For 200 years, the United States Congress has been one of the country’s most important and least understood institutions. In this elegant, thoughtful and often touching portrait, Ken Burns explores the history and promise of this unique American institution. Using historical photographs and newsreels, evocative live footage and interviews with David Broder, Alistair Cooke, Cokie Roberts, Charles McDowell and others, the award-winning film chronicles the personalities, events and issues that have animated the first 200 years of Congress and, in turn, our country.
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Thousands of terracotta warriors guarded the first Chinese emperor’s tomb. This is their story, told through archeological evidence and reenactments.
Musician Itzhak Perlman talks about family history and mastery of the violin.
In 1959, an unconfined partial meltdown of a sodium reactor at the Santa Susana Field Lab caused such a devastating radiation leak, that many consider it to be the worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history. What intensifies the situation, is that it’s located just 30 miles from Downtown Los Angeles. For twenty years, this nuclear meltdown was concealed from the public eye; the resulting contamination never to be fully eradicated. Years of
subsequent investigations have uncovered a number of catastrophic accidents that occurred on the site as well as decades of improper handling of radioactive materials, including the practice of open air burn pits that spread clouds of radioactive waste across the surrounding valley. SSFL is now believed to be one of the most contaminated sites in the world.
This documentary looks at the surge in political violence through the story of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, showing the roots of anti-government sentiment and its reverberations today, along with the emotionally charged warnings of those who suffered tragic losses in the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history.
‘Family Instinct’ is a film about incest – an illegal act, social taboo and a violation of religious norms. Zanda is a 28-year-old woman, worn out by hard work. Surrounded by poverty and despair, she is trying to survive with her two children in a god-forsaken Latvian village. Her hardships can be traced back to living in a relationship with her brother Valdis. When Valdis is put in jail, the local community forces her to make a difficult choice: to stay with him or with her children. Despite her ill fortune, she manages to express her love for the children, still hoping to save her family. The film offers a tragicomic but highly authentic insight into the bleak reality of Latvian countryside today.
Follows renowned cave explorer Bill Stone as he and his team push the boundaries of what has ever been done before as they attempt one of the greatest achievements of modern exploration — to set a new world record by venturing into the bottom of what is thought to be the deepest cave in the world.
Elena, a young Brazilian woman, travels to New York with the same dream as her mother, to become a movie actress. She leaves behind her childhood spent in hiding during the years of the military dictatorship. She also leaves Petra, her seven year old sister. Two decades later, Petra also becomes an actress and goes to New York in search of Elena. She only has a few clues about her: home movies, newspaper clippings, a diary and letters. At any moment Petra hopes to find Elena walking in the streets in a silk blouse. Gradually, the features of the two sisters are confused; we no longer know one from the other. When Petra finally finds Elena in an unexpected place, she has to learn to let her go.
A Victorian cemetery turns into a vampire-hunting ground in 1970s London after visitors report bodies rising from graves, strange bite marks and sightings of a tall, dark figure with red eyes. Even more chilling, anyone who dares to investigate is cursed.
An unemployed American worker, a Tea Party activist, and a Chinese solar entrepreneur. But who wins and who loses the battle for power in the 21st century? Through interwoven character dramas spanning the U.S. and China, Catching the Sun explores the global economic race to lead the clean energy future.
In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.
Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.
Resilience, strength, conflict and finding inner peace.
