George Lucas • 2011 • episode "S1E8" • Prophets of Science Fiction

113:05

Our ancient human ancestors once lived only in Africa, in tiny bands of a few thousand hunter-gatherers. Then we moved out of our African cradle, spreading rapidly to every corner of the planet. How did we acquire the skills, technology and talent to thrive in every environment on earth? How did our prehistoric forebears cross the Sahara on foot, survive frigid ice ages, and sail to remote Pacific islands? “Great Human Odyssey” is a spectacular global journey following their footsteps out of Africa along a trail of fresh scientific clues. With unique glimpses of today’s Kalahari hunters, Siberian reindeer herders, and Polynesian navigators, we discover amazing skills that hint at how our ancestors survived and prospered long ago.

NOVA PBS • 2016 • People

41:32

From Luke Skywalker's light sabre to Darth Vader's Death Star, the Star Wars franchise is one of the defining science fiction works of the later 20th century. George Lucas' prolific imagination has already inspired two generations of scientists and engineers to push the envelope of technology. By introducing computers into the filmmaking process, he changed the way movies are made, and the way we all see the future.

S1E8 • Prophets of Science Fiction • 2011 • People

97:49

A collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion. Baraka is a documentary film with no narrative or voice-over. It explores themes via a compilation of natural events, life, human activities and technological phenomena shot in 24 countries on six continents over a 14-month period.

1992 • People

226:43

Explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century's most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. Franklin's 84 years (1706-1790) spanned an epoch of momentous change in science, technology, literature, politics, and government — fields he himself advanced through a lifelong commitment to societal and self-improvement. Chapter 1: Join or Die (1706-1774) Leaving behind his Boston childhood, Benjamin Franklin reinvents himself in Philadelphia where he builds a printing empire and a new life with his wife, Deborah. Turning to science, Franklin's lightning rod and experiments in electricity earn him worldwide fame. After entering politics, he spends years in London trying to keep Britain and America together as his own family starts to come apart. Chapter 2: An American (1775-1790) Benjamin Franklin leaves London and returns to wartime Philadelphia where he joins Congress and helps Thomas Jefferson craft the Declaration of Independence. In Paris, he wins French support for the American Revolution then negotiates a peace treaty with Britain. He spends his last years in the new United States, working on the Constitution and unsuccessfully promoting the abolition of slavery.

2022 • People

4:53

Richard is the fascinating story of a travelling piano tuner who chooses to live outdoors. Shot in London, the film takes an alternative look at someone who treats the entire city as a home.

People

43:02

In 1927, at the height of his power, Al Capone, now the head of the Chicago Mafia, decides to get out of Cicero and moves back to where it all started; Chicago. Capone takes over the top floor of the Lexington Hotel and invites the press up to his workspace. Meanwhile, Irish gangster Bugs Moran targets those closest to Capone, and puts a hit on Jack McGurn who killed Hymie Weiss. Capone wants to take out Moran's gang all at once, devising a meticulous plan to quickly wipe out the competing Irish in Chicago. The "Valentine's Day Massacre" goes down in American history and causes nationwide consternation. Capone is increasingly becoming the focus of state power.

S1E4 • The Making of the Mob: Chicago • 2016 • People