Discover Movies

Lucy Worsley reveals the surprising stories behind our favourite Christmas carols. From pagan rituals to religious conflicts, French dances and the First World War, carols reflect our history.

This two-shot newsreel fragment surveys the scene at a Votes for Women protest on Trafalgar Square in the summer of 1910, when suffragists of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies presented petitions signed by supportive menfolk of Britain's towns and cities.

As the BBC celebrates 90 years of covering Wimbledon, Sue Barker travels the globe to meet some of the legends who have graced the famous grass courts. Tennis royalty including Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rod Laver, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Boris Becker and John McEnroe share memories and reflect on their own experiences at the iconic tennis tournament. These are their stories as never told before, emotional and self-deprecating, revealing how their lives and careers were changed by the Championships. For Sue herself, Wimbledon has been a big part of her life for nearly 50 years as a fan, player and broadcaster. She also meets the Duke of Kent, who is president of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and the Duchess of Cambridge, who this year takes on a new role as patron.

Shot in 1983, edited for the VISIONS: CINEMA programme in 1985, a short documentary about Shanghai Animation Studio.

One-off documentary about Belle Gibson, an Australian woman who successfully convinced the world of many false facts including Apple and publisher Penguin.

Recycled "scrap" footage and a jungle soundtrack toy with our ability to "see" sounds.

A documentary about modern consumerist culture. Evolution and psychology underpin a narrative of our times, constantly locating man at its centre with an unhealthy dose of pathos. Fantastic 20th century archive and interviews.

Follow the path of the sun on its annual cycle, from the Equator, across the northern hemisphere and into the South. Witness a world bursting with life, as spring and summer follow the passage of the sun. Revealed in all their glory are the natural rhythms of life - the urge to breed, to feed and to raise young - all driven by the sun, the moon and the seasons, across the world.

This is a film portrait in which the words are mostly Peter Hannaford's, an eighty-year-old Dartmoor smallholder and cattle doctor, living with his first cousin, Ruby French. The last of his kind, he talks of toads and tractors, mixing common sense with superstition, showing how Dartmoor and its people have shaped his life.

A boy and his two-year-old sister discuss the solar system, unfazed by the noise of social media.

Feature film directed by Hamza Pool, currently in post-production, style and plot kept under wraps.

A BAFTA award nominated documentary studying Hungarian refugee problems after the October 1956 revolution. Shot on the Austro-Hungarian frontier and in the refugee camp at Traiskirchen.

A look at the relationship between the future King and Queen.

During the time of apartheid Nelson Mandela drove around South Africa in a limousine disguised as a chauffeur while organizing the armed struggle against the apartheid regime. But who was the distinguished looking white man sitting in the back seat? Meet Cecil Williams, an acclaimed gay white theatre director and communist.

This is the story of Harry, Niall, Zayn, Louis and Liam; five boys from the UK who are taking the world by storm. One Direction are a global phenomenon, spearheading a British Invasion of America not seen for fifty years. From their explosive first appearance on The X Factor to becoming the hottest boy band on the planet, Reaching for the stars features previously unseen footage from the boy s world tour and concerts. Interviews with industry experts explore what really makes these teen idols tick, and as this pop fairy-tale unfolds we ask what s next? for the boys who seem to have it all.

An examination into life and work of celebrated drummer Carl Palmer, a founding member of influential bands such as Asia and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Alternating Super-8, digital footage and the correspondence with her brother, the filmmaker evokes their deceased mother and the Portuguese revolution, which she only gets to know through these diffracted memories.

'Nobody Someday' is an intimate, no-holds barred documentary of life on tour with Robbie. Robbie said to filmmaker Brian Hill that nothing was off limits to camera. The result is a refreshingly honest account of what it's like to travel on tour bus after tour bus, jump on stages (and sometimes unwittingly off them), belt out the hits, play some cards and orally satisfy fifteen thousand screaming fans a night!

A quiet state of being alone that feels calm and freeing. This was a Uni project based around the theme of 'Individualism.'

Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution follows Jamie Oliver's campaign to improve the education system for the tens of thousands of children with dyslexia.

Guy joins an ambitious engineering project to recover a crashed WW2 Lancaster Bomber – and the remains of its missing crew members – from the depths of the Dutch lake where it’s lain for 80 years.

