Documentary, History
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- StarsLinda HuntSamuel WestGert HeidenreichThe history of the Final Solution phase of the Nazi Holocaust, particularly with the most infamous of the death camps.
- StarsDaniel WebbLiev SchreiberTom BrokawWhy did the United States become a global superpower? America The Story of Us is an epic 12-hour television event that explores the country's remarkable journey.
- StarsWilliam DanielsCharles DurningKelsey GrammerThorough documentary of how the American Colonies rebelled against England and the personalities involved in the creation of a new nation.
- StarsDavid Bryan JacksonMark HamillCharles FosterLearn about 11 different historical mysteries that so many are fascinated by. Learn the difference between Myth and what really happened.
- StarsPeter GuinnessStephen BeckettBenjamin Till"Days That Shocked the World" is a British documentary television series that premiered on BBC Two on 17 September 2003 and ran for three series. Each 60-minute episode explores one or two major events in history through a combination of dramatization, archival footage and eyewitness accounts.
- StarsNikolay DrozdovKenneth BranaghAvery BrooksDocumentary-style series about the era of the dinosaurs, mixing real locations and CGI.
- StarsKenneth BranaghStockard ChanningLarry AgenbroadUsing the latest digital technology, the era between the dinosaurs and man is superbly recreated by the BBC and Discovery Channel in another winning production from the coalition.
- StarsKenneth BranaghEdward GeroThe final installment in the "Walking with" series is a 90-minute documentary about the evolution of life before the dinosaurs.
- StarsRobert WinstonAlec BaldwinAndrew SachsThe great follow-up to 'Walking with Dinosaurs' and 'Walking with Beasts', presented by Professor Robert Winston, explains the story of human evolution.
- StarsGeert MakRichard HufschmidGeorg von HohenbergWriter Geert Mak travels around Europe to visit the places where history was made. He speaks with eye witnesses, relatives and experts. One hundred years of European history in 35 episodes.
- DirectorPeter KuranStarsWilliam ShatnerEdward TellerW.H.P. BlandyThe history of nuclear weapons between 1945 until 1963.
- StarsDavid McCulloughDocumentary about the rise and fall of one of the greatest military geniuses of modern times from his Corsican childhood to final exile in St. Helena.
- StarsMichael WoodAndreas BirnbaumPeter BieringerThis documentary tells the story of the Spanish expeditions in the early sixteenth century that conquests America. This 4-part series Michael Wood (historian) travels in the footsteps of the Spanish expeditions of Hernán Cortés whose conquests was one of the most cataclysmic events in Modern American history.
- StarsJohn RomerJohn Romer recreates the glory and history of Byzantium. From the Hagia Sophia in present-day Istanbul to the looted treasures of the empire now located in St. Marks in Venice.
- StarsColm FeoreRon LeaNicholas RiceDescribes the western world's most potent religion, Catholicism, and its determination to maintain power at any cost in medieval France, 15th century Spain, Renaissance Italy and even into the 19th century. Historians, experts and Church authorities advise on the handling of this controversial subject matter.04-07-12
An interesting topic which dominated whole countries for 6 or 7 centuries and had a big impact on the world. Stories are told in a nice way, but weren't there more and better stories? - StarsLyall B. WatsonMichael SheenJames D'ArcyA docu-drama covering the rise and the fall of the Roman world, including the establishment of strong individual rule by Julius Caesar and the rebuilding of Rome under Nero.
- DirectorPeter NicholsonStarsAlisdair SimpsonTim Pigott-SmithJim CarterA dramatized recreation of the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
- DirectorDavid PadruschStarsJeffery A. BakerOrion BarnesErin Bennett"Last Stand of the 300" is a 2007 special that tells the tale of when in 480 BCE, a small number of Greeks stood against the might of the Persian empire at Thermopylae.
