Documentaries
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- StarsMark HamillLondon Underground, a system of rail lines, is still growing through the present day with the latest line expected to carry an incredible 30,000 people per hour in each direction!
- DirectorPaul TilzeyStarsJanina RamirezTim AyersSarah BrownHistorian Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of a centuries- old masterpiece in glass, the East Window at York Minster - the largest medieval stained-glass window in the country
- StarsJames Fox
- StarsJohn RomerJohn Romer recreates the glory and history of Byzantium. From the Hagia Sophia in present-day Istanbul to the looted treasures of the empire now located in St. Marks in Venice.
- DirectorLynn Hershman LeesonStarsLynn Hershman LeesonB. Ruby RichThrough intimate interviews, provocative art, and rare, historical film and video footage, this feature documentary reveals how art addressing political consequences of discrimination and violence, the Feminist Art Revolution radically transformed the art and culture of our times.
- DirectorMichael DunawayTara WoodStarsJoey Lauren AdamsJack BlackLouis BlackIt's been said that the first 21 years defines the career of an artist. Few directors have single-handedly shaken up the film establishment like the godfather of indie, Richard Linklater. From the groundbreaking SLACKER to his innovative BOYHOOD, Linklater has just reached the 21-year mark and has unapologetically carved his signature into American pop culture. This compelling documentary takes you on a behind the scenes tour into Linklater's style, skills, and motivation via his friends, actors, and other directors. Get a raw and honest perspective on Richard through candid conversations with Ethan Hawke, Jack Black, Keanu Reeves, Billy Bob Thornton, Matthew McConaughey, Jason Reitman, Julie Delpy and others, and see their stories brought to life through hilarious animated sequences. For a guy who became famous for celebrating the cool and casual, Linklater emerges as a surprisingly strategic and visionary director who has already established a legacy and perfected a style that can't be denied.
- DirectorKevin BurkeStarsPaul AinsworthDave AlexanderAndrea AlvinA documentary exploring the birth, death, and resurrection of the illustrated movie poster.
- DirectorDonovan ChanStarsJeff HutchensJeff Hutchens travels the Grand Canal from Beijing to Jiangsu to see it at work. He'll take up challenges and customs, train in arts and culture, and unlock secret ingredients in dishes that sprung up in the birthplace of the Grand Canal.
- DirectorPeter WestStarsDale ChihulyRichard RoyalFlora MaceDale Chihuly reunites with some of the world's best glassblowers who have been important in the development of many of his most well known series.
- DirectorEdmund MoriartyStarsBrenda EmmanusMary BeardThomas BohlBrenda Emmanus explores the art collection of Charles I, much of which is being reunited for a unique exhibition for the first time since his execution. Brenda hears the stories behind the works of art and learns how the collection was sold off by Parliament following Charles' death.
- DirectorEleanor YuleStarsMichael PalinGuy PeploeOlivier Meslay
- DirectorDavid BarrieMark RossiterStarsLaurence FoxKing George VISarah BradfordThe story of King George VI of Britain and his struggles with his speech impediment and the unexpected responsibilities of the throne.
- DirectorRob ColdstreamStarsRobert GlenisterTara BreathnachDaniel FlynnA dramatization of the last days of the queen. It starts on the 2nd of May 1536 when a unit of the kings guard arrives with a warrant for the arrest of the Queen of England, because of incest, adultery and for conspiring against the king.
- DirectorBill MacLeodStarsStuart Kelly
- StarsRageh OmaarSoner CagaptayRageh Omaar recounts the epic story of one of the largest and most influential empires in world history, that of the Ottomans.
- DirectorTim DunnStarsDan CruickshankGavin StampFranklin BishopDocuments the works of three generations of Gothic architects Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878), George Gilbert Scott Jr (1839-1897) and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960). Between them they designed the Chapel of Exeter College, Oxford; the Albert Memorial; the Foreign & Commonwealth Office; Midland Grand Hotel, St Pancras Station; the churches of All Hallows, Southwark, St Agnes, Kennington, and St Mary Magdalene, East Moors, North Yorkshire; the Avenues district of Hull; St John the Baptist (Catholic) Cathedral, Norwich; Liverpool (Anglican) Cathedral; Battersea Power Station; Waterloo Bridge; Bankside Power Station which is now the Tate Modern Gallery; and the iconic K2 and K6 red telephone boxes.
- DirectorClare TavernorStarsAlastair SookeStonehenge is our most famous prehistoric monument; a powerful symbol of Britain across the globe. But all is not well with the sacred stones.
- Arts strand billed as "an interruption to the schedules", featuring hundreds of 3-minutes films about everything, by everyone, for everybody.
