Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

On the second part of his journey through the dark ages Richard Rudgley continues into the age of the wandering peoples, the Volkerwanderung. These Northern people enjoyed a golden age unaffected by Rome and just 30 years after the Romans relinquished Britain, the 'Anglo-Saxons' made their move. The bedraggled legions are in retreat. Walls are pulled down. Mosaics shattered. And yet there never was a people called Anglo-Saxon. We look at the lasting influence of Saxon leaders like Alfred the Great, and his blue print for social justice.

The pirates of the Caribbean's humble base in Nassau turns into a boomtown run by Benjamin Hornigold. But Hornigold's crew deposes him for his refusal to attack English ships; but one man, Edward Thatch, remains loyal. Meanwhile, pirate raids on British slaves provokes outrage.

In Southeast Alaska, there's an ice-bound Eden that harbors possibly the richest temperate rainforests of all. Where the coastal mountains meet the Pacific, lays the Alexander Archipelago, a remote island chain running for almost 300 miles along the Alaskan Panhandle. This frozen frontier is one of the last great wildernesses of North America. And a stronghold for the country's highest diversity of megafauna, feasting on the abundance of fleeting summers to make it through relentless winters.

Described as one of the most influential female boxers of all time, helping legitimize women’s participation in the sport, Christy Martin shocked the world by becoming a superstar after winning a blood-soaked undercard match at the Mike Tyson/Frank Bruno fight in 1996.
After her meteoric rise, the film breaks down Christy’s incredible fight for survival both in and out of the ring as she battled substance abuse, domestic violence and a harrowing brush with death. We also see Christy’s struggle with her sexual orientation and her journey of self-discovery. This is a story stranger than fiction, that must be seen to be believed.

The 1980s was an era in which a fusillade of new genres emerged, and many are still with us today, such as hip-hop and house. Dylan Jones has mined the archives to select some of the most crucial tracks in the rise of these two genres.
From a young Kurtis Blow making his Top of the Pops debut to the sonic bombardment of Public Enemy and the sampling skills of Bomb the Bass, this episode showcases the evolution in rap and house music across the decade. There are rare archival interviews and stellar performances from Run-DMC, Salt 'N' Pepa, S'Express, Cookie Crew and Neneh Cherry, as well as iconic videos from Herbie Hancock, The Beastie Boys, M/A/R/R/S, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and many more.

High on cocaine, Hitler hatches an audacious plan to turn the tide of the war. He has been prescribed the drug for injuries sustained when Stauffenberg tried to kill him.
Colourised archive depicts the Germans’ opening salvo artillery barrage and George Patton’s arrival in Bastogne to break the German siege. The film also looks at the role played by commando Otto Skorzeny, who put English-speaking German soldiers behind the lines to sow confusion, spreading the rumour that they try to kill or capture Eisenhower.