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1944: Should we Bomb Auschwitz? (2019) #1211
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. Rise of the Nazis - Episode 3. 1 hour. BBC. In April 1944, two Jewish prisoners miraculously escaped from Auschwitz. When they recounted what they had left behind, their harrowing testimony revealed the true horror of the Holocaust to the outside world for the first time. They described in forensic detail the gas chambers and the full extent of the extermination programme. The news they brought presented the Allies with one of the greatest moral questions of the 20th century: Should we bomb Auschwitz? While the Allies deliberated in London and Washington, the killing machine ground on in southern Poland. One month after the men’s escape, almost 800,000 Hungarian Jews had been rounded up awaiting transport to Auschwitz. By early July 1944, the majority had been transported. Most of them were murdered on arrival. As the killing at Auschwitz reached its frenzied climax, the outcome of the Second World War hung in the balance. Millions of troops were fighting on both fronts and battling for supremacy in the air. Should the Allies use their resources to push on and win the war or to stop the industrial slaughter at Auschwitz? The request to bomb the camp, with 30,000 captive prisoners, was remarkable and came from a place of utter desperation. But it was a direct response to the destruction of an entire people. There were operational challenges - was it possible to reach the camp to bomb it? How many heavy bombers would it take? What would the Nazi propaganda machine say about such an attack? - as well as complex moral ones. How many prisoners would likely die in such a raid? Can you kill friendly civilians in order to save the lives of those being transported towards the death camp? These were the hard questions faced by Churchill, Allied Air Command and the Jewish Agency. For the first time on television, we tell the whole of this incredible story. |
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Greg Davies: Looking for Kes (2019) #1224
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. BBC. Comedian, actor and ex-English teacher Greg Davies is a lifelong fan of Barry Hines's classic novel A Kestrel for a Knave, the story of Billy Casper training a kestrel as an escape from his troubled home and school life. In this documentary, Greg goes in search of the book's enduring appeal, travelling to Barnsley, where the book was set and where Ken Loach's famous adaptation, Kes, was filmed. See the film: #1400 In a series of encounters with Barry Hines's friends and family, collaborators and admirers, Greg offers a warm, funny and poignant tribute to a book that gave a unique voice to the working-class experience and, in Billy Casper, created a young rebel whose story continues to connect with readers more than 50 years after it was first published in 1968. In the fish and chip shop young Billy visits in Kes, now renamed Caspers, Greg meets Dai Bradley who played Billy Casper. Together they wonder what might have become of him. 'I think he would have kept that fighting spirit,' says Dai. 'There’s a lot of kids like him out there and the message of the book is that we need to find ways to harness that energy.' Greg also meets members of the local community in the working men's club, where Barry was a regular, and discovers how many characters in the book were inspired by the people he met there, including the notorious PE teacher. Ken Loach explains why the book provided such perfect source material for the film. 'The truth of the book shone through: the comedy, the use of language and dialect and, of course, the central image of a boy who is trapped, training a bird that flies free.' Greg visits the site where Barry Hines's brother, Richard, found his own kestrel, the encounter that inspired the character of Billy and the location used in the film. For the first time in 50 years, Richard flies a kestrel again. In the Sheffield University archives, Greg is thrilled to discover the original handwritten manuscript of A Kestrel for a Knave. There he meets Jarvis Cocker, another fan of the book, who discusses why the book meant so much to him 'That symbolism of escape was powerful for me growing up,' says Jarvis. 'The desire for escape has been a massive engine for creativity for people from working-class backgrounds. You want to make, write or sing something to help you escape.' |
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The Vietnam War (2017) #1043
DOCUMENTARY
Special
BBC plus. 10x1 hour. 1/10 Deja Vu (1858-1961). Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end French colonial occupation. 2/10 Riding the Tiger (1961-1963). President Kennedy and his advisors wrestle with how far to get involved in South Vietnam. 3/10 Hell Come to Earth (January 1964-December 1965). With South Vietnam in chaos, Hanoi hardliners seize the initiative and send combat troops. 4/10 Doubt (January 1966-June 1967). Defying American airpower, North Vietnamese troops stream down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. 5/10 This Is What We Do (July 1967-December 1967). American casualties and enemy body counts mount as marines face North Vietnamese ambushes. 6/10 Things Fall Apart (January 1968-June 1968). North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launch surprise attacks on cities and bases. 7/10 Chasing Ghosts (June 1968-May 1969). Public support for the war declines. American men of draft age face difficult decisions. 8/10 A Sea of Fire (April 1969-May 1970). With morale plummeting in Vietnam, President Nixon begins withdrawing American troops. 9/10 Fratricide (May 1970-March 1973). South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own in Laos suffer a terrible defeat. 10/10 The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward). While Watergate forces Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese savage one another in a civil war. |
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Robot Wars (2016) #1006
TV DRAMA
Main
1 hour. BBC. Series 8 Episode 1. Robot Wars launch show presented by Dara O Briain and Angela Scanlon. Forty teams of amateur robot fighting enthusiasts battle it out over a series of rounds in a huge purpose-built arena, aiming to become the Robot Wars champion. It's not just the competition they have to contend with, as the arena is patrolled by four huge House Robots which are geared up to attack anyone who strays into their Corner Patrol Zones. There are also fire, spikes, the Flipper and the Pit, dangerous hazards designed to cause maximum damage to the competitors. In between their fights, teams have time to repair their robots and plan for their next fights in the pits area. In this episode, the most famous fighting robot in history, Razer, faces up against a host of other fighting robots for the chance to become the Robot Wars champion. Eight teams made up of families and friends from across the country put their homemade robots to the test. The winner at the end of this show will go forward to the grand final. |
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Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain: A New Dawn (2014) #673