- DirectorDamian WeyandStarsDavid AckroydAlbert AmmermanHelen Pope
- DirectorGary GlassmanStarsTucker SmithTom BrunoSarah CosmeThe story of the Trojan war is one of history's most enduring legends. A beautiful queen elopes with a foreign prince, which results in a decade-long battle that ends in the complete annihilation of an entire city. However, what grain of truth is there to this mythologicale tale of love and destruction?
- DirectorEdward BazalgetteStarsOrgil MakhaanUnubold BatbayarUnurjargal JigjidsurenGenghis Khan, ruthless leader of the Mongols and sovereign over the vastest empire ever ruled by a single man, was both god and devil - not just in the Middle Ages, but for centuries to come.01-03-12
- StarsBirthe Kjølbye-BiddleMartin BiddleJulian RichardsThe Vikings were an ambitious, daring and frightening people who left an indelible mark on the British psyche. Yet archaeology has revealed very little about their time in Britain and even less about what happened to them afterwards. Archaeologist Julian Richards finds new evidence about what really happened during the dramatic period when Vikings roamed the seas around Britain. And in a ground-breaking genetics research project designed specially for the BBC series, internationally renowned geneticist, Professor David Goldstein, sets out to answer some of the most intriguing questions about the Vikings. Samples taken from around 2,000 people in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and Northern Europe have been processed and the results are revealed during the series.
- StarsSean Pertwee
- StarsTerry JonesMarcello WaltonKammy DarweishTerry Jones presents the history of the medieval religious wars in the middle-east known as the Crusades.
- StarsKenneth BranaghAnatoli DobryninRobert McNamaraA 24-part series which deals with the relations between the United States, the Soviet Union and their respective allies between the end of World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
- StarsRobert PowellAdolf HitlerJoseph GoebbelsThrough the use of archived films and photos, major conflicts are chronicled from early WW1 (1914) through current day.
- DirectorBill GuttentagDan SturmanStarsHugo ArmstrongRosalind ChaoStephen DorffThrough readings of historical account by actors and the testimony of survivors, the events of the Nanjing Massacre are recounted.
- DirectorPeter KuranStarsPeter MerlinWilliam ShatnerA tour of U.S. atomic test sites in Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Mississippi, and Alaska.14-03-13
A lot off atomic devices blasting holes in the earth. All kinds of experiments are held: an A-bom for gas extraction, for building canals. - DirectorTimothy CopestakeStarsBettany HughesSue BlundellPaul CartledgeBettany Hughes searches for the truth about the 'Golden Age' of Ancient Athens, investigating how a barren rock wedged between the East and West became the first democracy 2,500 years ago. Democracy, liberty and the freedom of speech are trumpeted as the bedrock of western civilization, but what was Athens really like? Bettany goes deep underground to explore a treasure trove of prehistoric bones and ancient artifacts. In silver mines and tombs she uncovers evidence for what this society was really like. This was a democratic city built on slave labor, manipulated by aristocrats, where women wore the veil and men pursued a bloody foreign policy, slaughtering thousands in the pursuit of the world's first democratic empire. The program reveals amazing, sophisticated voting systems but also a society where smooth-talking politicians used spin, and where those who didn't vote were known as 'idiotes'. This first episode charts the epic story of Athens' victory in one of the greatest sea battles of the ancient world, when the Athenian triremes defeat Xerxes' mighty Persian fleet at Salamis, and reveals the real story of the building of the greatest monument of this first democracy - the Parthenon - as a symbol of Athenian power.
- DirectorBill LockeStarsBettany HughesRomany WagenaarKostas DervenisBritish historian Bettany Hughes tours the eastern Mediterranean in search of facts behind the legends of "the face that launched a thousand ships," exploring the ways Greeks made love and war circa 1300 B.C.
- DirectorMelanie ArcherTim KirbyStarsBettany HughesNicholas FarrellGeorge TsonevBest known for the myth of the Minotaur, Crete gave birth to Europe's first civilization. Yet little is known about those who inhabited the island. But now, with fresh archeological evidence, light is finally being shed on this ancient culture.
- StarsBettany HughesRay LonnenMargaret RobertsonA history of the ancient Spartans, featuring historian Bettany Hughes as presenter and narrator.