There has never been a rock and roll star quite like Mick Jagger. He is the voice of a generation. With over 5 decades within the moving industry, he has completely evolved the sound of music and pushed the Rolling Stones in a direction that has helped them become the biggest rock and roll band ever. He is a successful musician, artist, actor, movie producer and business man. Relive the life and career of the face of the Rolling Stones...This is Mick Jagger, a knight to remember.

Malcolm, now 45, lost his penis 12 years ago and has had a replacement growing on his arm and awaiting transplant for the past six.

The film was originally conceived as a portrait of Dr. Nawal El Saadawi, the well-known Egyptian doctor, writer, and women’s rights activist. But the director was disappointed by the encounter with the woman who had been her great role model. Instead, she set out to discover what life means to Egyptian women by visiting her female relatives. Her mother, aunts, and neighbors talk about life as a married woman, about the traditional clitoridectomy of girls, about love and sexuality. The result is a very impressive and extremely personal film.

A 4-part documentary film by film maker & engineer, Richard D. Hall detailing the evidence & testimonies of those involved in the case of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Despite the unprecedented coverage, few people have any detailed understanding of the circumstantial and physical evidence of the case. In March 2014 Richard D. Hall travelled to Praia Da Luz to embark on this project with a view to reporting in more depth on the subjects that he feels have been incorrectly represented & even covered up by mainstream TV and newspapers.

A look at caravan holidays and the original residents of caravans.

Industry insiders, retail experts and former employees reveal the secrets of the the world's biggest furniture seller, IKEA: the tricks they use to get customers to spend, and how the massive maze-like warehouses are designed to keep people there for hours.

Current Formula 1 driver Logan Sargeant races against virtual avatars of Williams Racing legends Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button in a real vs. virtual race.

Hugh Williams is a father trapped in an endless nightmare of repetition and ritual as family life continues around him. This observational documentary film portrays mind-crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and shows its devastating effect on families and family life. For Hugh every day is a battle against every object in his house because every single piece has a particular place where it must be placed, oriented precisely according to Hugh's OCD condition. From the bacon in the fridge to the socks in his chest of drawers, the ornaments on the mantelshelf, even the sound a door's magnetic latch makes and the position of the dog's water bowl are the cause of consternation to Hugh who must have everything exactly right.

Seminal Beastie Boys concert recorded at the Glasgow SECC in 1999 for MTV. Tracklist: Mix Master Mike Intro | Super Disco Breakin | Flute Loop | Root Down | Shake Your Rump | Time For Livin' | Sure Shot | Mix Master Mike Tricks | Three Mc's and One DJ | Something's Gotta Give | Heart Attack Man | Remote Control | Body Movin (half of) | Time to Get Ill | So What'cha Want | Intergalactic | Sabotage

Since their discovery in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have proven to be among the most important finds ever, informing mankind of its origins and, since they hold a 2,000-year-old incarnation of the Bible, charting religious and sociological history. Learn how archaeologists found them and how the entire world reacted to their discovery, and watch a reenactment that purports to trace just how the documents ended up where they did.

A fascinating look at the advertising industry, with a focus on how it works and what it does

In a small Scottish town in 1974, factory workers refuse to carry out repairs on warplane engines in an act of solidarity against the violent military coup in Chile. 40 years after their defiant stand in protest against Pinochet's Air Force, Scottish pensioners discover the dramatic consequences of their solidarity.

To become a Salvation Army officer, cadets must shed the skin of their old lives, promise to reject treasures on earth in favour of true spiritual gifts and commit to 'care for the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love the unlovable and befriend those who have no friends'. This documentary takes us inside the training college for this most distinctive of British institutions, introducing the individuals and families who give up their jobs and leave their homes to work full-time for 'The Army' for just £7,500 a year.

A look at the production of gold and its journey through London, the world's most important gold market.

Cast and crew look back at the making of The Stones of Blood.

Noel Gallagher celebrates 10 years of the High Flying Birds, giving an exclusive and revealing interview alongside a 12-song set filmed at London's Duke of York's theatre.

Rachel and Becky Unthank continue their journey around England's hidden customs and dance traditions and into the dark heart of its winter pastimes. The follow-up to Still Folk Dancing After All These Years, which explored English folk dances from spring to harvest, this film explores English folk customs around the country though the other six months of the year.

The case of Yeates, found murdered on Christmas Day 2010 in Bristol, became a stark example of media frenzy gone wrong. Her innocent landlord, Christopher Jefferies, was wrongly accused, before a Dutch national was ultimately jailed.

