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As glam rock's most flamboyant survivors, X Japan ignited a musical revolution in Japan during the late '80s with their melodic metal. Twenty years after their tragic dissolution, X Japan’s leader, Yoshiki, battles with physical and spiritual demons alongside prejudices of the West to bring their music to the world.

Nowadays, people board large jets and travel across continents to their destination as a matter of course. This was not always the case. The documentary tells the story of Hans Pabst von Ohain and the Englishman Frank Whittle, who independently came up with the idea of using jet propulsion for airplanes in the 1930s.

Across rivers, national borders and black markets, this documentary delves into the billion-dollar world of glass eel smuggling. With exclusive access to key players and rare footage, the film reveals how the global appetite for eels is fuelling an ecological catastrophe.

A nostalgic journey through ’80s Sci-Fi-films, exploring their impact and relevance today, told by the artists who made them and by those who were inspired to turn their visions into reality.

The extraordinary life of beloved acting teacher and theatre producer Wynn Handman is recalled in this portrait of a provocative, innovative artist.

Once again, David Graham Scott examines how some addicts use the plant medicine iboga to detox rapidly—and how, sometimes, the conditions in which they detox put them at risk.

A Secrets of Life short to which the BFI gave this description: "The film falls into two related sections: the first part shows, by fast motion... the germination, growth-characteristic and fertilisation of the wild cabbage; the second part shows how the varied forms of cultivated cabbage - Savoys, Brussels sprouts, cauliflowers, sprouting broccoli - are related to the wild form, by illustrating the particular feature of the wild form that is present to an exaggerated degree in the cultivated variety... A very good example of how to deal with familiar gardening knowledge in an interesting manner, while at the same time using everyday facts to bring home the scientific lessons that can be drawn therefrom... Perhaps the most striking portions of the whole film are the sections showing which parts of the wild form have been greatly developed to produce the Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or the Savoy cabbage."

Todd Haynes, who considers Max Ophuls’ THE RECKLESS MOMENT (1949) one of his ten favorite films of all time, gives a wonderful 22 minute introduction of the film, titled "Maternal Overdrive," a term he uses to describe the state of the protagonist, Lucia Harper (Joan Bennett).

Documentary about a business tycoon who helped rescue children orphaned during the brutal aftermath of the Russian Revolution.

Judi Dench, perhaps our greatest Shakespearean actor, puts acting to one side as she turns detective to solve a mystery from her family’s past. Did Judi’s ancestor meet her hero William Shakespeare?

Join Louis Theroux as he investigates the affect crystal meth addiction is having on the local community of Fresno in California's Central Valley.

Delve into the world of Batman and the vigilante justice that he brought to the city of Gotham. Batman is a man who, after experiencing great tragedy, devotes his life to an ideal--but what happens when one man takes on the evil underworld alone? Examine why Batman is who he is--and explore how a boy scarred by tragedy becomes a symbol of hope to everyone else.

Alan Yentob meets the five surviving members of Monty Python - John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle - as they prepare to reunite on stage.

Featuring never-before-seen footage, concert performances and intimate interviews, filmmaker Ron Howard examines the life and career of famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

The Top Gear special feature for Sports Relief 2004. Jeremy Clarkson went bumper to bumper with Jodie Kidd, Alan Davies, Patrick Kielty, Darren Jordan and Jimmy Carr in a series of tyre-screechingly fast paced challenges designed to test their pedal power to the max. Richard Hammond and James May presided over the action and offered their usual critique on contestants' skill levels.

An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance.

A BBC documentary short on the development of jungle music from an underground, bedroom producer scene into a mainstream top 40 music.

The London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place at 9pm on 27 July 2012. Titled 'Isles of Wonder', the Ceremony welcomed the finest athletes from more than 200 nations for the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, marking an historic third time the capital has hosted the world’s biggest and most important sporting event. The Opening Ceremony reflected the key themes and priorities of the London 2012 Games, based on sport, inspiration, youth and urban transformation. It was a Ceremony 'for everyone' and celebrated contributions the UK has made to the world through innovation and revolution, as well as the creativity and exuberance of British people.

Daley Thompson is taken from the streets of his boyhood in Notting Hill to Olympia, the site of the Ancient Games where his iconic event began, an epic journey told from around the world: with Seb Coe at the 2023 World Championships in Hungary; with former nemesis and now friend Jurgen Hingsen at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, the setting for their titanic battle in 1984, where Daley’s irresistible will to win snatched victory from the German world record holder and firm favourite; and with Caitlyn Jenner, the legendary American decathlete, who Daley watched in awe, when, as Bruce, he set a new benchmark for the decathlon at the Montreal Games.

A look at the daily life of an English brothel.

R-Patz, as the press has affectionately named him, became an international heartthrob after starring as Edward Cullen in the chart-topping blockbuster, Twilight. Now, Robsessed offers an exclusive, insider’s look into the world of R-Patz, following his path from a young schoolboy, to his early modelling and acting jobs, all the way through to landing his dazzling role in the Twilight saga.

