Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. This epic documentary changed the way we think about the Holocaust. Featuring interviews with survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators from across Europe, mostly Poland and Germany, Shoah is drawn from over 300 hours of contemporary conversations with these witnesses, along with footage of overgrown sites of unspeakable horrors, including the concentration camp at Auschwitz. The monumental film grew out of Lanzmann's concern that the genocide perpetrated only 40 years earlier was already being forgotten. In response, he relied entirely on accounts from witnesses, rather than historical footage or reenactments, sometimes resorting to hidden cameras or other deceptions to coax stories and memories from those with whom he spoke.
Karel je Gott
In emblematic places around the world, Frédéric Lenoir, philosopher, sociologist and writer, goes to meet those who experience a spiritual quest, both religious and secular. A pilgrimage that mixes the voices of anonymous witnesses and personalities such as the Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, the apneist Guillaume Néry and the astrophysicist Hubert Reeves.
Dan Snow joins military archaelogists as they investigate the former battlegrounds of the Second World War, uncovering little-known stories through excavations and dives across Europe
Through new discoveries in science and archaeology, explorers take a look at the origins of the Vikings and how they influenced history.
TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.
A web series about Jerick Hoffer and his exploration into Jinkx Monsoon.
Are we finally a step closer to understanding the great unknown and what it may – or may not – hold? Man has always been curious about what is really out there in the vastness of space, and UFO sightings have been reported for years. Now, with video footage of sightings, radar evidence and eyewitness accounts from around the world, UFOs: The Untold Stories (Tuesdays at 8pm from 13th November) provides an in-depth look at the fascinating and disturbing aspects of encounters with the unexplained.
A fascinating journey through the life and work of many Latin American music idols, by the curious gaze of young chroniclers, with access to exclusive footage.
The conflict in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors is given comprehensive treatment in six 50 min episodes produced by PBS. Using archival footage and extensive interviews with participants, the production begins by explaining conditions in Palestine at the end of World War II and the crisis created by the exodus of European Jews who went to the Middle East after the Holocaust. The withdrawal of the British, who had controlled Palestine for decades, is detailed, as is the creation of the state of Israel. Much of the region's history is complex, with the local struggles being conducted at times as a part of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union, but these videos do an admirable job of explaining the complexities of the situation. The segment on the Six Day War, for example, is masterful, with the scenes shifting from Israel to Egypt to Washington to Moscow.
During the darkest days of the Third Reich, the most dreaded sound was a knock at the door after dark. Everyone who lived under Nazi rule lived in fear of the secretive agents known colloquially as "V-Men". Hitler called them his "deadliest weapon", and without them the Fuhrer's ambition could never have been realized.
This new series follows International teams of archaeologists on the front line, as they embark on a season of excavations to unravel the secrets of life in the Roman Empire. Crawling beneath Pompeii, unearthing an enormous lost coliseum, and hauling a 2000 year old battleship ram from the depths of the ocean, they race to unlock the secrets of this ancient civilization.
This intimate documentary series examines the lives and the most significant moments of the papacies of John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis I.
An in-depth look into the ground breaking franchise and features new interviews with cast and crew.
A new Channel 4 series takes archaeology to the edge this summer as a team of experts tackles sites across the country that are beyond the reach of normal investigations. In Extreme Archaeology, an eight-part series starting on 20 June, a team of archaeologists with help from top climbers, cavers and divers investigates amazing and unique archaeological sites throughout the UK. Many archaeological locations are beyond the reach of your average archaeologist. They are found in inaccessible caves, on treacherous cliffs, deep under water, or in locations simply too remote or dangerous for normal investigation. Their remoteness often means that their secrets are unique, but they can also be under threat from erosion or other factors and this adds a rescue element to any investigation. Using some of the most advanced scientific equipment available, and high-tech miniature cameras and communication systems to record the action, Extreme Archaeology's experts are dropped into extreme and inaccessible environments under time and other pressures that test their personal and professional skills to the limit.
Aurora
Following some of the world's best marine construction firms, they battle against the elements and the clock to salvage valuable property and fortunes of others from the effects of extreme weather.
Dave Stotts explores the amazing lives of the very first Christians. Beginning in Jerusalem and using the Book of Acts as a roadmap, Dave travels the Mediterranean region to share the people, places, and events that launched the Christian faith.
This three-part docuseries follows New Zealand's wheelchair rugby team in their bid to qualify for the Paris Paralympics. Despite having to rely on fundraising, charity, and volunteers, these Kiwi underdogs are determined to rise to the challenge.
To mark the 70th anniversary of 1940, presenter and archaeologist Jules Hudson goes on a journey of discovery into Britain's darkest and, in the words of Winston Churchill, 'finest hour'.