HPL 2026 Documentary DVDs

"This landmark documentary, authorized by the Marshall family, explores the life and legacy of Thurgood Marshall, from his trailblazing legal battles to his historic role as the first Black Supreme Court justice. Featuring rare archival materials and interviews with leading scholars and HBCU voices, the film reveals how Marshall helped America confront its deepest contradictions and how his vision for justice continues to shape the nation today"--Container....

Suddenly Royal is a three-part series that tells the fascinating stories of everyday women and men from around the globe who unexpectedly meet their real-life prince or princess and marry into royalty. From Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the UK, we chart the journey of surprising first-meets, engagements and marriages, all the while highlighting the challenges our new-comers face as they prepare for their role in the global spotlight. From classism,...

"Author and wildlife rehabber Terry Masear has an ambitious goal: to save every injured hummingbird in Los Angeles. But the path to survival is fraught with danger. This heart-expanding Sundance hit introduces audiences to Terry's diminutive patients through breathtaking slow-motion photography and emotional storytelling. Over the course of director Sally Aitken's moving documentary, we become deeply invested in hummingbirds like Cactus, Raisin, Jimmy...

"The dropping of atomic bombs on two Japanese cities -- Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki, three days later, was one of the most momentous and destructive moments in world history. The bomb known as 'Little Boy' that decimated Hiroshima was 2,000 times more powerful than any bomb before, instantly killing approximately 80,000 of the city's 350,000 residents. By the end of the year, the death toll would rise to 140,000 as initial survivors...

United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this magnificent essay film, a...

"Can forests help cool the planet? Follow scientists working in spectacular forest landscapes in Costa Rica, Brazil, Australia, and beyond as they try to untangle complex networks of trees, fungi, and creatures large and small, all in a quest to tackle the twin threats of climate change and species extinction"--Container.

We Want The Funk! is a syncopated voyage through funk's history, from its African and jazz roots to James Brown's early work and the rise of Parliament Funkadelic. Distinctly urban, funk reflected a post- Civil Rights sensibility. The film explores the symbiotic relationship between funk's explosion and the political and racial dynamics of 1970s inner-city America. An unapologetic expression of Black pride, resilience, and joy in the wake of the Civil...

"UnBroken chronicles the seven Weber siblings who evaded certain capture and death and ultimately escaped Nazi Germany following their mother's incarceration and murder at Auschwitz. After being hidden in a laundry hut by a benevolent farmer, the children spent two years on their own in war torn Germany. Emboldened by their father's mandate that they 'always stay together,' the children used their own cunning and instincts to fight through hunger,...

A true fish-out-of-water story, or should we say, a pizza-out-of-Connecticut story, about a New Haven-native with a love for the town's beloved "apizza" (pronounced: ah-beetz), who does the impossible by bringing the charred, thin-crusted, best pizza in the world to southern Florida.

Engineering is all around us, and humans have been doing it forever. But how does it actually work?