For eight centuries, between the 9th and 1st century BC, the Etruscans, inhabitants of the Italian peninsula, were one of the most powerful peoples of the Mediterranean basin, and when they disappeared they left behind impressive necropolises, vestiges of sanctuaries and even entire cities. How did they attain such power? How far did they extend their dominion and influence? What were the causes of their decline?
Director Guy Hamilton and several of the stars of Agatha Christie's "Evil Under The Sun" walk you through the making of the film.
A short distance from Marseille, at Cape Morgiou, in the depths of the Calanques massif, lies the Cosquer cave, discovered only about thirty years ago by a diver, Henri Cosquer. With its bestiary of hundreds of paintings and engravings - horses, bison, jellyfish, penguins - the only underwater decorated cave in the world allows us to learn a little more about Mediterranean societies 30,000 years ago. Today, threatened by rising water levels accelerated by global warming, this jewel of the Upper Paleolithic is in danger of being swallowed up. To save the cave from disappearing, the Ministry of Culture has chosen to digitize it. From this virtual duplicate, a replica has been made on the surface to offer the public a reconstruction that allows them to admire these masterpieces.
This explores the mysterious and catastrophic collapse of ancient civilizations during the late Bronze Age, from the Hittites to the Mycenaeans and the Egyptians, revealing the tumultuous events that brought an end to a thriving era of human history, and warns we may be facing similar threats today.
The hidden story of a savory local specialty found only on the French Riviera and the surrounding areas. Socca enjoys a historical and cultural significance that far outweighs its simple and rustic four ingredients. How Nice!
This James A. FitzPatrick's People on Parade series short takes the viewer to Alexandria, Egypt, with emphasis on the modern nature of the city.
Stanley Kubrick’s first color film, commissioned by the Seafarers International Union to promote the benefits of union membership. Shot inside the union’s Atlantic and Gulf Coast District facilities, it features scenes of ships, machinery, cafeteria life, and meetings, highlighting the daily routines and camaraderie of seafarers. Thought lost for decades, the film was rediscovered in 1973 and preserved by the Library of Congress.
On December 4, 1872, the unmanned Mary Celeste was found adrift in the Atlantic with its cargo fully intact. The mystery of this "ghost ship" remained unanswered for over 135 years. What happened to the Mary Celeste is widely regarded as the most famous mystery of the sea. Watch it unfold to its stunning conclusion, at last.
When nomadic beekeepers break Honeyland’s basic rule (take half of the honey, but leave half to the bees), the last female beehunter in Europe must save the bees and restore natural balance.
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is the striking new documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris.
Bettany Hughes goes in search of this lost civilisation, revealing the story of a city founded out of the desert by Alexander the Great in 331 BC to become the world's first global centre of culture. The documentary also looks at the role of astronomer and philosopher Hypatia, and incorporates stunning footage from the feature film 'Agora'.
A documentary about Göran Schildt and his relationship with the Mediterranean.
Early Balkan footage.
Navigating the Indian Ocean in a reconstruction of a 1,200-year-old Arab ship, held together by 100km of rope and 127,000 hand-sewn stitches. The Jewel will sail more than five thousand kilometres across the Indian Ocean and do battle with the Monsoon – but for sailors it can spell danger and even death. It took a year to build: the Jewel of Muscat – a reconstruction of a 1200 year old Arab ship, based on an ancient shipwreck. Built from more than 18 tonnes of wood, the ship is held together entirely by 100 km of rope in over 127,000 hand-sewn stitches. Now the Jewel will sail more than five thousand kilometres across the Indian Ocean and do battle with the Monsoon – the mighty rain soaked wind that turns the arid land it touches green. But for sailors it can spell danger and even death.
In 1962 Joris Ivens was invited to Chile for teaching and filmmaking. Together with students he made …A Valparaíso, one of his most poetic films. Contrasting the prestigious history of the seaport with the present the film sketches a portrait of the city, built on 42 hills, with its wealth and poverty, its daily life on the streets, the stairs, the rack railways and in the bars. Although the port has lost its importance, the rich past is still present in the impoverished city. The film echoes this ambiguous situation in its dialectical poetic style, interweaving the daily life reality (of 1963) with the history of the city and changing from black and white to colour, finally leaving us with hopeful perspective for the children who are playing on the stairs and hills of this beautiful town.
A 1962 West German documentary film directed by Hermann Leitner and Rudolf Nussgruber.