Documentary / Biography - DVD

South African filmmaker, John "JV" Varty, has spent some forty years photographing and working with big cats. His efforts were instrumental in helping Londolozi Game Reserve become one of the world's premiere spots to view wild leopards. As the 21st Century began, Varty turned...

At Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, building the world's longest water roller-coaster-the Wildebeest-is like assembling an enormous, 3-D jigsaw puzzle. For host Sean Riley, this is one wild ride. The Wildebeest is fitted with special magnetic motors that enable the giant coaster carts...

More than three times the height of Niagara Falls, much of Vietnam's Mountain River Cave has remained untouched by humans. With exclusive footage, National Geographic reveals, for the first time in history, astounding evidence that this could be the largest cave in the world....

National Geographic reconstructs the attack on the nation's capital moment by moment entirely through home video; fire, rescue, and police footage; and news coverage. Footage from the Pentagon crash site taken shortly after impact captures a raw view of the devastating aftermath. Cameras throughout...

Hurricane Katrina may well be the most exhaustively chronicled natural disaster in history. Over the course of 72 hours, a cataclysmic storm became a catastrophic flood, which in turn became an apocalyptic human tragedy. All the while, amateur videographers, news crews, government agencies, tourists,...

With the brutal extremes of winter looming, naturalist Casey Anderson says good-bye to his grizzly bear companion Brutus, and treks deep into Yellowstone's backcountry to experience the park like most visitors never will. Casey braves severe cold, snowstorms and dangerous animal encounters as he...

For the first time ever, an international investigation team joins forces to unravel the mysteries of the Malleus Maleficarum, or Hammer of Witches. Written in 1486, this infamous medieval manual changed the way the Western world saw evil. With detailed instructions on how to...

Reclaim a piece of the past with talented artisans, collectors, and dreamers who restore masterpieces of a bygone era. You will fly the skies in a WWI bi-plane, drive in the glamorous Duesenberg automobile, ride a turn-of-the-century carousel, sail aboard a magnificent tall ship,...

During excavation for the deepest submerged tunnel in the world, engineers in Istanbul uncovered a hidden past: a preserved ancient harbor. It is the biggest maritime discovery in history, and to date, more than 30 shipwrecks from the Byzantine era have been recovered. With...

The giant saltwater crocodile, the "saltie," is perhaps the most successful predator the world has ever seen. It has survived unchanged for 100 million years. National Geographic uncovers the secrets of this ultimate predator, which has the most powerful jaws since T-rex, the most...

Equipped with three-inch long canines and retractable claws like switchblades, big cats are among the fiercest and most fascinating beasts on the planet capable of taking down fleet footed antelope or two ton elephants. National Geographic crawls through African grasslands and swamps of India...

Thunderbeast is a stunning insiders view of one of our country's most impressive wild creatures the American buffalo. Working over a period of eight years, Emmy-award-winning wildlife filmmaker Bob Landis documented the real dramas of bison in Yellowstone National Park. From epic battles with...

When the mutilated remains of a young child were pulled from the River Thames on September 21, 2001, one of the most complex, bizarre and high profile murder investigations in criminal history began. All that remained of the tiny boy was a torso. His...

In an extraordinary discovery that made front page headlines around the world, scientists uncovered evidence of a race of "hobbit-sized" prehistoric species on a remote Indonesian island. A full-grown adult would have been as tall as an average four-year old child today. Researchers believe...

Called by one philosopher "the noblest beast God ever made," dogs have served humankind in more ways than any other animal. You'll see loyal canines at work as they search for buried victims of an earthquake disaster, assist the physically disabled, and pull sleds...

The Dead Sea Scrolls are widely considered to be one of the greatest archaeological finds in modern history. More than a half century after their discovery, scientists are still trying to solve the mystery of who wrote them. With special access to the scrolls,...

A 16-year-long civil war that began in 1977 ravaged Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, wiping out nearly 95 percent of the elephant population. Today, peace has been restored, but the surviving elephants still carry the emotional scars of war and must relearn how to trust...

Using ancient records and recent finds, National Geographic reveals the lives of the men behind the Roman military machine that carved out and protected an empire.

Wild Case Files unravels the wildest of wild mysteries, from exploding toads to drunken moose, to red rain and alien squid invasions. Episodes include Montauk Monster, Texas Monster Web, Exploding Toads, Blood Red Rain, Alien Squid Invasion, and Bird Eating Catfish.

What if an extra-terrestrial force attacked Earth? What might that look like and how will the people of Earth respond? Consulting a cast of world-renowned scientists, survival experts and defense experts, National Geographic explores this frightening scenario. Experts reveal what could motivate alien invaders...

It's wild, unpredictable and all in a day's work. National Geographic goes behind the scenes at the Houston Zoo to see the inner workings that visitors don't see. Episodes include Special Delivery, Operation Ocelot, and Urban Jungle.

Some hundred million years ago, crocodiles were the ruling T. rexes of the waters. They galloped on land, ambushed prey at the river's edge even terrorized dinosaurs. These swift predators evolved through the ages into the modern crocs we know today. Now, armed with...

The hunted...they slip across borders in search of prey, boldly striking without fear. The hunters... an elite force of specially-trained soldiers with orders of shoot-to-kill. Now, watch the story of one of today's most compelling dramas...the life and death struggles to save Africa's endangered...

It's thirty below zero in the Canadian wilderness, your long underwear is frozen stiff on the line, and you're about to relive one of the greatest adventures in North American history. Join four courageous young men on their 1,800-mile, eight-month trek to retrace the...