- StarsAlice RobertsBen RobinsonElaine ChalusProfessor Alice Roberts explores the UK's past, focusing on six key eras by exploring the stories of towns which best illustrate each.
- DirectorLana SalahStarsJimmy DohertyKate QuiltonMagnús SchevingThe World's Best Diet explores some of the world's most varied diets. Jimmy Doherty and Kate Quilton travel around the globe looking at the dietary habits of countries, tribes and communities to trace the story of how eating habits across the planet have changed radically over the last 50 years, and how this has affected our health.
- DirectorMark DanielsSylvie FaiveleyStarsAlain BaratonRoxanne BennettJérémie BenoîtThe Queen's Hamlet is a palace disguised as a peasant's cottage hidden in the Versailles gardens. A romantic hideaway, Marie-Antoinette conceived it as a reminder of her carefree youth in Vienna. The Revolution left it for a ruin. Now, two centuries later its renovation finally begins.
- StarsBettany HughesThe historian explores the land that inspired her passion for the past by embarking upon a 900-mile journey along the river Nile and examining how it shaped ancient Egypt.
- DirectorYoruba RichenStarsYoruba RichenMarquette FolleyKaren Allen BaxterA deeper look into the real story of Victor H. Green's "The Negro Motorist Green Book" during the Jim Crow era and beyond.
- DirectorEllena WoodStarsLouis TherouxFrances ConnanJames KellyLouis meets different people suffering from anorexia and sees how it impacts their family as well as their personal health.
- DirectorTom BarrowStarsPieter SwanepoelMarianaIan WebzellLouis Theroux traces the fortunes of different people living in South London suffering from alcoholism.
- StarsMichael G. BorackIndre RuksenieneJonathanLouis investigates Ohio's state psychiatric hospitals, meeting patients who have committed crimes but have been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
- DirectorTom BarrowStarsLouis TherouxCamilleCaseyLouis Theroux travels to San Francisco where a group of doctors help kids who claim to be born in the wrong body.
- DirectorDanny HoranStarsLouis TherouxLouis meets parents who have turned to medication to keep their children under control.
- DirectorJamie PickupStarsLouis TherouxJoe ExoticJohn ReinkeIn America's heartlands, Louis looks at private collections of tigers and chimpanzees.
- DirectorAndy WellsStarsLouis TherouxYair LiebermanDaniel LuriaLouis Theroux visits a small group of ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers.
- DirectorNick Clarke PowellStarsRichard ClayBlek Le RatGeorges CardosoThe history of graffiti, 30,000 years of humans scratching on walls.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonKen RussellA six-part television documentary series tracing the history of British art from 1066 to the modern day.
- DirectorTimothy Greenfield-SandersStarsCarmen Dell'OreficeIsabella RosselliniJerry Hall'About Face' explores beauty and aging through the stories of the original supermodels: women, now between fifty and eighty years old, whose images defined our sense of beauty over the last half-century. Shot in Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' intimate portrait style, participants include Isabella Rossellini, Christie Brinkley, Marisa Berenson, China Machado, Beverly Johnson, Carmen Dell'Orefice, Paulina Porizkova, Jerry Hall, and Christy Turlington among others. They discuss the fashion industry, their careers, aging, plastic surgery, botox, and how they have reassessed and redefined their own sense of beauty as they have aged. Designer Calvin Klein says in the film, 'They had something inside that came through...they had character, they had personality. Those qualities never age'.
- StarsPlatonTinker HatfieldIan SpalterA look beyond blueprints and computers into the art and science of design, showcasing great designers from every discipline whose work shapes our world.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKanako HiguchiMakoto ArakiMachisu is a painter. He never had the success he thinks he is entitled to. Regardless of this, he always remains trying to be successful. His wife Sachiko keeps supporting him, despite all setbacks.
- DirectorLina PlioplyteStarsIris ApfelJoyce CarpatiAri CohenAdvanced Style examines the lives of seven unique New Yorkers whose eclectic personal style and vital spirit have guided their approach to aging.
- StarsDan CruickshankHistorian and writer Dan Cruickshank celebrates architecture as a creative force as he explores the world's greatest cities, buildings and monuments.
- DirectorAlison KlaymanStarsAi WeiweiDan AiLao AiA documentary that chronicles artist and activist Ai Weiwei as he prepares for a series of exhibitions and gets into an increasing number of clashes with the Chinese government.
- DirectorAndrew NeelA portrait of a remarkable artist. American painter Alice Neel was an extraordinary and prolific figurative painter, and yet she spent most of her life working in obscurity.
- StarsKevin CostnerGregory HarrisonEric SchweigAn exploration of the various Native American nations and their fall to the European conquerors.
