This reconstruction refers to a meeting that allegedly took place on 25 November 1804 at Fontainebleau between Pope Pius VII and Napoleon to discuss the coronation.
Social & External
In czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.
The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.
The life of Camille Claudel, a French sculptor who becomes the apprentice of Auguste Rodin and later his lover. Her passion for her art and Rodin drive her further away from reason and rationality.
September 3rd, 1939. Britain and France declare war on Nazi Germany, only two days after the Wehrmacht invades Poland. This day, the sad date when the fate of the world changed forever, the Phoney War began: eight months of uncertainty, preparations, evacuations and skirmishes.
Stonehenge is an icon of prehistoric British culture, an enigma that has seduced archaeologists and tourists for centuries. Why is it here? What is its significance? And which forces inspired its creators? Now a group of international archaeologists led by the University of Birmingham and the Ludwig Boltzman Institute in Vienna believe that a new state-of-the-art approach is the key to unlocking Stonehenge's secrets. For four years the team have surveyed and mapped every monument, both visible and invisible, across ten square kilometres of the sacred landscape to create the most complete digital picture of Stonehenge and the surrounding area over millennia. Operation Stonehenge takes the viewer on a prehistoric journey from 8000BC to 2500BC as the scientists uncover the very origins of Stonehenge, learning why this landscape is sacred, preserved and has been revered by following generations.
Professor Saul David uses the BBC archive to chart the history of the world's most destructive war, by chronicling how the story of the battle has changed. As new information has come to light, and forgotten stories are remembered, the history of World War Two evolves. The BBC has followed that evolution, and this programme examines the most important stories, and how our understanding of them has been re-defined since the war ended over 70 years ago.
When her best friend drags Parisian anti-american Lizette Dubois to a ballroom dance class, she meets Jacob ‘Jake’ James, a big-hearted American tourist from the Midwest with a troubled past. Despite her best efforts to avoid him, Lizette keeps crossing paths with Jake and must decide if she’ll keep him at arm’s length or let go of her prejudices and accept him for who he is... despite where he's from.
A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.
Raphael: The Lord of the Arts is a documentary about the 15th century Italian Renaissance painter Raphael Sanzio.
Young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes, finds treasure, and reinvents himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.
Painter Francisco Goya becomes involved with the Spanish Inquisition after his muse, Inés, is arrested by the church for heresy. Her family turns to him, hoping that his connection with fanatical Inquisitor Lorenzo, whom he is painting, can secure her release.
A group of soldiers are sentenced for the murders of key political figures in the night of October 19th, 1921, in the streets of Lisbon. But the names of the conspirators remain unknown. Berta Maia, a widow of the 1910 revolution hero Carlos da Maia, will fight for the truth…
This short film was commissioned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of May 13, 1954, in which a peaceful assembly of more than one thousand boys and girls in Singapore was brutally broken up by riot police. The students had gathered to seek exemption for classmates affected by a new conscription law. To continue their protest, 800 students proceed to occupy Chinese High School. The film depicts a possible day in the occupation.
Young Africans in Paris face insecurity and vague future. Should they stay in France, or return to their homes?
The long-suppressed story of 12,000 Japanese Americans who dared to resist the U.S. government's program of mass incarceration during World War II. Branded as 'disloyals' and re-imprisoned at Tule Lake Segregation Center, they continued to protest in the face of militarized violence, and thousands renounced their U.S. citizenship. Giving voice to experiences that have been marginalized for over 70 years, this documentary challenges the nationalist, one-sided ideal of wartime 'loyalty.'
1547. Fernando de Gama, a young "Soldier of Fortune" from Portugal, set sail for the Orient in an effort to find a man who murdered his father and, with luck, like many of their compatriots, to make his fortune. A vicious storm in the Indian Ocean almost ended his plans when he was on the ship sank. The sole survivor, he was washed up on a tropical beach only to be captured by Arab slavers and taken to Ayutthaya in the kingdom of Siam, where he was offered for sale as a slave.
A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria and her relationship with her slave Davus, who is torn between his love for her and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity.
Emy, a mature teenager, wakes up disoriented, after a tumultuous night. Her current state pushing her to (re)discover her body generates a shocking observation… Having no memory of the day before, she immerses herself in the depths of her memory with the help of her best friend, Lola. Through this retrospective, Emy is not only seeking the truth, but also confronting the vices of society…
Over the period of 25 years the director met General Võ Nguyên Giáp, a legendary hero of Vietnam’s independence wars, a number of times. She was the first American who entered the home of the “Red Napoleon”. The fruit of this friendship is a film, personal and politically involved at the same time. Travelling across the country and talking to important figures as well as ordinary people, the director finds out more about her roots and offers the audience a unique perspective on Vietnam’s present and past.
The story of Hitler’s final hours told by people who were there. This special features exclusive forgotten interviews, believed lost for 65 years, with members of Hitler’s inner circle who were trapped with him in his bunker as the Russians fought to take Berlin. These unique interviews from figures such as the leader of the Hitler Youth Artur Axmann and Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, have never before been seen outside Germany. Using rarely seen archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, this special tells the story of Adolf Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker.
Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor and fights the English, Austrians and Russians in 1802.
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.
A biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing the Corsican's career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign) to his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant invasion of Italy in 1797.
France. End of the 19th century. Louise Violet 40, a Parisian teacher, is sent on a mission to the French countryside. But in a place where the daily life is linked to the seasons, land and crops, she must first convince parents to send their kids to school. With the help of the mayor, she is gradually accepted by the parents and their children. But soon, her past catches up with her. Despite the obstacles she faces, Miss Violet will give her heart and soul to her belief that education is the key to freedom.
Part two of a two-part biopic following French army officer Charles De Gaulle's life and political commitment between 1940 and 1945, and trace his development towards a political career.
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse compete to create a sustainable system and market it to the American people.
France, 1983. The biggest architectural competition in history is launched by the new socialist president, François Mitterrand. Coveted by all the biggest international architectural firms, the open-call competition is surprisingly won by an unknown: Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, an architecture teacher from Copenhagen. Until then, the fifty-year-old Dane had built only four buildings: his home, and three small chapels.
Biarritz, 1933. Charm and talent assist small-time swindler Serge Alexandre, alias Stavisky, to bribe his way into the centre of French politics. But when his great scam involving millions is exposed, he brings the government to the verge of collapse and the country to the brink of civil war.
A passionate love story set against a backdrop of sexual freedom, loosely based on the relationship between 19th century authors Pierre Louÿs and Marie de Régnier.
A divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she is captured.
Fanny is a Jewish girl in a French orphanage in 1943. When she and her friends are no longer safe from the Nazis, they try to flee to Switzerland. After their guide disappears, Fanny has to take the lead and help the other kids make it over the mountains.
Several years after leaving the orphanage, to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing.
In 1887, at a time when duels are in vogue in Paris, Clément Lacaze and Marie-Rose Astié meet. He's a charismatic master of arms; she's a feminist, far ahead of her time. Clément gets caught in a spiral of violence and decides to initiate Marie-Rose in the art of dueling. The two must work together to save face. How far will they go to defend their honor?
At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
Directed by Philippe de Broca, the film recounts a bloody episode of the French Revolution. 1793, the Terror . In Vendée and in Bretagne, the chouans are revolting against the young Republic and fight for the monarchy restauration. The civil war divides also the family of the Count Savinien de Kerfadec, a liberal and generous noble and a flying machines inventor.
A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.