In Pictures

New Videos | New Feature Films | Other News

New Videos

What's Race Go to Do With It (Film 378.017 W5588 2006 DVD) - Look at college students over a 16-week period, in which they examine the issue of race in the United States.

Ballroom Dancing for Beginners with Teresa Mason (Film 793.33 B2148 2003 DVD) - Instruction in basic techniques for the fox trot, tango, waltz, rhumba, cha-cha, and swing.

The War (Film 940.548173 W195 2007) - All seven episodes of the Ken Burns PBS documentary on World War II on six discs.

Disabilities and Motherhood (Film 306.8743 D6303 2004 DVD) - Looks at three women with disabilities who are raising their children and the reactions of people around them.

Little Things: Prejudice (Film 303.385 L728 2003 DVD) - Originally an ABC News program, this film looks at the little things (statements, gestures, body language, etc.) that can be interpreted - rightly or not - as racial prejudice.

Treasures From American Film Archives: 50 Preserved Films (Film 791.4375 T7103 2005 DVD) - Fifty shorts, feature films, and documentaries (some are only excerpts, but most are the complete film) from nearly a century of filmmaking (1893-1985) on four DVDs.  You can view a 1916 version of Snow White, an excerpt of a 1939 Marian Anderson concert, an excerpt from a documentary West Virginia: the State Beautiful, or a 1928 version of The Fall of the House of Usher.

More Treasures From American Film Archives 1894-1931: 50 Films (Film 791.4375 M8135 2004 DVD) - Fifty more films on 3 DVDs, plus an 186 page guide to the films.  Includes in the set are a 1910 version of the Wizard of Oz, a 1926 International Newsreel, a 1896 version of Rip Van Winkle, and film footage of Zora Neale Hurston's fieldwork from 1928.

China Blue (Film 331.481687 C4413 2007 DVD) - A look into the world of Chinese sweatshops that was filmed clandestinely, as the story follows a pair of denim jeans from manufacture to sale. 

The Unfortunate Generation: The Cultural Revolution and Beyond (Film 951.056 Un29 2004 DVD) - Looks at the Chinese Cultural Revolution and its aftermath, including the forced labor camps, the role of Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, and the trial of the "Gang of Four."  This is the second half of the series The Cultural Revolution: Mao's Last Battle.

No Rest for the Weary: The Cultural Revolution and its Origins (Film 951.056 N6598 2004 DVD) - The first half of the series The Cultural Revolution: Mao's Last Battle looks at the causes of the Cultural Revolution.

Banker to the Poor (Film 332.1095492 B2257 2006 DVD) - The story of Muhammad Yunus and the founding of the Grameen Bank.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Innovator for the Poor (Film 338.95492 In69 2006 DVD) - The story of Fazle H. Abed, an oil executive who left his job to form the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Creating a Poverty-Free World (Film 332.1095492 C8603 2006 DVD) - Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, discusses ways to solve problems related to poverty around the world.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (Film 338.95492 Ac46 2006 DVD) - Fazle Abed, founder of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) looks at ways to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals, a plan to attack global poverty created in 2000 by 191 countries.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Thinking Big and Scaling Up (Film 338.95492 T3485 2006 DVD) - Fazle Abed, founder of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee discusses how to build an organization able have a global impact.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Building Social Business Ventures (Film 332.1095492 B8687 2006 DVD) - Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, discusses how to build connections between business and society.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Fighting Corruption at Every Level (Film 364.1323 F468 2006 DVD) - Peter Eigen, founder of Transparency International, explains how corruption continues unfair systems around the world and how new strategies offer the hope of ending corruption.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Nothing More Powerful (Film 361.2 N8449 2006 DVD) - Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, talks about social entrepreneurship and how in works.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Setting the Global Standard for the Global Economy (Film 174.4 Se785 2006 DVD) - Alice Tepper Martin talks about her efforts to establish a global standard for socially responsible production, primarily with her SA8000 standard, which has been adopted by farms and factories in some 40 industries in more than 40 countries.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Another World is Possible (Film 303.484 An789 2006 DVD) - Oded Grajew describes the found of the World Society Forum, a transnational attempt at dialogue, collaboration, and coalition building to bring about a better world.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Entrepreneur for Society (Film 361.2 En86 2006 DVD) - The story of Bill Drayton and the building of a worldwide entrepreneurial organization and a worldwide movement as told by Drayton himself.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Cuba: Three Faith Perspectives (Film 972.91 C8914 1998 VHS) - A Baptist, a Methodist, and a Presbyterian look at contemporary Cuba and the role of Christianity at the time of the film, 1998.

Champion for Accountability (Film 364.1323 C3583 2006 DVD) - The story of former World Bank Director Peter Eigen who founded Transparency International to fight corruption around the world.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (Film 174.4 B4687 2006 DVD) - Oded Grajew talks about his efforts to end child labor in Brazil through the founding of the Ethos Institute.  Member companies now account for more than a third of Brazil's GDP.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Architect of Corporate Responsibility (Film 174.4 Ar252 2006 DVD) - The story of Alice Tepper Marlin and the founding of Social Accountability International.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Civil Society in Global Governance (Film 303.482 C4997 2006 DVD) - Peter Eigen, founder of Transparency International, talks about how civil society can work with business, governments, and academia to change the world.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

The Citizen Sector Transformed: What It Means for You (Film 361.2 C4982 2006 DVD) - Bill Drayton discusses the emergence and rise of a "citizen sector," which is entrepreneurial, competitive, innovative, and effective.  Part of the 16 program Social Entrepreneurship Series.

