Last night’s Academy Awards show reminded us of some relevant archival moments… Steven Spielberg expected to be a big winner at the 1976 Academy Awards. TVTV was in the room documenting his reaction when he got the news that, despite dominating the box office that year with Jaws, he was not nominated for Best Director. Here’s an inside look at the young director like you’ve never seen him since. Watch the full documentary.
“American Roots Music: Chicago” provides a history of Chicago blues, jazz, and folk music through archival photographs and film. Several notable musicians, such as B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Pete Seeger, and Jeff Tweedy reflect on what they’ve inherited from their predecessors. Harold Ramis narrates biographical segments on Louis Armstrong, Ma Rainey, Benny Goodman, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, the Staple Sisters, Willie Dixon, and Big Bill Broonzy. The documentary also covers the rise of folk and polka in Chicago. Other topics include the Great Migration, the rise of radio and phonograph records, electric musical instruments, the National Barn Dance radio program, and the Old Town School of Folk Music. The documentary ends with a sampling of musical genres and venues active in Chicago.
Although most people typically associate Mardi Gras with Bourbon Street and the French Quarter in New Orleans, there is another Mardi Gras tradition that has been practiced for generations in Louisiana’s Cajun Country. In 1975, video pioneers TVTV produced the documentary “The Good Times Are Killing Me” about the people they met in the towns of Basile, Mamou, and Eunice, Louisiana. The video documented the old culture and way of life, including the traditional Courir de Mardi Gras or “Mardi […]
William Chayes’s “…living in the city.” This experimental Super-8 film is a meditation on the speed of life in the city. The film uses time lapse motion editing techniques.
The Apple II, released in 1977, was one of the first personal computers to gain a major foothold in the home market. At the time, it took some convincing for the public to see why they would ever need one of these machines. In 1982, Apple released “A Personal Guide To Personal Computers,” a simple and easy to understand booklet that made the case. This footage takes you inside Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California as the Apple team works […]
Before covering 1976’s Super Bowl X, TVTV experimented with some comedy journalism by covering the pickup game between the CBS Super Bowl Broadcast team. The game featured hall of famer Johnny Unitas with play-by-play by Phyllis George. It’s also one of the earliest TV appearances for Bill Murray and Christopher Guest. Also enjoy the full documentary, TVTV Goes To the Super Bowl.