Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

Against the backdrop of Cold War tensions and a global race for supremacy, this riveting film unveils a deeply unsettling chapter in space history. It reveals how the triumph of the 1969 Moon landing was made possible through the morally contentious recruitment of former Nazi scientists—most notably Wernher von Braun—who had engineered Germany’s V‑2 rockets during World War II through Operation Paperclip. As America navigated the ethical maze of enlisting men with dark pasts, these scientists became pivotal in crafting the mighty Saturn V rocket and ushering in the age of space exploration. This documentary invites viewers to confront the unspoken complexity behind progress: the collision of ambition, conscience, and the weight of history.

This documentary journeys with the scientists into the heart of a giant. Juno is the Nasa mission designed to peer through Jupiter's swirling clouds and reveal the wonders within. By projecting a 70-foot-wide, life-size Juno on a Houston rooftop, Scott Bolton, head of Juno, shows us how its fragile electronics are encased in 200kg of titanium. As Scott puts it, 'we had to build an armoured tank to go there.' Professor Andrew Ingersoll, Juno's space weatherman, reveals they have seen lightning inside Jupiter, perhaps a thousand times more powerful than Earth's lightning. This might be evidence for huge quantities of water inside Jupiter.
Under the extreme conditions of Jupiter thousands of miles under the surface, hydrogen becomes a liquid metal. Juno is finding out how much liquid metallic hydrogen is inside Jupiter, and scientists hope to better understand how this flowing metal produces the most powerful aurora in the Solar System. But what is at Jupiter's heart? In Nice, Prof Tristan Guillot explains how Juno uses gravity to map the planet's centre. This can take scientists back to the earliest days of the solar system, because Jupiter is the oldest planet and it should contain clues to its own creation. By chalking out an outline of the Jupiter, Tristan reveals there is a huge rocky core - perhaps ten times the mass of Earth.

Human Planet is a majestic portrait of humankind and the power of nature in extraordinary symbiosis, struggle and strife. For the first time, the camera has turned on ourselves. In doing so, we see how amazing human beings can be and how we adapt to any habitat, anywhere. Human Planet is epic in ambition, extreme in content, intimate in effect. It explores how we have devised ways of surviving in every corner of Earth – from the remotest deserts to the busiest urban metropolis. Each episode focuses on an iconic environment and reveals how we have adapted to the challenges of the landscape and the endless diversity of animals and plants we live with. Discover how our remarkable intelligence, tool use, and close-knit social lives have enabled us to cope with just about anything nature can throw at us". As an air-breathing animal, the human is not built to survive in water. But people have found ways to live an almost aquatic life so they can exploit the sea's riches. From a 'shark-whisperer' in the Pacific to Brazilian fishermen collaborating with dolphins to catch mullet, this journey into the blue reveals astonishing tales of ingenuity and bravery. Daredevil Galician barnacle-collectors defy death on the rocks for a catch worth 200 pounds per kilo. In Indonesia an epic whale-hunt, using traditional hand-made boats and harpoons, brings in a sperm whale. The Bajau 'sea gypsies' of the Sulu Sea spend so much time on water they get 'land sick' when they set foot on the land! We dive 40 metres down to the dangerous world of the Pa-aling fishermen, where dozens of young men, breathing air through a tangled web of pipes attached to a diesel engine, capture thousands of fish in a vast net. We see how surfing has its origins in the ancient beliefs of the ocean-loving Polynesians, and we join a Borneo free-diving spear-fisherman on a breath-taking journey 20 metres down in search of supper.

Step into the Beatlemania Era: Beatles '64 takes you back to February 1964, when four young musicians from Liverpool turned the United States upside down. Relive the frenzy of their iconic debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by over 73 million viewers, and feel the pulse of their groundbreaking performance at the Washington Coliseum. Featuring rare, never-before-seen footage captured by acclaimed filmmakers Albert and David Maysles, digitally restored, this documentary unearths the Beatles’ meteoric rise to superstardom and the cultural revolution they ignited.
Experience History Reimagined: With fresh insights from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and audio remixed using cutting-edge technology by Giles Martin, Beatles '64 brings the spirit of the era to life like never before. Explore the personal dynamics of the Fab Four as they navigate a whirlwind of fame, fan hysteria, and musical innovation. Accompanied by a vibrant soundtrack featuring their timeless hits, this film immerses you in an extraordinary moment when music and culture collided, changing the world forever.

The second part of this revealing documentary dives deeper into the personal side of one of America's most iconic musicians. At its heart is a poignant search for his father, Howard Joel — a journey that brings long-buried emotions to the surface. With intimate and sometimes emotional reflections from ex-wives Christie Brinkley and Katie Lee, as well as from his daughter Alexa and current wife Alexis Roderick, this episode offers rare access to the man behind the music. A powerful continuation that will leave you wanting to understand not just the artist, but the human story unfolding behind the spotlight.

Welcome to an extreme landscape of rock, ice and snow. We tour the mightiest mountain ranges, starting with the birth of a mountain at one of the lowest places on Earth and ending at the summit of Everest. Find out how some of the most secretive animals rise to the challenge of mountain life. Share one of Earth's rarest phenomena, a lava lake that has been erupting for over 100 years. The same forces built the Simian Mountains where we find troops of gelada baboons nearly a thousand strong. In the Rockies, grizzlies build winter dens inside avalanche-prone slopes and climb the peaks to devour abundant summer moths. In another world first, the programme brings us astounding images of a snow leopard hunting on the Pakistan peaks.