Titles Available as of July 2022
This is a selective list of streaming video holdings in the American University Library. Streaming guides are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the library catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible. For complete up-to-date streaming holdings, please refer to our streaming catalog.
FEATURE FILMS
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
On 30 September 1659, the aristocratic British Robinson Crusoe's ship sinks and he miraculously survives on a deserted island somewhere in South America. He retrieves a dog, Rex, and cat, Sam, from the shipwreck together with some supplies, weapons, clothes and tools and builds a shelter. He soon learns how to survive by cooking, farming, harvesting the crops. Then the loneliness begins to haunt him, especially after the loss of Rex. When he sees a group of cannibals in the island, tension and fear become part of his life. Later he saves the life of a savage that was going to be eaten by the cannibals; he names him Friday and they become friends. When Robinson Crusoe sees Caucasians on the island, he finds that Captain Oberzo was the victim of a mutiny and he helps him to retrieve his ship.
In this exciting animated adventure, viewers travel with Alice down the rabbit hole where she encounters the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, and all of Wonderland’s strange residents. This unique presentation of Lewis Carroll's children’s classic utilizes audio portions of a rare 1948 radio recording starring Dinah Shore as Alice, Arthur Q. Bryan (the voice of Elmer Fudd) as the rabbit, and Ralph Moody. Featuring cutting-edge animation created in 2010, this video is an instant classic that will be remembered for many years to come. (57 minutes)
When commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, heading back to Earth, intercepts an SoS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship's computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it is too late.
The true story of bestselling celebrity biographer (and friend to cats) Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy), who made her living in the 1970s and '80s profiling the likes of Katherine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack.
Rich old Cyrus West's relatives are waiting for him to die so they can inherit. But he stipulates that his will be read 20 years after his death. On the appointed day his expectant heirs arrive at his brooding mansion. The will is read and it turns out that Annabelle West, the only heir with his name left, inherits, if she is deemed sane. If she isn't, the money and some diamonds go to someone else, whose name is in a sealed envelope. Before he can reveal the identity of her successor to Annabelle, Mr. Crosby, the lawyer, disappears. The first in a series of mysterious events, some of which point to Annabelle in fact being unstable.
A talented physician, Dr. John Dolittle (Murphy) has long suppressed a very special talent he possessed as a child: the ability to communicate with animals. But now, as a "responsible" adult, more everyday concerns occupy his time. Unfortunately, Dolittle's wife and two young daughters have taken a back seat to his medical and fiscal ambitions. All that changes when, driving home one evening, Dolittle barely misses hitting a stray dog. When the pooch, Lucky, turns around and gives him a piece of his mind, Dr. Dolittle's long dormant talents are re-awakened ... with a vengeance! After a period of stunned disbelief, Dr. Dolittle can no longer deny his unique verbal skills. Owls, horses, guinea pigs -- virtually every member of the animal kingdom -- are now seeking his medical advice. And Dr. Dolittle's new four-legged and furry friends, in turn, teach him a few things about being human.
This time his challenge is to save the forest and the endangered Pacific Western Bear. But the species has no chance of surviving if the bear doesn't have a mate. Dr. Dolittle searches and finds Bruno, a big hearted, lovable performing bear with a fondness for fast food. Dolittle's challenge -- to reintegrate Bruno into the wild, help him make a love connection and save the forest. The trick -- he has only three weeks to do it.
Lisa Dolittle sends her daughter to 'Durango', a Dude Ranch, to find herself. While there, she uses her talent to talk to the animals in order to save Durango from being taken over by a neighboring Ranch.
He's cynical, lazy and, literally, a fat cat. Now, Garfield, America's favorite feline, is about to become a major motion picture star, in a film with broad-audience appeal. The live action / CGI picture is adapted from the syndicated cartoon strip read in 2600 newspapers by 260 million readers around the globe. In his film debut, Garfield's owner, Jon, takes in sweet but dimwitted pooch Odie, turning Garfield's perfect world upside down. Now, Garfield wants only one thing: Odie out of his home and life! But when the hapless pup disappears and is kidnapped by a nasty dog trainer, Garfield, maybe for the first time in his life, feels responsible.
Following in the footsteps of "Garfield the Movie" and "Tale of 2 Kitties", Garfield stars in his all new original Feature Length Movie adventure now in CGI. Garfield loses his funny and he is on the quest to find it again.
Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy - his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old's mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank's formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary's landlady and best friend. Jenny Slate is Mary's teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well.