- DirectorTimothy CopestakeStarsBettany HughesAntonio AlmagroMoussa AouniThis program contends that the popular perception of the Muslim occupation of Spain toward the end of the first millennium is largely wrong. The eighth century Muslim invasion of the Iberian Pennisula was largely welcomed by the locals and rejuvenated the area with advanced technology, agriculture and a construction boom. This program describes these innovations. All this changed in the eleventh century when the regional government fragmented. That set the stage for the Christian invasion and the Islamic fundamentalist resistance leading to more of a civil war than a holy war that decimated the region with corruption, destruction and exile.
- StarsPeter CoyoteJared DiamondA PBS documentary concerning Jared Diamond's theory on why there is such disparity between those who have advanced technology and those who still live primitively. He argues it is due to the acquisition of guns and steel and the changes brought about by germs.
- StarsRobert BartlettProfessor Robert Bartlett examines the extraordinary expansion and unchecked ambition of the Normans, and shows how they transformed the history of Europe.
- StarsJeremy PaxmanIan MaineAlasdair BruceJeremy Paxman, presenter of the BBC's current affairs program Newsnight examines the life and times of the Victorian era. In the first program he focuses on the styles of Victorian artists and their stark contrast between the dreams and nightmares of the age. Victorian artists painted cozy, opulent interiors of domestic happiness without any of the hardships of the poor. Many artists however rebelled against this in the mid Victorian era and painted what happened was happening to the unfortunates and the destitute and depict the dark, lingering fears and anxieties that threatened too destroy the calm of home which the Victorians had insulated themselves with.
- DirectorBoris MalagurskiStarsRade AleksicJames BissettJohn BosnitchThe Weight of Chains is a Canadian documentary film that takes a critical look at the role that the US, NATO and the EU played in the tragic breakup of a once peaceful and prosperous European state - Yugoslavia. The film, bursting with rare stock footage never before seen by Western audiences, is a creative first-hand look at why the West intervened in the Yugoslav conflict, with an impressive roster of interviews with academics, diplomats, media personalities and ordinary citizens of the former Yugoslav republics. This film also presents positive stories from the Yugoslav wars - people helping each other regardless of their ethnic background, stories of bravery and self-sacrifice.09-09-2012
Having been in Yugoslavia in 1988 and 1989, I have a special interest in movies like this. But trying to make the west responsible for the Yugoslavian war is a bridge too far for me. What was the maker thinking, US, NATO had no interest in that war (no oil, uranium, etc). Thát was the big problem because they did not intervene with full force as in Kuwait. This is Serbian propaganda, trying to improve worlds opinion on the Serbs. Actually, the Serbs are the victims and they all are saints having done nothing wrong.
This war was mostly about ones great great geat great grandfather doing something wrong to someone elses great great great great grandfather. Stupid single minded people for whom a piece of land or -even worse- religion is more important than the blood of the people living on it or praying for it.
It ends by actually accusing western capitalism by giving them loans. But you take a loan yourself, don't you? You don't have to join the NATO or EU, you don't have to allow foreign investors. But the same criminals who started this war saw opportunities to gain wealth. Sad to see it is always the normal people who pay the price.
Again, propaganda of a 100% biased documentary maker. - DirectorJulia BachaFollows a Palestinian leader who unites Fatah, Hamas and Israelis in an unarmed movement to save his village from destruction. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter jumps into the fray.
- StarsMark RylanceChe CartwrightSherwin NulandAn exploration of the life of Leonardo da Vinci.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsDieter DenglerWerner HerzogEugene DeatrickGerman-American Dieter Dengler discusses his service as a U.S. naval pilot in the Vietnam War. Dengler also revisits the sites of his capture and eventual escape from the hands of the Viet Cong, recreating many events for the camera.
