Total War • 2017 • episode "S01E05" • The Great War in Numbers

63:47

Shahida Tulaganova's documentary tells the stories of Ukrainian children, some of them orphans, who were taken to Russia after the war started and their territory was occupied. Through moving testimonies, the children tell how they were made to sing Russian patriotic songs, forced to speak Russian and led to believe their parents had abandoned them, and the film follows mothers, godmothers and relatives making daunting journeys into a hostile state to find their loved ones and bring them home.

2023 • History

50:02

The Scorpion King was a mythical Egyptian ruler who predated the pharaohs. Recent developments, such as the excavation of the king's tomb, have revealed surprising new details about early Egyptian civilization. This program details the continuing research into the earliest period of Egyptian history that was inspired originally by discoveries such as the Narmer palette and the Scorpion mace head. The combined efforts of a number of archaeologists have pushed the boundaries of Egyptian civilization back into a period previously considered prehistoric. As a result some of the most fundamental beliefs about Egyptian civilization require a re-think. Is there more behind the mythical and violent leader known simply as the Scorpion King? New evidence suggests that his achievements may have layed the foundations of Egypt. Learn more about the king who likely united ancient Egypt, organized the world's earliest phonetic writing system, and inspired the creation of the pyramids.

Part 6 • Egypt Unwrapped • 2008 • History

44:08

In France, perfidy and treason plunge the French Kingdom into chaos. Behind new king Charles IX, Catherine de Medici rules in the background as master of the throne. However, she is unable to prevent a civil war.

S2E3 • The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History

58:58

Alastair Sooke follows in the footsteps of Rome's mad, bad and dangerous emperors in the second part of his celebration of Roman art. He dons a wetsuit to explore the underwater remains of the Emperor Claudius's pleasure palace and ventures into the cave where Tiberius held wild parties. He finds their taste in art chimes perfectly with their obsession with sex and violence. The other side of the coin was the bombastic art the Romans are best remembered for - monumental arches and columns that boast about their conquests. Trajan's Column in Rome reads like the storyboard of a modern-day propaganda film. Sooke concludes with the remarkable legacy of the Emperor Hadrian. He gave the world the magnificent Pantheon in Rome - the eternal image of his lover Antinous, the most beautiful boy in the history of art - and a villa in Tivoli where he created one of the most ambitious art collections ever created.

S1E2 • Treasures of Ancient Rome • 2012 • History

53:22

The film chronicles the story of how the Nazis and the IOC turned, to their mutual benefit, a small sports event into the modern Olympics. The grand themes and controversial issues from the 1936 Games have continued to this day: Monumentality, budget overruns, collusion with authoritarian regimes, corruption and sometimes even bribery. Featuring never before seen archival footage and new research, The Nazi Games reveals how the Olympics as we have come to know them were shaped by the collaboration of interests between Hitler and ambitious Olympic gentlemen. After initial distrust, both the IOC and the Nazis found common ground in turning the 1936 Games into the biggest Olympic show the world has ever seen.

2016 • History

51:24

The Fight to The End tells the story of the terrible battles of 1917 and 1918 and how Britain and her Allies turned a looming defeat into victory.

S1E3 • The First World War: The Peoples Story Series • 2021 • History