Latest Documentaries
The culture of Japan is incredible, from bloom festivals to ultra-modern cities. But there are also more than 130 mammals and 600 bird species dwelling in Japan’s 6,852 islands. This island chain is long enough to span climate zones, providing a huge range of habitat.
2020 • Nature
Exploring the realm of the creatures to better understand how they have evolved. Travelling from the rain forests of French Guiana to the Arctic Ocean, scientists use traditional and cutting edge techniques to examine both modern insects and the fossil record in their search for a single common insect ancestor.
2024 • Nature
David Attenborough reveals why forests are the ultimate test of survival for mammals, including a tiger whose stealth and hunting strategies are put to the test in the heat of an Indian summer. The programme also features footage of young chimpanzees learning how to get honey without angering bees and Siberian flying squirrel gliding elegantly and effortlessly from tree to tree.
S1E6 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
David Attenborough reveals how, by pushing themselves and their bodies to the limit, mammals have found remarkable ways to survive in the hottest places on earth. In South America, thirsty capuchins need all their natural curiosity as they search for water on the forest floor. Camels roam the vast outback of Australia, where they can go for weeks without water thanks to their distinctive hump as an energy store. White sifaka lemurs hug trees to avoid the heat in Madagascar's spiny forest and the echidna has an even stranger way of keeping cool - it blows snot bubbles.
S1E5 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
From ice-covered seas to snow-capped mountains, mammals have conquered the cold, living in the harshest places on earth thanks to their remarkable intelligence and adaptations. The programme features polar bears on the Arctic islands of Svalbard, arctic foxes in Canada's Hudson Bay, and snow leopards in the lofty mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China.
S1E4 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
How air-breathing mammals have found remarkable ways to overcome the many challenges of a life in water, from freshwater jungle ponds to the dark depths of the open ocean. Featuring footage of the birth of a huge sperm whale calf, never-before-filmed orca hunting behaviour, and coastal coyotes in Mexico that have learnt they can benefit from the daily offerings washed up on the shore with each new tide.
S1E3 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
A look at mammals which have adapted to the changes humans have made to their environment, from sea lions competing with stray dogs for food in the fish markets of Chile to pig-tailed macaques in palm oil plantations in south east Asia. Plus, a look at how elephants have learnt to use the cover of darkness to venture into towns in search of a midnight feast, often leaving destruction in their wake.
S1E2 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
Focuses on animals that thrive in the dark, from leopards that use night vision to hunt their prey to bats using echolocation to navigate the night skies.
S1E1 • Mammals with David Attenborough • 2024 • Nature
Delve into the digestive system with this lighthearted and informative documentary that demystifies the role gut health plays in our overall well-being.
2024 • Health
In the third year of this seven-year project examining the issues facing the planet’s most threatened ecosystems, Dr. M. Sanjayan visits the Maldives to take an in-depth look at coral reefs and the urgent efforts to help them survive climate change.
S3E1 • 2024 • Nature
The life and work of M.C. Escher is presented primarily through his own words in the form of his writings being read against a backdrop of images associated to him, including archival footage of himself and images of his drawings. Many further details are provided by surviving family members. Escher himself considered what he did being caught between the worlds of art and mathematics - he not very good at either - his drawings always having an element of geometry. He made a conscious decision to work in monochromatic black and white realizing that he would be missing being able to convey ideas that are inherent with color. The evolution to two of his later periods is discussed, namely his series of drawings of the human eye, and what would become his ultimate fascination, that of the concept of infinity, whether it be real, as in the circle or the study of a man viewing a picture of himself viewing a picture of himself and so on, or perceived through illusions, such as his never-ending staircase. The documentary is buttressed by commentary from fan, musician Graham Nash who believes his brilliance has not yet been fully appreciated. Further Information
2021 • People
The mid-10th-century reign of Harald Bluetooth as king of a newly unified, powerful and Christianized Denmark marked the beginning of a second Viking age. But the reign was not to last with the Normans finally winning the English Kingdom in 1066. We look at the final days of the Viking empire.
S1E6 • Vikings: The Rise and Fall • 2022 • History
Recommended Documentaries
We look at the ways in which plants have adapted to survive in the harshest climates on Earth. Whether in the driest, hottest deserts or the coldest Arctic wastes, plants have come up with some ingenious ways of surviving, including eating animals and actually caring for their offspring.
