Penelope Spheeris

Penelope Spheeris

Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945) is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization.  She has also directed feature films, including Wayne's World, her highest grossing film.

  • Title: Penelope Spheeris
  • Popularity: 4.203
  • Known For: Directing
  • Birthday: 1945-12-02
  • Place of Birth: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As:
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Penelope Spheeris Movies

  • 1990
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    Thunder and Mud

    Thunder and Mud

    1 1990 HD

    An entertaining combination of heavy-metal rockers and female mud wrestlers hosted by Jessica Hahn.

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  • 2020
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    Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi

    Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi

    6.4 2020 HD

    The greatest cult horror and science fiction films of all-time are studied in vivid detail in the second volume of Time Warp. Includes groundbreaking...

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  • 1974
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    The Second Coming of Suzanne

    The Second Coming of Suzanne

    2.6 1974 HD

    Jared Martin plays an aspiring film maker obsessed with the idea of Christ as a woman, and tries to film his vision with Sondra Locke as his subject....

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  • 2020
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    Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness

    Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness

    6.8 2020 HD

    From "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to "The Big Lebowski" and everything in between, this fascinating deep-dive documentary begins its celebration...

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  • 2005
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    The Kid & I

    The Kid & I

    5.7 2005 HD

    Aaron Roman is a teenager with cerebral palsy who dreams of starring in a big-time action movie. When his father grants Aaron his wish for his...

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  • 2009
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    Direct Your Own Damn Movie!

    Direct Your Own Damn Movie!

    5 2009 HD

    Legendary director Lloyd Kaufman, President of Troma Entertainment and Creator of the Toxic Avenger, reveals 40 years worth of maverick cinematic...

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  • 1981
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    The Decline of Western Civilization

    The Decline of Western Civilization

    7.165 1981 HD

    The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear,...

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  • 1988
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    The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

    The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

    6.8 1988 HD

    An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of...

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  • 2019
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    At the Video Store

    At the Video Store

    10 2019 HD

    Equal parts personal essay, intense rumination, and playful satire, this movie laments the death of the American Video Store while it searches for...

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  • 2018
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    Half the Picture

    Half the Picture

    5.9 2018 HD

    At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors talk about their art, lives and careers.

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  • 1973
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    Brothers

    Brothers

    9.7 1973 HD

    Set in Los Angeles, Brothers tells the story of Vince, a brooding, mustachioed stud who’s visited by his kid brother Rick, a soldier serving in...

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  • 2004
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    Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

    Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

    6.9 2004 HD

    A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the...

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  • 1971
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    The Ski Bum

    The Ski Bum

    4.8 1971 HD

    A ski instructor tries to teach a bunch of insanely eccentric people how to ski while dealing with everyone wanting his attention.

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  • 1990
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    Wedding Band

    Wedding Band

    6 1990 HD

    A couple who both work at wedding receptions encounter complications when they decide to marry.

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  • 2011
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    Corman's World

    Corman's World

    7.1 2011 HD

    A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film...

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  • 1989
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    Decade

    Decade

    7 1989 HD

    Interviews with personalities including John Mellencamp, Spike Lee, Lou Reed, Roseanne Barr, David Byrne, George Michael and more, as they reflect on...

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  • 2009
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    For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism

    For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism

    5.7 2009 HD

    The story of American film criticism.

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  • 1988
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    Calling the Shots

    Calling the Shots

    1 1988 HD

    Documentary about women in the film industry. Numerous notable actresses and female directors share their thoughts.

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  • 2022
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    Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power

    Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power

    6 2022 HD

    Investigates the politics of cinematic shot design, and how this meta-level of filmmaking intersects with the twin epidemics of sexual abuse/assault...

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  • 1970
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    Superman's Loneliness

    Superman's Loneliness

    1 1970 HD

    UCLA Student Film, Preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. A man and his wife suffer under the monotony of everyday life with work at an...

