He put a man on the Moon in the Victorian Era. He criticized the Internet...in 1863. Jules Verne is the ultimate futurist, with a legacy of sci-fi stories predicting everything from fuel cell technology to viral advertising. The extraordinary voyages of Jules Verne have inspired art, industry, culture, and technology.
Literary genius, celebrated visionary, paranoid outcast: Writer Philip K. Dick lived a life of ever-shifting realities straight from the pages of his mind-bending sci-fi stories. His books have inspired films like Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report. His work confronts readers with a deceptively simple question: What is reality?
2011 • People
"I told you so..." H.G. Wells' self penned epitaph underscores a lifetime of grim yet uncanny prophecy. With stories like The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The World Set Free, and The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells established himself as a sci-fi writer of almost clairvoyant talent.
2011 • People
He saved the future from Evil Robots! Isaac Asimov dreamed a better future where we need not fear our own technology. His I, Robot stories of a sci-fi future where robots can do our jobs for us lead to the creation of real-life industrial robots and paved the way for a robo-friendly world.
2011 • People
He put a man on the Moon in the Victorian Era. He criticized the Internet...in 1863. Jules Verne is the ultimate futurist, with a legacy of sci-fi stories predicting everything from fuel cell technology to viral advertising. The extraordinary voyages of Jules Verne have inspired art, industry, culture, and technology.
2011 • People
Sci-fi legend Robert Heinlein is a walking contradiction. His stories address themes of patriotism, and duty while stressing the importance of personal freedom and expression. His groundbreaking stories like Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land continue to challenge readers with a steadfast theme: what is freedom?
2011 • People
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.
2011 • People
Bill Gates speaks about his life-or-death mission to get better sanitation to the developing world. Also, his sisters share their childhood memories.
1/3 • Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates • 2019 • People
Uniquely adept at art as well as commerce, Walt Disney was a master filmmaker who harnessed the power of technology to tell stories of outsiders struggling for acceptance and belonging, while questioning the conventions of class and authority. As Disney rose to prominence and gained financial security, his work became increasingly celebratory of the American way of life that made his unlikely success possible. A polarizing figure - though true believers vastly outnumber his critics - Disney's achievements are indisputable. In this two-part, four-hour film, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE examines Disney's complex life and continuing legacy, featuring rare archival footage from the Disney vaults, interviews with biographers and historians, as well as the animators and designers who helped turn his dreams into reality. Both an inspiring story and a cautionary tale about the price of ambition, Walt Disney offers an unprecedented look at the man who created a world and built an empire.
1/2 • American Experience • 2015 • People
The incredible story of a mysterious nanny who died in 2009 leaving behind a secret hoard - thousands of stunning photographs. Never seen in her lifetime, they were found by chance in a Chicago storage locker and auctioned off cheaply. Now Vivian Maier has gone viral, and her magical pictures sell for thousands of dollars. Vivian was a tough street photographer, a secret poet of suburbia. In life, she was a recluse, a hoarder, spinning tall tales about her French roots. Presented by Alan Yentob, the film includes stories from those who knew her and those who revealed her astonishing work.
2013 • People
Killer, drug smuggler, folk hero, Houdini of jailhouse escapes--the legend of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is well known. But now this two-hour documentary special reveals an unprecedented look at the man behind the myth and how his international drug cartel impacts us right here at home.
2016 • People
"I have a friend who is an artist, and sometimes taken a view which I don't agree with very well."
The Feynman Series • 2011 • People
'Los Muchachos' lawyer is murdered by Columbian hitmen. The FEDs find the ledgers that outline how all their money is moving. Now the heat is on when Willy & Sal get 'popped' for 75 tons of cocaine. The two major criminals are considered untouchable and have repeatedly eluded justice for years: Falcon has been arrested twice and charged at least three times with drug and firearms offenses - but he has never been in prison for more than a week. As the authorities close in, the "Cowboys" are left with three options: flee, flip or face the music. But Willy and Sal won't go down so easily.
S1E2 • Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami • 2021 • People