Bringemovies
← Browse Movies
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
TITLE DETAILS

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

2004-05-16 · 121 min · ★ 7.1

History · Documentary

A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.

Open detail page

Trailers are previews, not full movies.

No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.

Production details

Directors
Xan Cassavetes
Production companies
Maja Films, Fresh Produce Films, Independent Film Channel
Countries
United States of America
Status
Released

Top Cast

Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoSelf
Robert AltmanRobert AltmanSelf
Jim JarmuschJim JarmuschSelf
Paul VerhoevenPaul VerhoevenSelf
Alexander PayneAlexander PayneSelf
James WoodsJames WoodsSelf
Henry JaglomHenry JaglomSelf
Jacqueline BissetJacqueline BissetSelf
Kris KristoffersonKris KristoffersonSelf
Theresa RussellTheresa RussellSelf
Vilmos ZsigmondVilmos ZsigmondSelf
Penelope SpheerisPenelope SpheerisSelf
James B. HarrisJames B. HarrisSelf
Vera Carlisle AndersonSelf
Doreen Ringer RossSelf
Douglas VenturelliSelf
Kevin ThomasSelf
Jerry HarveySelf (archive footage)

Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.

Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

Streaming

Amazon Prime Video, GuideDoc, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads

Rental

Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

Purchase

Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

Free

Hoopla

With ads

Fandango at Home Free, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV, Plex, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Tubi TV, Amazon MX Player

View authorized watch options on TMDb

Recommendations

Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
★ 7.7
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off2022Documentary

A wide-ranging, definitive look at Hawk’s life and iconic career, and his relationship with the sport with which he’s been synonymous for decades, featuring unprecedented access, never-before-seen footage, and interviews with Hawk and prominent figures in the sport including Stacy Peralta, Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Neil Blender, Andy MacDonald, Duane Peters, Sean Mortimer, and Christian Hosoi.

QT8: The First Eight
★ 7.2
QT8: The First Eight2019Documentary

A detailed account of the life and artistic career of legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, from his early days as a video club manager to the scandalous fall in disgrace of producer Harvey Weinstein. A story about how to shoot eight great movies and become an icon of modern pop culture.

Disclosure
★ 7.8
Disclosure2020Documentary

An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.

Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.
★ 7.5
Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.2018Documentary

Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.

Room 237
★ 6.1
Room 2372012Documentary

A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.

For Sama
★ 8.2
For Sama2019Documentary

A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

The Kid Stays in the Picture
★ 6.6
The Kid Stays in the Picture2002Documentary

Documentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, based on his famous 1994 autobiography.

Night Will Fall
★ 7.6
Night Will Fall2014Documentary

When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
★ 6.8
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years1988Documentary

An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..

One More Time with Feeling
★ 7.8
One More Time with Feeling2016Documentary

Andrew Dominik's One More Time With Feeling is a remarkable black and white documentary which chronicles the creation of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' album Skeleton Tree. Originally a performance based concept, the film evolved into something much more significant as Dominik delved into the tragic backdrop of the writing and recording of the album. The result is stark, fragile and raw, and a true testament to an artist trying to find his way through the darkness. It documents the writing, recording and performing of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ sixteenth studio album, Skeleton Tree.

Belushi
★ 7.0
Belushi2020Documentary

Using previously unheard audiotapes recorded shortly after John Belushi’s death, director R.J. Cutler’s documentary feature examines the too-short life of the once-in-a-generation talent who captured the hearts and funny bones of devoted audiences.

One Child Nation
★ 7.2
One Child Nation2019Documentary

Through interviews with both victims and instigators, Nanfu Wang, a first-time mother, breaks open decades of silence on a vast, unprecedented social experiment that shaped — and destroyed — countless lives in China.

Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
★ 6.6
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine2015Documentary

When Steve Jobs died the world wept. But what accounted for the grief of millions of people who didn’t know him? This evocative film navigates Jobs' path from a small house in the suburbs, to zen temples in Japan, to the CEO's office of the world's richest company, exploring how Jobs’ life and work shaped our relationship with the computer. The Man in the Machine is a provocative and sometimes startling re-evaluation of the legacy of an icon.