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  • 1994
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    The Little Rascals

    The Little Rascals

    6.8 1994 HD

    When nine-year-old Alfalfa falls for Darla, his "He-Man-Woman-Hating" friends attempt to sabotage their relationship.

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  • 1994
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    The Little Rascals

    The Little Rascals

    6.8 1994 HD

    When nine-year-old Alfalfa falls for Darla, his "He-Man-Woman-Hating" friends attempt to sabotage their relationship.

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  • 1981
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    The Decline of Western Civilization

    The Decline of Western Civilization

    7.165 1981 HD

    The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear,...

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  • 1993
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    The Beverly Hillbillies

    The Beverly Hillbillies

    6.304 1993 HD

    Jed Clampett and kin move from Arkansas to Beverly Hills when he becomes a billionaire, after an oil strike. The country folk are very naive with...

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  • 1993
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    The Beverly Hillbillies

    The Beverly Hillbillies

    6.304 1993 HD

    Jed Clampett and kin move from Arkansas to Beverly Hills when he becomes a billionaire, after an oil strike. The country folk are very naive with...

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  • 1986
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    The Boys Next Door

    The Boys Next Door

    6.2 1986 HD

    Roy and Bo leave their small town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to LA. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a...

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  • 1992
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    Wayne's World

    Wayne's World

    6.701 1992 HD

    The adventures of two amiably aimless metal-head friends, Wayne and Garth. From Wayne's basement, the pair broadcast a talk-show called "Wayne's...

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  • 1998
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    Senseless

    Senseless

    6.183 1998 HD

    A student gets his senses enhanced by an experimental drug. But abuse is not an option.

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  • 1984
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    Suburbia

    Suburbia

    6.7 1984 HD

    When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The...

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  • 1984
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    Suburbia

    Suburbia

    6.7 1984 HD

    When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The...

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  • 1987
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    Dudes

    Dudes

    5.8 1987 HD

    Two punks from the big city, traveling across the country in a Volkswagen bug, embrace the western ethos when they must take revenge against a group...

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  • 1996
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    Black Sheep

    Black Sheep

    6.015 1996 HD

    When dignified Albert Donnelly runs for Governor, his team moves to keep his slow-witted and klutzy younger brother, Mike, out of the eye of the...

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  • 1988
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    The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

    The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

    6.8 1988 HD

    An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of...

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  • 1975
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    The Impossible Truth

    The Impossible Truth

    1 1975 HD

    Albert Brooks presents a mockumentary in which he presents several shocking news stories. Saturday Night Live, Season 1 Episode 1

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  • 1975
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    Home Movies & Failed Candid-Camera Stunts

    Home Movies & Failed Candid-Camera Stunts

    1 1975 HD

    Albert Brooks introduces himself to the audience through showing them his home movies from childhood & attempts and fails at doing candid-camera...

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  • 1975
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    Open Heart Surgery

    Open Heart Surgery

    1 1975 HD

    Albert places an ad in a newspaper expressing a desire to perform a heart bypass & gets to live his dream of being a heart surgeon for one day....

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  • 1975
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    Upcoming Season

    Upcoming Season

    1 1975 HD

    Super mid-season replacements to failed shows in a network's super season. Saturday Night Live, Season 1 Episode 4

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  • 1976
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    Audience Research

    Audience Research

    1 1976 HD

    Albert Brooks goes to a research institute to find out why people don't like him and how he can change that. Saturday Night Live, Season 1 Episode 9

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  • 1975
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    Sick

    Sick

    1 1975 HD

    Albert Brooks is sick and stuck in bed. Saturday Night Live, Season 1 Episode 7

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  • 1998
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    The Decline of Western Civilization Part III

    The Decline of Western Civilization Part III

    6.8 1998 HD

    The Decline of Western Civilization III is a 1998 documentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris that chronicles the 'gutter punk' lifestyle of...

