The island jail of Alcatraz was promoted by the US authorities as 'escape proof'. However, various breakouts suggested that it was about as escape proof as the Titanic was waterproof. This programme analyses one of the most celebrated escape attempts, that of Clarence and John Anglin and Frank Morris, which was immortalised in Clint Eastwood's 1977 movie.The forbidding rocks of Alcatraz rise s
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the Nazi Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP); National Socialist German Workers Party). He was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 and dictator of Nazi Germany (as Führer und Reichskanzler) from 1934 to 1945. Hitler was at the centre of Nazi Germany, World War II in Europe, and the Holocaust
Don’t Look Back is both a classic documentary film and a vital pop-cultural artifact, Pennebaker’s portrait of Bob Dylan captures the influential singer/songwriter on the cusp of his transformation from folk prophet to rock trendsetter.The film was shot during Dylan’s 1965 British concert tour, Don’t Look Back employs an edgy vérité style that was, and is, a snug fit with the artist’s own consci
The Bully Project is a documentary film that covers events during the 2009–2010 school year and follows students and their families from Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Iowa and Oklahoma.The film also covers the stories of Tyler Long and Ty Smalley, who committed suicide after being bullied.Hirsch was a victim of bullying as a child and set out to create a documentary so that the hidden live
The 100 Greatest Scary Moments on TV and film hosted by Jimmy Carr. Celebrity guests include John Carpenter, Janet Leigh, Wes Craven, Alice Cooper, Robert Englund, Christopher Lee and Stephen Spielberg.Actor Jack Nicholson’s cry of “Here’s Johnny” as he axes his way through a door in pursuit of his wife is the most terrifying screen moment of all time, according to a UK poll.It beat classi
From a small town in Oaxaca, Mexico, and from a kitchen table in East Los Angeles, from a flophouse in a coastal farming town, to a strip-mall in Phoenix, Arizona, these are snapshots of illegal immigration in America. It’s estimated that as many as 12 million people are living in United States illegally, but this story is about just two.An American lit major named Ilse, and a strawberry picker
The Syndicato Nuevo Mexico is a brutal gang that rules the prisons of New Mexico. Also known as the "S," they boast a rap sheet that includes drug sales, vicious beatings, and cold-blooded murder. Formed in the 1980s after one of the deadliest prison riots in US history, the "S" has become one of the most feared prison gangs in the country. If prison is hell, than SNM is the devil.
Some of the best and most up-to-date communication satellites in the world are designed and built in Stevenage in Britain. With exclusive access to specialist manufacturer Astrium, this programme shows step-by-step how to assemble one of the most complicated machines in the world.The team is followed as they construct a massive communication satellite; from the inner carbon-fibre skeleton to t
The seeds of the world are now owned primarily by one company, Monsanto. The American biotechnology firm is aiming to extend its control to pigs by patenting and thus privatising gene sequences, many of which are found naturally in pigs.Monsanto, has applied for a patent for pig breeding in 160 countries. The patent is for specific parts of the genetic material of pigs which Monsanto’s genetic r