Last Watched

"War"  Sort by

In a Time of Shadows

       History
On the second part of his journey through the dark ages Richard Rudgley continues into the age of the wandering peoples, the Volkerwanderung. These Northern people enjoyed a golden age unaffected by Rome and just 30 years after the Romans relinquished Britain, the 'Anglo-Saxons' made their move. The bedraggled legions are in retreat. Walls are pulled down. Mosaics shattered. And yet there never was a people called Anglo-Saxon. We look at the lasting influence of Saxon leaders like Alfred the Great, and his blue print for social justice.
Series: Barbarians: Secrets of the Dark Ages

Out of the Darkness

       History
The third assault on the tattered remains of Roman civilization came from even further North, where the melting glacial ice had created immense sheltered fjords, leaving its inhabitants little choice but the sea. These fearless navigators understood that dominion over the oceans was the key to their ambitions.
Where the Romans expanded incrementally, the Vikings adopted a bolder, more aggressive approach. So was it the Dark Age which failed Europe, or the stifling uniformity of the great Roman experiment? Were the lost tribes more victim than failure? Richard Rudgley will hope to shed new light on the real secrets of the so-called Dark Age.
Series: Barbarians: Secrets of the Dark Ages

The Spirit of forty five

       Culture
The film is focused on and celebrating the radical changes in postwar Britain under the Labour government of Clement Attlee, which came to power in 1945. Relying primarily on archive footage and interviews, and without a narrative voiceover, the documentary recounts the endemic poverty in prewar Britain, the sense of optimism that followed victory in World War II and the subsequent expansion of the welfare state, founding of the National Health Service and nationalisation of significant parts of the UK's economy.
The film documents the extent to which these achievements, as the filmmaker Ken Loach sees them, have since been subject to attack in the decades that followed, particularly under the Conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s

Baraka

       Culture
Without words, Ron Fricke shows us the world, with an emphasis not on 'where,' but on 'what's there.' It begins with morning, natural landscapes and people at prayer: volcanoes, water falls, veldts, and forests; several hundred Balinese Hindu men perform kecak, the monkey chant. Indigenous peoples apply body paint; whole villages dance. The film moves to destruction of nature via logging, blasting, and strip mining. Images of poverty, rapid urban life, and factories give way to war, concentration camps, and mass graves. Ancient ruins come into view, and then a sacred river where pilgrims bathe and funeral pyres burn. Prayer and nature return. A monk rings a huge bell; stars wheel across the sky. (Click CC for places description)

The Bletchley Park Code Breakers

       History
The film reveals the secret story behind one of the greatest intellectual feats of World War II, a feat that gave birth to the digital age.
In 1943 Bill Tutte, a 24-year-old maths student and a GPO engineer called Tommy Flowers combined to hack into Hitler's personal super code machine - not Enigma but an even tougher system, which he called his 'secrets writer'. Their break turned the Battle of Kursk, powered the D-day landings and orchestrated the end of the conflict in Europe. But it was also to be used during the Cold War - which meant both men's achievements were hushed up and never officially recognised.

Becoming Warren Buffett

       History
Warren Buffett is truly a one-of-a-kind billionaire. The legendary investor still lives in his modest home in Omaha. At 90 years old, he drives to the office every morning to manage Berkshire Hathaway, the fifth largest public company in the world. But more surprising than his humble lifestyle is his moral core. The same principles of decency and integrity that helped him pile up a fortune led him to give it all away in the largest philanthropic donation in history.
'Becoming Warren Buffett' chronicles the evolution of an ambitious, numbers-obsessed boy from Nebraska who became one of the most richest and respected men in the world, and the heroes who helped guide him along the way. By allowing access to his life and never-before-released home videos, Buffett offers a glimpse into his unique mind to help us understand what is truly important when money no longer has meaning.
The Normans

The Normans

2010  History
Through the Wormhole

Through the Wormhole

2011  Science
Life in the Undergrowth

Life in the Undergrowth

2005  Nature
Human universe

Human universe

2014  Technology
The Truth About

The Truth About

2018  Medicine