Dignitaries Coming Down Gangplank

Explorer: Lost in the Arctic

August 2023 •English

Sir John Franklin set off from England in 1845 with two ships and 129 men to be the first to navigate the Northwest Passage, a new trade route over the top of the world, when Franklin’s ships vanished without a trace. Now, a team of explorers attempts to solve the mystery by retracing Franklin’s route in search of his long-lost tomb.

Boys Scrambling For Pennies

January 1896 •English

Young boys going into the sea water by Brighton's West Pier in the UK to pick up pennies thrown in by people on the pier.

Bicycling Group

January 1896 •English

A staged film where over 100 cyclists cycle towards the camera.

Carousel

January 1896 •English

An actuallity film of a fairground carousel in action. Filmmaker unknown but it has been suggested it is R.W. Paul. The film was made on Hampstead heath, London, UK.

Darwin's Darkest Hour

October 2009 •English

In 1858 Charles Darwin struggles to publish one of the most controversial scientific theories ever conceived, while he and his wife Emma confront family tragedy.

Panoramas of War

September 2018 •French

The end of the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71) saw the birth of the panoramas of war, huge circular paintings depicting scenes of war, cruelty and desolation that were contemplated by thousands of spectators, a kind of inmersive static newsreels, a mass media prior to the era of mass media, a virtual reality on canvas.

Manufactured Landscapes

September 2006 •English

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is the striking new documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris.

Two Toddlers in High Chairs

Invalid date •English

Two toddlers sit for the camera in their best clothing. One is determined to take toys and objects from the other until the other toddler starts to cry. The BFI notes this is a copy of a film originally made by the Lumière brothers.

Le Baron et l'Empereur : Japon, la voie de la guerre

October 2023 •French

The Seafarers

October 1953 •English

Members of the American Federation of Labor, the Atlantic & Gulf Coast District of the Seafarers International Union commissioned budding filmmaker and magazine photographer Stanley Kubrick to direct this half-hour documentary. The director's first film in color, it is more of an industrial film than a documentary, it served as a promotional tool to recruit sailors to the union.

Sailing the Treasure Ship

May 2010 •English

Navigating the Indian Ocean in a reconstruction of a 1,200-year-old Arab ship, held together by 100km of rope and 127,000 hand-sewn stitches. The Jewel will sail more than five thousand kilometres across the Indian Ocean and do battle with the Monsoon – but for sailors it can spell danger and even death. It took a year to build: the Jewel of Muscat – a reconstruction of a 1200 year old Arab ship, based on an ancient shipwreck. Built from more than 18 tonnes of wood, the ship is held together entirely by 100 km of rope in over 127,000 hand-sewn stitches. Now the Jewel will sail more than five thousand kilometres across the Indian Ocean and do battle with the Monsoon – the mighty rain soaked wind that turns the arid land it touches green. But for sailors it can spell danger and even death.

Jesse James: Legend, Outlaw, Terrorist

January 2005 •English

One of the most controversial figures in U.S. history, Jesse James has captured the imagination of the world for more than a century. Teen guerilla fighter, Civil War soldier, notorious bandit, James holds a place in popular legend like no other. Through expert accounts, historic analysis and forensic science, this revealing exposé traces the outlaw's life from his humble Southern childhood through his rise to infamy and his mysterious death.

The Mountain of the Lord

March 1993 •English

Recounts the 40-year history of building the Salt Lake Temple, shown as if recounted by Wilford Woodruff to a young reporter. It portrays the pioneers' dedication to temple worship.

L’épopée des vignerons

September 2022 •French

Wisconsin Death Trip

September 1999 •English

Inspired by the book of the same name, film-maker James Marsh relays a tale of tragedy, murder and mayhem that erupted behind the respectable facade of Black River Falls, Wisconsin in the 19th century.

The Russian Revolution

June 2017 •English

Starting in 1881 this film shows the personal battle between Lenin's Ulyanov family and the royal Romanovs that eventually led to the Russian revolution.

Napoleon: Destiny and Death

April 2021 •French

May 5, 1821. Napoleon Bonaparte, deposed emperor exiled on the island of St. Helena, is about to take his last breath. The son of a Corsican family, he has been close to death on many occasions since, as a young captain in the revolutionary army, he seized Toulon from the royalists in 1793.

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God

November 1984 •English

They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers.

Jack Johnson Paying a Visit to Manchester Docks

October 1911 •English

The legendary world heavyweight boxing champion, John Arthur 'Jack' Johnson, visits Manchester.

Passage of Venus

December 1874 •French

Photo sequence of the rare transit of Venus over the face of the Sun, one of the first chronophotographic sequences. In 1873, P.J.C. Janssen, or Pierre Jules César Janssen, invented the Photographic Revolver, which captured a series of images in a row. The device, automatic, produced images in a row without human intervention, being used to serve as photographic evidence of the passage of Venus before the Sun, in 1874.