As the 20th century draws to a close, the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 remains one of the most resonant events in modern history. Not only was it the biggest story of its day, but the tragic tale of 1,500 doomed souls and the capsized dream of industrial superiority seems to loom ever larger on the horizon inspiring some of the most potent popular mythology of the century. This feature-length program explores the aftermath and the legacy of the most momentous shipwreck of all time, taking viewers through the entire popular phenomenon surrounding one of the most outsized events in modern history. The program includes survivors' tales, deep-sea excavations, relics and ruins of the great ship all remain endlessly fascinating. And judging from the astonishing number of songs, books, feature films, shows, documentaries, and merchandise inspired by the tragedy, the story of the sinking by iceberg grows more engrossing every day.

Two Friends Bill Cosby and Sammy Davis, Jr. filmed live at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, NV, on November 15-20, 1983. For several years weeks in 1988, Bill Cosby and Sammy Davis, Jr. collaborated in live performances on Broadway and on tour in selected theaters across the country. Their lifelong friendship forms the basis of an unforgettable concert performance.

A documentary examination of attempted and successful assassinations including those of Martin Luther King Jr. , John F. Kennedy, Ghandi, Malcolm X, John Lennon and others.

Diana Ross stars as legendary blues singer Billie Holiday in this biopic that chronicles her rise and fall. It begins with her late childhood, a stint as a prostitute, those early days as a blues singer, her marriages, and her drug addiction. Overly glossy and lacking depth, this is worth seeing only for the performances. Diana Ross was nominated for an Oscar for her acting debut. A dynamo with sparkling screen presence, she realistically conveys the confusion and unhappiness that caused Holiday so much grief. Her performance is almost matched by romantic interest Billy Dee Williams. Watch for Richard Pryor, who is most powerful in a dramatic supporting role as the piano player in a brothel. -Rochelle O'Gorman.

Renowned journalist Mike Wallace guides us through the major events and trends that have shaped the last 30 years. This video features: "The March on Washington and Martin Luther King" and " The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall. ".

When Imagine the Sound was released in 1981, Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum deemed it "the best documentary on free jazz that we have. " Decades later, the same praise holds true. Director Ron Mann (Grass, Comicbook Confidential) gathered four seminal avant-garde jazz musicians-pianists Cecil Taylor and Paul Bley, tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, and trumpet player Bill Dixon-in a studio for interviews and individual performances. The result is an incredibly philosophical look at the how their social, political, and creative free-form explorations changed the face of jazz music in the early '60s. Like free-jazz players improvising on tonality and time, this documentary itself is structureless, as Mann continuously spins off on different tangents. He weaves numerous heady interviews-completely devoid of nostalgia-with long, uninterrupted, intimate sequences of all of the musicians breaking new musical ground. During one particularly illuminating interview, Bley states that free jazz arrived from a "tremendous disdain for the known," and the same can be said of Mann's thrilling approach here. -Dave McCoy The first feature documentary by Ron Mann (Grass, Comicbook Confidential) is an eloquent tribute to a group of highly celebrated artists that helped forge the avant-garde jazz of the 1960s. Critic and film historian Jonathan Rosenbaum has said Imagine the SoundI "may be the best documentary on free jazz that we have. " The film features mind expanding interviews and singular, dramatic performances by pianists Cecil Taylor and Paul Bley, tenor saxophone Archie Shepp, and trumpet player Bill Dixon. [+]

Over two hours of video footage of Muhammad Ali that was shot between April 1988 and September 1992. This footage was shot by Davis Miller, the author of the number-one internationally bestselling book, THE TAO OF MUHAMMAD ALI. This VHS cassette includes one-of-a-kind footage of the last time that Ali ever (beautifully) boxed in public; scenes of him with his father, brother, Jimmy Ellis, Davis Miller, and numerous fans, among others; scenes of him training on his heavy bag and speed bag at his home in Michigan; and scenes of him playing with Miller's son. Much of this footage is famous because of Miller's writing. This sale also includes autographed copies of Miller's books, THE TAO OF MUHAMMAD ALI and THE ZEN OF MUHAMMAD ALI.

