Channel Four (Great Britain)
Pub. Date
[2014]
Language
English
Description
The human stories behind the deadly infection TB, a deadly airborne disease, are making a dramatic comeback in Swaziland. Passed on by a cough or sneeze, TB travels fast and multi-drug resistant variants are starting to appear all over the world. Multi-BAFTA winning filmmaker Jezza Neumann creates an intimate account of the crippling effects of MDR-TB, following victims from two families battling the disease over the course of a year. In deep rural...
Pub. Date
[2014], c2011
Language
English
Description
Actress Maryam d'Abo suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage in 2007. Her near-death experience inspired this film to be made with her husband filmmaker, Hugh Hudson who witnessed her illness. Maryam leads us on a personal journey of recovery, giving hope to those who are isolated by their condition. First-hand stories celebrate our will to survive and bring awareness of an unseen and unpredictable condition that is often misunderstood.
3) Hypnosurgery
Pub. Date
[2007], c2006
Language
English
Description
The use of hypnosis in medicine has a long history. In the early days of anesthesia, surgeons often used the trance-inducing technique as a fail-safe measure-and today the concept is being revisited. This program presents a scientific investigation into the idea that hypnosis can reduce or even replace the use of anesthesia. Exploring the merits of making the procedure available to more patients-especially those too weak for, or unsuited to, conventional...
Pub. Date
[2007], c2007
Language
English
Description
Every time Laura gets swollen glands, she spends hours on the Internet researching terminal cancer. Kevin lives in fear of contracting HIV-a drop of blood can send him into a state of panic. And the smallest ache convinces Sarah that she could die at any moment. Studies suggest that as many as one in four general-practitioner consultations are for hypochondriacs-or those who suffer from what is now called Health Anxiety Disorder. This compelling film...
Pub. Date
[2014], c2005
Language
English
Description
Twelve year old Christian Cunniffe has beaten up his entire family, set fire to his bedroom and stabbed his sister with a knitting needle. But doctors say he's not evil, he's just ill. The boy they call Chucky is the story of a mother's fight for her son. In a desperate bid to prevent Christian from going into care-or to prison-she's embarking on an ambitious journey in search of a cure.
Pub. Date
[2009], c2008
Language
English
Description
Produced with unprecedented access to Hamas and its operations, this program takes viewers inside Gaza's Islamic fundamentalist government in the months following its civil war against Fatah. The film observes Hamas leaders as they struggle to shape policy and follows a former militant who now heads up an Executive Force police unit-carrying out orders he doesn't agree with. Archival footage and interviews from earlier years are also included, creating...
Pub. Date
[2014], c2012
Language
English
Description
Comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti is fearful of becoming a flaky, stressed-out mom. Her monkey is the voice of self-doubt and believes so-called therapists are charlatans trying to make money. In a documentary both comical and bizarre, they delve into the world of new age and alternative therapies in the quest for enlightenment and happiness-trying approaches from naked yoga to shamanic ritual, before going on a three-day primal screaming retreat...
Pub. Date
[2014], c2001
Language
English
Description
This documentary looks at the state of the Roman Empire in the first century AD and examines its many aspects by following the career of one of its finest emperors, Vespasian, from his childhood to his death in 79 AD. Through the exploration of Vespasian's life we gain an insight into the sophisticated workings and of the Roman Empire. Vespasian came to power in 69 AD, at a moment when the Empire was in grave crisis, when it's continued existence...
Pub. Date
[2014], c2006
Language
English
Description
There is no doubt that Arthur Shawcross is a psychopath. Found guilty of killing 2 children and 11 prostitutes his tales of cannibalism and mutilation have made him one of America's most notorious serial killers. That he killed 13 people by asphyxiation is certain. Similarly, that he got sexual satisfaction from the attacks. But exactly what he did to his victims and why is not at all clear. His story has changed many, many times over the years. Margaret...
Series
Pub. Date
[2010]
Language
English
Description
In part 2 of this film, learn about the Rococo era and its devotion to the pursuit of pleasure. During this era, art was freed of its religious and societal obligations and encouraged to pursue beauty alone. Learn about its influence in architecture, fashion, furniture, porcelain, sculpture and painting. Look at the works of Gainsborough, Boucher, Watteau, and gain in-depth knowledge of the subtle and not-so-subtle messages they are communicating....
