A definitive account of Putin's power and how it changed the modern world. The series is an exploration of how Vladimir Putin brought his knowledge of spy-craft to bear on his leadership of Russia, how his personal experiences have influenced his politics and how modern Russia has been created through an acute sense of betrayal, pride and anger. The first episode takes viewers on a journey into the mind of one of the 21st century's most influential leaders, offering a portrait of a politician who modelled himself on the Russian James Bond and whose presidency reads like a spy thriller. We will see how Putin escapes poverty by joining the KGB, his reinvention as a political fixer in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and how he gets into position to take over from President Yeltsin.
A documentary about the highs and lows of children in show business, featuring interviews and examinations of the lives and careers of the most famous former child actors in the world. The film opens with a montage spotlighting most of those people, along with others who had better luck (like Ron Howard, Jodie Foster, and Daniel Radcliffe), finally landing on a photograph of the documentary’s director, Alex Winter, who was a child actor on and off Broadway. The reality of child stardom is that an essential unreality is baked into it. That‘s why it’s so often about the wheels coming off at high speeds. Child stardom now feels like one of the last aspirations of a decadent, no-future America. And 'Showbiz Kids' is an invaluable primer of its risks and rewards.
Foo Fighters commemorate their 20th anniversary by documenting the eight-city recording odyssey that produced their latest, and eighth, studio album. Foo Fighters founder Dave Grohl directs the series, which taps into the musical heritage and cultural fabric of eight cities: Chicago, Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, Washington D.C. and New York. The band based themselves at a legendary recording studio integral to the unique history and character of each location. One song was recorded in each city, and every track features local legends. Even the lyrics were developed in an experimental, unprecedented way: Grohl held off on writing them until the last day of each session, letting himself be inspired by the experiences, interviews and personalities that became part of the process. Foo Fighters Sonic Highways is, in Grohl’s words, “a love letter to the history of American music.” Each episode delves into the identity of each city -- showing how each region shaped these musicians in their formative years and, in turn, how they impacted the cultural fabric of their hometowns. Every artist who appears in the show, regardless of genre or locale, started as an average kid with universal dreams of making music and making it big. Grohl made his feature film directorial debut in 2013 with the universally acclaimed Grammy-winning Sound City, a celebration of the human element in the creation and recording of music. Foo Fighters have won 11 Grammy Awards, including four for Best Rock Album, more than any other band. Premiering on the eve of Foo Fighters’ 20th anniversary, Foo Fighters Sonic Highways aims to “give back” to the next generation of young musicians. As guitarist and singer Buddy Guy, an interviewee from the Chicago blues scene, explains, “Everything comes from what’s come before.” In the first episode, Dave Grohl and friends discuss the rise of the famous Chicago music scene from the roots blues of Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy to the Rock and roll of Cheap Trick.
In these extraordinary times, there is one thing that can offer solace to everyone – the wonder of the natural world. In the most extreme of environments, from the hottest deserts to the freezing poles, from the highest mountains to underwater kingdoms, animals overcome adversity to survive and thrive, offering a message of hope to humanity. To raise our spirits, David Attenborough, Hans Zimmer and Dave unite for a special Natural History event – Planet Earth: A Celebration. The special one-hour programme brings together eight of the most extraordinary sequences from Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II including racer snakes vs iguana, surfing bottlenose dolphins and rare footage of the Himalayan snow leopard.
In this historical drama, the turbulent transition from Roman republic to autocratic empire, which changed world history through civil war and wars of conquest, is sketched both from the aristocratic viewpoint of Julius Caesar, his family, his adopted successor Octavian Augustus, and their political allies and adversaries, and from the politically naive viewpoint of a few ordinary Romans, notably the soldiers Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo and their families. 'The Stolen Eagle.' In Gaul in 52 B.C., two Roman soldiers, Legionary Titus Pullo and Centurion Lucius Vorenus, are tasked with recovering Julius Caesar's personal Eagle, stolen from his camp in the dead of night. With his campaign in Gaul coming to a successful conclusion, Caesar's popularity is continuing to grow. He's saddened however when he receives news from his good friend Pompey Magnus that his daughter, Pompey's wife, has died in childbirth. In the Senate, Pompey must defend the prolonged absence of his friend and co-Consul Caesar against charges of corruption.
The first episode takes viewers on a journey into the mind of one of the 21st century's most influential leaders, offering a portrait of a politician who modelled himself on the Russian James Bond and whose presidency reads like a spy thriller. We will see how Putin escapes poverty by joining the KGB, his reinvention as a political fixer in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and how he gets into position to take over from President Yeltsin.