- StarsAdam JamesClive RussellJuliet StevensonDrama-Documentary in which historian Dan Snow explores the political intrigues and family betrayals between Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Normans that led to the Battle of Hastings.
- A modern English family embark on a real-life time-travel adventure to late Victorian London.
- StarsStephen SmithA look at how the Art Nouveau movement flourished in the burgeoning cities of Europe at the end of the 19th century.
- DirectorKaran BaliStarsM.K. Thyagaraja BhagavatharEllis DunganP.K. NairAn American in Madras primarily traces American-born filmmaker Ellis R. Dungan's years in India. Dungan made India his home from 1935-50 and became a celebrated director in the Tamil Film Industry based in South India. Born in 1909 and hailing from Barton, Ohio, Dungan reached India on February 25th, 1935 intending to stay for 6 months but ended up staying for 15 years making 13 feature films, 11 in Tamil and one each in Telugu and Hindi. During this period, he brought many technical innovations to the developing Tamil Film Industry of the 1930s and '40s, and infused a sense of professionalism into its filmmaking. All this, without understanding a word of the language! Dungan also served the Madras Government in World War II. He directed photo features, newsreels and wartime propaganda films and recorded historic events in India's history around the period of her Independence. The film traces Dungan's Indian connection right up to 1994, when on a trip to India, the Tamil Film Industry felicitated him in Madras for his contribution to its development, a good 43 years after he had left India!
- DirectorDavid ShulmanStarsPaul AmericaBrigid BerlinVictor BockrisBy 1964, Warhol had established himself as a famous pop artist and his creative ambitions were exploding in new directions in a creative frenzy of art, films - and even music. This is a day in his life.
- StarsJanina RamirezAlastair SookeCeleste RodriguesArt historians Janina Ramirez and Alastair Sooke embark upon interesting and unusual cultural city breaks to three cities, seeking out hidden creativity and new ways of enjoying famous sights.
- StarsGunther von HagensDennis LauJuliet PercivalControversial anatomist Gunther von Hagens performs dissections on real human bodies, laying bare the intricacy and beauty of the human design and lifting the lid on the mysteries of our own bodies in a series of lectures.
- StarsJames FoxBill AndersDavid WatkinDr James Fox explores how, in the hands of artists, the colors gold, blue and white have stirred our emotions, changed the way we behave and even altered the course of history.
- 1985– 4hTV-147.8 (423)TV Episode86MetascoreDirectorRic BurnsStarsLaurie AndersonIrving BlumDeVeren BookwalterRic Burns unearths rarely seen footage and offers keen observations on the life and artistic influence of Andy Warhol.
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsIsidro Puig BoadaAntoni GaudíSeiji MiyaguchiThe work of Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí, as seen by Japanese New Wave director Hiroshi Teshigahara.
- DirectorDoug PrayStarsMary WellsDan WiedenHal RineyART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for "Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where's the Beef?," "Got Milk," "Think Different," and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.
- DirectorSam CullmanJennifer GrausmanMark BeckerStarsMark A. LandisLester SullivanIrwin LakovWhen one of the most prolific art forgers in US history is finally exposed, he must confront the legacy of his 30-year con.
- DirectorVictor KanefskyStarsRichard ArmstrongDavid CenedellaJoan CenedellaWhat is art and how does it relate to society? Is its value determined by its popularity or originality? Is the goal profit or expressing one's personal vision? These are some of the questions raised as we follow fiercely independent New York artist Robert Cenedella in his artistic journey through decades of struggling for creative expression. A student, protégé and friend of German artist George Grosz, Cenedella is now passing on the legacy of Grosz's approach to art, in the very same room where Grosz taught. In portraying Cenedella's determination to buck the system of what's popular while critiquing that popularity in his attempt to turn the art world upside down, ART BASTARD is a funny, touching, and insightful look inside the maverick mind of a true original.
- StarsPeter GuinnessStephen BeckettBenjamin Till"Days That Shocked the World" is a British documentary television series that premiered on BBC Two on 17 September 2003 and ran for three series. Each 60-minute episode explores one or two major events in history through a combination of dramatization, archival footage and eyewitness accounts.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonAndrew Graham-Dixon, a leading UK art critic, crosses the Atlantic to explore the story of American art.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonAndrew Graham-Dixon undertakes an epic journey to uncover the art of China.
- StarsAndrew Graham-Dixon
- Art of Faith is a visually sumptuous series filmed in High Definition exploring the architecture and art of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The three hour-long films, presented and narrated by the broadcaster John McCarthy, visit many of the greatest and most significant religious buildings of the world.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonAndrew Graham-Dixon looks at neglected, but rich German art from the time of the Middle Ages.
