Social & External
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.
In 26 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.
Two thousand years ago, at the dawn of the first century, the ancient world was ruled by Rome. Through the experiences, memories and writings of the people who lived it, this series tells the story of that time - the emperors and slaves, poets and plebeians, who wrested order from chaos, built the most cosmopolitan society the world had ever seen and shaped the Roman empire in the first century A.D.
A falsely accused nobleman survives years of slavery to take vengeance on his best friend who betrayed him.
In the 6th century AD, large parts of the world were affected by mysterious weather events causing temperature drop, crop failures and famines. All this might be the result of a large volcanic eruption in the tropics. But can a local natural disaster impact the global weather, thus influencing the course of history? Using stunning re-enactments and unique animation techniques, “The Power of Volcanoes” makes it clear: Volcanoes might be sleeping giants. But they can wake up quicker than you think and in the worst case trigger a fatal chain of events.
After the death of the paranoid emperor Tiberius, Caligula, his heir, seizes power and plunges the empire into a bloody spiral of madness and depravity.
Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.
Titus Andronicus returns from the wars and sees his sons and daughters taken from him, one by one. Shakespeare's goriest and earliest tragedy.
Forensic experts scan Pompeii’s victims to investigate why they didn’t escape the eruption.
Ring of Fire is about the immense natural force of the great circle of volcanoes and seismic activity that rings the Pacific Ocean and the varied people and cultures who coexist with them. Spectacular volcanic eruptions are featured, including Mount St. Helens, Navidad in Chile, Sakurajima in Japan, and Mount Merapi in Indonesia.
After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
Documentary released to coincide with the British Museum's exhibition dedicated to the man who ruled the Roman Empire from 117 to 138 AD. The programme explores the life, achievements, passions and legacy of the emperor who was both soldier and poet and responsible for that most famous construction - Hadrian's Wall. The documentary was produced in conjunction with the exhibition Hadrian: Empire and Conflict at the British Museum 24 July - 26 October 2008.
Terry Jones' Barbarians is a 4-part TV documentary series first broadcast on BBC 2 in 2006. It was written and presented by Terry Jones, and it challenges the received Roman and Roman Catholic notion of the barbarian. Professor Barry Cunliffe of the University of Oxford acted as consultant for the series.
In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.
What is true and what is false in the hideous stories spread about the controversial figure of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (12-41), nicknamed Caligula? Professor Mary Beard explains what is accurate and what is mythical in the historical accounts that portray him as an unbalanced despot. Was he a sadistic tyrant, as Roman historians have told, or perhaps the truth about him was manipulated because of political interests?
The devious general Cethegus plays the Byzantine and Gothic forces against each other for his own gain.
The assassination of the would-be ruler of Rome at the hands of Brutus and company has tragic consequences for the idealist and for the republic.
A series of bawdy and satirical episodes written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome. Like the more famous version made by Federico Fellini, an adaptation of Petronius' Satyricon.
Features volcano watches in Iceland from 1984-91, showing the country's highlands, Askja, Kverkjoll, Herdubreidarlindir, Sprengisandur, and Jokulsa Canyon. Presents Landmannalaugur and the popular trek from this Myvatn, Skaftafell, and glacier bursts from the Grimsvotn and Graenalon lakes. Depicts scenes of winter traveling in Iceland, Reykjavik, the Blue lagoon, Geysir hot spring, the site of Parliament in Thingvellir, and Kulusuk on the east coast of greenland. Includes the earthquake sequence that shook the island in September 1986 and sequences from the volcanic eruptions at Mount Hekla (1947-48, 1970, 1980-81, and 1991), Surtsey (1963-67) Heimaey Island (1973), Lake Myvatn (1975-84) and Grimsvotn Lake (1983).