- DirectorGary ForemanStarsMark D. HutterSally E. BennettDave FagerbergElaborate reenactments are juxtaposed with comments by historians in this glossy review of America's "Second War of Independence" against Britain (1812-15). Included: the causes of the conflict; American designs on Canada; the burning of Washington D.C.; the Battle of New Orleans. Edward Herrmann narrates.
- DirectorDoug ShultzStarsEdward HerrmannGeorge IvascuRodica LazarDocumentary about the bloody beginning, bloodier middle and unceremonious end of the French Revolution, an event that ended in blood the reign of kings in France and laid the foundation for a new - republican - system of government.
- DirectorJanus MetzDanish soldiers are sent to Afghanistan in 2009 for 6 months, to help stabilize the country against the Taliban. They're stationed on Armadillo military base in Helman province. Unlike other war movies, this is the real deal - no actors.
- DirectorClive MaltbyStarsDan McSherryJohn ShrapnelAt the dawn of history, the ancient Egyptians first showed the world how to ... all » build the impossible. In an age before machines, when copper was the strongest metal yet discovered, great Pharaohs like Khufu and Ramses II demonstrated how boundless ambition and vast quantities of human labor could transform limestone and granite into some of the most incredible monuments ever created the spectacular tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the mysterious Sphinx of Giza, the iconic Great Pyramid and more. Uncover the secrets of Ancient Egypt's pharaohs, engineers and architects and watch as cutting-edge computer modeling recreates the stunning monuments these visionaries built. It's an impressive look at the greatest architecture of the greatest civilization in the history of Africa and perhaps the world.
- DirectorChristopher SpencerStarsJohn HannahKenneth CranhamFlorian PanznerA dramatization of the notorious World War I torpedoing of the ocean liner, RMS Lusitania.
- DirectorRichard DaleTilman RemmeStarsJames PurefoyTyler ButterworthMark NobleIt's a movie about Blackbeard.
- DirectorJames MollStarsBill BaschMartin BaschRandolph BrahamIn late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, focuses on the plight of five Hungarian Jews who survived imprisonment in Auschwitz.
- DirectorGeoffrey Madeja
- DirectorDoug ShultzStarsVasile MuraruPhilippe NevoDorin AndoneBy exploring the astonishing and dramatic course of Napoleon's 100 Days - the period during which Napoleon escaped from exile and marched on Paris to conquer Europe once again - the film opens an essential window revealing the inside story of modern history's greatest conqueror.
- DirectorDon CampbellTsar Peter the Great - the six-foot seven-inch giant who literally reinvented Russia - orders the torture of his greatest antagonist. Only his son, Alexei, dared say no to the reformer Tsar, he fled the country to escape his father's iron will; The Tsar tracked him down, kidnapped him and set about changing his blood, by brute force.
- StarsJohn KiriakouA one-hour special that provides an intimate second-by-second account of the Bin Laden operation, from the time the crucial intelligence was gathered in 2010, through the burial of bin Laden at sea.
- StarsOliver StoneAlan ShearmanJim WardOliver Stone 's re-examination of under-reported events in American history.
- A three-part series that explains why and how humans abandoned the nomadic hunting and gathering and take up a completely new way of life - the decisive move to farming.
- DirectorNick Gillam-SmithStarsBettany HughesSalima IkramColin ClementBettany Hughes goes to Alexandria, Egypt, too look at one of the great cities of history. Founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was once one of the intellectual and culture hubs of the world. It was home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the immense Library of Alexandria.
- DirectorM. David MelvinStarsRidley ScottRussell CroweCate BlanchettA special about the origins of the English folk hero.
- DirectorChristopher CasselStarsPhilip DaileaderKelly DeVriesBonnie EffrosThe History Channel examines the Dark Ages from the fall of the Roman Empire to the First Crusade.
- StarsLucy WorsleySarah KayIvan DayThis 3-part documentary traces the British Regency Era, from Parliament passing The Regency Act of 1811, due to King George III's mental incapacity, to his 1820 demise.
