In an age when genius is a mere commodity, it is useful to look at a person who led a rich life without the traditional trappings of success. A man with no home and no job, Paul Erdös was the most prolific mathematician who ever lived. Born in Hungary in 1913, Erdös wrote and co-authored over 1,500 papers and pioneered several fields in theoretical mathematics. At the age
Timothy Leary was early advocate of LSD experimentation. Leary taught psychology at Harvard and by 1960 was doing experiments with LSD and other hallucinogens, first on prison inmates and then on himself and his friends. LSD was not illegal at the time. In 1960, Allen Ginsberg, supervised by Leary, ingested psilocybin mushrooms, (under the influence of the
Bruce Lee was inarguably the greatest martial arts star of his generation, and his intense on-screen charisma and astounding fighting skills make him the standard by which other martial arts heroes are measured. Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey is a documentary about Lee’s life, career, and untimely death, which uses rare behind-the-scenes footage to paint a portrait of
Living with Michael Jackson is a documentary, in which British journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Michael Jackson over a span of 8 months, from May 2002 to January 2003. It was shown first in the UK on 3 February 2003 and in the US three days later on ABC, introduced by Barbara Walters. Martin Bashir put the proposal to Jackson as a way to show the world the truth
One hundred years ago, Albert Einstein changed the world with four papers that led directly to the development of atomic weapons, space travel, satellite technology and a profound understanding of the universe. But, wracked with guilt over the real – world applications of his science – specifically, how the use of atomic weapons clashed with his religious beliefs
Who is this famous boxer who one the title in the WBC, WBA and IBF? Mike Tyson was once the most famous and successful boxer in the world. Mike was the youngest man ever to win a world heavyweight title at just 20 years old. But his life was not always easy. Mike Tyson – Beyond the Glory shows the becoming of the fighting machine Mike Tyson until the downfall of his
Following in the deeply idiosyncratic footsteps of Last Days, About a Son plays more like autobiography than documentary. Gus Van Sant’s feature extrapolates moments from the life of Kurt Cobain (with Michael Pitt as a musician named Blake), while A.J. Schnack’s non-fiction film adheres closer to the facts, but advances a more radical Koyaanisqatsi-like approach.
Before there was Osama bin Laden there was Ayatollah Khomeini, a radical Muslim leader who challenged the world’s “infidels” in the name of Allah. After his father was killed by bandits, the young Khomeini was brought up by his mother and aunt. However, when he was only fifteen he suffered further loss as his aunt died and then shortly afterwards his mother