Hated: GG Allin and The Murder Junkies
★ 6.6
Hated: GG Allin and The Murder Junkies1993Documentary

An overview of the life of the most shocking, vile, and notorious of punk rock legends.

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
★ 6.2
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer2010Documentary

An in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Zero Days
★ 7.4
Zero Days2016Documentary

Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.

Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)
★ 7.4
Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)2023Documentary

In 1968, art students Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell made a trippy photo collage for their musician friends Syd, David and Roger. The resulting album and album cover, A Saucerful of Secrets, helped launch two careers: that of Pink Floyd, one of the 70s megabands, and of Hipgnosis, which, over the course of the next 25 years, designed a stream of iconic album covers.

Generation Wealth
★ 6.4
Generation Wealth2018Documentary

Over the past 25 years, Lauren Greenfield's documentary photography and film projects have explored youth culture, gender, body image, and affluence. Underscoring the ever-increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots, portraits reveal a focus on cultivating image over substance, where subjects unable to attain actual wealth instead settle for its trappings, no matter their ability to pay for it.

Facing Ali
★ 7.3
Facing Ali2009Documentary

Ten of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.

Style Wars
★ 7.5
Style Wars1984Documentary

Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's PBS documentary tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Similar titles

An Irrepressible Woman
★ 5.4
An Irrepressible Woman2020History

1940, Jeanne Reichenbach turns her back on a peaceful life to link her destiny to Léon Blum. She's been loving him since her teenage years, and is ready to sacrifice her freedom to mary him at Buchenwald, where he's held prisoner. They will survive together.

Lo Que Queda en la Tierra
Not rated
Lo Que Queda en la Tierra2025Documentary

In the mountains of Colombia's Coffee Triangle, a family faces the shadow of armed conflict. Years later, a son reconstructs the inherited fear, amidst echoes of the past and invisible scars. A sensory journey into memory, where the unspoken still resonates.

Laura Aguilar: Life, the Body, Her Perspective
Not rated
Laura Aguilar: Life, the Body, Her Perspective2009Documentary

For nearly three decades Laura Aguilar has used photography as a tool to speak about people and issues not considered part of the cultural mainstream. Laura Aguilar: Life, the Body, Her Perspective presents personal video essays by the artist, a lecture she gave at UCLA in 2005 that describes her life as a photographer, plus an interview and documentary filmed by Michael Stone. A comprehensive series of slide shows features works from her extensive oeuvre, including Family and Friends, In Sandy’s Room, and Clothed/Unclothed. A bonus CD contains a PowerPoint survey that enables students and educators to study individual images, facilitating discussion of Aguilar’s groundbreaking art.

Pure Love: The Voice of Ella Fitzgerald
★ 8.0
Pure Love: The Voice of Ella Fitzgerald2017Documentary

Ella Fitzgerald's voice is a phenomenon and unrivalled to this day. She had the perfect pitch and perfect intonation. Ella's voice spanned three octaves, her phrasing seemed effortless. There is almost no style of music, in which she did not excel, and her numerous - now legendary - recordings of the 'Great American Songbook' with pieces of US composers such as George and Ira Gershwin, Harald Arlen, Cole Porter or Duke Ellington, remained a benchmark for the "right" interpretation of those songs for generations of singers. In the film the focus will be on the voice of Ella Fitzgerald. We want to unravel the secret of her voice through many different people (musicians, singers, critics etc.), who will tell about what impact her voice had on them and still has. We want to learn more about Ella´s life to find out what made her sing like she did and only she could.

Poster unavailable
★ 10.0
Abxang2003Documentary

October 17, 1961, Cover-up Of a Massacre
★ 10.0
October 17, 1961, Cover-up Of a Massacre2001Documentary

On October 17 and 18, 1961, during a non-violent demonstration against the imposed curfew, dozens of Algerians were murdered in Paris by police officers acting on orders from their superiors. For forty years, this crime has been concealed; yet these events, the deadliest on French soil since the Second World War, resemble, in some respects, the darkest hours of the collaboration. Why has this history been hidden? Under what conditions, and in the name of what reasons, did officials of a democratic state conceal the scale and gravity of such events?

