American Mythologies In the Arena of Murder

In these documentaries, Gitai captures America and Israel at pivotal moments in their recent histories--moments that have arguably shaped the complex, troubling world we share today.

Gitai turns a documentary eye on the United States in American Mythologies, a wide-ranging immersion in American culture at the dawn of the Reagan era. With appearances by Jane Fonda and Francis Ford Coppola. (1981; 104 mins.)

In the Arena of Murder is a passionately personal documentary begun three weeks after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The film follows Gitai, who travels around the country in an effort to understand the tragedy. As Variety notes, "It captures effectively the mood of a country at a unique, terribly sad, historical moment." With Lea Rabin. (1996; 80 mins.)