The Endless Summer

Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Steam Across America Volume I

Pentrex takes you back in time to the late 1950s and 1960s for a close-up look at the waning years of steam locomotives in operation on America's eastern railroads. On the Norfolk & Western-the last major bastion of steam power in the United States-you'll witness the class Js in passenger service near Cincinnati, Ohio and class K, A, and Y steamers in freight service near Columbus, Ohio, Portsmouth, Virginia, and Bluefield, West Virginia. The mighty class S-1 2-10-2s of the Baltimore & Ohio perform both switching and mainline duty near Willard, Ohio and the durable class T-3s roll along the B&O mainline to Chicago. We even see class EM-1 2-8-8-4 Yellowstones pulling coal drags near Grafton, Ohio. At Columbus, Ohio, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, a wide variety of locomotives are seen in action at the yards and roundhouse. Then we join the chase as a pair of class J-1s doublehead north from Columbus with a long coal drag in tow.

Union Pacific's Mighty Turbines

Union Pacific has always been on the cutting edge of locomotive technology. In the 1950s, it became the only railroad ever to place a fleet of gas turbine-electric locomotives into regular mainline service. Here is the whole turbine story, from rare footage of an early steam turbine experiment in 1938 to the first gas turbine demonstrator in 1948. UP put 55 production units into service, the largest rated at 8,500 horsepower each – the most powerful locomotives ever built! You'll see the demonstrators and all three production models (including the unique "Veranda" models) hauling tonnage on scenic mainlines, moving through yards, and being serviced in engine terminals alongside steam engines and classic F-units. Along the way you'll learn how turbine locomotives operate and will explore the differences and similarities between turbine-electric and diesel-electric units. The saga ends with an experimental coal-burning turbine locomotive built by Union Pacific itself in 1962.

All this Roughness

An unnamed passer-by is forced to trace a circular route inside an abandoned tram station, facing loss and time. The broken walls act as a channel, transmitting fragmentary, blurred and analogical memories. 

Swimming to Cambodia

Spalding Gray sits behind a desk throughout the entire film and recounts his exploits and chance encounters while playing a minor role in the film 'The Killing Fields'. At the same time, he gives a background to the events occurring in Cambodia at the time the film was set.

Alternate Spaces

A short documentary on the River Ouse, following it downstream from Lewes to Newhaven, meditating on the surrounding area.

The Railways: Engine of Progress

When the first railroads were built some two hundred years ago, they brought about a revolutionary change for mankind, linking cities and countryside, driving the industrial revolution and irrevocably changing the landscape: a history of the railroad from its beginnings to the present day.

関口知宏が行く ドイツ鉄道の旅

CSX at 40

Commemorate the 40th anniversary of one of the largest freight carriers in the nation! Look back at the creation, evolution and current operating status of this storied railroad.

The Lehigh & New England Railroad: Volume 1

Hauto to Pen Argyl, Pen Argyl to Bath and the Allentown, Bethlehem & Catasaqua branches.

The Lehigh & New England Railroad: Volume 2

The cement belt from Bath to Martins Creek and main line operations from Pen Argyl to Maybrook.

The Lehigh & New England Railroad: Volume 3

End of line railroad operations. Abandonment and sale of equipment, operations under the LNE Railway, Lehigh Valley, Conrail and Norfolk Southern.

In a Silent Way

A film crew crisscrosses England trying to unravel the mystery surrounding a record released 30 years earlier, 'Spirit of Eden', that defined the passage from light to shadow of its makers, the band Talk Talk and its lead singer Mark Hollis. From overwhelming obstacles to unpredictable encounters, their journey soon turns into an organic quest. With silence as a horizon line. And punk as a philosophy, thinking that music is accessible to all and that the human spirit is above the technique.

Beautiful Budapest

This Traveltalk series short visits Hungary's capital, Budapest.

When the Road Ends

Growing up in poverty as a child, Dylan dreamt of travelling the world on a motorcycle. Many years later he broke the shackles of a normal life and took to the road. After journeying 200,000km across four continents, the road from Panama to Colombia comes to an end, swallowed up by an impenetrable jungle. Dylan has no choice but to take to the sea, building a raft powered by his motorcycle engine in the hope of reaching Colombia's road network 700km away. He must brave strong ocean currents and storm batterings in his journey from Central to South America.—Journeyman Pictures

The Magic of Christmas in Alsace

This documentary visits the towns and villages of the Alsace region of France at Christmastime. See the charmingly decorated storybook towns and learn of the unique holiday traditions and celebrations. The Alsatian landscape is covered with medieval towns, castle ruins and vineyards, and the communities of the region create a season of enchantment in their celebration of Christmas.

The Modern Coal Burning Steam Locomotive

Documentary on the evolution and introduction of modern coal burning locomotives on the Norfolk and Western Railway line.

Railroads and Western Expansion 1845-1865

A BFA Educational media production on western expansion via railroads and the role they played in the foundation of the Americas