Social & External
A one-hour series showcasing documentary films from across the Al Jazeera Network.
Series charting the history of the warship.
Myths die hard, and the history of the 20th century is no exception to this rule. Even today, we hold popular beliefs that we take for Evangelical truths. Thus, we believe that Hiroshima caused Japan to surrender, that the Marshall Plan saved Europe, that Adolf Hitler was a military genius, or that Mao Zedong was a necessary evil for China’s modernization. Of course, these judgements contain some truth; but, too broad-stroked to be accurate, they contradict the historical reality by denying its complexity. What if the truth was slightly different? Through an exploration of great national or international myths, this full archive documentary collection revisits the key moments of the 20th century with a new perspective in order to provide a new, smarter and more subtle interpretation, bringing elements to light that have been forgotten or sometimes overshadowed.
Terror of the World: The story of a deadly war that intertwines Germany, Poland, Japan, Italy and Spain, and the remorseless development of weapons and bombers.
The only major fleet engagement of World War I, the Battle of Jutland has been surrounded by controversy ever since. The British public felt Admiral Jellicoe had failed – a reaction rooted in a hundred years of the 'Nelson cult', a conviction that anything short of a Trafalgar-style annihilation was letting the side down. On the 31st of May 1916 – 251 British and German battleships set out to annihilate one another in the North Sea. In a vicious engagement that lasted over 12 hours – 25 ships were sunk and 8,600 lives were lost. The German Fleet had sunk more ships and suffered fewer casualties, but the British had forced them to disengage and run for port. This two-hour special tells the true story of the battle. An international team of marine divers and historians set out to explore the wrecks of the great Dreadnoughts that lie 100 miles from shore and up to 60 metres deep. The dives will at last reveal why the British navy failed to score a decisive victory.
One of the Royal Navy's most modern aircraft carriers when the Second World War began, HMS Ark Royal was eventually sunk by a German torpedo. Now her wreck has been found in the Mediterranean, and veterans are among the first to see it. With Dan Snow.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, relations between the former allied eastern and western powers deteriorated fast. Suddenly, the small island nation found itself in the midst of the ensuing “cold-war”, which it used to its full benefit to catapult into the modern world. A founding member of the NATO alliance, Iceland provided an important base for forward operations in protection of NATO’s northern flank and Scandinavia and the approaches to North America by U.S. and allied forces.
Blueprints of War will strive to encompass the most famous military conflicts, leaders and weapons throughout time. From the beaches of Normandy to the fields of Gettysburg and the minefields of Vietnam, Blueprints of War will traverse the battlefields of the globe telling the story hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute
Mount Kologet, Goldsboro, Palomares, Thule… Four nuclear accidents, four stains on the history of the Cold War. Four names that are now forgotten. These events lay undiscovered for years having been classified as official secrets. Now published, the files show how the relentless standoff between the two superpowers spiraled out of control and led us to the brink of obliteration.
During the second world war, the Nazis looted everything they could get their hands on, including an estimated 600 tons of gold, thousands of pieces of artwork, and millions of priceless artifacts. While some of these items have been found, much of it remains missing. Treasure hunter Darrell Miklos believes some of these stolen riches were loaded into specially modified U-Boats that are currently lying at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. His evidence: two top-secret documents acquired over 40 years of research.
Battlefield is a documentary series initially shown in 1994 that explores the most important battles fought primarily during the Second World War but also the Vietnam War. The series employs a novel approach in which history is described by detailed accounts of major battles together with background and contextual information.
Explores the medieval arms race reflected in castle construction in the Middle Ages. Location filming, re-enactments and CGI reconstruction are used to tell the stories of six castles tested by siege.
The very first submarine, which legend claims lurked beneath New York Harbor during the American Revolutionary War. The small ships that rescued thousands from Dunkirk. The destroyer that forced the easing of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Over the centuries, conflicts have prompted advances to ship designs, making vessels stronger, faster, smarter, and capable of changing the course of wars. Join us as we examine the world's greatest Combat Ships, and reveal how they shaped world history and inspired men and women to acts of incredible courage.
Covers the 1941 Japanese military strike on a Hawaiian naval base in never before seen detail.
Two-part documentary telling the story of the battle for control of the North Sea during the First World War.
Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.
Don Wildman unearths relics from the world's greatest institutions to reveal secrets from the past. He examines each artifact to illuminate history's most incredible triumphs, sensational crimes and bizarre encounters.
Explores WWII from Germany's invasion of Poland through the atomic age, examining pivotal battles, wartime leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt, and the human cost of total war.
Motoring programme featuring reviews of and reports about cars of all types.
This compelling series investigates the motives and m.o. of female murderers. While males are often driven by anger, impulse and destruction, women usually have more complex, long-term reasons to kill.
TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.
An immersive, action-packed and discovery-led series following International teams of Egyptologists as they unearth the world's richest seam of ancient archaeology - Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
Maritime mysteries—old and new—come to life in this series, combining scientific data and digital re-creations to reveal shipwrecks, treasures, and sunken cities on the bottom of lakes, seas and oceans around the world.
A celebration of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s iconic careers and decades-long partnership. Director Ethan Hawke brings life and color to this definitive history of their love, lives, and philanthropy.
An in-depth look at the history and pop cultural significance of horror films.
Actor, model, and global superstar Brooke Shields’ journey from a sexualized young girl to a woman who embraces her identity and voice.
Turning points in ancient Roman history and some of the Empire's greatest stories are brought to life in this drama documentary series.
Award-winning actor and nervous explorer Eugene Levy steps out of his comfort zone for a whirlwind tour of the world's most beautiful and intriguing destinations.
Honoring service members whose courage merited the awarding of a Medal of Honor, this docudrama series re-creates their inspiring true stories.
Conor McGregor's brutal strikes and trash-talking swagger made him the UFC's biggest draw. This rousing documentary series follows his dynamic career.
RAFA retraces Nadal's remarkable journey with cinematic scope, combining testimonies from those who know him best—on and off the court—with unseen moments that reveal what lies behind the legend.
Steve Martin is one of the most beloved and enigmatic figures in entertainment. Dive into his extraordinary story from two distinct points of view—past and present—as Martin reflects on how his beginnings led to his unexpectedly fulfilling life today.
An insider's look at the engineering and scientific miracles behind the things that form the modern world.
Explore the surprising things we know (and don’t know) about why people are the way they are through expert interviews, rare footage from historical experiments, and brand-new, ground-breaking demonstrations of human nature at work.
A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.
