Born in the Purple • 2016 • episode "S1E1" • Roman Empire

43:29

A great short history of the Japanese Empire, from the early mediaeval strife of the time of the code of the Samurai which carried through to to the opening of Japan to Western trade. There's good detail on how Japan began to rely on its military caste and its deification of its Emperor. The search for Empire is its very undoing as the military seize political power and begins to rival the colossus of the USA for domination of Asia, a disastrous policies that ends beneath the foreboding mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

S1E2 • The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire • 2011 • History

59:07

He begins with an epic journey into the remote Peruvian Andes in search of the mysterious Chachapoya people. Once numbering half a million, they were known as the 'People of the Clouds'. Dr Cooper reveals how they developed sophisticated methods of recording stories, traded in exotic goods found hundreds of miles from their territory, and had funeral traditions that challenge assumptions about ancient human behaviour. His search for evidence takes him to astonishing cliff tombs untouched for 500 years and one of the most spectacular fortresses in South America, where the fate of the Chachapoya is revealed.

S1E1 • Lost Kingdoms of South America • 2013 • History

84:57

From a small Italian city-state to Mediterranean superpower, this episode traces Rome’s expansion, the transition from Republic to Empire under Augustus, and the stability and prosperity of the Pax Romana that cemented imperial dominance.

S1E1 • The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire • 2026 • History

50:00

Episode Two follows the course of the invasion, as Strongbow wins victory after victory. In 1171 Henry II himself arrives to takes control of Ireland, and he grants land there to settlers from Britain. Now archaeology and cutting-edge science reveal their fascinating lives. The episode also shows how the conquest of Ireland enabled centuries of war between England and France.

S1E2 • Invasion: The Normans • 2023 • History

51:40

This is the incredible true story behind Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds; a group of Jewish-American refugees of Nazi Germany who boldly went behind enemy lines for vengeance. As a teenager, Hans Wijnberg is sent to America from Holland to escape Nazi aggression; Fred Mayer and his family flee Germany at the onset of war. Both enlist in the U.S. army and are recruited by the OSS. But for their daring mission 'Operation Greenup', investigating the Nazi stronghold of Tyrol in the Austrian alps, they need an inside man – POW and Tyrol native Franz Weber, a former officer and conscientious deserter from the Austrian Wehrmacht… "The truth is way stranger than fiction," muses one interviewee in this unbelievable true account of an incredible war time saga. As the Second World War was coming to a close, the US Office of Strategic Services trained and parachuted two Jewish refugees and a German deserter deep into Nazi occupied Austria. The film reveals how their efforts disrupted a vital supply route between Germany and the Italian front to bring about the surrender of Innsbruck to Allied Forces. Their unbelievable adventure has a finale that beats any Hollywood movie hands down — but a story so powerful that it became the basis for Quentin Tarantino's mega hit. Through vivid first-person accounts from the extraordinary OSS veterans, gripping dramatic reconstructions, CGI and archive, the intrepid trio's hair-raising 'Operation Greenup' is brought to life, revealing one of the most successful and daring covert operations of World War Two. Hear directly from two of the men on the missions, Hans Wijnberg and Fred Mayer as they detail their amazing exploits. Both Fred and Hans were interviewed extensively, however Hans died from heart problems the day after the interviews with him were recorded. Written and Directed by Min Sook Lee ; Produced by 2271120 Ontario Inc. for Storyline Entertainment with Shaw Media, CMF Canada Media Fund, Rogers Cable Network Fund, History Television and TVF International

2012 • History

53:30

Moscow, 31 December 1991: the Red Flag of the Kremlin is pulled down and replaced by the banner of Russia, marking the end of the Soviet Union and of its ideologies. Exceptional footage sheds some light on the political turnarounds, breaches of alliances, treacheries, coups d'etat, physical threats and lies among those who plotted to stop or caused the inexorable collapse of the Soviet Regime.

2010 • History