1. Intercept: A Century of Signals Intelligence
A thought provoking documentary feature film providing a comprehensive exploration of the evolution of signals intelligence over the past century. Whether you're intrigued by the secretive world of intelligence agencies or concerned about the implications of digital surveillance, this film will leave you with a deeper understanding of the role signals intelligence plays in society.
2. Royal Babylon: The Criminal Record of the British Monarchy
A video polemic, based on Heathcote Williams' investigative poem 'Royal Babylon: The Criminal Record of the British Monarchy' - every film a crime. The collective at Handsome Dog have used the best of new media to present a video polemic based on Heathcote William's investigative poem "Royal Babylon: The Criminal Record of the British Monarchy". Sixteen short films have been made the chronicle the crimes of the Royal Family and their ancestors: RB intro, Killing an Ibis, Mad Monarchs, Michael X, Harry Trouble, I Danced with a Man, Foot in Mouth, Folk on the Hill, Knight Hoods, Milton Gas, Swift Justice, Raj Doubt, Gaunt etc., Koh i Noor, Paine and Thoth, Blake Acres Zappa, Glitter Freeze. Written by Margaret Cox
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
3. Captain Elliot's Circle
Equal parts documentary, essay, and narrative,"Captain Elliot's Circle" is mostly a poetic interaction with an obscure corner of Chinese and British history. Constructed using primary source documents about the taking of Zhoushan, Britain's first choice for a seaport, in the late 1830s,this movie uses Captain Charles Elliot's reluctance to brutalize the Chinese to reflect on the cyclical nature of history and the power structures that move it. The long takes used throughout function to illustrate the dramatically different ways in which people who lived in the mid-19th century perceived time. Additionally, it represents the psychological effect of living on an island regardless of what era you were born in.The last third of the movie focuses on a young woman whose strange day job has taken her far away from the island of Zhoushan generations after Captain Charles Elliot was last there. "Captain Elliot's Circle" was shot on location in Zhoushan and Hangzhou.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
4. The Bloody Border (Blutige Grenze – Die Geschichte Irlands)
The painful story of Ireland and the Irish people, who struggled for centuries to free themselves from the tyrannical clutches of the British Empire; an epic tale of poverty, hunger, despair, violence and unyielding courage.
It has an average vote of 6.3 on TMDB.
5. Clarissa & the King's Cookbook
Clarissa Dickson Wright tracks down Britain's oldest known cookbook, The Forme of Cury. This 700-year-old scroll was written during the reign of King Richard II from recipes created by the king's master chefs. How did this ancient manuscript influence the way people eat today? On her culinary journey through medieval history she reawakens recipes that have lain dormant for centuries and discovers dishes that are still prepared now.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
6. The Flawed Genius of Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts is a foremost political figure in South African 20th Century History, and is recognised today by two of the world's leading historians as being at the very centre of the vision for a new world order that emerges from the League of Nations and the United Nations.. Yet, he is virtually persona non grata in his own country.... and largely ignored in school history books.</p><p> This one hour drama-documentary, with its dramatised cameo scenes in which his look-alike grandson takes on the role of Jan Smuts, battle re-enactments, historical archival footage, comments from historians, political analysts, and South African political struggle heroes, looks back on his life and the circumstances that shaped it in search of some answers.
It has an average vote of 9 on TMDB.
7. Return of the Black Death
The black death had devastating effects in centuries past, but what actually caused it and how many lives did it take? The world has not seen a disease outbreak like it before or since. This film tells the story of skeletons recently unearthed in a long-lost plague cemetery beneath the streets of London. Was it the Bubonic Plague, or as scientists now suspect, an Ebola-like virus?
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
8. Shakespeare: The Hidden Truth
Was the legendary playwright William Shakespeare really the author of his acclaimed plays? Or was he just a straw man working for a secret society? Norwegian organist and researcher Petter Amundsen claims to have a solid theory on the subject. Shakespearean scholar Robert Crumpton decides to travel to Norway to meet him.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
9. Victoria & Albert: The Royal Wedding
Historian Lucy Worsley restages the 1840 wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Aided by a team of experts, Worsley recreates the most important elements of the ceremony and the celebrations, scouring history books, archives, newspapers and Queen Victoria's diaries for the details. She reveals how every moment was brilliantly stage-managed for maximum effect. Woven into the recreation of the wedding day is the story of Victoria and Albert's courtship and engagement, and its political importance.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
10. The Last Days of Anne Boleyn
Writers and historians including Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory revisit the last days of Anne Boleyn, who in 1536 became the first queen in British history to be executed.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
11. Mary Berry's Country House at Christmas
Mary Berry visits Harewood House in Yorkshire as it prepares for Christmas on a grand scale, and demonstrates how to make delicious recipes inspired by festive dishes of the past.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
12. INFINITY minus Infinity
INFINITY minus Infinity draws on several inspirations: the modernist verse of the Jamaican poet Una Marson, the alluvial invocations of the Martinican philosopher and poet Édouard Glissant, the black feminist poetics of the Brazilian philosopher Denise Ferreira da Silva, and the racial formation of geology theorised by British geographer Kathryn Yusoff amongst others in order to envision a black feminist cosmos animated by the principles of mathematical nihilism.
13. General Buller Embarking on the 'Dunottar Castle' at Southampton
Watched by crowds, Sir Redvers Buller, Lady Buller, the Mayor of Southampton and others walk along the gangway leading to the ship towards the camera. Sir Redvers pauses to be introduced to one of the ship's officers before embarking. According to BFI programme notes, the filmmaker William K.L. Dickson can be seen bottom left, attempting to introduce himself to General Buller as he passes. Film companies were in competition to film reportage of the Boer War and Dickson was one of those filmmakers keen to do so.
It has an average vote of 3.333 on TMDB.
14. Scenes on Mr. Smit's Ostrich Farm
Scenes on an ostrich farm, filmed in Natal during the Boer War.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
15. Prince Albert: A Victorian Hero Revealed
Professor Saul David examines Prince Albert's role in shaping British culture, governmental policy and international relations in Victorian Britain.
It has an average vote of 7.5 on TMDB.
16. Prince Philip: The Plot to Make a King
Documentary telling the inside story of the plans by Louis Mountbatten to maneuver his nephew and heir to the Greek throne, Philip, into marrying the future queen Princess Elizabeth and the tensions that that unleashed.
It has an average vote of 9 on TMDB.
17. Lucy Worsley's Royal Palace Secrets
Chief curator of historic royal palaces Lucy Worsley provides an exclusive tour of London’s most extraordinary palaces: the Tower of London, Hampton Court, and Kensington Palace.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
18. Moments with Johan
The beautiful gay erotic superstar Johan Paulik is enthusiastically celebrated in this jam-packed compendium of Johan's greatest on-screen performances, plus an exclusive interview with the charming boy himself and previously unseen out-takes which reveal the charm and humor of this much admired adult model.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
19. The Queen (The Queen)
(The Queen)
20. The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files
David Olusoga opens secret government files to show how the Windrush scandal and the ‘hostile environment’ for black British immigrants has been 70 years in the making.
