Beethoven

"A three-episode TV mini-series produced by the BBC, Beethoven is a very powerful and moving docudrama based on the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Fantastically written and beautifully directed, the series constitutes a thorough and accurate reconstruction of Beethoven's life, from his troubled childhood to his death at the age of 56. Paul Rhys's masterful portrayal of Beethoven is particularly noteworthy, doing well to convey in vivid colour the natural genius of the Great Man and the isolation, turmoil and despair he experienced throughout his eventful life. Insightful narration from the popular conductor, composer and presenter Charles Hazlewood does well to add a sophisticated educational dimension to the series, as well as to encourage a seamless and comfortable flow of the story. This is an absolute must-watch!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67pKZrxgv4Y

The Genius of Mozart

Mussolini, Hitler, Franco and... the football

"How has the Beautiful Game played into fascist ideology? BBC Four explores how the 20th century's three most prominent fascist dictators, Mussolini, Hitler and Franco, seized upon football's massive popular appeal and ruthlessly exploited it as a vehicle for propaganda.

(...) The documentary uses rare archive footage, eminent historians and trenchant contributions and testimonies from world-class players, past and present." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/fascism-and-football.shtml)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ6Dg7A_INY

Discovering Tchaikovsky

"Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky was the author of some of the most popular themes in all of classical music. He founded no school, struck out no new paths or compositional methods, and sought few innovations in his works. Yet the power and communicative sweep of his best music elevates it to classic status, even if it lacks the formal boldness and harmonic sophistication heard in the compositions of his contemporaries, Wagner and Bruckner. It was Tchaikovsky's unique melodic charm that could, whether in his Piano Concerto No. 1 or in his ballet The Nutcracker or in his tragic last symphony, make the music sound familiar on first hearing." (http://www.classicalarchives.com/composer/3448.html#tvf=tracks&tv=about)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ3LHWp4gtk

Do You Know What Time It Is?

"Particle physicist Professor Brian Cox asks, 'What time is it?' It's a simple question and it sounds like it has a simple answer. But do we really know what it is that we're asking?

Brian visits the ancient Mayan pyramids in Mexico where the Maya built temples to time. He finds out that a day is never 24 hours and meets Earth's very own Director of Time. He journeys to the beginning of time, and goes beyond within the realms of string theory, and explores the very limit of time. He discovers that we not only travel through time at the speed of light, but the experience we feel as the passing of time could be an illusion." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fyl5z)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3aYKAJEVfQ&feature=related

Jesus Camp (2006, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady)

"Imagine a place where focused, precocious kids pledge allegiance to a holy text and train as ideological warriors — even, yes, martyrs. You're imagining America — specifically, Kids on Fire, an evangelical madrassa devoted to fomenting a religiopolitical Children's Crusade. 'This world, all it feeds you is trash,' says 12-year-old Levi. 'I want the meat.'

As a documentary, Jesus Camp could lose its haunted-house score and contrapuntal Air America refrains and still deliver its message: that, here and elsewhere, fundamentalism is no longer content with a separate peace. It wants the meat." (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1542503,00.html)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOqGhcwwE1s

One in 8 Million - New York Characters in Sound and Images

Everyone has their own story. When I was a child, I used to pay attention to the lights my neighbours tourned on as the evening arrived. This made me realise, with a little bit of sadness, how many stories remain unknown.

The New York Times introduces the so-called "ordinary people", those who have extraordinary stories "of passions and problems, relationships and routines, vocations and obsessions."

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/