Who was Moses

The biblical and archaeological research here gives us intriguing new insights into the history of the events outlined in the Book of Exodus. The documentary Who Was Moses? presents the facts of the man’s life as we know them and provides compelling challenges to contemporary thought on the subject. Did he exist, and did he lead his people through the wilderness to the promised land of milk and honey? The evidence from Egyptian records, scientific studies, and biblical research suggests that he lived and died much as we are led to believe from the book he may even have written. Learn how the 10 plagues and the parting of the sea may have been related to the flooding of the Nile and distant volcanic eruptions, and how many other events reported in Exodus have strong evidence supporting them. Did Moses really look like Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments? Find out in Who Was Moses? –Rob Lightner

http://www.amazon.com/Who-Was-Moses-VHS/dp/B00004WG5L

 

 

Napoleon – PBS Empires

For nearly two decades he strode the world stage like a colossus — loved and despised, venerated and feared. From his birth on the rugged island of Corsica to his final exile on the godforsaken island of St. Helena, NAPOLEON brings this extraordinary figure to life.

NAPOLEON bears passionate witness to a man whose charisma swayed an empire and sparked his exalted belief in his own destiny. He is a figure riddled with contradictions that are the essence of his glory and undoing: his youthful enthusiasm for the ideals of the French Revolution did not prevent him from crowning himself Emperor. His passionate love of Josephine did not prevent him from divorcing her to marry the eighteen year Archduchess of Austria. His military genius did not save him from the disastrous invasion of Russia. His love of France was so compromised by his notions of personal glory that he repeatedly plunged his beloved country into war.Framed by the grand sweep of history, woven from intimate accounts of and by the man himself. NAPOLEON is a tale as grand as any novel, a story of passion, vaunting ambition and pride ending in exile and loss.

Written and Directed by David Grubin Narrated by David McCullough Producers David Grubin and Alyson Luchak
Produced by David Grubin Productions in association with PBS Docstar and Devillier Donegan Enterprises (2000)

To Destiny
Episode I recounts the story of Napoleon’s extraordinary rise from Corsican obscurity to the victories in Italy that made him a hero to the French people and convinced him that he was destined for greatness. It also tells of his love for Josephine Beauharnais, a woman of extravagant habits and tastes, who did not at first return his passionate affection.

Mastering Luck
Episode II charts Napoleon’s ascent to absolute power, from victorious General to first Consul to Emperor of France. It describes his extraordinary achievements – from the Napoleonic Code and the Bank of France, to bridges, roads, and canals – as well as the tyrannical nature of his rule and the violent opposition of most of Europe.

Summit of Greatness
Episode III witnesses Napoleon conquer most of Europe in a series of brilliant triumphs, including his legendary victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. To sustain his rule, he must keep fighting. But when he invades Spain, he has begun to reach too far.

The End
Episode IV describes Napoleon’s downfall, including the invasion and subsequent retreat from Russia, and his final battles, in which all of Europe is arrayed against him. Exiled to Elba, he returns to France after just ten months, only to be defeated for the last time at Waterloo. Napoleon spends his final days exiled on an island far out in the Atlantic, where he writes his memoirs and reinvents his legend.

The Making of Napoleon
Behind the Scenes of the series. Interviews and comments of the production team.

http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Napoleon_(PBS_Empires)

 

Medici Godfathers of the Renaissance – PBS Empires

From a small Italian community in 15th century Florence, the Medici family would rise to rule Europe in many ways. Using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, they would amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They would also ignite the most important cultural and artisitic revolution in Western history- the European Renaissance. But the forces of change the Medici helped unleash would one day topple their ordered world.

The Birth of a Dynasty
Europe, 1400: A continent torn apart by war and plague is dominated by the authority of the Catholic Church.
In the towns and cities live merchants and entrepreneurs who sense that their world is changing. With increasing trade and wealth an appetite for enlightenment develops.

No longer neglected in the shadows of the Church, classical philosophy, poetry, art and sculpture begin to reach a new audience. This is especially true in cosmopolitan cities like Florence, home of Cosimo de’Medici.

The Magnificient Medici
Florence, August 1466: Lorenzo de’Medici, the 17-year-old heir to the dynasty, foils a murderous plot against his father and saves his family from a coup d’etat. The Medici still dominate Florence, but now take extra precautions, picking a useful bride for Lorenzo. Clarice Orsini, a baron’s daughter and cardinal’s niece, brings connections, class, and military muscle to the Medici dynasty.
In the workshops of Florence, business has never been better. Under Medici patronage, artists like Sandro Botticelli go on to redefine the Renaisssance itself. For now, Botticelli’s “Adoration of the Magi” confirms his position at the heart of Medici power.

The Medici Popes
Florence, 1501: 26-year-old Michelangelo carves a giant masterpiece which will come to symbolize his struggle against a family he once adored. Raised from a young age alongside the Medici heirs he watched as they were cast into exile with a price on their heads. Now they are searching for a path back to power.

Power VS. Truth
Florence, 1537: Alessandro de’Medici the Duke of Florence, lies murdered in his bed.