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  • 1990
    imgMovies

    Thunder and Mud

    Thunder and Mud

    1 1990 HD

    An entertaining combination of heavy-metal rockers and female mud wrestlers hosted by Jessica Hahn.

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  • 2003
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    The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron

    The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron

    3.7 2003 HD

    Brian Cruver, an ambitious 26-year-old lands a job at Enron. As he assimilates to the company's get-rich-quick mantra, spending sprees and wild...

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  • 2011
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    Balls to the Wall

    Balls to the Wall

    5.1 2011 HD

    Ben's fiancée has her heart set on an expensive dream wedding, but her father, Jack, has secretly gambled away all his money. When Ben...

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  • 1986
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    Hollywood Vice Squad

    Hollywood Vice Squad

    3.7 1986 HD

    A mother goes to Hollywood to find her runaway daughter. She discovers that the girl has become involved in the pornography industry, and goes to the...

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  • 2012
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    The Real St. Nick

    The Real St. Nick

    5.9 2012 HD

    A pretty psychiatrist is saved from an accident by a man who, after hitting his head on a rock, believes he is Santa Claus. As she nurses him back to...

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  • 2001
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    We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll

    We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll

    5 2001 HD

    Penelope Spheeris presents an amazing chronicle of the travelling musical carnival known as OZZfest, the most successful summer concert tour for the...

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  • 1999
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    N.Y.H.C.

    N.Y.H.C.

    6.8 1999 HD

    N.Y.H.C. is the first feature-length documentary to explore the New York Harcore music scene. Drawings its roots from punk rock, hardcore evolved...

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  • 1991
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    Prison Stories: Women on the Inside

    Prison Stories: Women on the Inside

    3.8 1991 HD

    Three novels - three dramatic stories in the walls of the women's prison. The first story - a brand new, first went to prison inmates. The second -...

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  • 1971
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    I Don't Know

    I Don't Know

    4 1971 HD

    A truly major work, I Don’t Know observes the relationship between a lesbian and a transgender person who prefers to be identified somewhere in...

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  • 1991
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    Rap's Most Wanted

    Rap's Most Wanted

    1 1991 HD

    Documentery from 1991 where The 2 Live Crew, Chuck D (Public Enemy), Too Short, Ice-T, Geto Boys, H.W.A. drop real talk on different topics.

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  • 2005
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    The Kid & I

    The Kid & I

    5.7 2005 HD

    Aaron Roman is a teenager with cerebral palsy who dreams of starring in a big-time action movie. When his father grants Aaron his wish for his...

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  • 2005
    imgMovies

    The Kid & I

    The Kid & I

    5.7 2005 HD

    Aaron Roman is a teenager with cerebral palsy who dreams of starring in a big-time action movie. When his father grants Aaron his wish for his...

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  • 1971
    imgMovies

    I Don't Know

    I Don't Know

    4 1971 HD

    A truly major work, I Don’t Know observes the relationship between a lesbian and a transgender person who prefers to be identified somewhere in...

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  • 1969
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    Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales

    Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales

    1 1969 HD

    A white man goes on trial for having raped a black woman.

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  • 1979
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    Real Life

    Real Life

    6.6 1979 HD

    A pushy, narcissistic filmmaker persuades a Phoenix family to let him and his crew film their everyday lives, in the manner of the ground-breaking...

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  • 1981
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    The Decline of Western Civilization

    The Decline of Western Civilization

    7.165 1981 HD

    The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear,...

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  • 1981
    imgMovies

    The Decline of Western Civilization

    The Decline of Western Civilization

    7.165 1981 HD

    The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear,...

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  • 1998
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    No Use Walkin' When You Can Stroll

    No Use Walkin' When You Can Stroll

    1 1998 HD

    One-time carny, bartender, and married 10 times, director Penelope Spheeris’ mother was an uncommon woman. In this sweet, funny, and moving...

