Documentary about the small city of Rheinsberg, once the summer residence of Prussian princes. Average working class people comment on the history of this special place.
Social & External
It's a condition known as "hypertrichosis" or "Ambras Syndrome," but in the 1500s it would transform one man into a national sensation and iconic fairy-tale character. His name: Petrus Gonsalvus, more commonly known today as the hairy hero of Beauty and the Beast.
Through the eyes of the Narrator and ancient Philosophers of the time, we are taken on a dramatic journey through history; recounting the incredible and exciting dramas, ceremonies, games, and chariot races of the Ancient Greek OLYMPIAD; the Olympic Games of the 5th Century BC.
In 1885 the British army invaded Burma and deposed its King. He died in exile, ending a thousand years of monarchy. The royal family vanished, and the country was plunged into war and the longest military dictatorship of modern times. But after a century of silence they are back, and they're on a journey to bring the family - past and present - back together. Filmed through three years of seismic change in Burma, this is the story of a family and a country emerging from the darkness.
Shock Docs: This is Halloween combines an impressive set of experts/historians and stars from many of the Travel Channel’s most popular series such as Ghost Nation, Destination Fear, Ghost Brothers, Kindred Spirits, Expedition Bigfoot, and The Holzer Files to reminisce on not only the history/origins of the holiday, but also recall their favorite memories of the celebrations, costumes, and scares.
Restore a piece of the past with talented artisans, collectors, and dreamers who restore masterpieces of a bygone era. You will fly the skies in a WW I bi-plane, drive in the glamorous Duesenberg automobile, ride a turn-of-the-century carousel, sail aboard a magnificent tall ship, and finally, promenade through the halls of a breathtaking Russian palace. Saved from obscurity, these priceless TREASURES FROM THE PAST bring history to life once more.
To mark the papal visit to the UK, a camera crew has spent a year filming a world that few have ever seen. With unprecedented access to the Vatican and the people who live and work there, this is a unique profile of the heart of the Catholic Church and the world's smallest sovereign state. Archivists reveal the Vatican's secrets, including the signed testimony of Galileo recorded by the Inquisition. A cardinal journeys deep below St Peter's Basilica to inspect the site claimed to be the tomb of the saint himself, and curators share a private viewing of Michelangelo's extraordinary decoration of the Sistine Chapel. An intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the workings of one of the world's most powerful and mysterious institutions.
Australia’s El Dorado was found by Lewis Harold Bell Lasseter – if we believe his claims in the late 1800s to have discovered a vast gold deposit in central Australia. This mysterious place has never again been found, and many believe it doesn’t exist. But one thing is certain: Lasseter was a larger-than-life character. Seen by some as an eccentric conman, he was ridiculed for his extravagant assertions, which he held until his tragic end. But Lasseter remains the embodiment of the Australian folk hero, who lived a life full of incredible adventures, tall tales and outrageous claims – including a possible faked death and his insistence that he designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
A travel documentary essay, interspersed with specially composed songs, about the early life and legacy of Chin Peng, exiled leader of the banned Communist Party of Malaya.
The Wages of Resistance is a feature-length documentary film that portrays an "extended span of time" of the protests against building Narita International Airport which have continued from the 1960's to today through documenting monologues of those whose lives were twisted by the movement.
A poignant documentary about the history of a family haunted by World War II. On the basis of archive material, documents left behind by her great-aunt Ro Miller and stories told by her father Eli Asser, Hella de Jonge reconstructs what happened to her family during, before and after the war. How they became aware of the danger, how they fled, how they hid, how they survived and how they died. And how, after the war was over, it continued to weigh on their lives. In Hella’s words, “The doctor advised my mother to have children, to help cope with the incredible loss.” A portrait of her grandmother, who died in the war, still hangs in her father’s living room. The filmmaker’s relationship with him has always been difficult. Fragments of memory never before discussed run together during an emotional journey embarked upon together by father and daughter to places of significance in the history of their family.
For many, the name Malvinas/Falklands evokes an absurd war between England and Argentina in 1982. For Julieta Vitullo, the protagonist of this film, this tragic history becomes deeply personal 25 years later when she suffers a loss associated with her search to uncover that past, unfolding into a life-affirming struggle for renewal and rebirth. This film tells the story of two trips, one made in 2006 and the other in 2010. In the space between one trip and the next, between past and present, between the public and the private, between what can and cannot be told, the movie reflects on the possibilities of conveying extreme life experiences, presenting landscapes and sounds that suggest subtle contours of that shape, 'The Exact Shape of the Islands.'
“Meet Me by the Magnolia Tree” is a student documentary on the history of Richmond’s gay community and the role cruising for sex played in places like Byrd Park, the Block, and Battle Abbey.
Chapter 10 of the series 18 decades of life in Mexico in the twentieth century. Images of the cultural, social and political life in Mexico between 1945 and 1949.
Elite athletes and insiders reflect on the Paralympic Games and examine how they impact a global understanding of disability, diversity and excellence.
Concorde was the epitome of elegance, speed and glamour, linking London and New York in little over three hours. But on the 25th of July 2000 tragedy struck which meant the end of supersonic flight.
Ilya Kabakov is considered one of the most important contemporary artists worldwide. Born and raised in the Ukraine in the period between Stalin and Gorbatschow he left the country in the 80s. In his Installations and his numerous paintings Kabakov creates a world of its own, which leaves the heaviness of socialist and post-socialist life far behind. The film links Ilya Kabakovs artistic spaces with insights into Russian everyday life, which itself sometimes appears like an installation by the artist.
A powerful Argentine political film stands on the figure of an outsider intellectual, Sebreli, but manages to transcend it, he becomes a touchstone to go through Argentina and its dilemmas, through this country that is proud of almost everything it should be ashamed of. From national icons like Gardel, Evita, Che, and Maradona the film dialogs with recent Argentine history and it does so with extraordinary energy, supported by a rarely seen use of all kinds of archive material in an almost Dionysian state of sampleadelia. The film arrives to a surprising reflection on nationalism, demagogic governments and delusions of unanimity; problems that are common to emerging societies that cannot find their ways to a freer and more egalitarian society.
Chapter 15 of the series 18 decades of life in Mexico in the twentieth century. Images of the cultural, social and political life in Mexico from 1970 to 1974. During the presidential term of Luis Echeverria Alvarez fantasies of prosperous and modern country it dissolves; Mexico live in political crisis. It is a time of omnipotence, barbarism, and violence intervention: the world seeks new ways. In Mexico, it held the World Cup, unionism is strengthened and inflation responds to the continuing economic imbalances.
Chapter 17 of the series 18 decades of life in Mexico in the twentieth century. Images of the cultural, social and political life in Mexico between 1980-1984.