- DirectorMichael JorgensenStarsSam FrostMike LavoieGord McGowanIn February, 1950 the world's largest bomber takes off on a secret Cold War mission from Alaska. Its cargo - a MK IV nuclear bomb. Halfway through the mission three engines catch fire while the bomber is flying near Canada's west coast. Forced to abandon the mission, the crew puts the plane on autopilot, a course that will take the crippled bomber out into the Pacific. Despite the largest search and rescue mission in US Air Force history, the aircraft, five crewmen and their nuclear weapon are presumed lost in the depths of the Pacific Ocean - until now.
- StarsTim Pigott-SmithFour-part documentary series on the events leading up to and following Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands in April 1982.
- StarsDavid McCulloughSam WaterstonJulie HarrisA comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.
- StarsStephen LangDonna MurphyEdward HerrmannSix-hour documentary on the American Revolution, from the passage of the Stamp Act (1765) through the ratification of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights (1789). In addition to narration and interviews with historians, the series uses re-enactments of military engagements and excerpts from letters, diaries and other documents of the period, spoken by actors.
- StarsRobin EllisSlobodan MilosevicFranjo TudjmanThis captivate documentary covers the struggles of the Yugoslavian people during the collapse of their country, and the subsequent wars to finally find hope with the signing of the Final Peace Accords.
- StarsJason HildebrandtRichard CoyleKen CarpenterDinosaurs were the ultimate prehistoric survival machines, ruling the earth for 120 Million years. Until now we've seen them as skeletons and robotic models. Dino Body takes a new look at dinosaurs -- from the inside out. Combining cinematic photo-real 3D graphics and leading-edge anatomy and paleontology, we peel back their skin, their muscles, even their brains to reveal the unique inner workings of the greatest beasts that ever lived. Hidden inside dino bodies are the anatomical secrets to surviving prehistoric Planet Earth for millions of years.
- StarsDan SnowChris MillerDaphne WeirThe definitive story of Britain's railway revolution and the people who made it happen.
- StarsRobert BartlettHugh GilbertIn Inside the Medieval Mind, one of the world's greatest authorities on the Middle Ages, Professor Robert Bartlett of St Andrews University, investigates the intellectual landscape of the medieval world. In this series he opens up the often surprising discontinuities and similarities between the medieval age and our own as he remarks: "In many ways these were people very much like us, in terms of family, ambitions for children and the world of emotions. On the other hand, they inhabited a very different world, in which it was believed the dead visited the living, and where somewhere there lived a race of people with the heads of dogs." The series comprises four one hour programmes, each on a different aspect of medieval thinking: Belief; Sex; Power; Knowledge. During the series he visits numerous medieval locations, from Westminster Abbey to Pluscarden Abbey near Inverness, with wide use of readings from original medieval sources.
- StarsClancy BrownThomas BurnsMichael KulikowskiThis 4 part series documents the history of the Vikings, Goths, Mongols, and Huns.
- StarsAdolf HitlerHerbert ForthuberJoachim ZonsThe way in which Hitler led the Nazi party has not received the attention that it deserves - how and why so many people followed Hitler, ultimately to the destruction of their own country.
- StarsCampbell ScottH.W. BrandsMark CubanRockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Astor, Ford and Morgan. Their names are part of history and synonymous with the American dream. These men transformed every industry they touched: oil, rail, steel, shipping, automobiles, and finance.
- StarsKeith DavidPeter EganJohn ShrapnelEGYPT'S GOLDEN EMPIRE comes to life through letters and records evoking the passion and riches of a time when Egypt was the center of the known world, its Pharaohs called gods, and great cities, temples and tombs built.
- StarsRichard ChamberlainIsao MachiiMichael AuslinIn the 15th century, the Tokugawa dynasty took power in Japan and held it for 300 years. They created an elegant yet rigid society bound by tradition and enforced with brutality. Things cannot remain the same for very long.
- StarsSigourney WeaverTwo thousand years ago, the world was ruled by Rome. From England to Africa and from Syria to Spain, one in every four people on earth lived and died under Roman law. The Empire was a multi-cultural melting pot that still has relevance.
