Building the Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel linking Britain with France is one of the seven wonders of the modern world but what did it take to build the longest undersea tunnel ever constructed? We hear from the men and women, who built this engineering marvel. Massive tunnel boring machines gnawed their way through rock and chalk, digging not one tunnel but three; two rail tunnels and a service tunnel. This was a project that would be privately financed; not a penny of public money would be spent on the tunnel. Business would have to put up all the money and take all the risks. This was also a project that was blighted by flood, fire, tragic loss of life and financial bust ups. Today, it stands as an engineering triumph and a testament to what can be achieved when two nations, Britain and France put aside their historic differences and work together.

Holiday

Lively holiday in Blackpool, with jazz accompaniment.

The Flying Scotsman: A Rail Romance

Built in 1923, the Flying Scotsman was the first steam locomotive to run at 100 miles an hour and to star in its own feature film. This is the untold story of the iconic Flying Scotsman-the very best in the engineering of its time.

The End of the Line

This documentary short offers a nostalgic look at the steam locomotive as it passes from reality to history. In its heyday, the big smoke-belching steam engine seemed immortal. Now, powerful and efficient diesels are pushing the old coal-burning locomotives to the sidelines, and the lonely echo of their whistles may soon be a thing of the past.

Cyrille, agriculteur, 30 ans, 20 vaches, du lait, du beurre, des dettes

Cyrille, a young gay farmer from Auvergne, has only one friend, a homosexual like him. One day, he goes on vacation to a beach in Charente Maritime. He cannot swim and sees the sea for the first time. It was there that he met the director Rodolphe Marconi who decided to devote this sensitive and gentle portrait to him, plunging us into an agricultural world in crisis and into a life often lonely and made up of hard work rarely pays off.

L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Berlin, die Symphonie der Großstadt

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Off the Rails

The remarkable true story of Darius McCollum, a man with Asperger's syndrome whose overwhelming love of transit has landed him in jail 32 times for the criminal impersonation of NYC subway drivers, conductors, token booth clerks, and track repairmen.

RER B

Alice Diop's enchanting short film, a work of transcendent transformation, shows how the rough lines of Drancy station are immortalized in watercolor by the French artist Benoît Peyrucq. A tribute to a location fraught with historical and contemporary poignancy.

Nomad Meets the City

Currently Mongolia’s capital has 1.5 million inhabitants - half the population of the country. 50-year Tumurbaatar is only one of many coming to the city to fulfil their dreams of a better life.

Inlandsbanan: De som tog tåget

A journey along the Inlandsbanan, from Mora to Gällivare, in the last summer of 1991 when the passenger traffic is to be shut down. A decision and its consequences. A film about the view of Norrland in these EC times.

Funny Up North

Documentary featuring a cavalcade of Northern comedy stars including the great Frank Randle, George Formby, Arthur Askey, Norman Evans and many more. The North of England has always enjoyed its own very particular brand of comedy, best seen today in Coronation Street. 80 years ago however Mancunian Studios produced feature films for the northern masses. Funny Up North tells the story of the Mancunian Studios, its eccentric owner John E Blakeley and its cavalcade of stars including such household names as Arthur Askey, Jimmy Jewell, George Formby and the legendary Frank Randle. Hosted by Professor Chris Lee, the authority on northern cinema, Funny Up North takes you on a journey from its humble beginnings to its sad demise in the 1960s.

A Life on the Farm

A strange story from Somerset, England about a filmmaking farmer and the inspiring legacy of his long-lost home movies.

The Friendship Train

This short film details the history of the 'Friendship Train', created, following the end of World War II, to travel across the United States to collect food for war ravaged countries in Europe.

Tickets s.v.p

An incident from the early days of Québec's quiet revolution, tailor-made for the cartoonist. It is the story of a Montréal commuter train, a unilingual ticket collector and a bilingual passenger. The passenger appears on screen himself to describe his bid to have tickets requested in French as well as in English. What ensued, and how even the railway president became involved, is illustrated with wit and humor.

Rocky Mountain Express

A history of the nation's first transcontinental railway accompanies a steam-train ride through the Canadian Rockies.

Kolem republiky

Osudová Strela

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: The World's Most Exotic Vacation Resorts

It’s sun, sea and sand celebrity style from exotic cities to fantasy islands. Come join in the fun with the jewels of the jet-set on a celebrity voyage of discovery. All your favorite stars at their most secret, romantic hideaways. A world where the Rich and Famous™ find time to relax. With Deborah Shelton in the timeless beauty of Thailand; Andie MacDowell on the South Pacific fantasy island of Fiji; Leann Hunley in exotic Bali; Tracy Scoggins cruising the French Polynesian Islands; Teri Copley in sun-splashed Barbados; and Elke Sommer in the exclusive Las Hadas in Manzanillo, Mexico. There’s a first class ticket waiting for you now at the Lifestyles reservation desk. Come fly with me and share it all in an unforgettable journey. With champagne wishes and caviar dreams from your friend and guide, Robin Leach.

First Ascent / Last Ascent

Best friends Hazel Findlay and Maddy Cope journey to the rocky outer reaches of Mongolia, on a quixotic search for new trad routes.