The Fabulous Four chronicles the competition of four great champions: Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. This video is a must for any sports fan, depicting some of the greatest fights of this decade-long struggle: Duran's "hands of stone" pounding Leonard for the welterweight crown in Montreal, the famous "Alley Fight" between Thomas "the Hit Man" Hearns and Marvelous Marvin Hagler, and Leonard's amazing comebacks from retirement to recapture titles from his three opponents. While many of these bouts require no introduction, the narration expertly introduces each fight for the uninitiated. A drawback of this video is the exclusion of the celebrated rematch between Leonard and Duran in which the latter was pummeled into crying "No mas, no mas" after enduring the Sugarman's viscious combinations. However, there is still plenty of bone-crunching action. A necessary addition to any sports fan's library, The Fabulous Four details some of boxing's greatest rivalries. -James Highfill.

You know how it goes. You hear about what a sensation someone like Josephine Baker was in her prime (in her case, the 1920s and '30s), how she pushed boundaries in such delicate areas as race and sex, how she both thrilled and scandalized Paris with her exotic dancing and personal behavior. You have all these loose strands of legend and random fact, your curiosity is running high, and then you hear that a feature film is being made about the very subject. You watch, and then wonder: what was the big deal about Josephine Baker? The problem with this 1991 TV movie is the same as with a number of HBO films from the 1980s and early '90s: it isn't particularly well written, the production looks rushed, and the entire point is obscured in a whirl of biographical material that doesn't sufficiently develop into insightful, organic unity. What The Josephine Baker Story does do, however, is provide a reference point from which to begin an appreciation of Baker's life. A poor, African American girl from St. Louis, Baker found fame and wealth in Europe as a dancer whose partially nude, unbridled performances invoked wit, sexual liberation, and passion-without, somehow, seeming vulgar or obscene. As Baker, Lynn Whitfield gets into the uninhibited spirit of things, free with her body and enthusiastic about re-creating many of her character's performances (yes, the famed Banana Dance is a highlight). The film superficially suggests that Baker was celebrated as an expressive artist, a healthy force of nature rather than a lewd exhibitionist, but it doesn't go far enough down that road to tell us why she matters. Somewhat better is the script's contrasting emphasis on Baker's celebrity overseas and her second-class status as a black woman in America. [+]

One of the essential documentary series from 20th-century television, Eyes on the Prize is an extraordinary, grassroots history of the civil rights movement in 1950s and '60s America. Leaving punditry and debate to others, this six-hour program concerns itself with the individuals who were there, who participated on the front lines, who witnessed and survived to tell about the crusade's tragedies and victories. Starting with a pair of mid-'50s heroic actions in the South that helped galvanize black and white activism against institutional racism (actions that included Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama), the series winds its way through the exponential growth of the movement to the passage of the Voting Rights Act and beyond. The epochal battle between states-rights advocates and federal authorities is well-covered, as are the many sacrifices made and enormous risks taken by Mississippi Freedom Riders and advocates of black voter registration. Also in this boxed set is the series' sequel, Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965-mid 1980s. An equally stirring, eight-hour history of the post-civil-rights years, in which hard-won political power manifested itself both inside and outside elected government offices, this follow-up traces the fracturing of a unified civil rights community into numerous missions and agendas. Driven by interviews and archival footage, the series takes a clear look at such historical chapters as the rise of black separatism, the election of Carl Stokes to Cleveland's Office of the Mayor, and the turmoil of school desegregation. Both the original series and sequel are an absolute must for a contemporary understanding of racism in America. -Tom Keogh Eyes on the Prize, the most comprehensive television documentary on the American civil rights movement ever produced, includes rare film footage and incisive present-day interviews to bring the events of this period to life. Two events of the mid-'50s propel the movement into the headlines: the Mississippi lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till, and the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, inspired by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat to a white man. [+]