Looks at the engineering of the Knights Templar, the religious order that marked the rise of the Middle Ages, and their amazing buildings in the west of Europe.
Social & External
Join self confessed petrol-head Guy Martin as he learns about the alternative to the internal combustion engine, Electric. In this TV special, Guy learns about the advantages of electric transport and the different varieties that exist from bicycles, cars and vans up to buses. Guy also learns some of the disadvantages from range anxiety and with the help of the Leicestershire Fire Brigade, how to deal with a fire. The ultimate aim is to produce a record breaking electrified retro road car that is suitable for the Drag strip, with Guy behind the steering wheel.
Heralded as a palace among minor and major league baseball stadiums, Silver Stadium set a standard of excellence from opening day. From May 1929 through the 1990s Silver Stadium served as home to Rochester's historic baseball team, The Rochester Red Wings, as well as many other sporting teams. When not being used as a baseball stadium, the space served as center stage for a variety of traveling acts. Hear from the people closest to the history of this magnificent facility as they take you on a journey through The Memories of Silver.
Based on the latest technological and scientific advances, this documentary explores the palace's architectural past to resurrect Louis XIV's vanished Versailles. Versailles was an ongoing building site at the time of Louis XIV and continued to be transformed by its successive occupants later on. The Versailles we know today only vaguely resembles the Versailles of the Sun King. Most of its original features and apartments no longer exist. Thanks to the digitisation of thousands of plans, a team of scientists takes us back in time to explore this forgotten past in a new way, through a large-scale reconstruction project to bring back the Versailles of Louis XIV as he designed it, according to his requirements and dreams.
Documentary on psychedelic potash mines, expansive concrete seawalls, mammoth industrial machines, and other examples of humanity’s massive, destructive reengineering of the planet.
Join the members of the historic Rosetta mission through the years as they launch, wait and then deploy the lander onto the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Experience the dramatic highs and lows of the first mission to land a probe on a comet in space.
A documentary interspersed with acted scenes, this portrait of John DeLorean covers the brilliant but tragically flawed automaker's rise to stardom and shocking down fall.
Chambord, the most impressive castle in the Loire Valley, in France, a truly Renaissance treasure, has always been an enigma to generations of historians. Why did King Francis I (1494-1547), who commissioned it, embark on this epic project in the heart of the marshlands in 1519? What significance did he want the castle to have? What role did his friend, Italian genius Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) play? Was he the architect or who was?
Filmed over the course of a year in an "upstairs-downstairs" fashion, this fascinating program provides a behind-the-scenes look at life inside Windsor Castle -- the world's largest inhabited castle -- via unprecedented camera access. Highlights include a visit from French President Jacques Chirac; the Queen's arrival for the Order of the Garter ceremony; and the high-profile celebration of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles's nuptials.
The construction of the Aswan dam as seen by those who took part in it: engineers, workers, Egyptians, and Soviets.
Winter, 1813. Sharpe marries his sweetheart, Jane Gibbons, but has to leave her immediately to go on a dangerous mission in the Pyrenees, to capture a French fort. While Sharpe is battling with the French, his wife contracts a deadly fever which has swept through the British camp and endangers her life. Sharpe encounters his old enemy, Ducos and is compelled to stay at the fort and fight for his country, knowing that even if he survives he may never see his beloved bride again.
For the first time since the legendary Apollo missions over 50 years ago, humans are once again setting out for the Moon on April 1, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission marks the beginning of a new era in space exploration, and Germany will play a key role. This documentary follows the four astronauts during their preparations and offers exclusive insights into the Orion spacecraft. German astronauts Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer, along with other space experts, explain how the mission will proceed and why it is being undertaken. It's a journey that blends science, adventure, and the fundamental question: Why do people risk their lives to reach other celestial bodies and distant worlds?
Author David Macaulay hosts CATHEDRAL, based on his award-winning book. Using a combination of spectacular location sequences and cinema-quality animation, the program surveys France's most famous churches. Travel back to 1214 to explore the design of Notre Dame de Beaulieu, a representative Gothic cathedral. The program tells period tales revealing fascinating stories of life and death, faith and despair, prosperity, and intrigue.