Doris Day has often been dismissed as an actress and overlooked as a singer, despite career highs such as Calamity Jane and Pillow Talk. Covering her early years as a band singer, and her troubled private life, this documentary re-evaluates one of the screen's most enduring legends.

Marilyn Monroe is the defining icon of the American 1950s. A seemingly fairytale transformation of rags to riches, a shining example of the mythical American dream. However, as the decade continued, the myth of Marilyn Monroe and the American Dream seemed to crumble.

Twenty years ago, Britain went to war - with itself. In March 1984, Mrs Thatcher's government announced plans to close 20 coal mines, with the loss of 20,000 jobs. The Miners' leader, Arthur Scargill, led his workers out on strike. What followed was the ultimate left verses right showdown, a colossal battle for the political heart of a nation, with an epoch-making, era-defining moment of social significance unparalleled since World War II. This feature length documentary tells the story of the year-long struggle that split friends, families and the country apart, led to shocking scenes of violence, and made many fear that George Orwell's nightmare vision of a police state was becoming a reality. After this war, Britain would never be the same again.

A profile of British painter, Francis Bacon.

A BBC News investigation has revealed how violent criminal gangs are finding, abusing and extorting people from the LGBT community they meet online in Egypt. Using masking technology to hide the identities of the people he meets, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin navigates the complex online and real-life world of people who identify as queer and who have been repeatedly targeted by a gang with violent viral video humiliations and police arrests.

A profile of a preoperative transsexual, director Matthew Barbato's fascinating documentary follows Alexis Arquette as she prepares for her upcoming gender-reassignment surgery. Part of a famous Hollywood family that includes siblings Rosanna, Patricia and David, Alexis is a well-known drag performer, underground cartoonist and actor who's appeared in dozens of films, including the 1994 blockbuster Pulp Fiction.

BBC Documentary focusing on drifters, drop-outs, tramps and RV snowbirds, squatters, hermits, cowboys and Indians in the American Southwest. Very interesting stories on how and why many became nomadic, and what the lifestyle means; all done without judgment or glorification.

The Boxing Kangaroo is an 1896 British short black-and-white silent documentary film, produced and directed by Birt Acres for exhibition on Robert W. Paul’s peep show Kinetoscopes, featuring a young boy boxing with a kangaroo. The film was considered lost until footage from an 1896 Fairground Programme, originally shown in a portable booth at Hull Fair by Midlands photographer George Williams, donated to the National Fairground Archive was identified as being from this film.

Film produced by William K. Dickson’s British Mutoscope and Biograph Company.

Gotta catch 'em all—the monsters and the facts! This doc explores the rich and storied past of the highest grossing media franchise of all time.

During an unusually harsh winter, a frozen trawler arrives on the river Thames.

Few musicals can claim to capture the mood of a historical period as well as the 1972 classic Cabaret. Liza Minnelli's unforgettable portrayal of singer Sally Bowles and the film's stylish recreation of the era have become defining images of Weimar Berlin. In this documentary, actor Alan Cumming explores the truths behind the fiction. He meets many of those closely involved with the original film, including Liza Minnelli, and talks to cabaret artists, among them acclaimed performer Ute Lemper. Alan explores the origins of the Cabaret story in the writings of Christopher Isherwood and uncovers the story of the real life Sally Bowles, a woman very different from her fictional counterpart. He talks to the composer of Cabaret about the inspiration for the film's most famous songs and discovers the stories of the original composers and performers, among them Marlene Dietrich. Finally, Alan reveals the tragic fate of many of the cabaret artists at the hands of the Nazis.

In hidden basements, bedrooms and bars across London, "Chemsex" is a documentary that exposes frankly and intimately a dark side to modern gay life. Traversing an underworld of intravenous drug use and weekend-long sex parties, "Chemsex" tells the story of several men struggling to make it out of 'the scene' alive - and one health worker who has made it his mission to save them. While society looks the other way, this powerful and unflinching film uncovers a group of men battling with HIV, drug addiction and finding acceptance in a changing world.

The BBC documentary takes a look into the Pixar studios as they celebrate their 25th birthday and at the creative process involved in creating the animation classics that we love.

A short about what happens under and around us. A chipmunk and a small mouse go on an adventure; they grow and learn about life and its obstacles.

Who is Jocky Wilson? 20 years ago every child in Kirkcaldy, on the east coast of Scotland, could answer this question. One of the best darts players ever, world champion in 1982 and 1989 - a national hero. But in '95 Jocky paid the price for his self destructive life style. In search of his myth, we follow the forces that shaped Jocky's hometown and its inhabitants as we discover lost memories of the man who once inspired the nation.