They're wild... unleashed... and ready for primetime animals captured on tape in rare, unique and often spontaneous situations. With natural habitats shrinking and camera use expanding, it's not surprising that nature and technology have collided to produce some of the most compelling videos ever...

In the harsh northern reaches of Canada's Ellesmere Island, elusive arctic wolves share their secrets with two patient observers. Shielded by their remote location and inhospitable climate, these wild animals have not yet learned to fear humans. This is the most intimate film about...

Imagine walking amid molten lava, deadly gases, and 2,000-degree heat on an active volcano. For more than 20 years, Maurice and Katia Krafft have traveled the world pursuing just such adventure. From Iceland to Hawaii, from Africa to Indonesia, these combination volcanologists/filmmakers are usually...

On Christmas Day 2007, a 243-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped from her open-air enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and mauled three young men. Before long, one 17-year-old boy and the 4-year-old tigress lay dead. The incident was the first time a visitor...

Where and when the next mega disaster will strike ---- volcanic eruption, earthquake, tsunami or hurricane ---- is the focus of Violent Earth. Join tsunami scientist Jose Borrero of the University of Southern California on his trip to visit Banda Aceh with a National...

This gritty, hard-hitting series offers drug addicts the chance to get clean by putting them through medical and psychological testing, and revealing the devastating effects that their drug use has had on both their minds and bodies.

From the firing on Fort Sumter to the iconic battlefields of Manassas/Bull Run and Gettysburg, the mecca of reenacting, find out how far they're willing to go to relive history. Travel back in time with them to document how the Civil War was lived,...

It's a megajob with megachallenges. Yankee Stadium home to the New York Yankees for more than 80 years, and host to 37 World Series is about to be demolished. And there's no room for error when working within feet of a subway system that...

Behind each thrilling film scene there is always a cameraman - unseen by viewers and often exposed to mortal danger. Cameramen Who Dared will take you behind the lens with the incredible documentary filmmakers who will risk their lives to get the perfect shot....

What will Earth look like in 250 million years? With a team of scientists, National Geographic investigates the dynamic process of Colliding Continents, by examining the forces deep below the Earth's surface that are constantly reshaping our world. These powerful forces rip vast land...

What do we really know about the lost city of Atlantis and what happened on the day it died? Legend tells us that the golden civilization became so corrupt and depraved that it was destroyed by the angry gods, but did the city ever...

Project Kodiak is a multipart look at North America's mightiest carnivores, featuring naturalist Casey Anderson and his grizzly bear companion Brutus. Trek to Alaska's Kodiak Island, where Casey gets knee-deep in grizzly life in order to teach Brutus the ways of his wild relatives....

In 1622, the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha sank off the coast of Florida. In her hold, she carried 40 tons of gold and silver and some 70 pounds of emerald contraband. For more than 300 years, men have died trying to find...

National Geographic explores how life for kangaroos in Australian suburbs compares to life in the country. Kicking and hopping its way to domination in some of the toughest terrain in the world, human confrontations, competition with livestock, and traffic hazards are affecting both kangaroo...

With the 2008 Summer Olympics only months away, get an early look at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. Seating 91,000 people and daringly designed with 42,000 tons of steel woven in the shape of a bird's nest, it's one of the most ambitious construction projects...

Stalk the Arctic ice with the fiercest predator, the polar bear, as it prowls one of the most forbidding places on the planet: a hidden kingdom of magnificent creatures. Armed with a keen sense of smell and backed up by 1,700 pounds, fur and...

Plunge into one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the American Civil War as National Geographic goes in search of the truth about the ill-fated Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley. Discover the desperate ingenuity behind the creation of the first submarine ever to sink an...

The tropical rain forests of the world are home to nearly half the animal species on earth an estimated five million different life forms. More than 100 inches of rainfall each year sustain this lush environment, where some of the most fascinating examples of...

In a mere three or four decades, the seeds of a global religion spread across the Roman Empire. In an age with no Internet, no mass media, no planes, trains or fossil fuel, how did it happen? National Geographic investigates the mysterious decades following...

Vladimir Putin, after eight years as President of Russia and four more as Prime Minister, is stubbornly holding onto power. He has announced his intention to return as President and declared his party the winner in parliamentary elections that are widely seen as fraudulent....

Diamonds: to the consumer they symbolize wealth, glamour and undying love. To the diamond hunter, the dealer, and the thief, they represent the potential to make a fortune. National Geographic takes an in-depth look at these international symbols of wealth and their connection to...

National Geographic visits unearthed Roman theaters, medieval streets, and secret tunnels, bringing new light to Florence's lesser-known, dark history. Art detective and National Geographic Fellow Maurizio Seracini reveals history using a thermocamera to reveal long-lost architectural layers in some of the city's most famous...

Tireless worker, exceptional parent, and highly skilled builder, the beaver has earned its reputation as nature's great architect and engineer. For the beaver, dam building is an instinctive and irresistible reaction to the sound of rushing water. Surrounded by the majestic wilderness of the...

Comedian Leslie Nielsen hosts a natural-history comedy about "sea nasties" and reveals that the oceans are full of creatures that sting, shock, poke, and poison. But, during this entertaining and informative look at seemingly terrifying ocean creatures, Nielsen learns that his fears of the...

More than 350 million years ago, a new creature emerged from the water the first amphibian. Today, the awesome traces of their progeny exist on virtually every continent. Join National Geographic in the search for exotic reptiles such as the Komodo dragon, giant tortoise,...

Gold's appeal and value span time and cultures, but there is a little-known secret to the story of gold. Most of the gold mined throughout history remains in circulation today -- even the gold closest to your heart may have dark origins. From the...