Unable to move on from the death of his granny, a filmmaker desperately searches for the right film idea that will finally allow him to let go…

Michael Palin travels to France in search of the Mediterranean view on his wall, captured by his favourite artist, Scottish painter Anne Redpath. He travels from a London bank, via a chateau in Cap Ferrat and a monastery in Edinburgh.

Dubbed Britain’s worst football team, Fort William FC sits at the foot of Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands. Filmed during the new management’s first season in charge of the club, the documentary follows the struggles of the Highland League side on and off the pitch and the lives of the locals for whom the club means so much.

The film explores the journeys and philosophies of a select group of experimental musicians including Keith Rowe, Evan Parker, Eddie Prevost, Otomo Yoshihide, Toshimaru Nakamura and Christian Fennesz.

Derek Jarman's film portrait of American writer William S. Burroughs was shot in September 1982 during his first visit to England to attend the legendary Final Academy events at the South London Ritzy Cinema. These were Burroughs-themed art and performance nights curated by Psychic TV. Jarman’s film shows Burroughs on Tottenham Court Road signing autographs with fans and inside a shop buying alcohol. The industrial soundtrack by Psychic TV features a sample of Burroughs repeating "boys, school showers and swimming pools full of 'em'". Additional footage shot by Jarman during Burroughs' visit is reported to have been confiscated by Scotland Yard in 1991 and remains lost. Jarman and Psychic TV would continue to collaborate (“magic bound us together” Jarman wrote), with Jarman directing the music video for Catalan and staring as the spokesperson in the Psychic TV video A Spokesman for the Temple of Psychick Youth.

This compelling documentary tells the untold story of how companies with little or no track record earned UK Government contracts and made a killing from Covid.

Documentary on the life cycle of the tortoiseshell butterfly: first laying their eggs under the leaves of sting nettles and in2-3 weeks the caterpillars emerge and live off the nettle leaves. Then fully grown caterpillars spin a chrysalis. After 3 weeks the new butterfly emerges, and so the cycle continues.

Listening All Night To The Rain continues John Akomfrah’s abiding interest in post-colonialism, ecology and the politics of aesthetics with a renewed focus on the sonic. Drawing its title from Chinese writer and artist Su Dongpo’s (1037 - 1101) poetry that meditates upon the transitory nature of life during a period of political exile, the exhibition is seen as a manifesto that encourages the act of listening as a form of activism. Conceived as a single landscape or artwork organised into song-like movements or ‘cantos’ that are inspired by American poet Ezra Pound’s (1885 - 1972) journey through history in The Cantos (1925), the exhibition brings together eight multimedia and sound installations.

A look around the south west of Scotland.

A dance between moon and ocean, forests and rivers. A short film by Scott Barley, originally made for a "half moon phase" sequence for Tadhg O'Sullivan's essay film, 'To the Moon' (2020). Shot on iPhone Xs with various rephotographing techniques, combined with superimposed drawings and paintings by Scott Barley. Released as a standalone short film in 2024 as part of 'Short Films (2012–2020): Solo Works by Scott Barley' on Blu-ray.

On Channel 4's 2021 Alternative Christmas Message, Tom Daley wished for 'a brave footballer to step forward and say, I'm gay'. A year later, Tom chats to Jake Daniels - who did just that.

In 1946, just after the end of World War II, a secret organization of Holocaust survivors plans a terrible revenge: since the Nazis have killed millions of Jews, they will kill millions of Germans.

In the early 1960s, the BBC interviewed 280 eye-witnesses of the First World War for the series, 'The Great War'. This film presents never before seen footage from these interviews.

A look at the fascinating work of the Earl Marshal of England and the College of Arms, who are behind every full state ceremonial.

An epic tale of pride and passion following competitive leek growers in the north east of England and the event they all dream of winning, the World Open Leek Championships.

Mark Kidel's portrait of Boy George is a hypnotic story of narcissism and neediness, drugs and drag. It covers nine years, from Culture Club's sudden success through George's rebirth as a solo celeb. Along the way there's tons of amazing archive footage, some very queer fashions, a gripping interview with his ex, Jon Moss and a sign of salvation.

Set in the North Pennines, an intimate portrait of a year in the life of tenant hill farmers Tom and Kay Hutchinson as they try to breed the perfect sheep.

Stephen Thrower offers some background informations and analysis on the film "La maldición de Frankenstein", directed by Jess Franco.