Media

The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press provides access to streaming media services for research, instruction and recreation.  Below, Library, Museums and Press staff share some of their favorite eVideos available via those services.  These resources span many genres, including feature films, documentaries and performances.  Search DELCAT (tip: use the 'Available online' limiter) or explore the streaming media databases yourself and discover your own favorites!

Kaitlyn Tanis, Senior Assistant Librarian and History and Social Sciences Librarian in the Research and Engagement Department, chose Rear Window, available streaming via Swank Digital Campus.

"Growing up, my mom would love to watch old movies with me, so naturally she showed me several Alfred Hitchcock movies. One of my favorites is Rear Window. I love the suspense that was captured throughout. Because you see everything through the eyes of Jimmy Stewart's character, you feel trapped and helpless as you watch the mystery around you. Plus, all of Hitchcock's movies revolve around strong female characters. It's now a tradition of mine to watch his movies around Halloween each year."

Amanda McCollom, Associate Librarian and Multimedia Literacy Librarian in the Student Success and Curriculum Partnerships Department, chose Everything Everywhere All at Once, available streaming via Swank Digital Campus.

"I can't recall the last time I laughed and cried this much while watching a film. This fantastical sci-fi adventure is grounded in the most human of experiences - marriage, taxes, the relationship between parent and child, and the challenges of being an immigrant. It explores, in the most unexpected ways, what life could have looked like had the characters taken a different path. It quite literally is everything, everywhere, all at once."

Kathy Cephas, Technology Support Specialist I in the Student Multimedia Design Center, chose The Lunchbox / Dabba, available streaming via Academic Video Online's Sony Pictures Classics selections.

"A case of mistaken identity starts a correspondence between two lonely people in Mumbai. They get to know each other through notes passed in a lunchbox, delivered by a courier service. I chose this film because it reminds me of how even the smallest acts/gestures of communication can become a lifeline -- for both the sender and the receiver."

Sue Agent, Associate Librarian and Cataloger for the Special Collections Cataloging Unit of the Cataloging and Metadata Department, chose Searching for Sugar Man available streaming via Academic Video Online's Sony Pictures Classics selections.

"Unknown in America, the singer known as Rodriguez had a huge impact on South Africa in the 1970s and then just disappeared. This documentary captures a journalist's search to find out more about his story. The soundtrack is marvelous."

Mike Gates, Technology Support Specialist I in the Student Multimedia Design Center, chose Tim’s Vermeer, available streaming via Academic Video Online's Sony Pictures Classics selections.

"A Texas inventor experiments with creating contraptions that help to enable him to paint photo-realistic paintings in effort to emulate the style of Dutch master painter Johannes Vermeer. While we can not definitively say if Vermeer used any tools like the ones used in this documentary to complete his paintings; the research and testing of these tools is still fascinating and entertaining to see used."

Meghann Matwichuk, Film and Video Collection Librarian, chose What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael, available streaming via Academic Video Online's Juno Films selections.

"Film lovers will enjoy this unvarnished portrait of pioneering film critic Pauline Kael, whether or not they are familiar with her incisive, unapologetic takes on cinema during one the most vibrant period's of movie-making in film history."

Kris Raser, Multimedia Project Manager in the Office of the Vice Provost, chose Wag the Dog, available streaming via Swank Digital Campus.

"I remember this being a telling film when I first watched it in my early 20's. A humorous take on the ability for 'spin doctors' to distract the public from political scandal or embarrassment, this now seems a prescient take on how splintered and untrusted 'the media' is by many in our current time. Worth another viewing and comparison to the current social media landscape, far-right views on media outlets in general, and our current political landscape."

Easten Cueva, former Technology Support Specialist I in the Student Multimedia Design Center, chose The Illusionist, available streaming via Academic Video Online's Sony Pictures Classics selections.

"There is almost no dialogue in this movie yet all of the character's struggles, emotions and triumphs are felt. I enjoyed how the relationships between all of the characters are based on the actions of affection during a time of economic challenges."

John Stevenson, former Associate Librarian and Head, Multimedia Collections and Services Department, chose Good Bye, Lenin!, available streaming via Academic Video Online's Sony Pictures Classics selections.

"Ever wake up to find the world totally changed and the old 'normal' missing? This film depicts a son trying to protect his heroically socialist mother from knowing that her country disappeared after the Berlin Wall came down."

Rich Campbell, former Technology Support Specialist I in the Student Multimedia Design Center, chose Ken Burns's The Civil War available streaming via Academic Video Online's PBS selections.

"Ken Burns has become a household name, and it all started 30 years ago with his compelling documentary on the Civil War.  Somehow Burns, through his use of period photos, drawings, interviews with historians and dramatically read quotes from notable figures and ordinary citizens, was able to convey to many of us what it was like to live through the war. Many other Ken Burns documentaries are also available for streaming including The War, The Vietnam War, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, and Country Music."

Aimee Gee, former Senior Assistant Librarian and English and American Literature Librarian, Reference and Instructional Services Department, chose Orlando, available streaming via Academic Video Online's Sony Pictures Classics selections. 

"I'm a fan of director Sally Potter's eccentric body of work, and this striking adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando is her best known film for good reason. While the philosophical contemplation of sexuality, gender, and immortality offer food for thought, the lavish sets and costumes and Tilda Swinton's arch performance are a feast for the senses."  

Alex Galarza, former Senior Assistant Librarian and Digital Scholarship Librarian, Digital Scholarship and Publishing Services, chose The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, available streaming via Academic Video Online's Sony Pictures Classics selections.

"Winner of the 2003 Academy Award for best documentary, this film is about Robert McNamara and his reflections and regrets about his time as Secretary of Defense during the Cold War. Many viewers fixate on McNamara's raw confessions of his sins during the Vietnam War, but it is also very useful for illuminating logics of empire and developmentalism during the 20th century."

Tim English, former Library Assistant III in the Special Collections and Museums, chose La Haine, available streaming from Swank Digital Campus.

"Set in Paris in the '90s, La Haine shows us French society in flux, struggling to accept immigrants while remaining distinctly French. It grapples with issues like racial discord and police brutality, and reminds us that the United States isn't alone in struggling with these conflicts. A changing France is perfectly illustrated halfway through the film, as a DJ samples KRS-ONE before fading out into Edith Piaf."