*** Notice: For the protection of property rights, this catalog is available for online browsing only. Please drop us a line if you would like to receive a copiable version of this catalog. Thank You!
English Literature & Authors
From Luke Skywalker's light sabre to Darth Vader's Death Star, the Star Wars franchise is one of the defining science fiction works of the later twentieth century. George Lucas' prolific imagination has already inspired two generations of scientists and engineers to push the envelope of technology. By introducing computers into the film making process, he changed the way movies are made, and the way we all see the future.
NOTE: This program contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers. Please preview before showing in class.
DVD / 2012 / (Grades 9-12) / 40 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Considered the Father of modern social science fiction, writer Robert Heinlein crafted groundbreaking works that continue to challenge the social aspects of technology and science today. Heinlein's works address themes of patriotism and duty while stressing the importance of personal freedom and expression. His science fiction creations Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land continue to ask the question: what is freedom? The program looks into the many different works of Robert Heinlein and how those stories have helped mold the future of social technology.
NOTE: This program contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers. Please preview before showing in class.
DVD / 2012 / (Grades 9-12) / 42 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Profiles the famous works of science fiction writer H.G. Wells. The program explores how his novels transformed the scientific world and predicted futuristic technologies, many of which have been actualized today. Extraterrestrial life, time travel, invisibility, medical advances, and atomic bombs are just some of the scientific topics that Wells's novels explore. Wells connects all of his novels through one common theme: tools of innovation becoming tools of destruction.
NOTE: This program contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers. Please preview before showing in class.
DVD / 2011 / (Grades 9-12) / 42 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Profiles science fiction author Phillip K. Dick and his works. The surreal worlds that Dick creates in his novels seem to predict new technologies that are being created today. His dark work questions reality and pushes our perception of the universe.
NOTE: This program contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers. Please preview before showing in class.
DVD / 2011 / (Grades 9-12) / 42 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Enlighten your students with details of literary themes found throughout the ages with this clever program.
Students will probe common motifs such as the tragic hero, coming of age, man versus nature, triumph over adversity, and more.
DVD / 1999 / (Grades 6-8) / 25 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Using screen adaptions of Frankenstein, 20,000 leagues Under The Sea, The Time Machine, and The Martian Chronicles, this program illustrates some major themes of science fiction. Students see how this literay form has developed in our century, and why is it so popular. Examples are discussed in terms of their psychological, religious and philosophical contributions.
DVD / 1990 / 30 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Here's a great way to encourage students to appreciate the literature of these two giants. The program identifies Hawthorne and Melville as innovative symbolists whose focus on harsh realities and basic conflicts became foundations for later development of the American novel. Readings of major works are presented against a background of prints, paintings and photographs.
DVD / 1976 / 28 minutes
>>> more details <<<
This program analyzes literature written for a purpose--to rally support for causes, to satirize human folly, to protest injustice, to encourage idealism and spiritual rebirth. It examines different types of literary propaganda in the Horatio Alger stories, the wartime speeches of Winston Churchill and the story "Flowers For Algernon." Literature of protest is illustrated by passages from "Cry The Beloved Country" and poems by Stephen Crane, ee. cummings and Judith Viorst. Satire is examined in "Gulliver's Travels" and "Animal Farm." Social comment in modern drama is seen in Arthur Miller's "Death Of A Salesman."
DVD / 1974 / 35 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Basil Bunting, English poet from Northumberland on the Scottish border, reads his poetry. Introduction and commentary on Bunting by actor Patrick MacNee. Bunting was the last in the generation of Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot and W. B., Yeats, all of whom he knew well. Here he is seen sitting before a coal fire in a local pub, walking the moors of his beloved Northumberland, wandering through a medieval town, reflecting on the world around him and, most importantly, reciting his poetry. For as he says, "Poetry lies dead on the page until it is heard." Bunting recites from his long poem "Briggflats" and other of his works, including "What the Chairman Told Tom".
DVD / 1973
>>> more details <<<
Through explanatory narrative, dramatized readings and medieval art, this program builds apprecication of "The Canterbury Tales" and a sense of 14th-century English life. On-location photography of the actual route followed by the Pilgrims, and of the great cathedrals of Canterbury, Salisbury and Winchester adds perspective to the poet's life. A pilgrim reviews the role of Canterbury pilgrimmages, Chaucer's career, his use of vernacular English, and his wit, descriptive genius and power of characterization. Students hear the Miller, Friar, Pardoner, Prioress, Wife of Bath and other pilgrims introduce themselves in the "Prologue" and then enjoy the classic tale of the Nun's Priest.
DVD / 1970 / 25 minutes
>>> more details <<<
The celebrated actress/director Margaret Webster talks about George Bernard Shaw -- his irascibility, his humor, his brilliance --and reads from his works, including from the play "Major Barbara," "Man and Superman," "Candida," and "Mrs. Warren's Profession"and letters to Sister Lorenzia at the end of his life.
DVD / 1967
>>> more details <<<
Before the 19th Century, Chaucer and Milton were among the first English writers to establish an "Italian connection." The film pro-vides footage of the places in England and Italy where the writers of the 19th century - Byron, Shelley, Keats, Tennyson, Wilde, Swinburne, and the Brownings - lived and worked.
DVD (Color) / 36 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Introduce students to the elements of character, setting, plot, point of view, theme and style. Excerpts from stories by authors such as Dorothy Parker, Edgar Allan Poe and Jack London illustrate how these authors transform their thoughts and feelings into meaningful messages.
DVD / 46 minutes
>>> more details <<<
Sheridan's delightful and youthful comedy, The Rivals, reflects the balance and symmetry of the age as well as its dress, manners and music. Scenes from The Rivals, and footage of Bath and London, depict the age in which Sheridan lived.
DVD (Color) / 33 minutes
>>> more details <<<
The play's gentle and urbane humor reveals both a mellowness of the late Age of Reason and the mature powers of Sheridan.
DVD (Color) / 36 minutes
>>> more details <<<
***Price on web-site may not be current and is subject to modification by quotation***