Mardi Gras Carnival

1898 | 2 min | Black & White + Silent | 68mm
Documentary • Short

“Taken on February 22, 1898, the film depicts six floats from the parade. The theme that year was “Harvest Queens,” per the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate. People carried silver bell-shaped placards before each float to commemorate the Rex Organization’s 25th anniversary. The film is not only the oldest moving picture of a New Orleans Mardi Gras; it’s the oldest film of New Orleans.”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oldest-footage-of-a-new-orleans-mardis-gras-has-been-found-180980308/

Cab Calloway Home Movies

1948-1951 | Color + Black & White
Documentary
Directed by and starring Cab Calloway and Zulme Calloway

A collection of home movies filmed from 1948-1951 featuring the legendary entertainer Cab Calloway and his wife Nuffie in their home on Long Beach and on their travels across both of the Americas.

https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2013.237.20.1abc

Cyrano de Bergerac

1950 | 113 min | Black & White
Adventure • Drama • Romance
Directed by Michael Gordon
Starring José Ferrer, Mala Powers, William Prince, and Morris Carnovsky
United Artists

Poet, romantic and sword fighter Cyrano de Bergerac (Jose Ferrer) loves the beautiful Roxane (Mala Powers), but although he is proud enough of his bulbous proboscis that he regularly duels those who dare mock it, he fears she could never love a man with such an enormous nose. When he learns that she loves the handsome guardsman Christian (William Prince), Cyrano provides the tongue-tied young man with the words of love and devotion he wishes he could say to Roxanne himself.

Charade

1963 | 113 min | Color
Comedy • Mystery • Romance • Thriller
Directed by Stanley Donen
Starring Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, and James Coburn
Universal Pictures

After Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) falls for the dashing Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband’s World War II cronies, Tex (James Coburn), Scobie (George Kennedy) and Gideon (Ned Glass), who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines. But why does Peter keep changing his name?

Scorpio Rising

1963 | 28 min | Color
Short • Music
Directed by Kenneth Anger
Starring Ernie Allo, Bruce Byron, Frank Carifi, and Steve Crandell
Puck Film Productions

A gang of Nazi bikers prepares for a race as sexual, sadistic, and occult images are cut together.

Behind Every Good Man

1967 | 8 min | Black & White
Documentary • Short
Directed by Nick Elliot

Being an independent short subject from 1966 it follows a day in the life of a drag queen on the streets of LA, a ‘young lady’ waits in her lonely apartment for her date to show up.

Titicut Follies

1967 | 84 min | Black & White
Documentary
Directed by Frederick Wiseman
Zipporah Films

Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.

Mingus

1968 | 58 min | Black & White
Documentary • Music
Directed by Thomas Reichman
Starring Walter Bishop, Carolyn Mingus, and Charles Mingus
Inlet Films

A close-up of bass player and composer Charlie Mingus as he and his five-year-old daughter await eviction by the City of New York.

Manzanar

1971 | Color
Short
Directed by Robert A. Nakamura

A reflection about Robert Nakamura’s incarceration inside an Internment camp during World War II.

Betty Tells Her Story

1972 | 20 min | Black & White
Documentary • Short
Directed by Liane Brandon
Starring Betty

A woman tells the story of how she bought an expensive dress that she never got to wear, and then tells the story again focusing on her feelings about the events she described.

Super Fly

1972 | 91 min | Color
Action • Crime • Drama • Music • Thriller
Directed by Gordon Parks Jr.
Starring Ron O’Neal, Carl Lee, Sheila Frazier, and Julius Harris
Warner Bros. Pictures

Priest (Ron O’Neal), a suave top-rung New York City drug dealer, decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. Working with his reluctant friend, Eddie (Carl Lee), Priest devises a scheme that will allow him make a big deal and then retire. When a desperate street dealer informs the police of Priest’s activities, Priest is forced into an uncomfortable arrangement with corrupt narcotics officers. Setting his plan in motion, he aims to both leave the business and stick it to the man.

Attica

1974 | 80 min | Color
Documentary • Crime • History
Directed by Cinda Firestone
Starring John Andrini, Herman Badillo, L.D. Barkley, and Roger Champen

In 1971, inmates at Attica State Prison seized control of D-yard and took 35 hostages after peaceful efforts for reforms failed. Attica investigates the rebellion and its bloody suppression, revealing institutionalized injustices, sanctioned dishonesty, and abuses of power.

Carrie

1976 | 98 min | Color
Horror • Mystery
Directed by Brian De Palma
Starring Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, and John Travolta
United Artists

Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.

Union Maids

1976 | 50 min | Black & White
Documentary
Directed by Jim Klein, Miles Mogulescu, and Julia Reichert
Starring Kate Hyndman, Stella Nowicki, and Sylvia Woods
New Day Films

Three women union organizers of the early Depression era discuss and reminisce their actions of the time and the current state of the labor movement. Accompanied by a lot of vintage folk music.