Series
Pub. Date
[2010]
Language
English
Description
Part one of Baroque begins at St. Peter's in Rome, and details the birth of the Baroque tradition as it burst forth in Italy. This program concentrates on Rome - a hotbed of Baroque art and architecture. "The Eternal City" is where the Baroque began, and here Waldemar Januszczak explores the theatricality of St. Peter's cathedral and piazza and works by Borromini. He encourages us to examine the painted ceilings of the city, including that of the...
12) Festivals
Series
Pub. Date
[2014]
Language
English
Description
Festivals of life nourish us with ancient rituals in a fast-changing world, covering all facets of the human condition, the changing seasons, weddings, coming of age ceremonies, births and deaths, the worship of gods and the battle against evil spirits. This film showcases Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations that unite the living and the dead in feasting, dancing and decoration. In Oaxaca City, local artists create sand tapestries and enter an altar...
Series
Pub. Date
[2014], c2011
Language
English
Appears on list
Description
Tony Robinson confronts demons, learns how to perform an exorcism, uses a fifteenth century textbook to summon evil spirits, and reveals the terrifying truth about the fairies that stole babies - all in his quest to understand what our ancestors believed evil spirits were and why they were so terrified of them.
Series
Pub. Date
[2014]
Language
English
Description
In the second film of his series on the Great War's impact, historian David Reynolds looks at how the conflict gave birth to an age of turbulent mass democracy. In the immediate aftermath of war, monarchies toppled, the people rose up, and three iconic leaders-Vladimir Lenin, Woodrow Wilson and Benito Mussolini-emerged with competing visions of power that polarized much of continental Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. In Britain, the socialist Labor...
15) The Crimean War
Series
Pub. Date
[2014], c1997
Language
English
Description
The Crimean War (October 1853 - February 1856) was part of a long-running contest between major European powers for influence over the declining Ottoman Empire's territories. Considered one of the first "modern" wars, written reports and photographs kept the British public informed of the day-to-day battlefield realities for the first time. This series uses firsthand British, French, and Russian accounts to describe the military and logistical incompetence,...
Pub. Date
[2013], c2011
Language
English
Description
In this program, host Griff Rhys Jones goes to India in search of exquisite, traditionally made textiles. Can he solve the mystery of an extraordinary Indian floor cloth kept in England for over 300 years? Who made it, and does the skill with which the fabric was created still exist? In the state of Gujarat, renowned throughout history for textiles, Jones goes off the beaten track to the towns and villages of the North West plains and discovers how...
Series
Pub. Date
[2014], c2012
Language
English
Description
It's 1606 and in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, the authorities are cracking down on Catholics. Shakespeare's Macbeth captures the anxiety and obsessions of the time. King James continues to be focused on succession and legitimacy, while food riots in the Midlands create the climate for the gripping tragedy of Coriolanus.
Series
Pub. Date
[2014], c2007
Language
English
Description
Sculpture likely began as a form of spiritual expression, celebrating life and death and the connection both have to the Earth. Thousands of years later, that aspect of sculpture is still difficult to dismiss. This program follows British critic Waldemar Januszczak as he travels across North and South America, encountering stunning examples of sculpture tied to nature and the physical environment. From Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty and Nancy Holt's...
Series
Pub. Date
[2009], c2006
Language
English
Description
When renowned psychologist Paul Salkovskis offers three agoraphobics a base from which to battle their fears, each sufferer embraces the opportunity to utilize the professor's "safe house." There's only one problem-getting there. This program illustrates the paralyzing anxiety agoraphobics typically experience when stepping outside their cloistered comfort zones. After Simon, Su, and Archana finally arrive at the house, Professor Salkovskis forces...
Pub. Date
[2007], c2007
Language
English
Description
Over seven centuries of Islamic rule, Spain became the cultural jewel of Europe. This program illustrates that flowering of art and science, placing the rebirth of classical learning in Andalusian rather than Italian cities. Writer Bettany Hughes speaks with Antonia Almagro of the Spanish National Research Council about the intellectual and aesthetic revelations a visitor from Florence or Venice might have experienced in Muslim Granada or Toledo....