Ludwig II of Bavaria, more commonly known by his nicknames the Swan King or the Dream King, is a legendary figure – the handsome boy-king, loved by his people, betrayed by his cabinet and found dead in tragic and mysterious circumstances. He spent his life in pursuit of the ideal of beauty, an ideal that found expression in three of the most extraordinary, ornate architectural schemes imaginable – the castle of Neuschwanstein and the palaces of Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. Today, these three buildings are among Germany’s biggest tourist attractions. Dan Cruickshank explores the rich aesthetic of Ludwig II – from the mock-medievalism of Neuschwanstein, the iconic fairytale castle that became the inspiration for the one in Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, to the rich Baroque splendour of Herrenchiemsee, Ludwig’s answer to Versailles. Dan argues that Ludwig’s castles are more than flamboyant kitsch and are, in fact, the key to unravelling the eternal enigma of Ludwig II.

The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented, as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city.

Long a dream, the quest for immortality has shifted from the metaphysical to the technical and the scientific. With cryonics technology improving, human cloning, mind uploading and digital brain simulation, and reversing the aging of cells feasible, immortality may seem right around the corner.

An extraordinary journey deep into space offering fresh insight into the origins and evolution of the universe.

Man and microbe, from Polio to COVID19… a never more relevant forensic examination of the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and its consequences. What happens when an ancient wisdom – a mother’s intuition – is pitted against powerful interests in a race against time?

In 2003, British glam rockers The Darkness took the world by storm with their smash hit single “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”. Then at the height of their fame, the band split up and fell into obscurity. 20 years on from their platinum-selling debut, Justin Hawkins, his brother Dan, eccentric bassist Frankie Poullain, and new drummer Rufus Taylor tell their story.

Documents the closure of Rhythm House, Mumbai’s oldest music and video store, that went out of business last year due to piracy.

JUMP is a psychological drama revealing for the first time the extraordinary circumstances behind the unjust murder trial of the young Jew, Philippe Halsman, who would later become the most sought after celebrity portrait photographer of his generation.

A documentary chronicling the filmmaking career of Dennis Hopper.

An insight into the turbulent relationship between Princess Diana and her formidable stepmother Raine Spencer.

The locals of Waterloo, Sydney, stand their ground and fight back as property developers and politicians try to take over the suburb.

Billy Connolly was, in the 1970s, a sort of Scottish Lenny Bruce, who, with devastating humour, sliced through the hypocrisies he perceived. This 1976 documentary follows the singer-comic during his 1975 Irish tour. Made in a cinema verité fashion, the performer appears to be completely unaware of the presence of the camera in his off-stage and backstage moments.