Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

On the trail of tiger sharks in the Pacific, Will Smith explores the power of smell. Sharks have a sense of smell that's hundreds of times more potent and accurate than that of humans. An enormous part of their brain is dedicated to smelling, to finding their way through the vast expanse of the ocean.

The series ‘Life on Our Planet’ brought to life by Steven Spielberg and narrated by Morgan Freeman, unfolds the remarkable and epic four-billion-year journey of life on Earth. Its captivating narrative explores the continuous battle of life to conquer and survive, delving into the history of the 20 million species that exist today. However, what we witness is merely a snapshot in time; 99% of Earth's inhabitants are buried in our deep past. This series weaves the tales of these dynasties, chronicling their rise and fall in a story that is as incredible as it is enlightening, sparking a profound interest in the history and resilience of life on Earth.
The first episode traces the evolution of life on our planet and highlights the diversity of life, from ancient sharks to the reign of dinosaurs and the emergence of mammals. The episode showcases the constant struggle for survival and adaptation across different eras, illustrating the dynamic and often brutal nature of Earth's evolution.

This second episode is a captivating exploration of the ocean's wonders and mysteries. It reveals how a significant part of our planet remains unexplored, primarily due to its vast water coverage. The film emphasizes the extraordinary discoveries awaiting every journey below the water's surface, with over a thousand new species identified annually. Home to 80% of all animal life on Earth, the ocean's diverse habitats host a range of surprising behaviors and life-and-death struggles, often hidden beneath a serene exterior.
The shallow tropical seas, appearing as paradises, are actually arenas of intense survival battles. Predatory lionfish, with their patient hunting tactics, and clown frogfish, using a unique fishing rod-like dorsal fin as a lure, demonstrate the ocean's complex food web. The documentary also explores the kelp forests off the North American coast, revealing their role as nurseries for young horn sharks. Amidst these underwater forests lurk giant sea bass, wolf-eels, and various sharks like houndsharks and broadnose sevengills, posing significant threats to the smaller inhabitants. The episode takes viewers to the twilight and midnight zones of the ocean, unveiling alien-like creatures such as the siphonophore, glass squid, and gulper eel, adapted to the extreme conditions of deep waters. The journey concludes with the moving story of the pearl octopus, whose devotion to her eggs in the challenging deep-sea environment is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
This episode is not only a showcase of the ocean's diverse inhabitants but also a reminder of the urgent need to understand and protect this vast, mysterious, and vital part of our planet.

Across two continents and from one pole to the other, this spectacular wildlife series explores the wonders, mysteries and fragilities of the Americas. Narrated by Tom Hanks, it reveals extraordinary animal behaviour, dramatic struggles for survival and some of the planet’s most varied landscapes, from frozen wilderness and ancient forests to deserts, tropical seas and vast grasslands. Filmed over five years and more than 180 expeditions, the series combines intimate wildlife stories with remarkable natural spectacles, showing both the resilience of life and the delicate balance on which these ecosystems depend.
In the first three episodes, the journey begins along the Atlantic Coast, where wild horses battle, bald eagles pursue ospreys, sharks move among great shoals of fish, raccoons adapt to city life and black bears search ancient forests for food. It then heads south into Mexico, where deserts meet the tropics and pygmy owls, hunting orcas, orchid bees and mysterious creatures in flooded caves reveal a hidden world of astonishing diversity. Finally, the Wild West brings an even harsher test of survival, as coyotes face a snowbound Yellowstone, hundreds of rattlesnakes emerge from their winter refuges, woodpeckers compete to store food, bison clash across the Great Plains and immense gatherings of cranes continue one of nature’s most ancient migrations.