Profiling Julia Child (1912-2004), the doyenne of TV chefs, whose public-TV show "The French Chef," began in 1963, two years after she published her first book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

A psychological portrait of James Dean, Hollywood's iconic 1950s rebel, focuses on the year 1955, when he died in a car crash at age 24. "This boy; that year," sighs Lois Smith, Dean's costar in "East of Eden," one of three movies he made or were released in 1955 (the others were "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant"). Smith and other Dean colleagues review the films and Dean's "psychological involvements" (as actor Bill Bast puts it) in them. Says Martin Landau: "He understood pain."

"Eternally elegant" screen superstar Cary Grant (1904-86) is profiled. Included are clips from his films and interviews with ex-wife Betsy Drake and widow Barbara Grant. There are also comments from biographers and film critics, and costars Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau. Helen Mirren is the narrator, and Jeremy Northam provides the voice of Grant.

"Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice," a performance documentary profiling the African-American women's a cappella group, whose gentle but pointed music incorporates African songs, blues, jazz, gospel and hip hop, sung "with a political ring," says group member Aisha Kahlil. A "black women's force in the universe" founded by civil-rights-movement veteran Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973, its mission remains unchanged. "The world," says Reagon, "needs to know what it looks like to us."

Writer-director George Stevens Jr. remembers his dad in "George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey," a superb 1984 portrait of the Oscar-winning director of "A Place in the Sun" and "Giant." Although a labor of love, Stevens doesn't fawn over his brilliant father, who's recalled here by a steady parade of actors, fellow directors, technicians and producers. Clips from many Stevens films are also included, as is color footage from his WWII tour of duty with the Army Signal Corps film unit.

"Bob Newhart: Unbuttoned" traces the life and career of the quiet comedian, who gained fame from his 1960 record album, then starred in hit sitcoms in the '70s and '80s. Clips from those shows and excerpts from his stand-up routines are supplemented by Newhart's own comments, plus those of his wife, Ginnie, and a number of colleagues. "Bob is a regular guy," says David Steinberg, who directed him in the '80s show. "He just happens to be a genius at being a regular guy."

"Willa Cather: The Road Is All" profiles the prairie-hewn author of such frontier classics as "O Pioneers!" and "My Antonia." David Strathairn narrates the biography, which teases out the character of the guarded Cather (1873-1947) mostly by analyzing her novels (with excerpts read by Marcia Gay Harden). "Cather felt that her life belonged to her," says writer Joan Acocella, "and her work belonged to the people."

"Ernest Hemingway: Rivers to the Sea," an atmospheric profile of the literary icon (1899-1961), features readings of his works (by Kate Burton) and letters (James Naughton). Also: interviews with Hemingway's son Patrick, daughter-in-law Valerie and sister Carol Hemingway Gardner; and biographer A.E. Hotchner. Written and directed by DeWitt Sage, a Peabody winner for his 2001 "American Masters" biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Part 1 of two. Martin Scorsese directed this chronicle of Bob Dylan's life and music from 1961 to '66. Included are interviews with Dylan and other artists and rare performance clips.