Sign of The Lion

Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler: the “old lion” against the "German eagle". The “bear of Downing Street” versus “der Wolf.” Two radically contradictory personalities whose enmity represented the 20th century as the “age of extremes.” On one side is Winston Churchill, one of the most revered men of the century. His humor, style, self-deprecation and audacity in the face of adversity is still regarded as a prime example of leadership and political courage. He is one of the most popular political leaders of all time. On the other side is Adolf Hitler, certainly the most hated leader in contemporary history.

Documented in television documentaries for over 40 years by the BBC and other broadcasters around the world, the Marsh Pride is the most filmed pride of lions on Earth. The Marsh Pride battle for survival in Kenya's famous Maasai Mara Reserve, which has become a magnet for tourists, many of them keen to see the pride for themselves. A tale of shifting loyalties, bloody takeovers and sheer resilience, the lions’ story is told by those who filmed them, tried to protect them and lived alongside them, as well as some who ultimately wanted them dead.

"Only the Songhay hunters, a hereditary caste, are entitled to kill lions. The herdsmen are permitted only to throw stones at lions to chase them away. The Peul consider that the lion is necessary for the herd, and they are capable of identifying individual lions by the tracks they leave. But when a lion kills too many cattle, it has to be eliminated, because such a lion is a killer." (J. Rouch). From 1957 to 1964, Rouch observed the Gao hunters from the Yatakala region and the film recounts episodes of the hunt in which technology and magic are intimately entwined: making bows and arrows, preparing the poison, tracking the animals, the death ritual.

Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.

This DVD includes unique footage plundered by Russian Troops in 1945 compiled from German newsreels made under the influence of Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda.

In South Africa a unique wildlife reserve was established around Lionsrock with the aim of returning lions to the land of their ancestors. Most are from Europe, from rundown zoos or circuses, removed to dubious holding pens like the dilapidated Pantera big cats' asylum in the Netherlands. From here a rescued lion family are sedated and air-freighted to a perfect savanna landscape, where for the first time they can be released, free, into their natural environment.

The British Museum is home to some of the world's finest and broadest collections, ranging from prehistoric times to the present and from ancient and modern cultures around the globe. A series of six DVD's, dealing with six well-known (and perhaps slightly less well-known) masterpieces of the museum. These DVD's provide interesting background information on the history, manufacture, interpretation and discovery of the objects.