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Birthday:
01-01-1937
(88 years)
Birthplace:
Not available
Biography
James Leslie John Woodhead, OBE is a British documentary filmmaker. For his National Service commencing in 1956, he served in Fife at the Joint Services School for Linguists where he was taught Russian. He was posted to West Berlin to monitor the communications of Soviet pilots flying in and out of East Germany.
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Their works
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How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin
Act like Self - Narrator
event2009 star_border 6.5
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In August 1962, director Leslie Woodhead made a two-minute film in Liverpool's Cavern Club with a raw and unrecorded group of rockers called the Beatles. He arranged their first live TV appearances on a local show in Manchester and watched as the Fab Four phenomenon swept the world. Twenty-five years later while making films in Russia, Woodhead became aware of how, even though they were never able to play in the Soviet Union, the Beatles' legend had soaked into the lives of a generation of kids. This film meets the Soviet Beatles generation and hears their stories about how the Fab Four changed their lives, including Putin's deputy premier Sergei Ivanov, who explains how the Beatles helped him learn English and showed him another life. (Storyville)
The Russian Newspaper Murders
Act like Narrator
event2004
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Documentary about the murders of six Russian journalists between 1995 and 2003 and the subsequent police investigation which some, including human rights lawyer Karen Nersisyan have seen as a cover up. The film also charts a Moscow newspaper's battle to maintain a critical voice in contemporary Russia. (Storyville)
A Cry from the Grave
Director
event1999 star_border 7
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Documentary about the fall of Srebrenica (Bosnian civil war, 1995). For a large part consisting of original video material shot by people involved themselves.
Invasion
Director
event1980 star_border 10
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Docu-drama surrounding the events leading to the Soviet Union's invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Godless in America
Director
event2006 star_border 6
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Documentary about atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair who, for 30 notorious years, successfully challenged God in America, and was brutally murdered in the summer of 1995. O'Hair had come to occupy a special place in the American psyche since her 1963 campaign which ended compulsory prayer in US schools after a Supreme Court action on behalf of her son William. She journeyed from Cold War paranoia, through to the rise of the neocons and born again Christianity in Reagan's America and beyond. (Storyville)
Endurance
Director
event1999 star_border 6.1
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The gold medal for the men's 10,000-meter race in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics is won by Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie.
9/11: The Day That Changed the World
Director
event2011 star_border 8.1
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Ten years later, the events of September 11, 2001, still resonate - especially for the people who were in critical leadership positions on that fateful day. Hear intimate accounts from New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the chiefs of the NYPD and FDNY, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney and many others who found themselves at the center of the action. Unprecedented decisions. Unimaginable tragedy. This is the definitive story, from 6 am to midnight, of a day that changed the world.
The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story
Director
event1990 star_border 6.5
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Examination of the events that led to the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster
Executive Producer
event1992 star_border 5.5
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The real-life struggle to contain the environmental and financial damage caused to Alaska by the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez is dramatized.
The Lau of Malaita
Director
event1987
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This film focuses on the people of Lau lagoon in the Solomon Islands who live on artificial islands near the island of Malaita. These islands are built of coral rubble and the people moved to them in an attempt to escape the dangers of malaria and enemies, and to find better fishing. The film focuses on change and conflict. The concept of 'custom' is vital to the islanders' identity, yet this is being eroded, particularly by Christian missionaries. The conflict between Christian and Pagan now pervades daily life, creating divisions in families and eroding knowledge of traditional life.
Tony Bennett's New York
Director
event1996
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Once dubbed the 'king of cool', a look at the man behind the silky voice as Tony Bennett - civil rights activist, jazz enthusiast, painter and New Yorker - takes a tour around his native city and the world of American music with reporter Reggie Nadelson.
The Day They Dropped The Bomb
Director
event2015 star_border 6
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On August 6 1945, one plane dropped one bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In an instant, the city was destroyed and 80,000 people were dead. But the dropping of the Atomic bomb also launched the Nuclear age, shaping all of our lives and changing the world for ever. For this film we have tracked down people who made the bomb, people who dropped the bomb, and people who were in Hiroshima – some less than half a mile from ground zero -when the bomb fell on their city. Many of the witnesses are in their 90s and this will be the last time they will be able to tell their extraordinary stories. The Day They Dropped The Bomb is told through witness recollections, rare archive film and photographs shot at the time. The documentary will be broadcast for the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima next year by ITV and in America by the Smithsonian Channel.
The Last Soviet Citizen
Director
event1993
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For three decades the Soviet Union's obsession with space stirred the soul of the nation like a secular religion - from the first space star Yuri Gagarin to the sad saga of cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev who circled the planet for almost a year, a helpless spectator of the momentous events back home on earth.
