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Arts & Culture / Music & Film

George Veditz

Using Movies to Debate Sign Language

A 1913 film mirrors contemporary conflicts over how best to teach the deaf

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A Trip to the Moon as You’ve Never Seen it Before

Frame enlargement from Le Voyage Dans La Lune/A Trip to the Moon

A Trip to the Moon as You’ve Never Seen it Before

One of the landmark films in cinema can now be seen in color

The Smithsonian collection of 8,000-plus instruments includes 5 by Stradivari.

Sound Scholarship

Squeak the Squirrel one of the many educational films available for free online

Where to Find Old Films Online, Streamed Legally and for Free

Thousands of fascinating films are available for free streaming and download, if you know where to look

Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his famous speech

Screening “I Have a Dream”

It may be difficult to view the entire 17-minute speech online, but two films were made about the March on Washington that highlight that momentous day

From the upcoming Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory: (l to r) Bruce Sinofsky, Damien Echols and Joe Joe Berlinger

Paradise Lost’s Joe Berlinger on the Roots of his West Memphis Three Films

The director of the award-winning documentary reflects on what it was like to film a “real-life Salem Witch Trial”

It's tempting to find hints of Hitchcock's future style in the set design and lighting for The White Shadow.

Behind the Lost Hitchcock Film

Found in a New Zealand archive, the White Shadow offers a glimpse into early film history that extends beyond the famous director

In 1963, author Ken Kesey came up with the idea of leading a cross-country bus trip from California to New York.

Ken Kesey’s Pranksters Take to the Big Screen

It took an Oscar-winning director to make sense of the drug-addled footage shot by the author and his Merry Pranksters

The Champ has been used in experiments to see if depressed people are more likely to cry than non-depressed people.

The Saddest Movie in the World

How do you make someone cry for the sake of science? The answer lies in a young Ricky Schroder

Born in 1940, Levon Helm showed an early gift on the drums. Growing up on a cotton farm, music became his way out of a hard-labor life.

Levon Helm’s Rocking Rambles

The ‘60s rock great died today. Last July, our writer visited Helm for one of his famous Saturday night music throwdowns

Eddie Van Halen recently donated his custom-made guitar named Frankenstein 2 to the National Museum of American History.

Q and A with Eddie Van Halen

The rock guitarist talks about his custom-made Frankenstein 2 that is now in the collections of the American History museum

A new Folkways album is one of many offerings for the war sesquicentennial.

Civil Discourse

Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 where he was an acoustic icon. The following year, he went electric.

The Top 10 Moments of Bob Dylan’s Career

We have selected 10 of the many pivotal events that have shaped his tumultuous life

After minor chart success, the O'Jays had considered calling it quits before Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble revived their career with chart-topping hits.

Forty Years of Philadelphia Sound

Songwriters Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble composed tunes with political messages for chart-toppers like the O’Jays and Billy Paul

Alvino Rey may not be a household name today, but Rey's genre-busting fretwork in electric music's nascent years helped set the stage for modern rock.

Alvino Rey’s Musical Legacy

As the father of the electric guitar and grandfather of two members of Arcade Fire, Rey was a major influence on rock for decades

Maurice Hines, left, joins his brother Gregory (now deceased) in the finale of the smash hit 1981 Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies.

Maurice Hines on the Legacy of the Apollo Theater

The legendary dancer talks about starting his career in Harlem and his upcoming Sammy Davis Jr. project

Featuring the musical and comedic talents of African-American performers for decades, the landmark Harlem theater transformed popular entertainment.

Show Time at the Apollo

A stellar roster of African-American singers, dancers and comedians got their start at the venue, celebrating its 75-year history

No matter what type of music they played, says Apache guitarist Stevie Salas, Native Americans "seemed to share a common rhythmic thread."

The Pop Charts’ Native Roots

From country music ballads to rock power chords, Native Americans left a lasting impression on the soundtrack of the 20th century

"Jazz implicitly communicates some of the most cherished core values of our society," says John Edward Hasse.

The Smithsonian’s Ambassador of Jazz

Music curator John Edward Hasse travels the globe teaching the genre that revolutionized American music

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