The Two of us

The Sinking of the Laconia is a two-part TV film, first aired on 6 and 7 January 2011 on BBC Two, about the Laconia incident; the sinking of the former British ocean liner RMS Laconia during World War II by a German U-boat, which then, together with three other U-boats and an Italian submarine, rescued the passengers but was in turn attacked by an American bomber.

The eastern edge of Scotland - a coastline of great drama, variety and historic resonance. From the towering sandstone cliffs of Orkney and Caithness, down past the fishertowns of the Moray Firth, the long beaches of Kincardine, Angus and Fife, the seascape around Edinburgh all the way to the City of Berwick-on-Tweed, once part of Scotland and now the most northerly outpost of England.

Ross Kemp and his BAFTA-winning documentary team experience life on the front line, providing an unprecedented insight into the heat of a war zone in this landmark five-part documentary.

Keisuke Kinoshita’s Twenty-Four Eyes (Nijushi no hitomi) is an elegant, emotional chronicle of a teacher’s unwavering commitment to her students, her profession, and her sense of morality. Set in a remote, rural island community and spanning decades of Japanese history, from 1928 through World War II and beyond, Kinoshita’s film takes a simultaneously sober and sentimental look at the epic themes of aging, war, and death, all from the lovingly intimate perspective of Hisako Oshi (Hideko Takamine), as she watches her pupils grow and deal with life’s harsh realities. Though little known in the United States, Twenty-Four Eyes is one of Japan’s most popular and enduring classics.

Life on Us is a two-part documentary series commissioned by SBS. The series explores the world of the human body, and gives us an up close and personal look at the parasites, bacteria and viruses that call our bodies ‘home’ (whether you care to admit it or not and whether you like it or not). Very up close and personal, including a few seconds of footage of a real birth to explain how we ended up covered in microbes in the first place. These microbes have shaped our evolution and changed the course of human history. All of these microscopic residents determine our health, our life expectancy, our physique and even our behavior.

Life on Us is a two-part documentary series commissioned by SBS. The series explores the world of the human body, and gives us an up close and personal look at the parasites, bacteria and viruses that call our bodies ‘home’ (whether you care to admit it or not and whether you like it or not). Very up close and personal, including a few seconds of footage of a real birth to explain how we ended up covered in microbes in the first place. These microbes have shaped our evolution and changed the course of human history. All of these microscopic residents determine our health, our life expectancy, our physique and even our behavior.

The War of the World is a major new history of the 20th century by acclaimed and controversial historian Professor Niall Ferguson, described by The Times as the “most brilliant British historian of his generation”. We think we know the last century well, but our view of it was skewed by the fact that we were living through it.

This is the true story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch). Freshly graduated from college with a promising future ahead, McCandless instead walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way transformed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people – a fearless risk-taker who wrestled with the precarious balance between man and nature.

Based on the successful play by writer Peter Nichols (Georgy Girl, The National Health), the focus of this dark comedy-drama is the struggle of a British couple to cope with the day-to-day strain of caring for their ten-year-old disabled daughter, Jo. Critically acclaimed actor Alan Bates is tremendous as the father, who recounts the outlines of the couple's life before and since Jo's birth and diagnosis with cerebral palsy in comic asides, which lighten, but never diminish, the delicate handling of this difficult subject matter. As they confront the collapse of their marriage, the couple debates the alternatives for their daughter.

From popular revolt to the obsession with the self, even to modern nationalism, Simon Schama explores the enduring and powerful legacy the romantics have left on our modern world.