His cousin is plucked from obscurity to lead Florence. He is just 17. His rivals think he’s a puppet, but despite his youth, Cosimo de’Medici, the new Duke of Florence, is ambitious.

http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=The_Medici_-_Godfathers_of_the_Renaissance

http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/

Madiba, the Life and Times of Nelson Mandela

Synopsis:
Mandela personifies struggle. He continues to speak out against global injustice with the extraordinary vigour and resilience of a man who spent nearly three decades of his life behind bars. He has sacrificed his private and family life for his people, and remains South Africa’s best known and most beloved hero. But there is much myth around Mandela. His real story is, in many ways, more compelling than the romantic myth.

The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci

The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci (1971– )
“La vita di Leonardo da Vinci” (original title)

TV Series – 60 min – Biography

Director and Writer: Renato Castellani

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068854/

 

 

 

Helen of Troy – ViaSat

She is ‘the face that launched a thousand ships’; the woman blamed for the Trojan War – a conflict that caused countless deaths – but who was the real Helen of Troy?

Bettany Hughes travels across the eastern Mediterranean to disentangle myth from reality and find the truth about the most beautiful woman on earth.

Helen’s story is a dark and very human drama, interweaving pleasure and pain, sex and violence, love and hate: a tale that started with a messy love affair and ended with a bloody and disastrous conflict.

Hughes argues that many images of the mythic Helen, from Hollywood movies to romantic paintings, have got her all wrong: Helen was the original sex goddess. And the film reveals just how a pre-historic princess in Bronze Age Greece – a real Helen – would have looked.

The feature-length documentary takes in some of the most beautiful scenery of the ancient world, from the magnificent citadel at Mycenae and the spectacular shrine to Helen in Sparta, to the archaeological site in modern Turkey that will be forever linked with the war fought in Helen’s name: Troy.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-ancient-world-with-bettany-hughes/episode-guide/series-5/episode-1

http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Helen_of_Troy

Greeks – PBS Empires

It was perhaps the most spectacular flourishing of imagination and achievement in recorded history. In the Fourth and Fifth Centuries BC, the Greeks built an empire that stretched across the Mediterranean from Asia to Spain. They laid the foundations of modern science, politics, warfare and philosophy, and produced some of the most breathtaking art and architecture the world has ever seen. This series, narrated by Liam Neeson, recounts the rise, glory, demise and legacy of the empire that marked the dawn of Western civilization. The story of this astonishing civilization is told through the lives of heroes of ancient Greece. The latest advances in computer and television technology rebuild the Acropolis, recreate the Battle of Marathon and restore the grandeur of the Academy, where Socrates, Plato and Aristotle forged the foundation of Western though. The series combines dramatic storytelling, stunning imagery, new research and distinguished scholarship to render classical Greece gloriously alive.

Approx. running time: 165 min.

Series Director And Writer : Cassian Harrison Atlantic Productions in association with PBS and Devillier Donegan Enterprises (1999)

Martin Luther – PBS Empires

PBS Empires: Martin Luther (2CD, 2002)

DVDRip | English | AVI/XVID 29.970 fps 1574 Kbps | 640×352 | AC3 256 Kbps 48.0 KHz | 2 channels | 1.4 GB

Genre: Documentary

Learn how one man reluctantly took on the most powerful institution of his day and won. Martin Luther is credited with expounding a new vision of man’s relationship with God and, by extension, a redefinition of man’s relationship with authority. Filmed across Europe — from the rustic rural Germany to the opulence of the Vatican City — you’ll witness the collapse of the medieval world and the birth of the modern age.

http://avaxhome.ws/video/Format/documentary/PBS_Empires_Martin_Luther_2CD_2002.html

 

Einstein Revealed

Einstein Revealed (1996)
TV Documentary – 105 min – Documentary | Biography

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116177/

Director: Peter Jones
Writer: Thomas Levenson

A biographical study of Albert Einstein, with not only an analysis of his place in modern physics and in our understanding of the universe, but an analysis (through his and his wife’s letters) of Einstein as a person. Never comfortable with human inter-relationships, he married first for love and the spoken intent to make his wife a part of his intellectual life. But responsibilites of family life and a child overcame him. Work in theoretical physics moved his wife and son to a secondary role, and a later love affair with his cousin completed the estrangement. Part of the film is taken from archival material, part is a recreation with Einstein’s thoughts presented by an actor. Animations explain basics of his theory of relativity, mass-energy equivalence, and the nature of light. Written by Bruce Cameron <dumarest@midcoast.com>

 

 

Darwin – BBC

Published in 1859, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution rocked the academic world. Today, his legacy is due to become more controversial than ever, as biology moves to replace physics as the supreme science of the next century.

1) Life
In the first of two installments, this film examines the life of Charles Darwin, tracing the development of his big idea – evolution – and examining the paradox of the conventional man who developed one of the most revolutionary ideas in science.

2) Legacy
Film exploring the changing impact of the ideas of Charles Darwin, revealing how different political thinkers have seized on Darwinism to justify their proposed models for society. Before Darwin, Victorians believed that God created and placed all species on Earth and gave man dominion over animals. But Darwin’s radical ideas challenged the status quo and have since influenced radically different models for society.

http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Darwin