Philadelphia Films: Videos from the Tri-Co Libraries

Streaming. It is an increasingly common scenario: a developer wants to build a tower in a depressed urban area, and must fill half the building before permits are issued. What's the ace in the hole? A superstar architect who brings media attention to the project. This program recounts such a story, in which Petronas Towers and Canary Wharf creator Cesar Pelli waved his magic design wand over the Cira Center project, making it stand apart from other Philadelphia high-rises. In addition to the building's design features, the program reflects on the question: are celebrity architects over-hyped and overpaid, and what-if any-public benefits exist to offset their staggering paychecks?

DVD preservation copy of a VHS tape. Discusses the history of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's City Hall, 100 years old in 2001.

DVD. Includes rare archival footage, photography and a never before seen 1929 silent film of prison life at Eastern State.

DVD. This documentary illustrated with period lithographs, engravings, and photographs, gives a detailed history of the prison from its initial practice of total solitary confinement through its transformation into an overcrowded "Big House" to its replacement with a modern facility in 1970.

DVD. Nathaniel Kahn documents the life and works of his father, the American architect Louis Kahn.

DVD preservation copy of a VHS tape. Join Philadelphia media personality Bill "Wee Willie" Webber and architect and preservationist Hyman Myers as they take a 12-mile walking tour of Broad Street -- the longest, straightest urban street in the world. The tour begins at League Island at the southern end and continues to Cheltenham Avenue at Philadelphia's northern border. Includes discussions about The Navy Yard, St. Rita of Cascia Roman Catholic Church, The Civil War Rail Station, The Academy of Music, The Bellevue Stratford Hotel, The Union League, City Hall, Masonic Temple, Divine Lorraine Hotel, and Metropolitan Opera House.

DVD. This documentary traces the work of Chinese-born artist and activist Lily Yeh, who uses art to create social change in Philadelphia's inner city and in Korogochi, a village near Nairobi, Kenya. 2000 Emmy Award for Cultural Documentary; 1999 First Prize for Documentary Excellence; 2000 Gabriel Award.

DVD and streaming. It's been called the greatest theft of art since the Second World War. Reveals how a private collection of paintings became the envy of the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other major institutions, and the prize in a battle between one man's vision and the forces of commerce and politics. Founded in 1922 by wealthy American drug developer and art collector Albert C. Barnes, the Barnes Foundation became the finest collection of paintings by Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, and Van Gogh.

Streaming and DVD. When men in a prison art class agree to collaborate with victims of crime to design a mural about healing, their views on punishment, remorse, and forgiveness collide. At times the divide seems too wide to bridge. But as the participants begin to work together, mistrust gives way to genuine moments of human contact and common purpose. Their struggle and the insights gained are reflected in the art they produce.

Streaming. Our visit with Thomas Chimes, one of Philadelphia's most important contemporary artists, begins at the Philadelphia Museum whose collection inspired him as a schoolboy to become an artist. Here he was drawn to Thomas Eakins, a fellow Philadelphian, and to Duchamp and Van Gogh. Anne d'Harnoncourt, Director of the museum, joins Chimes to revisit the galleries of these influential artists and to "compare notes" with Chimes.

DVD. A documentary on the life and work of Isaiah Zagar, an artist who has covered more than 50,000 square miles of Philadelphia with his mosaic murals.

VHS. Video diaries of four artists in Philadelphia who were commissioned by the city's Dept. of Recreation to paint murals in various locations to beautify and connect an art project with each neighborhood.

VHS format. Lecture demonstration with women tappers from Philadelphia and New York City

VHS format. Recorded performances at Lang Performing Arts Center, Swarthmore College, September 9, 2000: "the view from over here" by the Pennsylvania Ballet, choreography by Jorma Elo; "the kitchen table" by the Phrenic New Ballet, choreography by Bill Cratty.

DVD. Tells the personal stories of the dancers at Philadanco -- the Philadelphia-based African-American modern dance company.

Streaming on the web & VHS format. Chronicles the artistic life of Philadelphia tap legend LaVaughn Robinson.

Streaming on the web & DVD. Features African American women tap dancers whose careers spanned the 1930s to the 1990s. Featured artists: Hortense Allen Jordan, Kitty DeChavis, Isabelle Fambro, Edith "Baby Edwards" Hunt, Germaine Ingram, Delores and David McHarris, LaVaughn Robinson, Libby Spencer, The cast of Stepping in Time, The Johnny Williams Band.

DVD. A portrait of Philadanco and its artistic director, Joan Myers Brown.

VHS format. Recorded performances at Lang Performing Arts Center, September 26, 1992.

DVD. Anna Crusis Women's Choir is a Philadelphia based vocal ensemble with a 20 year history of fostering empowerment for women and communities through song.

VHS format. Documents the history of klezmer as it existed in Philadelphia in the first half of the 20th century. Includes interviews with musicians from that time, and with Hankus Netsky, the instigator of the klezmer revival of the 1980s and 1990s. Also includes some recent performance footage. Performers: Hankus Netsky, Joe Borock, Elaine Hoffman Watts.

VHS format. A biography of virtuosa Marian Anderson from the time she sang spirituals as a child at the Union Baptist Church in Philadelphia to the beginning of her classical career in Europe in the 1930's, her return to the United States, her eventual appearance at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955 (the first black person to perform there), to her retirement in 1965, "a national treasure."

A musical essay with the musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra. A cinematic exploration of the magic and mystery of music through the stories, passions, and artistry of the 105 musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

A look at Philadelphia's Paul Green School of Rock Music, headed by former rock star aspirant Paul Green. An intense instructor, Green's students progress from group lessons to a showcase of their talents at a tribute concert to Frank Zappa in Germany. Performers: Asa, Tucker Collins, Madi Diaz-Svalgard, Paul Green, Napoleon Murphy-Brown, Will O'Connor, C.J. Tywoniak.

Philadelphia is often overlooked as a city that makes enormous contributions to hip hop music. Despite this, it continues to showcase many hip hop artists many of whom are female. This film seeks to show the struggles and the stories of these female artists who are making a name for themselves in a male dominated industry.

Spotlights the world of the Philadelphia Mummers and their annual New Year's Day parade. The parade is a melting pot of pre-Colonial history, Vaudeville slapstick, cultural diversity, and 4-minute Broadway shows. Shot with no script, the Mummers' tale is told through revealing interviews, new and vintage footage, still photos, and music.

Streaming and DVD. Examines the unusual performance techniques and beliefs of the enigmatic Sun Ra. Features performances by and interviews with Sun Ra and his Arkestra.

DVD. An original theater piece created by Cambodia teen refugees and their peers. Combines traditional Cambodian dance, music and fighting sticks with the performers' personal stories of life during the Cambodian civil war, their escape to the United States, and their cultural dislocation in inner city Philadelphia. Investigates the effects of war and racism and how spiritual strength and cultural identity can begin to heal the wounds of war.

DVD. Videotaped theater of witness performance depicting the stories of eight men serving life sentences in Pennsylvania, one of four states that does not offer parole to those serving life.