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- A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
- Orson Welles produces his greatest film, Citizen Kane (1941), despite the opposition of the film's de facto subject, William Randolph Hearst.
- A one-off special. René is writing his memoirs and needs help to fill in the "big gaps".
- The highs and lows of Alan Turing's life, tracking his extraordinary accomplishments, his government persecution through to his tragic death in 1954. In the last 18 months of his short life, Turing visited a psychiatrist, Dr. Franz Greenbaum, who tried to help him. Each therapy session in this drama documentary is based on real events. The conversations between Turing and Greenbaum explore the pivotal moments in his controversial life and examine the pressures that may have contributed to his early death. The film also includes the testimony of people who actually knew and remember Turing. Plus, this film features interviews with contemporary experts from the world of technology and high science including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. These contributors bring Turing's exciting impact up to the present day, explaining why, in many ways, modern technology has only just begun to explore the potential of Turing's ideas.
- A young Muslim woman living in Britain campaigns for the release of her immigrant husband from his detainment in a holding centre.
- A documentary that looks at the World War 2 deception of 1943. British Naval intelligence devised a plan so ludicrous that Churchill loved it, the German High Command fell for it, and Allied forces acted on it, allowing them to invade southern Europe via Sicily. A plot so far fetched, you'll think it was fiction. Not since the Trojan horse has a military deception had such an impact on the world.
- A look at the life, work, activism and controversies of actress and fitness tycoon, Jane Fonda.
- A countdown of the "100 greatest musicals" of stage and screen, as voted by the UK public through Channel 4's website and readers of The Mail newspaper. Each entry is represented by clips from stage productions and/or film versions, and many are accompanied by new interviews with those involved (actors, directors, writers) or celebrity fans.
- After rigorous testing in 1961, a small group of skilled female pilots are asked to step aside when only men are selected for the spaceflight.
- Examines the new media monopoly by corporations in America versus the public battle for truth and democracy.
- A documentary about Marie Curie life, a woman who has two Noble-prize.
- Documentary telling the remarkable story of Donald Trump's family history, an extraordinary immigration success story. What can we learn about the next President of the United States from his background?
- Detailed history of the design and manufacture of the iconic Boeing 747, which was developed as an inferior sibling to Boeing's preferred option, the Super-Sonic Transport. The financial stress that Boeing faced almost put it out of business, but resulted in a masterpiece of engineering which created the way forward in safe, reliable and economic air transport.
- Phil Spector is a pioneer of American music, a legendary producer to John Lennon and Tina Turner, and, as of April 13th 2009, a convicted murderer. Yet the Spector who appears in Vikram Jayanti's documentary is not the severe, outlandishly coiffed defendant seen in sensationalistic accounts of his trial, but a charming, savvy music executive with a generous, but arguably accurate, estimation of his place in the history of popular music.
- In 1959, four important jazz albums were released, each a watershed moment for the genre that reflects its time.
- Dramatised biography of writer George Orwell.
- Documentary comparing the lives of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, neither of whom was expected to become queen, shown on the occasion when the length of Queen Elizabeth's reign exceeded that of Queen Victoria's, making her Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
- It explores the dark art of geopolitical spin-doctoring.
- When Bob Monkhouse's widow died and his house was being prepared for market, the amazing extent of his private collection of video and audio recordings was realized. Among them were many treasures which had previously been believed to be lost to the nation. This films delves into just some of the highlights of that trove, and reveals the multi-layered man behind the glossy TV persona.
- On November 8th 1983 World War III almost began, and with it a nuclear apocalypse. This day is now acknowledged as one of most perilous on the whole of the Cold War.
- A history of movies which have been certified with adult ratings by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) from 1951 when the 'X' Certificate was invented, right up until the present day of '18' and 'R18'.
- A documentary which examines Marc Bolan's childhood ambitions of fame and where it led him, using previously lost TV and radio interviews, rediscovered Top of the Pops recordings, unseen concert footage and unique home movies.
- What happened to the wealth classic Hollywood actress Grace Kelly earned during her incredibly successful career.