"Ice Age" is a digitally-animated feature film from Blue Sky Studios, a top computer graphics imagery/feature film animation studio and a division of Twentieth Century Fox Animation Studios. Set against the onslaught of the ice age -- and a world filled with wonder and danger -- the story revolves around three unforgettable characters: a woolly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, and a sloth, who unite to return a human baby to his tribe.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
After the events of "Ice Age: The Meltdown", life begins to change for Manny and his friends: Scrat is still on the hunt to hold onto his beloved acorn, while finding a possible romance in a female sabre-toothed squirrel named Scratte. Manny and Ellie, having since become an item, are expecting a baby, which leaves Manny anxious to ensure that everything is perfect for when his baby arrives. Diego is fed up with being treated like a house-cat and ponders the notion that he is becoming too laid-back. Sid begins to wish for a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs which leads to Sid ending up in a strange underground world where his herd must rescue him, while dodging dinosaurs and facing danger left and right, and meeting up with a one-eyed weasel known as Buck who hunts dinosaurs intently.
Journalist and man-about-town Marcello struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.
Newly married couple Juliette and a ship captain Jean struggle through marriage as they travel on the L'atalante along with the captain's first mate Le père Jules and a cabin boy.
Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zookeeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi is found adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival.
Let go from his job, unmarried, and with little money in his pocket, Harold Diddlebock (Harold Lloyd) needs a life makeover. He receives one thanks to a powerful drink served by a bartender, which knocks him out. He awakens to discover that, in his drunken stupor, he's purchased a struggling circus. He and his pal (Jimmy Conlin) try to unload it on some local fat cats, but Jackie the lion, one of the circus attractions who tags along, creates as much hysteria as interest among potential buyers. Nominated for a Golden Globe and Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival.
Tracy, a lonely college freshman in New York, is rescued from her solitude by her soon-to-be stepsister Brooke, an adventurous gal about town who entangles her in alluringly mad schemes. Mistress America is a comedy about dream-chasing, score-settling, makeshift families, and cat-stealing.
What can Abby, a sharp but insecure radio talk show host, and Noelle, a beautiful and eager-to-please model, possibly have in common? The two unlikely friends are about to find out when Abby finds herself strongly attracted to a charming photographer - and asks Noelle to assume her identity when he unexpectedly comes calling to meet the person behind the beguiling radio personality. A series of romantic and comic misadventures follows, finally giving way to true love and friendship.
Wilbur Gray, a horror writer, has stumbled upon a terrible secret, that cats are supernatural creatures who really call the shots. In a desperate attempt to get others to believe him, Wilbur spews three tales of feline horror. Peter Cushing stars in this grisly portmanteau about as a paranoid writer who must convince his publisher that all cats are unholy fiends based on three tales of kitty carnage.
DOCUMENTARIES
Chris Packham delves beneath the skin of the big cats to explore what makes them such good hunters, and he reveals that it is not all about brawn. New scientific research shows how subtle adaptations in their anatomy and physiology contribute to the success of all stages of a big cat hunt: the stalk, the capture, and the kill. Leg hairs help the leopard to stalk and intricate muscle fibres drive the snow leopard to capture its prey. For the jaguar, jaw muscles and whiskers combine to give it a precision bite that can take down a caiman, and an enlarged area of the lioness's brain gives it the edge over all their big cat cousins.
Big Cats About the House: Episode 1
Big cat expert Giles Clark hopes to turn The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent into a center of global excellence for big cat conservation. He adopts Maya, a jaguar cub, and hand raises her at home. A trip to Cambodia fuels his determination to protect wild cats. At his home, Maya develops, but when her coordination deteriorates, she is rushed to a veterinary hospital and her life hangs in the balance.
Big Hairy Mammals—World's Wildest City: Manaus
Wild cats frequently come into Manaus, and when they do, the city’s wildlife experts must come to their rescue. Jaguar, puma, ocelot, and margay are just a few of the exotic species they treat on a regular basis. As the city expands further into the rainforest, cases of big cats in the metropolis are increasing. Though smaller, and much slower, another furry creature in danger is the sloth. Sloths live in patches of jungle throughout Manaus, but more are being found on the city’s streets, and nobody knows why. It is down to wildlife experts to solve the mystery of their migration before the slow-moving animals get hurt.
In November 2001, Chris Marker became intrigued by the sudden appearance of grinning yellow cat paintings on Paris buildings and began to document them, as well as other incidents and protests in the city of Paris while he filmed. The creator is eventually revealed to be an art collective known as Mr. Chat.