- StarsLiam NeesonNigel SpiveyVictor Davis HansonA documentary, narrated by actor Liam Neeson, that chronicles the rise and fall of the civilization of ancient Greece.
- StarsTony CallDan BittnerGeoffrey CantorTHIRD REICH: THE RISE & FALL tells the story of Hitler's Germany through rarely seen films of the people who were there. Immersive and evocative, it takes viewers inside the Germany of the 20s, 30s, and early 40s, through the use of rare and never-before-seen home movies, Nazi propaganda films and other contemporaneous material. The narrative consists of personal recollections culled from German's diaries, journals and letters. The end result is an intimate, richly nuanced and authentic portrait of the Third Reich and its people.
- StarsDominic SandbrookBBC Two history series on Britain and the Cold War, looking at the period from the end of the 1950s to the mid-1970s.
- StarsBen MacintyreDavid OakesWilliam BeckThe story of Kim Philby, one of the famous Cambridge spies, who was a double agent for the KGB while working in a position of trust for the British secret service. The person he betrayed more than anybody else was his close friend and superior in the British secret service, Nicholas Elliott.
- DirectorMichael GregorStarsJay O. SandersHans GiffhornJanice JakaitDid Iberian Celts reach Brazil 1500 years before Columbus by joining the fleet of refugees from defeated Carthage in search of a new home like Peruvian Andes, where a strange tribe of "white Indians" known as the Chachapoya later lived?
- CreatorMargaret BeckettStarsRufus JonesJohn W. IwanonkiwDaniel DouglassAmerican documentary television series. Produced in conjunction with the National Geographic Channel, the series examines various disasters or violent incidents. It replaced Seconds From Disaster, a similar program with a more forensic approach.
- CreatorChristie McConnellStarsMaximilian KlasIan BeytsJacopo RampiniA look at both World Wars and what the biggest names in history did during each war and the time in between.
- StarsPeter SnowDan SnowSimon ArmstrongFather and son historians Peter and Dan Snow go through every major battle fought on British land,sea and air from the ancient Romans to the Battle of Britain.
- StarsJames HollandSergei KhrushchevDavid EdgertonA two-part series looking at the many jet aircrafts of the Cold War era and the rolls they played.
- StarsMaxine PeakeAcross the world British service men and women are risking life and limb for their country. Now, in this three-part series for ITV, we meet the four-legged friends who are working at their side
- DirectorPaul BurgessJohn-Paul DavidsonStarsEmily BruniDiana DumbravaDan ChiriacDrama documentary reconstructing the life and times of Catherine the Great of Russia.
- StarsDan SnowAryan KleinNeil MogridgeHistorian Dan Snow presents Empire of the Seas a four-part series charting the remarkable story of the role the Royal Navy played in Britain's struggle for modernity - a grand tale of the twists and turns which thrust the people of the British Isles into an indelible relationship with the sea and ships. The story of how the country's greatest institution - her Navy - has shaped her history.
- StarsRichard HolmesThe series is about battlefields, which are visited by Holmes, and is also about the corresponding battles.
- DirectorRithy PanhStarsRandal DoucJean-Baptiste PhouRithy Panh uses clay figures, archival footage, and his narration to recreate the atrocities Cambodia's Khmer Rouge committed between 1975 and 1979.
- DirectorJehane NoujaimStarsAhmed HassanKhalid AbdallaMagdy AshourA group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.
- DirectorRichard DaleTim GoodchildMark HedgecoeStarsBill MondyProposes a minute-by-minute chronology of the Chicxulub impact and its effect on the dinosaurs and other animals around the world.
- DirectorTodd Douglas MillerStarsStan AdelsteinLanice ArcherRobert BakkerA documentary about the discovery of the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil ever found.
- StarsAlan GilchristBill GravesDarius AryaFrom the modern aircraft carrier to colossal Egyptian monuments, Ancient Impossible on H2 travels back in time to reveal the real story behind our world's so-called modern technological achievements.