Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

There is no greater test for life than winter, as temperatures plummet to 70 below and winds reach 200kph. Darkness and ice extend across the polar regions and only a few remarkable survivors gamble on remaining. We join a female polar bear trekking into the Arctic mountains to give birth as the first blizzards arrive. Out on the frozen ocean, the entire world's population of spectacled eider ducks brave the winter in a giant ice hole kept open by ferocious currents. Arctic forests transform into a wonderland of frost and snow - the scene of a desperate and bloody battle between wolf and bison, but also where a remarkable alliance between raven and wolverine is made. Beneath the snow lies a magical world of winter survivors. Here tiny voles dodge the clutches of the great grey owl, but cannot escape the ultimate under-show predator - the least weasel. Midwinter and a male polar bear wanders alone across the dark, empty icescape. Below the snow, polar bear cubs begin life in an icy den while fantastical auroras light the night skies above. In Antarctica, we join male emperor penguins in their darkest hour, battling to protect precious eggs from fierce polar storms. Weddell seals escape to a hidden world of jewel-coloured corals and alien-looking creatures but frozen devastation follows as sinister ice stalactites reach down with deadly effect.

The Milky Way, our galaxy, is a magnificent sight in the night sky, but we know surprisingly little about it for certain. What is its shape? How many stars does it actually contain? What lies at its centre? The Gaia space telescope will answer these questions, being armed with the most advanced camera to leave our planet, and it will allow us to see our galaxy as we've never seen it before. The Sky at Night visits the factory in Chelmsford that made the astonishing sensor at the heart of the mission.

Told from both sides of the law, this documentary series follows the FBI's battle to bring down infamous mob boss John Gotti, widely regarded as one of the most dangerous figures in the history of organized crime. Through the testimonies of journalists, real-life personalities who helped take down him, and even former mobsters, the showrunners tell the tale of Gotti’s rise to prominence and his subsequent downfall. The film features archival footage, audio tapes and exclusive interviews.
In the first chapter, when Paul Castellano, the head of the Gambino crime family, is murdered on a busy street, there's only one suspect: his former protégé John Gotti.

Dive into the gripping world of organized crime with the enthralling documentary series focusing on John Gotti, a name synonymous with the Gambino crime family. In this second installment, viewers are transported into the shadowy corners of mob life, exploring the brutal enforcement of mafia rules and the dire consequences of betrayal. Highlighting a chilling assignment carried out in Florida, the documentary captures the ruthlessness embedded within the mafia's code, where personal lives intertwine dangerously with business, leading to violent outcomes.
The episode also provides a fascinating look into the pivotal legal battles that defined Gotti's reign as a mafia boss. Witness the intense courtroom drama involving Diane Giacalone, the tenacious assistant U.S. Attorney, who took on Gotti and his associates in a high-stakes trial. Despite her efforts, the complexities of prosecuting organized crime come to the forefront, showcasing the challenges faced by law enforcement in penetrating the secretive and loyal underworld. This documentary is a must-watch for those intrigued by true crime and the intricate dance of cunning and law that shapes the world of organized crime.

Three years in the making, Francis Whately’s film is a social and musical history of (probably) the world’s greatest music festival, as told by its principal curators, Michael and Emily Eavis, and many of the key artists who’ve appeared there between 1970 and 2019 – Billie Eilish, Thom Yorke, Florence Welch, Dua Lipa, The Levellers, Aswad, Orbital, Fatboy Slim, Linda Lewis, Noel Gallagher, Ed O’Brien, Chris Martin, Stormzy and more.
Balancing the driving forces of social conscience and hedonism, Glastonbury has always been both a world apart and a barometer of the state of the nation. Looking at the hippie days, CND, the contribution of the travellers, dance music, Britpop, The Wall, the impact of television and the first black British solo headliner, this film takes viewers backstage and deep into the archive to reveal the forces that have driven this alternative nation between utopia and dystopia, the greatest night of your life and a muddy field in the middle of nowhere.
This is not a chronological plod through the festival’s evolution so much as a thematic and story-driven exploration of the peaks and troughs, and the agonies and ecstasies, that have shaped Glastonbury’s 50 years and counting.

The film follows Opportunity, the Mars exploration rover launched in 2003, affectionately dubbed Oppy by her creators and scientists at NASA. Oppy was originally expected to live for only 90 days but she ultimately explored Mars for nearly 15 years.
With access to archival and interview footage with scientists and engineers and re-creations of the rover's treks over the Martian landscape in search of water, we will explore her groundbreaking journey on Mars and the remarkable bond forged between a robot and her humans creators millions of miles away. The narrative interrogates the significance of Opportunity's endurance for the future of interstellar discovery.