- CreatorPerry Miller AdatoStarsMichael WoodGermano CelantRosalind KraussProvides a panorama of 2000 years of architecture, painting and sculpture, and studies the art masterpieces as reflections of the Western culture that produced them.
- An "insider's" view of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and artists. Charismatic curator Hetti Perkins takes us on a journey of ideas and the imagination - revealing the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life and culture.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonKajal MeghaniSophie GordonArt historian Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the history of the Royal Collection, one of the largest and most important art collections in the world - built up over 500 years.
- DirectorChris MoukarbelStarsBeth StebnerKeegan HamiltonJaime RojoDocumentary chronicling the famed street artist's "31 works of art in 31 days" in New York city.
- StarsWaldemar JanuszczakIn this three-part documentary series Waldemar Januszczak discovers paintings, sculptures and architecture of the Baroque period. Starting from the square of Saint Peter's Basilica in Italy to St Paul's Cathedral in England.
- DirectorAndrew ThompsonStarsMatt CollingsGlen CowanGraham Farmelo
- DirectorAaron RoseJoshua LeonardStarsJulian Bennett HolmesThomas CampbellShepard FaireyThis documentary follows the lives and careers of a collective group of Do-it-yourself artists and designers who inadvertently affected the art world.
- DirectorNeil BerkeleyStarsWayne WhiteMimi PondPaul ReubensA documentary on the life and current times of artist Wayne White.
- DirectorVanessa GouldStarsErik D. DemaineMartin L. DemaineVincent FlodererDepicts a cast of fine artists and eccentric scientists (from MIT and NASA) who have devoted their lives to the unlikely medium of modern origami. Through their determination to reinterpret the world in paper, they arouse a fascinating mix of sensibilities towards art, form, expressiveness, creativity and meaning.
- DirectorRichard PressStarsBill CunninghamAnna WintourMichael KorsA profile of the noted and extraordinarily cheerful veteran New York City fashion photographer.
- StarsJames FoxDr James Fox tells the story of three cities in three exceptional years - cities whose artists and thinkers, writers and musicians set the world on a new course.
- DirectorDeborah DicksonSusan FroemkeAlbert MayslesStarsJacques ChiracChristoJeanne-ClaudeThis is the story of the quest of the artist Christo to wrap the famous Pont Neuf in France in fabric. It took Christo and his wife ten years to get permission from the Parisian government, and the project created a storm of dialogue throughout Paris.
- DirectorHenry CorraAlbert MayslesGrahame WeinbrenStarsChristoJeanne-ClaudeThe controversial story of the artist Christo's grand-scale environmental art project in Japan and California that ended in the tragic death of two of its spectators. At its world premiere in 1994 at the Berlin International Film Festival, Howard Feinstein of Variety praised the film as, "highly original and structurally flawless . . . an ambitious documentary about an ambitious project." Umbrellas won The Grand Prize at the Montreal International Film Festival. It was shown at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and The Louvre Museum, Paris and on the European network ARTE.
- StarsKenneth ClarkIan RichardsonRonald LaceySir Kenneth Clarke walks through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilization in Western man.
- StarsLiev SchreiberSimon SchamaMaya JasanoffNine-part series telling the story of art from the dawn of human history to the present day, for the first time on a global scale. It is now nearly half a century since Kenneth Clark's series Civilisation thrilled audiences with its authoritative interpretation of the glories of Western art. Inspired by that groundbreaking program, this new series of Civilisations introduces a new generation to the great masterworks of beauty, ingenuity and illumination created across the continents. It explores the visual culture of societies from around the globe, revealing alongside the magnificent objects made in the West the wealth of treasures created by other cultures, from the landscape scrolls of classical China and the sculpture of the Olmecs to African bronzes, Japanese prints and Mughal miniatures. Told by three presenters, each bringing their own skills and perspectives to the series - Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga.
- StarsBill PatersonAl JolsonThe major causes and the consequences of the humankinds greatest economic depression.
- StarsGeoffrey PalmerGuy de la BédoyèreNorman LongmateReality show. A couple, their daughter and two grandchildren volunteer to spend several weeks living under wartime conditions. That includes all their clothing, including underclothes and nightwear; being constantly pushed to keep up with traditional grooming methods and dealing with severe shortages of all grooming products such as tooth care products, all types of soap and shampoo, shaving supplies for Michael; learning to live with rationing (12 ounces of candy a month, 4 ounces of ham a week, etc.,) and digging up the back yard partly for extra vegetables and partly for an "Anderson" air raid shelter. Several historians and "experts" formed a War cabinet to direct events, and push the family through 6 years of war in those weeks.
