Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

Grasslands cover one quarter of all land and support the vast gatherings of wildlife, but to survive here animals must endure the most hostile seasonal changes on the planet. From Asia's bizarre-looking Saiga antelope to the giant anteaters of Brazil, grassland animals have adapted in extraordinary ways to cope with these extremes. In the flooded Okavango, lions take on formidable buffalo in epic battles, on the savannah bee-eaters take advantage of elephants to help catch insects and, on the freezing northern tundra, caribou embark on great migrations shadowed by hungry Arctic wolves.

Richard Rudgley goes in search of evidence of the barbarians of the dark ages, people whose names have for 1500 years been bywords for mindless brutality. The real truth about the barbarians who marched across Europe during the Dark Ages is more shocking than what you may know. Where did they come from? Who are their descendants? Are any of their techniques and inventions still used? Richard discovers the secrets of forgotten empires, and of mighty clashes throughout Europe. The art, society and cultural legacy of the barbarians are shown to have shaped and moulded the destiny of Europe even more than the Roman Empire.
In the first part of the journey through the Dark Ages we will be tracing the legacies of the Huns, Vandals and Goths, to ask whether the 'dark ages' represent a resurfacing of much older tribal lines. Sites in Austria show how sophisticated pre-Roman communities had become with evidence of stunning craftsmanship and sophisticated farming techniques which defy the image of a mindless rabble we have come to accept without challenge.

This documentary chronicles the triumphs and hurdles of brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb, otherwise known as the Bee Gees. The iconic trio, who found early fame in the 1960s, went on to write over 1,000 songs, including twenty #1 hits throughout their storied career.
The film follows the Bee Gee’s meteoric rise as they rode the highs of fame and fortune, negotiated the vagaries of the ever-shifting music business and navigated the complexities of working so intimately alongside family. The story takes us from their childhood in 1950s Australia to the artistic crucible of 1960s London and to the sundrenched coast of Miami, Florida. The band created a distinct sound with their three-part harmonizing, their melodic voices forming a new kind of instrument.

Sunset over the plains of Kenya's Maasai Mara, one of Africa's most protected wild spaces. And home to the fastest land animal on Earth, the cheetah. These agile cats have always been thought of as daylight hunters. They target prey from more than a kilometre away and chase it down at over 100 kilometres an hour. In one of these plains, two cheetah brothers attempt a high-speed night hunt with a gang of powerful hyenas on their trail.

In August of 2018, Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old student in Sweden, starts a school strike for the climate. Her question for adults: if you don't care about her future on earth, why should she care about her future in school? Within months, her strike evolves into a global movement. Greta, a quiet Northern-European girl on the autism spectrum is now a world famous activist. The team behind Greta has been following the young activist from her very first day of school striking. The documentary shows the international crusade of Greta on in her goal to get people to listen to scientists about the world's environmental problems.

A jaguar fights to keep his river home in Brazil as the night brings both challenges and opportunities to hunt. Evening is falling in the world's greatest tropical wetland, Brazil's Pantanal. A stronghold for South America's most secretive big cat, the jaguar. And enjoying the last warmth of the day is a male known as Juru. At six years old and weighing over 100 kilos, he's amongst the largest, most powerful big cats in the Americas. This prime stretch of river has been his territory for two years. But tonight Juru's reign hangs in the balance. In a recent fight with a rival male, he badly injured his paw. It's left him weak and hungry. The coming days and nights will test him more than ever before. He'll need to summon the strength to defend his river.