S1E6 • Private Life of Plants • 1995 • Nature
Facebook is a company that has grown from nothing to be worth half a trillion dollars in just 15 years. Today nearly a third of all humans are using it, and yet we rarely get to see the people actually in charge of the biggest social network in the world. The company has suffered a series of deepening scandals and intense media scrutiny. In 2018, their mission - to connect everyone on the planet - seemed to be going dramatically wrong. Data leaks, fake news and hacks on user security were threatening to destroy everything Mark Zuckerberg had built. Yet throughout this difficult time, the company allowed the BBC’s flagship science strand Horizon to follow key members of the team trying to fix the problems and secure the platform. This film goes behind the scenes and follows the teams inside Facebook. It tackles difficult questions, like how our data is used and what content should and shouldn’t be on the site, but also shows how Facebook works, what the teams are doing to secure it, and reveals a hidden technological playground, where some of the smartest engineers in the world are being hired to build systems and technology no one has built before.
Developed over centuries, coral reefs house fragile ecosystems, but they too have to fight to survive.
S1E6 • Blue Planet I • 2001 • Nature
The big blue is the world's greatest wilderness, far from shore and many kilometres deep. It's a vast marine desert where there is little to eat and nowhere to hide. Yet it's home to some of the biggest and most spectacular creatures on earth. This episode reveals what it takes to survive in this savage and forbidding world. We witness feats of incredible endurance, moments of high drama and extraordinary acts of heart-wrenching self-sacrifice. Every animal in the big blue must find their own unique way to survive.
S1E4 • Blue Planet II • 2017 • Nature
Amid a spiral of brutality and low morale, Mehmed makes Giustiniani an enticing offer. The grand vizier urges Mehmed to seek a truce with his rival.
S1E5 • Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2020 • History
Take a seat on the ultimate thrill ride to explore nature’s strangest and most powerful objects. Discover new science showing how black holes reshape entire galaxies, warp the fabric of space and time, and might even be portals to another universe.
S1E4 • Nova: Universe Revealed • 2021 • Astronomy
Nature Documentaries
In Ruaha, Tanzania, lions form huge super prides in order to hunt giants. Amongst cats lions are unusual, the only one to live in groups. In numbers they find the strength and audacity to hunt the most formidable prey. In Sri Lanka a tiny rusty-spotted cat explores his forest home - 200 times smaller than a lion, the rusty-spotted is the smallest of all cats, but just as curious. The Canada lynx lives further north than any cat, relying on snowshoe hares to survive the bitterly cold winters. Until now, lynx were creatures of mystery, but now technology provides an insight into their secret lives.
With scientist Kerisha Kntayya, Judi joins a crocodile hunt with a difference. Kerisha plucks young crocodiles out of the water. Judi then joins Kerisha's team as they wrestle an adult croc as part of the study Kerisha hopes will help save these prehistoric creatures. Judi, who's had a fascination with bats from an early age, also explores the Gomantong cave, home to more than a million bats.
S1E2 • Judi Dench's Wild Borneo Adventure • 2019 • Nature
An examination of the diverse techniques employed by animals to disperse and protect offspring.
1/12 • Trials of Life • 1990 • Nature
Formed from the remains of a 2.5 million-year-old imploded volcano, the Ngorongoro crater is a study in contradictions: On one hand, it's a self-sustained and plentiful land that provides for the many animals that call it home. Conversely, its isolation threatens the existence of many of its key species. What does the future hold for this unique habitat?
S1E6 • Africa's Wild Horizons • 2017 • Nature
Canada is in the grip of snow and ice, and animals are struggling. But while some animals hunker down, others have babies to raise.
S1E4 • Canada: A Year in the Wild • 2018 • Nature
Footage of wildlife inhabiting underwater kelp forests, including thousands of giant cuttlefish spawning along a restricted area of rocky reef off the south coast of Australia. Males outnumber females 11 to one, which leads to fierce competition. Larger males use brute force to drive off competition, while their smaller rivals use deception by mimicking the appearance of females. The programme also features tiger sharks hunting for green turtles in fields of seagrass and spider crabs trying to avoid predators while they shed their shells.