I Talk to Animals: A Portrait of Samantha Khury
Samantha Khury has made a profession of being an animal therapist. She may not be a Freudian, but she does seem to have established communication with a variety of species, including race horses, goats, dogs and cats. Their owners call on her to discover what is troubling their animals. You may be skeptical that Samantha is really getting information directly from the animals. How else did Samantha discover that one mournful cat missed greeting customers at its owner s store, or that a dog was bereft at the loss of its stuffed toy? Even professional horse trainers listen to Samantha when their animals seem down in the mouth. We watch Samantha talk to a race horse who wasn't eating. She discovered that he craved more time off from his rigorous training. His appetite came back to normal after his schedule was adjusted. Samantha has a loyal following among pet owners and those who depend on animals for their livelihood. Even if you’re not convinced of Samantha s gifts, you ll enjoy this foray into the mysteries of the animal psyche.
The Kalahari of southern Africa is composed of parched plains stretching hundreds of miles under the scorching sun. It is in this extreme environment that two species, the springbok, Africa's swift and graceful antelope, and the cheetah, the fastest predator on land, engage in an age-old race for their own survival. This video takes an intimate look at one of the most spectacular races on earth, a never-ending contest that leaves only the quick and the dead, and chronicles the raw beauty, splendor, and extreme athleticism of these two remarkable species that have evolved together over thousands of years.
Professor Alice Roberts journeys 40,000 years back in time on the trail of the great beasts of the Ice Age. High in a cave in the Grand Canyon, Alice discovers the mummified poo of the grizzly bear-sized Shasta ground sloth. Lying in the sands of Arizona are the shelled remains of a glyptodon. On the coastal plains of California, Alice encounters the vast Columbian mammoth, an animal far larger than any elephant today. These leviathans all have one thing in common: they were stalked by the meanest big cat that ever prowled the Earth, armed with seven-inch teeth and hunting in packs-Smilodon fatalis, the saber-toothed cat.
Louis Theroux, Beware of the Tiger
Traveling to America's heartlands, Louis Theroux spends time with an Oklahoma man who has bred and collected over 150 tigers, visits the woman who privately owns one of America's largest collections of chimpanzees, and finds himself in uncomfortably close contact with a number of big cats and dangerous primates.
Decades since lions and cheetahs were seen roaming the plains of Malawi, the country is leading one of the most ambitious big cat conservation projects on the continent.
Do mentally competent seniors have the right to neglect themselves and their surroundings to the extent that they offend the community? What should be done when reclusive or eccentric seniors refuse help? Do government agencies have an obligation to intervene? Mr. Nobody sensitively addresses these questions by focusing on quirky 65-year old, Jack Huggins. Jack has lived alone in his family's house ever since the death of his parents. A bachelor, he lavishes affection on a menagerie of cats. The house is crammed with discarded appliances collected from garbage cans. Jack's troubles began when his neighbors complained to the Health Department about the condition of his house. Health officials came and carted away his "junk". For a time Jack was certified incompetent and his financial affairs were monitored by a state-appointed trustee. He deeply resented this interference, having always functioned independently. "I never owed a person a cent and now I'm being treated like Mr. Nobody," he protested. Finally a senior advocacy agency had him re-assessed by a psychiatrist.In no other film have these legal, ethical and human issues been addressed so clearly and poignantly.
Scientists are studying cats in more detail than ever before, and what they are discovering is truly groundbreaking. Join the scientists in the field, testing new theories and challenging the conventional ideas about cats. New approaches and new technologies are allowing an intimate look at their previously hidden lives. Using high-tech collars, Professor Alan Wilson has discovered it is not straight-line speed that is a cheetah's greatest weapon but their ability to brake, change direction, and accelerate. His research is rewriting what we understand about the fastest animal on land. This is also a crucial time for cat conservation—most are threatened, facing extreme habitat loss and conflict with humans. Yet there are many positive stories of cats bouncing back from the brink, showcasing the tireless work of cat conservationists fighting to protect them.
Some animals have always fascinated mankind for their mystery and power. Elephants, crocodiles, snakes, apes, big cats and sharks are feared as enemies in some cultures and admired as super beings in others. Whether part of our nightmares or greatest hopes, this fascination has pushed man to want to confront these great animals and has given birth to surprising legends and beliefs that still haunt us today. Impressive rituals, ceremonies and combat scenes are gathered into six incredible stories that explain the bond between tribal animals and human kind and why they are so present in our imaginations.