Village of Stars

Host Rudy Maxa models hassle-free ways of getting to great places, discovering the world’s vitality and character, and plotting memorable, independent trips. Maxa, a well-known travel personality, writer and lecturer, is an MSNBC business travel columnist, a Pulitzer Prize nominated reporter and the original host of public radio’s "The Savvy Traveler."

This music was recorded during the filming of the documentary a story of Sahel Sounds be- tween November 2013 and October 2014.
The film provides an inside look at Christopher Kirkley’s project “Sahel Sounds” - a blog, record label and platform to explore arts and music of the Sahel region through non-tradi- tional ethnographic fieldwork.

Bestselling author and father of the Ancient Alien Theory Erich von Däniken explores what drove ancient humans to build city-sized places underground around the world and its connection to conflicts in the sky.

This enthralling series looks at both the origins and current state of organized crime in Sicily, Russia, Colombia, India, and China. It is thoroughly researched and beautifully put together, clearly elucidating the complex sociological roots that gave rise to today's cartels. Such fascinating topics as Russian prison tattoos and the ancient Indian Thug cult are discussed along the way. Though the producers don't shy away from pointing out governmental missteps that have inadvertently assisted in the rise of organized crime, the series comes down firmly on the side of law and order, and is careful to show the ruthlessness and brutality of the black market. The only hitches in the series come in the form of quick repetitions of information (that once followed commercial breaks), but these are only occasionally noticeable. Though densely informative, it never becomes dull or dry - indeed, once you start watching it, it's almost impossible to stop.

In a series of simple and joyous vignettes, director Roberto Rossellini and co-writer Federico Fellini lovingly convey the universal teachings of the People’s Saint: humility, compassion, faith, and sacrifice. Gorgeously photographed to evoke the medieval paintings of Saint Francis’s time, and cast with monks from the Nocera Inferiore Monastery, The Flowers of St. Francis is a timeless and moving portrait of the search for spiritual enlightenment.

The colossally popular Zatoichi films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman. As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers justice in every town and village he enters. The films that feature him are variously pulse-pounding, hilarious, stirring, and completely off-the-wall. This deluxe set features the string of twenty-five Zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973, collected in one package for the first time.