Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson

Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson 2021

6.80

In 2004, a culture war was brewing when the Super Bowl halftime show audience saw a white man expose a Black woman's breast for 9/16ths of a second. A national furor ensued. The woman was Janet Jackson, and her career was never the same.

2021

Time

Time 2020

6.90

Fox Rich, indomitable matriarch and modern-day abolitionist, strives to keep her family together while fighting for the release of her incarcerated husband. An intimate, epic, and unconventional love story, filmed over two decades.

2020

Framing Britney Spears

Framing Britney Spears 2021

7.10

Her rise was a global phenomenon. Her downfall was a cruel national sport. People close to Britney Spears and lawyers tied to her conservatorship now reassess her career as she battles her father in court over who should control her life.

2021

Bill Cunningham New York

Bill Cunningham New York 2011

7.59

Doubling as a cartography of the ever-changing city, Bill Cunningham New York portrays the secluded pioneer of street fashion with grace and heart.

2011

The Legacy of J Dilla

The Legacy of J Dilla 2023

1

In his short lifetime, J Dilla was a musician, producer and visionary who profoundly influenced rap and hip-hop. Given how prolific he was in his 32 years, why didn't his accolades come sooner?

2023

Island in Between

Island in Between 2023

6.40

The rural Taiwanese outer islands of Kinmen sit merely 2 miles off the coast of China. Kinmen attracts tourists for its remains from the 1949 Chinese Civil War. It also marks the frontline for Taiwan in its escalating tension with China.

2023

The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story

The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story 1996

7.00

The childhood, adolescence, and incredible adult years of Al Hirschfeld, celebrated creator of thousands of line drawings of famous people - many in the entertainment industry - over a span of more than sixty years. He is still drawing in his nineties. His interesting domestic life, political, and cultural views are highlights. In addition, he talks about himself a bit - seriously and lightly.(At one point he he claims that his only form of exercise has been to live in his Manhattan townhouse: stairs). He drives his car around Manhattan - an adventure in itself. Brief interviews with, and reminiscences of many friends and associates.

1996

Touch of Evil

Touch of Evil 2011

6.90

Some of 2011's stand-out film actors appear in "a video gallery of cinematic villainy" for New York Times Magazine.

2011

9 Kisses

9 Kisses 2014

6.20

2014's best actors pair up in a series of intimate encounters.

2014

Making a Scene

Making a Scene 2013

5.40

For this year's Movies Issue, The New York Times Magazine commissioned lines from an eclectic and talented group of screenwriters — writers responsible for some of the best scripts of 2013. We asked them each to write a single line for us — not a scene, a script or a scenario, but simply an intriguing, amusing or captivating line of dialogue. Then we gave these lines to one of the great movie artists of our time: the cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, a two-time Oscar winner. Kaminski used these lines as inspiration to create 11 original (very) short films. Each short evokes a style or genre of the cinematic past and stars an actor who gave an especially memorable performance in 2013.

2013

Some Kind of Heaven

Some Kind of Heaven 2021

7.20

Behind the gates of a palm-tree-lined fantasyland, three residents and one interloper at America’s largest retirement community strive to find happiness.

2021

SPERMWORLD

SPERMWORLD 2024

7.40

Three men enter the new wild west of baby making, online forums where sperm donors connect with hopeful parents, but find themselves exchanging more than just genetic material.

2024

Wide-Awake

Wide-Awake 2012

5.80

Ingénues, icons, action heroes, divas and the world's next great comedy star: 13 actresses who gave the dreamiest performances of 2012.

2012

Great Performers: Horror Show

Great Performers: Horror Show 2017

6.70

Horror films dominated the cultural conversation in 2017. From the surprise hit “Get Out” to the movie adaption of “It” to the campy “Happy Death Day,” scary movies had an unusual hold on the collective imagination during that year. Maybe it's because reality was pretty horrifying, too. To punctuate the end of a hair-raising year, The New York Times Magazine asked ten actors who gave the best performances to play a series of eerie roles.

2017

The Queen of Basketball

The Queen of Basketball 2021

7.17

She was arguably the greatest women's basketball player. She won three national trophies; she played in the ’76 Olympics; she was drafted to the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lucy Harris?

2021

Elon Musk's Crash Course

Elon Musk's Crash Course 2022

1

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, has claimed since 2015 that, for Tesla, technology for self-driving cars is a "solved problem," and made outlandish claims about Autopilot capabilities. But a New York Times investigation reveals the quixotic nature of Musk's pursuit of self-driving technology, and the tragic results.

2022

A Concerto Is a Conversation

A Concerto Is a Conversation 2020

7.00

A virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer tracks his family's lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

2020

Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln in the Bardo 2017

1

In 1862, Abraham Lincoln's youngest son is laid to rest. That night, Lincoln visits his son's crypt, a chorus of ghosts narrating their brief reunion. Based on the bestselling novel by acclaimed author George Saunders.

2017

14 Actors Acting

14 Actors Acting 2010

7.00

This year's great performers striking some of the classic attitudes of cinema.

2010

Take Flight

Take Flight 2015

6.50

2015's best actors lift off in a series of tributes to the ultimate Hollywood magic trick.

2015