Exploring the spiritual force of this grand obsession, Arena talks to Krikalev and the first cosmonauts, and ventures into the world of relics, icons and the memorabilia of the Soviet space venture.
The Day Kennedy Died
Director
event2013 star_border 6.8
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The doctor who tried to save him. The Secret Service agent who was seconds too late. The man wrongly accused of his murder. And the woman who unwittingly sheltered an assassin. The death of JFK has inspired thousands of books and debates over the last 50 years, but the stories of the people there on that day have gone largely untold...until now. Experience November 22, 1963 as it has never been presented before, in this minute-by-minute account of that day, narrated by Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey, and brought to life through rarely seen footage and rarely heard testimonies.
The Hunt For Bin Laden
Director
event2012
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Witness the 20-year, billion-dollar hunt for the Al-Qaeda leader, as told by the main players who finally brought him down.
Diana: The Day Britain Cried
Director
event2017 star_border 7
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Retrospective documentary marking the 20th anniversary of the funeral of Princess Diana narrated by Kate Winslet.
Diana: The Day We Said Goodbye
Director
event2017
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Witness the definitive story of Princess Diana's funeral as we relive the day through the eyes of those who were there.
Land of Dreams - Randy Newman's America
Writer
event1994
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A portrait of Randy Newman, the American singer-songwriter, arranger and composer known for his Southern-affected singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and various film scores. He has been a professional songwriter since he was 17. He cites Ray Charles as his greatest influence growing up, stating, "I loved Charles' music to excess.
444 Days
Director
event1998
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Documentary on the experiences of the hostages and captors when the American embassy in Iran was captured for 14 months in 1979.
Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
Director
event2019 star_border 7.1
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Ella Fitzgerald was a 15-year-old street kid when she won a talent contest in 1934 at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Within months she was a star. Over the next six decades, her sublime voice would transform the tragedies of her own life and the troubles of her times into joy. JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS retraces this extraordinary journey.
A Very Modern Dictator: A Profile of Slobodan Milosevic
Director
event2002 star_border 5
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An investigative report inside the realm, and inside the mind, of one of the most effective and brutal tyrants of the past 50 years: Slobodan Milosevic.
Star Wars Dreams
Director
event2003 star_border 7
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A look at the history of America's multi-billion dollar missile defence system, from President Eisenhower to Reagan and Bush.
My Life As A Spy
Director
event2003
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Storyville investigates British espionage in the Cold War, featuring an insight into the career of Leslie Woodhead , who was recruited by a spy school at a remote base in Scotland.
Srebrenica: Never Again?
Director
event2005
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Ten years after the Srebrenica massacre, Leslie Woodhead follows up his award-winning A Cry from the Grave to investigate what has happened since.
Children of Beslan
Director
event2005 star_border 7
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On September 1, 2004, a group of heavily armed rebel extremists stormed into School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia. For three days, more than a thousand children and adults were held hostage in a sweltering gymnasium, denied food and water, and forced to keep their hands over their heads. The harrowing siege ended on September 3 with a series of explosions and a hail of gunfire that killed some 350 people - half of them children. In this film, the youngest survivors of Beslan tell their story.
The Stones in the Park
Director
event1969 star_border 7.5
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There has never been a concert like it. There never could be again. It was July 5th 1969, two days after the death of guitarist Brian Jones, when half a million people gathered in Hyde Park to pay homage to the British group described as the greatest rock'n'roll band in the world. They were The Rolling Stones. The Stones in the Park is a vivid record of this momentous occasion. .. Play List: 1. Midnight Rambler 2. Satisfaction 3. I'm Free 4. I'm Yours She's Mine 5. Jumping Jack Flash 6. Honky Tonk Woman 7. Love In Vain 8. Sympathy For The Devil
Strike: The Birth of Solidarity
Director
event1981
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British TV Movie drama/documentary detailing the birth of Poland's Solidarity union
NOVA
Writer (1 ep.)
event1974 star_border 6.9
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PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.
Television
Producer (13 ep.)
event1985
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Exhaustive 13-part survey of the television medium from its hesitant beginnings in the 1920s to the multi-million dollar extravaganzas of today and the cable and satellite technologies of the future [relative to 1985]. Tackling the medium as a worldwide phenomenon, the series examines each of the principal areas of programming - news, drama, documentaries, and light entertainment - and the unique impact of "live" coverage.
Under the Sun
Producer (1 ep.)
event1989
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BBC series exploring cultures around the world.
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