Directing

Fred Barzyk

Born 1936-10-18 · Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Fred Barzyk is an American television director and producer known for his avant-garde work in public television. During his tenure at WGBH in Boston, he directed and produced innovative programs such as The Lathe of Heaven (1980) and Between Time and Timbuktu (1972), the latter based on the works of Kurt Vonnegut. Barzyk's contributions have been recognized with multiple awards, including the Venice Film Award for Best Television Director Worldwide in 1985.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Video: The New Wave poster
NR

The New Wave is the seminal compendium of independent video work in the early 1970s. Written and narrated by Brian O'Doherty, this overview of the emerging video field includes examples of guerrilla television and "street" documentaries, early explorations with image-processing and synthesis, and performance video. This historical anthology includes excerpts of tapes by the following video pioneers: Stephen Beck and Warner Jepson, Peter Campus, Douglas Davis, Ed Emshwiller, Bill Etra, Frank Gillette, Don Hallock, Joan Jonas, Richard Serra, Paul Kos, Nam June Paik, Otto Piene, Willard Rosenquist, Dan Sandin, James Seawright, Steina Vasulka, TVTV, Stan Vanderbeek and William Wegman.

Video: The New Wave

1975

Video: The New Wave poster
NR

The New Wave is the seminal compendium of independent video work in the early 1970s. Written and narrated by Brian O'Doherty, this overview of the emerging video field includes examples of guerrilla television and "street" documentaries, early explorations with image-processing and synthesis, and performance video. This historical anthology includes excerpts of tapes by the following video pioneers: Stephen Beck and Warner Jepson, Peter Campus, Douglas Davis, Ed Emshwiller, Bill Etra, Frank Gillette, Don Hallock, Joan Jonas, Richard Serra, Paul Kos, Nam June Paik, Otto Piene, Willard Rosenquist, Dan Sandin, James Seawright, Steina Vasulka, TVTV, Stan Vanderbeek and William Wegman.

Video: The New Wave

1975

The Lathe of Heaven poster
6.5

George Orr, a man whose dreams can change waking reality, tries to suppress this unpredictable gift with drugs. Dr. Haber, an assigned psychiatrist, discovers the gift to be real and hypnotically induces Mr. Orr to change reality for the benefit of mankind --- with bizarre and frightening results.

The Lathe of Heaven

1980

The Lathe of Heaven poster
6.5

George Orr, a man whose dreams can change waking reality, tries to suppress this unpredictable gift with drugs. Dr. Haber, an assigned psychiatrist, discovers the gift to be real and hypnotically induces Mr. Orr to change reality for the benefit of mankind --- with bizarre and frightening results.

The Lathe of Heaven

1980

No artwork available
NR

Three girls steal the answers to their final exam. When the headmistress finds out, she gives those responsible one-day to confess. After that anyone participating in the cover-up will be expelled.

The Cheats

1989

Countdown to Looking Glass poster
6.1

A fictional confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf. The narrative of the film details the events that lead up to the initial exchange of nuclear weapons from the perspective of an on-going news broadcast.

Countdown to Looking Glass

1984

The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski (a Tale of Gothic Love) poster
7.0

A comedy written and Narrated by Jean Shepherd. The story involves several different events such as Ralph's first serious romance with his new neighbor, Randy playing a turkey in the school Thanksgiving Day play, The Old Man setting his sights on a yellow buick and the High School basketball rival game of the season.

The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski (a Tale of Gothic Love)

1985

The Negro and the American Promise poster
NR

Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin -- three of the most highly regarded civil rights leaders of the 1960s -- were united in their quest for Black empowerment. But their methods of approach were polarizing.

The Negro and the American Promise

1963

Between Time and Timbuktu poster
7.7

A poet-astronaut is shot through an area of space called the Chronosynclastic Infundibulum. He is duplicated into infinite copies of himself, each of whom finds himself in a bizarre situations on a different world.

Between Time and Timbuktu

1972

Between Time and Timbuktu poster
7.7

A poet-astronaut is shot through an area of space called the Chronosynclastic Infundibulum. He is duplicated into infinite copies of himself, each of whom finds himself in a bizarre situations on a different world.

Between Time and Timbuktu

1972

Joyce Chen's China poster
NR

In 1972, Chinese American chef Joyce Chen returned to China for the first time since she left in 1949. The program chronicles her and her family's visit to her home through her own eyes. It's one of the first documentaries about China filmed by a Chinese American family.

Joyce Chen's China

1975

Art in Public Places poster
NR

“It seems funny to say it, but long before there was an ‘art world,’ there was art in the world.” So begins the artist and writer Russell Connor’s meditative tour of public art in New York City.

Art in Public Places

1973

The Phantom of the Open Hearth poster
6.8

This comedy/drama was written by Jean Shepherd, who appears at the beginning and the end and narrates it through voiceover. It tells the story of several events as they occur through the eyes of Ralph, a high-school-aged boy. Ralph is anticipating the upcoming prom and is working up the courage to invite Daphne Bigelow, a beautiful and popular student who does not seem aware of his existence.

The Phantom of the Open Hearth

1976

No artwork available
NR

On a stormy night in September 1934, the Morro Castle was making its way through heavy seas en route from Havana to New York City. Shortly after 2:00 A.M., while most of the passengers slept, fire suddenly engulfed the luxury liner; within an hour, hundreds were dead or struggling desperately in the water. The fire's apparently inexplicable outbreak wasn't the only secret that night aboard the Morro Castle. Hours earlier, Captain Robert Wilmott had died in his cabin under suspicious circumstances. Had Wilmott been poisoned? Was the fire accidental, or intentionally set? This doc focuses on the incident and the speculation that the radio operator was the arson.

The Mystery of the Morro Castle

1980

No artwork available
NR

On a stormy night in September 1934, the Morro Castle was making its way through heavy seas en route from Havana to New York City. Shortly after 2:00 A.M., while most of the passengers slept, fire suddenly engulfed the luxury liner; within an hour, hundreds were dead or struggling desperately in the water. The fire's apparently inexplicable outbreak wasn't the only secret that night aboard the Morro Castle. Hours earlier, Captain Robert Wilmott had died in his cabin under suspicious circumstances. Had Wilmott been poisoned? Was the fire accidental, or intentionally set? This doc focuses on the incident and the speculation that the radio operator was the arson.

The Mystery of the Morro Castle

1980