Wright Brothers' Flying Machine documentary

On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright became the first to make a controlled and sustained flight in a power-driven, heavier-than-air craft. Though not formally trained in the field of engineering, the brothers approached the problem of flight as would any well-trained engineer. Using a thorough and systematic approach, they were able to solve three key challenges that kept all other would-be flyers aground.
First, there was the issue of lift. When the brothers found the existing data on lift inaccurate, they collected their own data, making use of a wind tunnel that they designed and built themselves. Then there was the control of an aircraft. While others saw their crafts as being inherently stable, the Wrights knew that the opposite was true; they knew that a successful aircraft would have to continually make adjustments in response to changes in wind speed and direction.
Finally, there was propulsion. Before the Wrights, there was no detailed data on propeller design. Again with the help of their wind tunnel, they developed a propeller that was far more efficient than any other then in existence. In fact, their propeller design has remained virtually unchanged to this day.
This interactive feature describes the Wrights' 1903 Flyer, including how they used the plane's controls to maneuver their craft.

Watch the full documentary now

Read more »

history,

{[['']]}

Shake The World documentary

This is a true story that occured in 1999 in Shijazhuang City of Hebei Province, China. It is a tragic story, in which Falun Gong practitioners, people who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerenace, are brutally persecuted by the Chinese Communist Regime. It is a story of compassionate deeds and noble conviction.

Shake the World reveals the initial stages of the Chinese Communist Party's brutal persecution of Falun Gong started in July 20, 1999. It tells the story of Ding Yan, a typical Falun Dafa practitioner as she takes us through the first days of the persecution of Falun Gong, the Beijing News Conference held by Falun Gong practitioners in China on October that shocked the world, and the magnificent Guangzhou Fa Conference in November 1999. Ding Yan is eventually persecuted to death at the hands of the police after suffering brutal physical and mental torture.

  Watch the full documentary now

Read more »

history,

{[['']]}

Africa Addio (Farewell Africa)Documentary

Africa Addio is an Italian documentary film made in 1966 about the end of the colonial era in Africa. The film was released under the names Africa Blood and Guts in the USA (which was only half of the entire film) and Farewell Africa in the UK

The movie documents some of the disruptions caused by decolonization, such as poaching in former animal preserves and bloody revolutions, including the Zanzibar revolution which resulted in the massacre of approximately 5000 Arabs in 1964. In most of its edited incarnations, the movie leaves out mention of similar atrocities that were committed under colonial powers.
While the film claims to dispassionately show reality, it has been criticized as biased by many viewers over the years (perhaps most notably Roger Ebert). The film was shot over a period of three years, by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, two Italian filmmakers who had gained fame a few years earlier (with co-director Paolo Cavara) as the directors of Mondo Cane in 1962

This film launched the so-called Mondo film genre, a cycle of documentaries or shockumentaries which often featured sensational topics, of which Africa Addio is arguably a part (it is included in the Mondo Cane Collection currently being distributed by Blue Underground). (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

Watch the full documentary now

Read more »

history,

{[['']]}

Documentary A War on Science

When Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution nearly 150 years ago, he shattered the dominant belief of his day – that humans were the product of divine creation. Through his observations of nature, Darwin proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection. This caused uproar. After all, if the story of creation could be doubted, so too could the existence of the creator. Ever since its proposal, this cornerstone of biology has sustained wave after wave of attack. Now some scientists fear it is facing the most formidable challenge yet: a controversial new theory called intelligent design.
In the late 1980s Phillip Johnson, a renowned lawyer and born-again Christian, began to develop a strategy to challenge Darwin. To Johnson, the evidence for natural selection was poor. He also believed that by explaining the world only through material processes was inherently atheistic. If there was a god, science would never be able to discover it.
Johnson recruited other Darwin doubters, including biochemist Professor Michael Behe, mathematician Dr William Dembski, and philosopher of science Dr Stephen Meyer. These scientists developed the theory of intelligent design (ID) which claims that certain features of the natural world are best explained as the result of an intelligent being. To him, the presence of miniature machines and digital information found in living cells are evidence of a supernatural creator. Throughout the 90s, the ID movement took to disseminating articles, books and DVDs and organising conferences all over the world.
To its supporters, intelligent design heralds a revolution in science and the movement is fast gaining political clout. Not only does it have the support of the President of the United States, it is on the verge of being introduced to science classes across the nation. However, its many critics, including Professor Richard Dawkins and Sir David Attenborough, fear that it cloaks a religious motive – to replace science with god.

Watch the full documentary now

Read more »

history,

{[['']]}