Gil Scott-Heron, one of rap's earliest (and unfortunately unknown) pioneers, gets his full due in Black Wax, the 1982 documentary recently reissued on video. Interspliced between performance footage of Scott-Heron and his Midnight Band are vignettes of him walking around Washington D.C., spouting his views on then-President Reagan (dubbed "Ray-Gun") and generally dropping knowledge. The live performance features many of Scott-Heron's best-known hits, including "Johannesburg," "Winter in America," and "Angel Dust," among others. Warm, intelligent, and insightful throughout, Scott-Heron is clearly enjoying himself and the opportunity to espouse his views. A must for any fan of Scott-Heron's, and definitely worth a look for fans of the funkier jazz music of the mid to late 1970's.

Bonded by their love of freediving, a record-setting champion and a heroic safety diver try to make history with a remarkable feat, ready to risk it all.

The short documentary explores a Scottish independent wrestling company, Bleeding Gums Wrestling (est. 2023) and the community that surrounds it.

Single shot of a column of Gordon Highlanders marching out of their camp at Ladysmith to meet General Buller's relief column.

In 1948, a group of World War II pilots volunteered to fight for Israel in the War of Independence.

Louis Theroux travels to California to meet the man dubbed "the most dangerous racist in America"; Tom Metzger. Louis meets him, his family and his publicity manager as well as following him to skinhead rallies and on a visit to Mexico.

Tim Piggot-Smith investigates the famous sleuth of 221b Baker Street.

Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.

For one night only, Professor Brian Cox goes unplugged in a specially recorded programme from the lecture theatre of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. In his own inimitable style, Brian takes an audience of famous faces, scientists and members of the public on a journey through some of the most challenging concepts in physics. With the help of Jonathan Ross, Simon Pegg, Sarah Millican and James May, Brian shows how diamonds - the hardest material in nature - are made up of nothingness; how things can be in an infinite number of places at once; why everything we see or touch in the universe exists; and how a diamond in the heart of London is in communication with the largest diamond in the cosmos.

Jeremy Clarkson tells the story of what’s been called ‘the original Mission Impossible’ – the audacious Commando raid on the German occupied dry dock at St. Nazaire in France on March 28th 1942. Operation Chariot, as the raid was codenamed, had a simple aim – to destroy the dry dock and thus deny the German battleship Tirpitz a safe haven on the Atlantic coast of France. There were many who thought the mission too risky, but the Chief of Combined Operations, Louis Mountbatten, pushed forward. This programme explores the story around March 26th 1942, when Commandos in Cornwall boarded their floating bomb and set off to see if the element of surprise really could overcome all the odds.

Best known for the myth of the Minotaur, Crete gave birth to Europe's first civilization. Yet little is known about those who inhabited the island. But now, with fresh archeological evidence, light is finally being shed on this ancient culture.

In this documentary, filmmaker Nick Broomfield follows the saga of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who has been accused of committing a brutal series of murders. Broomfield conducts interviews with Wuornos herself, and his crew films her trial as well as her interactions with religious fanatic Arlene Pralle, who gives Wuornos dubious advice and legally adopts her. The cameras also roll as the accused's attorney ignores the case at hand to negotiate a deal to sell his client's story.

Since the beginning of her career, Sinéad O’Connor has used her powerful voice to challenge the narratives she was surrounded by while growing up in predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland. Despite her agency, depth and perspective, O’Connor’s unflinching refusal to conform means that she has often been patronized and unfairly dismissed as an attention-seeking pop star.

Conservationists Jim and Jean Thomas braved the steamy jungles of Papua New Guinea to save a tree kangaroo from extinction and ended up providing water and sanitation to ten thousand people in one of the most remote places on earth.

A hand-colored ride along the Bangor-Conwy-Colwyn Bay railroad filmed from an express train from the London and North Western Railway; Stations, vistas and a tunnel under the Conwy Castle (misspelled in the title) in North Wales.

A profile of some of the hardest players in English football history.

This expository film shows the mood of European society on the eve of the Second World War while promoting the values of international cooperation. Using the Swiss office of the BBC as an example, the film describes the functioning of radio and presents the possibilities opened by mass communications. After the advent of sound film, Cavalcanti promoted experimentation with sound, and in this connection he was interested in the communicational, organizational, and social aspects of radio.

Journey alongside a young tigress raising her cubs in the fabled forests of India.

Close shot of 4.7" naval gun pointing to the left with group of British naval ratings standing around it. The gun fires and the men run up to reload, the begin to pull the gun forward.

A BBC documentary capturing Michael Jackson’s Bad Tour, with rare footage of his travels across the globe. It showcases the scale of the tour, the cultural impact of his concerts, and the excitement surrounding his visits to different countries, offering a vivid snapshot of Jackson at the height of his international fame.

About the English musician, composer, record producer, singer, writer, and visual artist, Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno, made shortly after his departure from Roxy Music. Featuring the recording sessions for Eno's record "Here Come the Warm Jets". A long lost documentary.

Tennis star and women’s rights activist Billie Jean King won a total of 12 Grand Slam titles, but the biggest match of her career took place in 1973 against former men’s champion Bobby Riggs, a self-proclaimed male chauvinist pig who declared that, even at the age of 55, he could beat any woman in the world.

Behind the scenes documentary on the making of the big budget fantasy/adventure opus Krull (1983).