- StarsThomas KochsCuba Gooding Jr.Will.i.amDocumentary series going behind the scenes at London's Corinthia hotel, looking at how it tries to stand out in a fiercely competitive market.
- DirectorSpike GeilingerStarsAlastair SookeJohn Constable is the Nation's favourite landscape painter. From The Haywain to The White Horse his pictures of rural life seem comforting, traditional and perhaps just a bit... boring. Or, as art critic and presenter, Alastair Sooke says: 'he screams "no sex please we're British!"' So why is the artist who launched a thousand dish cloths the original country rebel?
- StarsShaun Dooley
- DirectorJohn BridcutStarsRobert HardmanSimon CallowSian ThomasAfter 200 years under lock and key, all the personal papers of one of our most important monarchs are seeing the light of day for the first time. In the first documentary to gain extensive access to the Royal Archives, Robert Hardman sheds fascinating new light on George III, Britain's longest-reigning king.
- DirectorSam BaileyMichael ReesStarsGregg WallaceCherry HealeyRuth GoodmanGregg Wallace and Cherry Healey get exclusive access to some of the biggest factories in Britain and Europe to follow the relentless production lines making our favourite products.
- DirectorNina BarbierAnthony MalamateniosStarsVitalie BantasMihai CojocaruAntonia DinWhat is the story behind the world famous Tussaud's wax museums? Watch the epic tale of the rise of Marie Tussaud, a female artist and entrepreneur who survived a revolution and then took her business acumen to England to establish an entertainment empire.
- StarsElena SaurelSue PerkinsDocumentary series discovering what people do for faith in some of the most spectacular sacred places on the planet - from the gardeners of Angkor Wat to the masons of Djenne.
- StarsAndrew MarrPhilip PerryAlan GarnerAndrew Marr deconstructs detective fiction, fantasy epics and spy novels - the books we really read. He unpicks their conventions to show how these books keep us turning the page.
- DirectorDaniel DencikStarsPer Bak JensenJonas BergsøeBo ElberlingA grand and adventurous journey of discovery to the last white areas of the world map. But no matter how far we go and how hard we try to find answers, we ultimately meet ourselves and our own transience.
- DirectorLouise OsmondPete WoodsStarsSimon FarnabyLeon HuntJohn Ashdown-HillThis documentary looks at the search for the remains of King Richard III of England (1452-1485). After being killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field (August 22, 1485), his remains were taken to Leicester and it was believed that he was buried at Greyfriars Church. The church no longer exists and its remains were now believed to be under a car park. Phillipa Langley of the Richard III Society convinced archaeologists at the University of Leicester to lead a dig and surprisingly, as it turned out, the first skeleton they found was subsequently proven to be that of the King through DNA tests which showed a match to Canadian Michael Ibsen, a direct descendant of Richard III's sister.
- DirectorBill MarkhamStarsDerek AlexanderAmanda BeamCampbell ChestermanThe castle fortresses of Scotland during the time of William Wallace spring back to their former glory in computer simulations.
- StarsCorey LawsonTessa DunlopCorey JohnsonTeaming with archaeologists and using cutting edge visual technology, Lost Worlds brings back to life lost civilizations and cultures. Join us on the quest to rebuild what was lost and is now found.
- DirectorDavid BarrieStarsRupert Penry-JonesRaoul LaurentHenri-François Le TonnelierThe extraordinary story of Edward VIII's first love affair, involving a murder trial, a secret cache of vanished letters, and a cover-up to save the reputation of the future King.
- DirectorMark FielderStarsTracy BormanJames Daybell
- StarsAndrew BrownMike LeightonMartin LowryThe life of British people during the period from the Norman Conquest through the Battle of Bosworth. Serfs, lords and nobles formed the feudal society in which each co-existed.
- DirectorMark AdderleyStarsPaul Bateman
- StarsLucy WorsleyNathen AminHistorian Lucy Worsley reveals how some of the biggest moments in British History are actually a concoction of fibs and stories which have been manipulated by whoever was in power at the time.
- StarsMichael MosleyJames WongMichael Mosley and James Wong reveal the delicious physics, chemistry and biology hidden inside our food. They travel the world in a culinary adventure to search for the origins of our favourite foods and using specialist photography and CGI, they take us on a journey inside the most sumptuous food, right down to the molecular level.
- StarsRob NelsonStefan BurnsTim BechtelUsing cutting-edge technologies such as ground penetrating radar (GPR), LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and 3-D imaging, scientists research fascinating underworlds of secret tunnel networks, ancient structures, and bizarre geological occurrences that offer glimpses into our history.