At a powderkeg moment in American policing, 'The Force' goes deep inside the embattled Oakland Police Department as it struggles to reform itself amid growing local controversy. Filmmaker Peter Nicks embedded with the department over the course of two years to follow its serial efforts to recast itself. The film focuses on the new chief brought in to effect reform at the very moment the Black Lives Matter movement emerges to demand police accountability and racial justice both in Oakland and across the nation. 'The Force' goes inside an embattled urban police department struggling to rebuild trust in one of America's most violent yet promising cities.
They defined music and popular culture like no other band ever will - but how did The Beatles make the journey from Merseyside teenagers to international pop stars in the 1960s? Made on Merseyside - The Beatles discovers how American rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues dragged post-war Liverpool into one of the most vibrant music cities ever with the Mersey Sound. Featuring revealing interviews from those involved in the early years of The Beatles in Liverpool and Hamburg and unique archive, the incredible story of The Beatles' previous band formations and why it took so long for them to achieve success makes riveting viewing. From school bands, to colleges; Hamburg to The Cavern Club, The Beatles changed the world of pop music forever, but was Pete Best's sacking from the band and Ringo's replacement the final part of the jigsaw?
China's last empire, the Qing, lasted from 1644 to 1912. It began in violence and war as the Manchus swept down from the north, but invaders became emperors, with three generations of one family ruling the country. Among them, Michael Wood argues, was China's greatest emperor - Kangxi.
Under the Qing, China doubled in size to include Xinjiang in the far west, as well as Mongolia and Tibet, creating the essential shape of China today. The new dynasty tolerated a diversity of cultures and religions, including Islam. In Kaifeng, Michael visits a women's mosque with a female imam, a delightful scene that ends with laughter and selfies! The Qing also undertook huge cultural enterprises. At a traditional printing house where the wood blocks are hand-carved, we see how the Complete Tang Poems were reproduced - all 48,000 of them. We travel through the wintry countryside to a remote village where a hardy audience watch open-air opera in the snow and visit a painter's studio, and 'storytelling' houses in Yangzhou. In the 18th century, China was arguably the greatest economy in the world, and we get a fabulous sense of the rich culture that came with prosperity. But then came the clash with the British, in the first Opium War, when a British expedition destroyed the Qing navy and extracted territory and trading rights. We leave with a glimpse of the future. 'Every dynasty has risen and declined,' says Michael, 'and has needed new life to regenerate, and this time the catalyst was the British.' Among the ports China ceded was an almost uninhabited island, Hong Kong, one of today's greatest financial centres, and Shanghai, a small town then but now one of the greatest cities in world.
Sodom and Gomorrah, a tale of two cities incinerated by a hail of fire and brimstone. Is this a fantastic fable, or could it be a near apocalyptic disaster from space? In this episode, we will check into the mysteries relating to the destruction of both cities. Were they astronomical events? Newly discovered evidence might hold the secrets to one of the Bible's greatest mysteries.
At a time when the Earth’s surface is changing faster than ever in human history, watch cities grow, forest disappear and glaciers melt. In the ever-growing grey of cities one man is feeding thousands of parakeets; in Sumatra a female orang-utan and her daughter face life in a forest under threat; while in Tanzania local people use satellites to replant a forest, securing the future for a family of chimpanzees. This is our home as we’ve never seen it before.
The film is a first of its kind that will transform how we think about engineering. From the Great Wall of China and the world's tallest buildings to underwater robots, solar cars and smart, sustainable cities, DREAM BIG celebrates the human ingenuity behind engineering marvels big and small, and shows how engineers push the limits of innovation in unexpected and amazing ways. With its inspiring stories of human grit and aspiration, and extraordinary visuals , the film reveals the compassion and creativity that drive engineers to create better lives for people and a more sustainable future for us all. Narrated by Jeff Bridges.
'The Force' goes inside an embattled urban police department struggling to rebuild trust in one of America's most violent yet promising cities.