French philosopher Denis Diderot produces the first encyclopedia while indulging in 18th-century decadence.
Documentary where rich social history frames a spirited debate on the development of water infrastructure throughout the USA.
The Concorde remains a legend of the sky. In both looks and performance, it was incomparable, and the technology behind it was nothing less than revolutionary. Learn all about this magnificent craft that was able to fly at over 1300 mph, linking Paris and London to New York in under 4 hours. A unique flying machine, it remains the only supersonic commercial aircraft in the history of aviation.
The Erie Canal was an engineering marvel in its time and remains so today. This documentary travels from Palmyra to the Genesee River, stopping along the way to visit the people and places that make the canal so special. Canal historian Thomas Grasso offers insight into the canal’s past while the Golden Eagle String Band provides the music track.
The documentary, Bob Gurr: Turning Dreams into Reality, tells the story of one of Walt Disney's earliest 1954 Imagineering Legends, Bob Gurr. His career spanning 45 years creating 250 projects with Disney and beyond will be explored. From Disneyland to Las Vegas, Olympic spectaculars to rock star shows, Bob's creations included Monorails, Abraham Lincoln mechanical animation, Pirate Battle Shows, even massive animated figures of King Kong and Godzilla. Viewers will learn much about how these attractions were created from those who were there sharing these creations. Eight theme park creators who worked with Bob over these years will describe the unique ways in which he created a vast variety of attractions. The cast includes Disney Ambassador to the World Marty Sklar, Imagineering VP Craig Russell, Imagineer Chris Crump, and many others.
The Estonian national team is the first Baltic team to participate in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, the solar car world championship in Australia. This is a competition with a 35-year history, which has been launched to push the boundaries of both green technology and the capabilities of young talents. The documentary follows young Estonian engineers and software developers and tells the story through their eyes of how the solar car is developed, built and prepared for the challenge in one of the most complex competitions in the world. Young people have to face tough competition conditions, technical and mental challenges and competitors from the world's top universities.
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
With mesmerizing footage and time lapses of animators at work, this behind-the-scenes special captures the artistry of a unique tale years in the making.
For the 20th anniversary of "Titanic," James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.
A heart-warming tale about friendship, honor & courage, which sees a young boy become a man as he embarks on a quest to become a knight.
Long-lost footage from Elvis Presley's legendary Las Vegas residency in the 1970s woven together with rare 16mm footage from Elvis on Tour, and 8mm from the Graceland archive, plus recordings of Elvis telling "his side of the story" rediscovered during Baz Luhrmann's research for his 2022 film, Elvis.
In order to flee from powerful enemies, young Mayan king Balam leads his people north across the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of what will become the United States. They build a home in the new land but come into conflict with a tribe of Native Americans led by their chief, Black Eagle, while both Balam and Black Eagle fall in love the beautiful Mayan princess Ixchel.
Witness the never-before-seen footage and true story behind the John Wick phenomenon – from independent film to billion-dollar franchise.
Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin in the wilderness at the base of the Aleutian Peninsula, in what is now Lake Clark National Park. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself. The documentary covers his first year in-country, showing his day-to-day activities and the passing of the seasons as he sought to scratch out a living alone in the wilderness.
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
The film's plot follows that of the game closely. Nariko, a member of an ancient tribe who have guarded an ancient magical sword for thousands of years, is charged with bringing the sword to its destined wielder, a deity reincarnated who will bring peace to the land. But on her quest, Nariko must wield the sword herself against the forces of King Bohan, who wishes to possess the weapon himself.
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
The Captains is a feature-length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in the Star Trek franchise.
A documentary detailing the epic Rogues' Gallery of DC Comics from The Joker and Lex Luthor, Sinestro, Darkseid and more, this documentary will explore the Super Villains of DC Comics.
As the Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker and his new Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano plunge into a dangerous mission to rescue the kidnapped son of crime lord Jabba the Hutt.
Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis, Athos and Porthos, have fought together with their friend, D'Artagnan. But with the tyrannical King Louis using his power to wreak havoc in the kingdom while his twin brother, Philippe, remains imprisoned, the Musketeers reunite to abduct Louis and replace him with Philippe.