the building of the Parthenon and an extraordinary flourishing of the arts and sciences.
Episode Three: Empire of the Mind ED-503
The tragic descent of Athenian democracy is seen through the eyes of Socrates, Athens’ first philosopher. The conflict with Sparta turns futile and even suicidal. As defeat piles on defeat, mob rule takes over and the most vocal critic, Socrates, is put to death in a people’s court.
The Gripping Beast WA-58
20 min / color / DNM / 16mm
Middle school through adult
About the year 800, the Vikings of Scandinavia sailed to parts of the “civilized” world, where they saw elaborately carved decorative motifs on Christian churches. One of the designs that particularly fascinated them was that of the lion. On their return, the Vikings incorporated it into their art in the form of “the gripping beast,” the Griffin. This film shows, in animated form, the development of this motif from its beginnings to its disappearance about 200 years later.
Greene & Greene: The Art of Architecture ED-536 NEW!
57 min/2003/ DVD
High school through adult
During the early 20th century heyday of the Arts and Crafts movement in America, Brothers Charles and Henry Greene took an intensely artistic approach to the design of houses and interiors. More so than peer Frank Lloyd Wright they took special interest in environmental details such as woodwork, furniture, lighting fixtures, tile, rugs, and art glass. They blended American, European, and Asian architectural concepts. 15 of their masterpieces are here including the Gamble and Blacker houses in Pasadena, the Tichenor house in Long Beach, and the Thorsen house in Berkeley.
Ground Zero/ Sacred Ground EX-6
9 min / 1997 / VHS
High school through adult
Set the desert of southcentral New Mexico, Three Rivers is an
ancient Native American site where over 10,000 petroglyphs were
created by the Jornada Mogollon people centuries before Columbus.
Nearby is the White Sands Missile Range where the world's first
atomic bomb was tested in 1945. This animated film, beautifully
hand-drawn by Karen Aqua, imagines a more profound relationship
between two sites that were created by entirely different cultures.
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao ED-450
33 min / 2000 / FFH / VHS
High school through adult
A true original, architect Frank Gehry created an extraordinarily distinctive building in the Basque country of northern Spain out of titanium metal, glass, and limestone. Its luminous exterior is as visually stimulating as the cathedral-like atrium. The organic forms of the galleries are an artful comment to the building’s artistic contents. Gehry discusses his design approach and the architectural evolution of the building right through the completed project that encompasses classical, modern, and post-modern concepts.
Guitar PE-31
57 min / color / 1989 / BFF / VHS
Middle school through adult
Great masters from every tradition gather every 3 years in Toronto, Canada, for the International Guitar Festival. This vibrant kaleidoscopic tribute meshes dance, music, and visual art to create a spectacular yet intimate celebration of the guitar. Featured, among others, are John Williams from England, Leo Brouwer from Cuba, Turibio Santos from Brazil, Vladimir Mikulka from Czechoslovakia, and Steve Morse from the United States. Recommended for classes of music, dance, and performing arts.
Gullah Tales ED-258
30 min / color / 1987 / DC / VHS
Elementary school through adult
There’s much excitement on the plantation: “Maum Nancy’s goin’ tella gullah tale!” Set on a plantation on the Sea Islands of Georgia in 1830, this series of stories celebrates the black American tradition of gullah, a rich combination of African and Creole cultures. The familiar Br’er Rabbit stories are gullah tales. This film is a delightful combination of living history, performance, and morality tale. Suggested for American history and African-American studies.
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