Joseph McBride

In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a yearly recipient whose talent has fundamentally advanced the film art; whose accomplishments have been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.

To commemorate the first century of American filmmaking, the American Film Institute embarked on a celebration of America's greatest movies from the first 100 years of American cinema — 1896-1996.

Coy "Cannonball" Buckman and his blazing red Pontiac enter the Trans-America Grand Prix, an underground road race spanning the continent in which there are no rules, no speed limits and no heed for the law. En route, Buckman jockeys with an international ensemble of racers for a $100,000 purse. But there are none more important than Cade Redman, his direct competition for a guaranteed spot on the elite Modern Motors racing team.

A group of rock-music-loving students, with the help of the Ramones, take over their school to combat its newly installed oppressive administration.

The extraordinary life of Orson Welles (1915-85), an enigma of Hollywood, an irreducible independent creator: a musical prodigy, an excellent painter, a master of theater and radio, a modern Shakespeare, a magician who was always searching for a new trick to surprise his audience, a romantic and legendary figure who lived only for cinema.

As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.

At a media-swamped party to celebrate his seventieth birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.

A documentary looking at the life and career of film director Frank Capra. Hosted by Ron Howard.

An enthralling and fast-paced four-part documentary feature that covers the making of one of the last major Hollywood epics; Titanic. Cast and crew speak on setting the sinking of the ship against a classic romance. The feature also examines casting and the young couple headlining the film, DiCaprio's and Winslet's on-set friendship and their differing acting styles, the expansive sets and filming locations, the authenticity of the recreated ship, James Cameron's work and dedication, and budgeting. And many more aspects of the film are overviewed.

A Midwestern ingenue arrives in Hollywood to try her luck as an actress. An incompetent agent hooks her up with a production company which specializes in low budget B-movie fare, which starts being plagued by strange, deadly accidents.

An unsold 1979 television talk-show pilot hosted by Orson Welles, blending interviews, audience interaction, staged segments, and magic performances, filmed between 1978 and 1979 but never broadcast or developed into a series.

A history of anti-Asian racism and yellowface in Hollywood after the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack.

A young athelete becomes the unlikely star of an itinerant wrestling troupe, and a rival promoter will go to any length to steal him away.

This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special.

Over a 50-year career and more than a hundred movies, filmmaker John Ford (1894-1973) forged the legend of the Far West. By giving a face to the underprivileged, from humble cowboys to persecuted minorities, he revealed like no one else the great social divisions that existed and still exist in the United States. More than four decades after his death, what remains of his legacy and humanistic values in the memory of those who love his work?

An aging silent movie comic star throws a lavish party to try and save his failing career.

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.

Misunderstood genius, superstar, Hollywood’s fallen angel... Orson Welles left his indelible mark on the 20th century.

An unfinished 1981 essay-documentary project by Orson Welles, based on a filmed Q&A session at USC following a screening of The Trial, intended as a reflective companion piece to the film but never edited or completed during his lifetime.

Tells the story of how Frank Capra, a young and penniless immigrant, rose through the ranks of early Hollywood to become one of the Great American storytellers.