- This great 45 Minute documentary runs through Garbo's life and films in chronological order in an attempt to reveal the 'real' Garbo
- Tom Holland explores how our ancestors sought to explain the remains of dinosaurs and other giant prehistoric creatures, and how bones and fossils have affected human culture.
- Rich Hall looks at how the most quintessentially American film genre, the Western, came to be killed off.
- Documentary about the legendary American film director from his introduction to the film industry in its early years to his death in 1959. After a falling out with Adolph Zukor, he left Paramount Pictures to found his own company but it too failed and moved on to MGM where his films were less successful than he had hoped. By 1931 DeMille, despite his huge successes in the silent era, was practically unemployable. Given a second chance at Paramount DeMille found his now classic formula of religious or epic tales with more than just a tinge of sex. Firmly re-established, he would stay with the studio for the rest of his career. He became a fervent anti-communist leading to a confrontation with his colleagues in the Directors Guild. He continued making films regardless and died as one of the most commercially successful in Hollywood history.
- In light of a new 2006 BBC Robin Hood series, Jonathan Ross looks at the ways the popular outlaw of Sherwood Forest has been portrayed in the media throughout the years.
- The song "Summertime" was written by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward and although not thought to be directly involved, Ira Gershwin gets an official credit. The song soon developed a life of it's own beyond the original opera and has been recorded and adapted into many different styles of music from jazz to opera, rock to reggae, soul to samba. It has been recorded and performed in many different languages around the world and remains one of the most famous and best loved songs ever written. This documentary looks at its history, how it came to be created, and its subsequent history as it traveled through time and around the world. "Summertime" is the most covered song on the planet. At least 25,000 versions of it exist.
- A look at the portrayals of courtroom trials in film history.
- Documentary telling the story of the 1951 Festival of Britain, which in a period of austerity showed how to carve out a bright new future through design and ingenuity.
- A unique celebration of the Queen's ninety years as she reaches her landmark birthday in April. Film-maker John Bridcut has been granted special access to the complete collection of Her Majesty's personal ciné films, shot by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen herself, as well as by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Much of it has never been seen publicly before. Various members of the Royal Family are filmed watching this private footage and contributing their own personal insights and their memories of the woman they know both as a member of their own close family and as queen. Among those taking part are the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent and his sister Princess Alexandra, who has never before given an interview.
- Ever since King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, the official explanation had been simply that the government disapproved of his marriage to a twice-divorced woman. However newly-released documents, embargoed until recently, suggest that Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang, played a large part in a plan to make certain that Edward VIII abdicated, not only because of his marriage to a divorcee but also because the archbishop disapproved of the King's whole lifestyle and modern attitudes to life.
- Stephen Fry chooses and presents his 100 all-time favourite gadgets that have revolutionised our individual and collective lives, from hi-tech to historical, the domestic to the downright dumb. From curling tongs to the corkscrew, the typewriter to the trouser press, the iron to the iPod, the show is an entertaining mix of cutting-edge technology, misty-eyed nostalgia and the fascinating insights for which Stephen Fry is renowned.
- Through an immersive combination of footage, photos and 3D CGI, this documentary reveals how different the Earth might be if the moon wasn't exactly where it is now. How does a rock orbiting a quarter of a million miles away from Earth hold the power to shape our future?
- James May looks at the toys he and his sisters played with as kids.
- A sardonic look at the dark secrets of the British Film Industry of the 1920s and 30s, where scandal and sordid behaviour was almost as rife as in Hollywood.
- This documentary explores the incredible life of Merian C. Cooper, from his time as a soldier and pilot in three different wars, to his exploits in Hollywood, as a director, producer and cinematic innovator.
- A look at the things considered synonymous with a traditional British Sunday.
- Darcey Bussell charts the life of Audrey Hepburn and discovers a tale of betrayal, courage, heartache and broken dreams behind the dazzling image.
- Frank Skinner learns more about his sporting hero Muhammad Ali, visiting key locations and people in his life - including the bare knuckle fighter from Oxfordshire who became one of Ali's dear friends.