If you're arrested in New York City and can't make bail, you'll be sent to Rikers Island -- a mammoth holding facility for 17,000 men and women awaiting trial. TV journalist Jon Alpert spent ten months filming there, coming away with a graphic and unblinking portrait of life inside America's largest jail complex, including a moving look at the human faces behind the statistics.

Dirty Driving: Thundercars of Indiana

2008

English

6.9

Auto racing is an obsession in Anderson, Indiana. Even with local auto factories closing down and jobs being lost, the town's residents continue to flock to the local speedway every Friday night--and its drivers continue to pour their dwindling resources into their Thundercars. Emmy(R)-winning filmmaker Jon Alpert presents this look at this passion for racing in rust-belt America. Since the closing of a GM plant and the loss of 33,000 jobs, the once-thriving town of Anderson now stands witness to empty factories, shuttered stores and abandoned home--but also to packed houses at Anderson Speedway where people put their troubles on hold to watch the cacophony of screeching tires and crashing metal as drivers vie for Thundercar supremacy.

Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery

6.9

It has been called "the saddest acre in America." It is also one of the most sacred. Section 60 in Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for young men and women who died fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. This emotional documentary filmed entirely in Section 60 provides intimate glimpses of family and friends who have come to honor their loved ones.

Rock and a Hard Place

2017

English

7.2

♡ 6

89%

Action

Documentary

Jon Alpert Director

Dwayne Johnson as Self

A look at the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Boot Camp Program, which allows young inmates undergo a strict six-week course in order to learn from their past mistakes and make a better future for themselves.

Life of Crime 2

1998

English

8.1

♡ 4

Jon Alpert Director Freddy

Freddy as Robert

Robert as Deliris

Deliris as

This follow-up to the 1989 documentary ONE YEAR IN A LIFE OF CRIME revisits three of the original subjects in New Jersey during a five-year period in the 1990s. We share in their triumphs and setbacks as they navigate lives of poverty, drug abuse, AIDS, and petty crime.

One Year in a Life of Crime

1989

English

7.6

♡ 7

Jon Alpert Director Freddy

Freddy as Robert

Robert as

Michael Jandreau as (as Mike)

Their job is stealing, their lives a cruel dead end. Director Jon Alpert takes his cameras undercover for this hard-hitting look at men who live by theft and suffer addiction. Focusing on a year in the lives of three professional criminals, this gritty profile—which includes hidden-camera footage of actual thefts—exposes the "petty" crimes that are paralyzing America.

Wartorn: 1861-2010

2010

English

7.7

♡ 1

66%

Action

combat fatigue

Documentary

post-traumatic stress disorder

post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)

War

Jon Alpert Director

With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, this documentary brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq

2007

English

7.9

87%

Action

Documentary

woman director

Jon Alpert Director

James Gandolfini as Self

Jacob Schick as Self

Dawn Halfaker as Self

Dexter Pitts as Self

In a war that has left more than 25,000 wounded, ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ looks at a new generation of veterans. Executive Producer James Gandolfini interviews ten Soldiers and Marines who reveal their feelings on their future, their severe disabilities and their devotion to America. The documentary surveys the physical and emotional cost of war through memories of their "alive day," the day they narrowly escaped death in Iraq.

Life of Crime 1984-2020

2021

English

8.4

♡ 10

91%

Jon Alpert Director

Freddie Rodriguez as

Robert Steffey as

Deliris Vasquez as Freddy

Freddy as (as Freddie Rodriguez)

An intimate documentary that looks at the vicious cycles of drug addiction and street crime in one of the roughest parts of New Jersey.

The Latin Explosion: A New America

2015

English

7.0

♡ 3

Documentary

Music

Jon Alpert Director

Sofía Vergara as Self - Interviewee / Actor

Eva Longoria as Self - Interviewee / Actor / Producer

Ray Barretto as Self - Musician

John Leguizamo as Self - Narrator

With more than 50 million Latinos now living in the United States, Latinos are taking their seat at the table as the new American power brokers in the world of entertainment, business, politics and the arts. As Latinos’ influence in American society has soared, they have entered mainstream American culture, and the proof is in the music. Executive produced by legendary music mogul Tommy Mottola, THE LATIN EXPLOSION: A NEW AMERICA features a dazzling array of artists at the center of Latino cultural power and influence, including Marc Anthony, Emilio Estefan Jr., Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, Eva Longoria, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, Los Lobos, Cheech Marin, Ricky Martin, Rita Moreno, Pitbull, Romeo Santos, Shakira, Thalía and Sofía Vergara. Narrated by John Leguizamo.

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Cuba and the Cameraman

Lock-Up: The Prisoners of Rikers Island

Dirty Driving: Thundercars of Indiana

Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery

Rock and a Hard Place

Life of Crime 2

One Year in a Life of Crime

Wartorn: 1861-2010

Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq

Life of Crime 1984-2020

The Latin Explosion: A New America