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. BBC. Episode 1. In the first of a six-part series, Andrew Marr revisits Britain at the dawn of the 20th century. He finds the country mourning the death of Queen Victoria, fighting an intractable war against the Boers in South Africa, enjoying the bawdy pleasures of music hall and worrying about the physical and moral strength of the working class. There are stories of political intrigue between David Lloyd George and his arch-enemy Joseph Chamberlain, as well as the beginning of the struggle for women's suffrage. Plus an account of the day Mr Rolls met Mr Royce and kicked off a revolution in motoring. With powerful archive and vivid anecdotes, Andrew Marr gets to the heart of Edwardian Britain. He brings to life Britain's struggle to maintain its imperial power in the world in the years before the First World War. |
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Horizon: Inside the Dark Web (2014) #849
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. . Twenty-five years after the world wide web was created, it is now caught in the greatest controversy of its existence - surveillance. With many concerned that governments and corporations can monitor our every move, Horizon meets the hackers and scientists whose technology is fighting back. It is a controversial technology, and some law enforcement officers believe it is leading to risk-free crime on the dark web - a place where almost anything can be bought, from guns and drugs to credit card details. Featuring interviews with the inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and the co-founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, Horizon delves inside the dark web. |
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British Art at War: David Bomberg: Prophet in No Man's Land (2014) #855
DOCUMENTARY
Main
In the years preceding 1914, David Bomberg, Walter Sickert and Paul Nash set out to paint a new world, but, as the century unfolded, found themselves working in the rubble. David Bomberg is now recognised as the most startlingly original British painter of his generation, but died in obscurity more than half a century ago. A Jewish immigrant from London's east end, his early modernist works pushed art to its limits. Fighting at the Somme, David Bomberg watched the world splinter and fall apart just like the works of art he had created. Bomberg spent the rest of his life searching for order in an increasingly disordered world, and his wanderings took him as far as Palestine, before he settled at the end of his life in Ronda, Spain. When he died in 1957, embattled and in poverty, he seemed to be no more than a footnote in the history of British art. However, the works that survive David Bomberg tell their own story. Combative and iconoclastic, he remains the most elusively original British painter of the 20th century. |
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Unrivaled (2010) #313
FILM
Main
Directed by Warren P. Sonoda. With Hector Echavarria, Steven Yaffee, Nicholas Campbell, Jordan Madley. The best fighter in the world works two jobs. The only problem... he doesn't know he's the best. Ringo Duran, the son of Gracie Duran, a famous Argentinian kick boxer, works two jobs to make ends meet. His passion, full contact fighting. His goal, fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a professional fighter. Ringo has put off attempts at a professional career for so long he has nearly succumbed to... |
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In Our Name (2010) #363
FILM
Main
Directed by Brian Welsh. With Joanne Froggatt, Mel Raido, Chloe Jayne Wilkinson, Andrew Knott. Suzy's a British soldier, born and bred, but fitting back into civilian life after fighting in Iraq isn't easy. Haunted by the responsibility she feels for the death of an Iraqi child, she becomes obsessed with the safety of her own daughter, feeling the need to protect her against a threat that doesn't seem to exist. As Suzy's paranoia builds, her behaviour becomes more and more erratic, until ... |
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Fighting (2009) #163
FILM
Main
Directed by Dito Montiel. With Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Luis Guzmán, Zulay Henao. In New York City, a young counterfeiter is introduced to the world of underground street fighting by a seasoned scam artist, who becomes his manager on the bare-knuckling brawling circuit. |
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The Department Store: Milners (2008) #684
DOCUMENTARY
Main
Filmmaker Richard Macer visits the independent high street department stores that are fighting back against the big brands. He spends six months at a family-run store in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, where the owner is preparing to retire after forty years. David Milner is handing the business over to his daughter Leoni and her husband Keith, but will he go quietly? |
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The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955) #1461
TV DRAMA
Main
The Adventures of Robin Hood: With Richard Greene, Victor Woolf, Archie Duncan, Alexander Gauge. Robin of Loxley, otherwise known as Robin Hood, and his band of Merry Men protect England from the evil machinations of Prince John while King Richard the Lionheart is away fighting in the Crusades 8x30min episodes: 01 Secret Mission 30th April 1956 S1E32 Peregrinus meets Robin just as the Sheriff of Nottingham offers Robin a pardon if he swears to support King John. Peregrinus and Robin then become aware of a list of Lords loyal to King John and set to capture it. 02 The Inquisitor Friar Tuck is captured and taken to the local Abbey for questioning by the visiting arch bishop. Robin works with Little John to develop a rescue plan to save Friar Tuck. 03 Tables Turned When Derwent overhears some messengers talk about the "jewels" they're guarding, he devises a plan to steal the shipment, and successfully carries it out--only to discover that the "jewels" are two small children belonging to a noble family. 04 The Traitor King John is dragging his feet getting the ransom money for Richard's release. A number of Lords have gotten together to raise the money and have charge Robin with getting the money safely out of the country with out John's knowledge. 05 The Thorkil Ghost A young man, Harold finds Robin and explains to him that a treasure is hidden in his father's castle. To complicate matters Harold's father has recently died after an encounter with a Viking ghost. 06 The Knight Who Came to Dinner Little John and Friar Tuck capture a knight, but are concerned about his real value judging by his equipment and horse. To regain prestige John and the Friar borrow some equipment to make him more presentable. 07 The Wager Friar Tuck and Robin decide to have a wager to see who can raise more money. Robin will dress and act as a beggar. Tuck will appeal to religion and Christian charity. 08 The Prisoner A rumor spreads that Richard is dead and John acts quickly to claim the throne. Robin has doubts about Richard's fate, and decides to travel with Marion to find the truth. |