Allies
★ 9.0
Allies1983Documentary

ALLIES is a landmark documentary from 1983, made at the time of Bob Hawke’s unequivocal embrace of the American alliance.

Five Sex Rooms und eine Küche
★ 1.0
Five Sex Rooms und eine Küche2007Documentary

Uncle Yanco
★ 7.2
Uncle Yanco1967Documentary

While in San Francisco for the promotion of her last film in October 1967, Agnès Varda, tipped by her friend Tom Luddy, gets to know a relative she had never heard of before, Jean Varda, nicknamed "Yanco". This hitherto unknown uncle lives on a boat in Sausalito, is a painter, has adopted a hippie lifestyle and loves life. The meeting is a very happy one.

Poster unavailable
Not rated
Till The Clouds Roll By: Real to Reel2006Documentary

A short documentary on Jerome Kern and the making of Till the Clouds Roll By.

Poster unavailable
Not rated
Lord of the Brush2005Documentary

"Lord of the Brush" details the artist John Howe's history and passion for J.R.R. Tolkien's works. John's story is brought to life with over 100 of his beautiful illustrations, which have had a major impact on the fans and readers of the world about how J.R.R. Tolkien's work is envisioned in images.

Factory Girl
★ 6.0
Factory Girl2006History

In the mid-1960s, wealthy debutant Edie Sedgwick meets artist Andy Warhol. She joins Warhol's famous Factory and becomes his muse. Although she seems to have it all, Edie cannot have the love she craves from Andy, and she has an affair with a charismatic musician, who pushes her to seek independence from the artist and the milieu.

Red Cliff
★ 7.1
Red Cliff2008History

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.

Pollock
★ 6.7
Pollock2000History

In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has fittingly been called "an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew." As he struggled with self-doubt, engaging in a lonely tug-of-war between needing to express himself and wanting to shut the world out, Pollock began a downward spiral.

Titus
★ 6.4
Titus1999History

Titus Andronicus returns from the wars and sees his sons and daughters taken from him, one by one. Shakespeare's goriest and earliest tragedy.

Are You Awake?
Not rated
Are You Awake?2025Documentary

After seeking transcendence through shamanic rituals, Ana’s life is transformed overnight by an unexpected turn toward faith.

Les survivants, l'impossible départ après la Shoah
★ 7.5
Les survivants, l'impossible départ après la Shoah2026History · Documentary

Rok bez Magora
Not rated
Rok bez Magora2013Documentary

Charlotte Gray
★ 6.1
Charlotte Gray2001History

This is a drama set in Nazi-occupied France at the height of World War II. Charlotte Gray tells the compelling story of a young Scottish woman working with the French Resistance in the hope of rescuing her lover, a missing RAF pilot. Based on the best-selling novel by Sebastian Faulks.

The Half-Life of Genius Physicist Raemer Schreiber
★ 7.0
The Half-Life of Genius Physicist Raemer Schreiber2018History · Documentary

Our two-hour film highlights the life and career of Dr. Schreiber with respect and clarity. Raemer, his wife Marge, and young daughter Paula would move to the high-desert of New Mexico where he and other brilliant minds would change the world forever.

Your favorites

Recently viewed

Watch

Choose an authorized server.

Full video from an operator-configured authorized source. Official trailers use a separate player. If a server fails, retry or select another authorized server.

Legal watch options

Official trailer

Trailer preview only. Press Play to start.

Privacy choices

Favorites stay in your browser. Movie images load from TMDb. YouTube trailers contact YouTube only after you allow external media and choose a trailer. Advertising consent, if ads are enabled, is managed separately by the operator’s certified CMP.

Privacy policy

After allowing external media, choose the trailer button to load its player.