Making Sense of Place: Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City (Film 977.132 M2897 2006 DVD) - Documentary film looking at the decline of Cleveland, once the country's fifth largest city, but struggling today.

Diamonds of War: Africa's Blood Diamonds (Film 553.82 D5419 2007 DVD) - National Geographic documentary looking at how rebels in diamond-rich Sierra Leone use the gems to finance their violent revolt.

New Feature Films

Walking Across Egypt (Feature Film W1544 2005 DVD) - Ellen Burstyn, Jonathan Tyler Thomas, and Mark Hamill star in the big screen adaptation of the the Clyde Edgerton novel.

The Jungle Book (Feature Film J958 1967 2007 DVD) - The 40th anniversary edition of the Disney animation based on the work by Rudyard Kipling.

Ninja Scroll (Feature Film N6227 1993 1998 DVD) - The adventures of Jubei, a masterless ninja in feudal Japan.  Anime.

Princess Mononoke (Feature Film M7558 2000 DVD) - Anime adventures of a young warrior, Ashitaka, who, while searching for a cure to a deadly curse, becomes involved in a battle between humans and the forest gods.  Clarie Danes, Minnie Driver, Bill Bob Thornton, and Billy Crudup are among the stars who provided voices.

A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (Feature Film D213 1991 VHS) - T. E. Lawrence at the 1919 Paris Peace conference fighting for his Hashemite allies to get Syria.

The Stranger (Feature Film St817 1946 1985 VHS) - Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, and Orson Welles star in this tale, set in New England, of a government agent on the trail of an escaped Nazi after the end of World War II.

The Great Dictator (Feature Film G79885 1940 1990 VHS) - Charlie Chaplin, in his first "talkie," plays both a Jewish barber and the great dictator Hynkel, a spoof of Adolph Hitler.

All the Pretty Horses (Feature Film A1517 2000 DVD) - Cormac McCarthy's novel hits the silver screen is this film starring Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, and Penelope Cruz and directed by Bill Bob Thornton.

The Agony and the Ecstasy (Feature Film Ag73 1965 2004 DVD) - Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison star in this adaptation of Irving Stone's novel of the conflict between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II, who commissioned the artist to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Tailor Made Romance (Feature Film B2192 2005 DVD) - Set in the early years of the Cultural Revolution, two best friends are sent to a re-education camp and fall in love with the daughter of the local seamstress.  Based on the novel of the same title.

Charly (Feature Film C3819 1968 2004 DVD) - Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom star in the adaptation of Daniel Keyes' novel Flowers for Algernon in which a mentally challenged man undergoes experimental brain surgery and has his IQ soar, only to have the effects begin to fade.

Iris (Feature Film Ir42 2001 DVD) - Judi Dench stars as English writer Iris Murdoch with Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet in this story of Murdoch's life and her life with her husband, critic John Bayley. 

Memento (Feature Film M513 2001 DVD) - Thriller in which a man with a short-term memory loss chases his wife's murderer, a murderer whose identity he cannot know for sure.

Primal Fear (Feature Film P9351 1998 DVD) - Richard Gere stars as a lawyer defending an altar boy accused of killing the archbishop.  Ed Norton, Laura Linney, Alfre Woodard, and Frances McDormand also star. 

Blood Diamond (Feature Film B6231 2007 DVD) - Leonardo DeCaprio stars in this tale of an ex-mercenary turned smuggler hunting for a rare pink diamond in civil war-torn Sierra Leone.

Walk the Line (Feature Film W15 2006 DVD) - Joaquin Phoenix stars as Johnny Cash in this film based on the legendary life of Cash and his love for June Carter, played by Reese Witherspoon.  Both Phoenix and Witherspoon did their own vocals so you might also want to check out the soundtrack CD.

Other News

This past fall has seen a tremendous growth in the use of the video collection (circulation this past fall was up 30% over Fall 2006).  At the same time, several people have expressed concern about being able to use videos when faculty can check them out for a semester or put them on closed reserve for a semester.  Both tend to restrict use.  We encourage you to return video (or remove it from reserve) as soon as possible so others might use those videos.

At the same time, after discussion with the Library Committee, we are considering changing circulation policies for videos.  Among the considerations are a two or three week circulation period for faculty and limiting reserves to either a one day or three day period, which would allow other faculty to show the video while it was still on reserve.  Thoughts, reactions, questions or ideas to David Everett at everettdd@hiram.edu or x5353.  And, as always, the circulation staff stand ready to serve as intermediaries to help work out the sharing of videos when several people wish to use a title. 

There have also been some questions about copyright and licensing and how one is legally entitled to use a video.  The basics are laid out in a November 2006 Books and Bytes article, "Copyright and Video in the Classroom."  Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and the article should in no way be construed as legal advice.