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  • 1969
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    Bath

    Bath

    1 1969 HD

    Made in an environment and at a time when frequent and gratuitous images of nude women permeated the work of her male counterparts, director Penelope...

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  • 1969
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    Shit

    Shit

    1 1969 HD

    An unfinished archival short, in which the titular substance plays a key role in determining an outmoded man’s role in a changing society. ...

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  • 1968
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    Synthesis

    Synthesis

    1 1968 HD

    Synthesis is director Penelope Spheeris' first film, made in 8mm Kodachrome while she was a student at UCLA. In a seemingly near-future control room...

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  • 1972
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    Hats Off to Hollywood

    Hats Off to Hollywood

    1 1972 HD

    Picking up the story first presented in I Don’t Know (1970), Hats Off to Hollywood (1972) brazenly and brilliantly mixes documentary reality...

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  • 1969
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    The National Rehabilitation Center

    The National Rehabilitation Center

    1 1969 HD

    Two years before Peter Watkins’ Punishment Park (1971), director Penelope Spheeris takes the McCarran Act to its inevitable next step and shows...

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  • 1987
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    Summer Camp Nightmare

    Summer Camp Nightmare

    4.9 1987 HD

    A group of campers revolt against their strict camp director and take over the camp for themselves.

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  • 1991
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    Visitors from the Unknown

    Visitors from the Unknown

    6 1991 HD

    A look at the Travis Walton abduction

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  • 1968
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    Boy and Crows

    Boy and Crows

    1 1968 HD

    An early short film by Penelope Spheeris about a boy enjoying the age-old pleasures of making a wish on a dandelion. Preserved by the Academy Film...

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  • 1999
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    Hollywierd

    Hollywierd

    1 1999 HD

    Documents the making of BLOOD DOLLS, interviewing members of the cast and crew.

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  • 2011
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    Five

    Five

    7 2011 HD

    An anthology of five short films exploring the impact of breast cancer on people's lives.

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  • 1990
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    Banned in the USA

    Banned in the USA

    1 1990 HD

    A video portrait of 2 Live Crew as they fought to release their album "Banned in the USA" during the censorship crisis of the late 80s and early 90s...

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  • 1991
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    Lifers Group ‎– World Tour: Rahway Prison, That's It

    Lifers Group ‎– World Tour: Rahway Prison, That's It

    1 1991 HD

    A short documentary accompanying the first EP released by Lifers Group, a rap crew that grew out of the Lifers Group Juvenile Awareness Program...

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  • 1970
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    Superman's Loneliness

    Superman's Loneliness

    1 1970 HD

    UCLA Student Film, Preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. A man and his wife suffer under the monotony of everyday life with work at an...

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  • 2019
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    Punk

    Punk

    7.8 2019 HD

    Featuring original interviews with America’s punk pioneers and the U.K.’s most notorious bands, alongside a seamless blend of rare and...

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  • 2020
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    Reunited Apart

    Reunited Apart

    5.5 2020 HD

    Josh Gad reunites the cast and crews of various classic movies, and discusses the the films in hilarious yet heartfelt conversations.

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  • 1970
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    Reunited Apart

    Reunited Apart

    5 1970 HD

    Cracking Up is an American television sitcom created by School of Rock writer Mike White, who also served as the series' head writer. It aired on the...

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  • 1970
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    Reunited Apart

    Reunited Apart

    1 1970 HD

    Danger Theatre is an American half-hour comedy anthology series for television, produced by Universal Studios and originally aired on the American...

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  • 1970
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    Reunited Apart

    Reunited Apart

    1 1970 HD

    Elvira introduces six programmes celebrating the rock phenomenon of deathless appeal - heavy metal.

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  • 1970
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    Reunited Apart

    Reunited Apart

    6.942 1970 HD

    A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture...

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  • 1970
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    Reunited Apart

    Reunited Apart

    1 1970 HD

    Danger Theatre is an American half-hour comedy anthology series for television, produced by Universal Studios and originally aired on the American...

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