S1E5 • Blue Planet II • 2017 • Nature
People Documentaries
Addicts disconnected from the "noise". The internet has taken over our lives and permeates every moment.
We draw upon Philip K. Dick’s work as well as various cinematographic adaptations of his novels in order to illustrate the extent to which K. Dick’s oeuvre foretold the world that has become our own today. We will take the viewer on a fascinating journey to discover this extraordinary writer.
2015 • People
Like other kinds of human who once shared our world, homo sapiens should have died away. Discover how our species faced near extinction in Africa, and then found a place to rebuild. Explore the birth of language and art at archeological excavations scientists are now calling "the cradle of the human mind".
S1E1 • The Great Human Odyssey • 2015 • People
Our ancient human ancestors once lived only in Africa, in tiny bands of a few thousand hunter-gatherers. Then we moved out of our African cradle, spreading rapidly to every corner of the planet. How did we acquire the skills, technology and talent to thrive in every environment on earth? How did our prehistoric forebears cross the Sahara on foot, survive frigid ice ages, and sail to remote Pacific islands? “Great Human Odyssey” is a spectacular global journey following their footsteps out of Africa along a trail of fresh scientific clues. With unique glimpses of today’s Kalahari hunters, Siberian reindeer herders, and Polynesian navigators, we discover amazing skills that hint at how our ancestors survived and prospered long ago.
Follows the aftermath of Princess Diana's death in 1997, and the impact that this tragedy had on the way people felt about the royal family in the years to come. It features testimony from government insider Anji Hunter, director of government relations at the time, plus Diana's personal security consultant Colin Tebutt.
2017 • People
Internationally known graffiti artist, Banksy, left his mark on San Francisco in April 2010. Little did he know that this act of vandalism would spark a chain of events that includes one of his rats being removed from a wall, Museums ignorantly turning down a free Banksy street work, and a NY gallerist who has made it his business model to remove Banksy street works from all over the globe doing whatever it takes to get the rat in his possession.
2017 • People
Randoms! Documentaries
In Cholula, Mexico's oldest continuously-inhabited city, the journalist inspects the world's largest pyramid for signs of a forgotten past.
S1E2 • Ancient Apocalypse • 2022 • Environment
On Exoplanet Atlas, dense gravity creates a thick atmosphere allowing airborne life forms to thrive - but also providing a lesson in adaptability.
S1E1 • Alien Worlds • 2020 • Astronomy
This [film] is about patient and dedicated teaching, about learning to look and visualize in order to design, about the importance of drawing. It is one designer’s personal experience of issues that face all designers, expressed with sympathy and encouragement, and illustrated with examples of Inge [Druckrey]’s own work and that of grateful generations of her students. There are simple phrases that give insights into complex matters, for example that letterforms are ‘memories of motion.’ Above all, it is characteristic of Inge that in this examination of basic principles the word “beautiful” is used several times.”
2012 • Design
By investigating the tell-tale signs of earthquakes and tsunamis written into the landscape over the last thousand years, Japanese scientists are rewriting the rule books for disaster prevention in the Pacific.
9/10 • Catalyst: Season 1 • 2015 • Environment
Reveals the unknown side of a world-famous river that has shaped a whole continent. Over a period of two years, the Science Vision team traveled 90,000 kilometers and spent 481 days on location, returning with over 400 hours of material. Only two hours will be included in the finished film.
S1E1 • Danube - Europe's Amazon • 2012 • Nature
Salvador Dali was art's greatest clown, but was he also one of its great geniuses? Journalist Alastair Sooke traces the life and work of the popular surrealist artist travelling throughout Europe and America. From his origins in turn of the century Spain, to his high jinx in New York in the 1970s, Sook reveals this artist's fascinating life story and explains the thinking behind and impact of his most famous works. Talking to Dali fans from Mighty Boosh comedian Noel Fielding to contemporary artist Jeff Koons, Sooke reveals the pervading influence of Dali and his brand of surrealism. Featuring testimonies from film giant Alfred Hitchcock and excerpts from the film Dali made with Walt Disney, Destino, as well as looking at contemporary advertising, this programme shows how the hand of Dali has touched almost every aspect of popular culture.
S1E4 • Modern Masters • 2010 • Creativity