Word is Out: Stories of Our Lives

1977 | 124 min | Color
Documentary • Biography • History
Directed by Nancy Adair, Andrew Brown, and Rob Epstein
Starring Pat Bond, John Burnside, Sally M. Gearhart, and Elsa Gidlow
New Yorker Films

26 diverse lesbian and gay people are interviewed about their lives and the challenges they experience in a homophobic culture. A groundbreaking documentary is now an artefact of a different time.

Bush Mama

1979 | 97 min | Black & White
Drama
Directed by Haile Gerima
Starring Barbarao, Johnny Weathers, Susan Williams, and Cora Lee Day

It details the life of Dorothy who is a poor black woman. Her husband is put in jail for observable reason and she is pregnant with a second child. The government threatens to take away her welfare if she does not get an abortion.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez

1982 | 105 min | Color
Western
Directed by Robert M. Young
Starring Edward James Olmos, James Gammon, Tom Bower, and Bruce McGill
Embassy Pictures

After Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) falls for the dashing Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband’s World War II cronies, Tex (James Coburn), Scobie (George Kennedy) and Gideon (Ned Glass), who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines. But why does Peter keep changing his name?

Itam Hakim, Hopiit

1984 | 58 min | Color
Documentary
Directed by Victor Masayesva Jr.

A documentary about the Hopi indigenous nation in the United States and their culture and history.

Hairspray

1988 | 92 min | Color
Comedy • Drama • Family • Music • Musical • Romance
Directed by John Waters
Starring Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono, and Jerry Stiller
New Line Cinema

When Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), an overweight teen, auditions for a spot on a popular teen dance show, she beats out the spiteful Amber von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick), winning over Amber’s boyfriend (Michael St. Gerard) in the process. After meeting some black students at her school, Tracy begins to push for more racial integration on the dance show. This gets her into trouble on many sides, especially with Amber’s pushy parents (Sonny Bono, Deborah Harry).

The Little Mermaid

1989 | 83 min | Color
Animation • Adventure • Comedy • Family • Fantasy • Musical • Romance
Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
Starring Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, and Samuel E. Wright
Walt Disney Pictures

In Disney’s beguiling animated romp, rebellious 16-year-old mermaid Ariel (Jodi Benson) is fascinated with life on land. On one of her visits to the surface, which are forbidden by her controlling father, King Triton, she falls for a human prince. Determined to be with her new love, Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula (Pat Carroll) to become human for three days. But when plans go awry for the star-crossed lovers, the king must make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter.

Tongues Untied

1989 | 55 min | Color
Documentary
Directed by Marlon Riggs
Starring Marlon Riggs, Michael Bell, Kerrigan Black, and Blackberri
Frameline

Filmmaker Marlon Riggs gives a voice to communities of gay black men, presenting their cultures and perspectives on the world as they confront racism, homophobia and marginalization.

When Harry Met Sally

1989 | 95 min | Color
Comedy • Drama • Romance
Directed by Rob Reiner
Starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby
Columbia Pictures

In 1977, college graduates Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) share a contentious car ride from Chicago to New York, during which they argue about whether men and women can ever truly be strictly platonic friends. Ten years later, Harry and Sally meet again at a bookstore, and in the company of their respective best friends, Jess (Bruno Kirby) and Marie (Carrie Fisher), attempt to stay friends without sex becoming an issue between them.

House Party

1990 | 100 min | Color
Comedy • Music • Romance
Directed by Reginald Hudlin
Starring Christopher Reid, Robin Harris, Christopher Martin, and Martin Lawrence
New Line Cinema

Play’s parents are out of town, and he’s planning the house party to end all house parties. His best friend, Kid, wants to go more than anything, knowing Sydney (Tisha Campbell-Martin), the hottest girl in school, is sure to be there. But when Kid gets into a fight at school, his father grounds him. Still determined to go, Kid sneaks out of the house and faces one calamity after another as he makes his way to Play’s house and the party of the school year.

Iron Man

2008 | 126 min | Color
Action • Adventure • Sci-Fi
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, and Gwyneth Paltrow
Paramount Pictures

A billionaire industrialist and genius inventor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), is conducting weapons tests overseas, but terrorists kidnap him to force him to build a devastating weapon. Instead, he builds an armored suit and upends his captors. Returning to America, Stark refines the suit and uses it to combat crime and terrorism.

Pariah

2011 | 86 min | Color
Drama
Directed by Dee Rees
Starring Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis, and Pernell Walker
Focus Features

Teenage Alike (Adepero Oduye) lives in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood with her parents (Charles Parnell, Kim Wayans) and younger sister (Sahra Mellesse). A lesbian, Alike quietly embraces her identity and is looking for her first lover, but she wonders how much she can truly confide in her family, especially with her parents’ marriage already strained. When Alike’s mother presses her to befriend a colleague’s daughter (Aasha Davis), Alike finds the gal to be a pleasant companion.