Best Extensive Movies & TV Shows

The War that Made America is a PBS miniseries about the French and Indian War, which was first aired in two parts on January 18 & 25, 2006. The series features extensive reenactments of historical events, with on-screen narration provided by Canadian actor Graham Greene. Much of the story focuses on George Washington, connecting his role in the war with the later American Revolution. Pontiac's Rebellion, which followed the French and Indian War, is also covered in the series. The series was filmed in June, July, and August 2004 in and around the Western Pennsylvania region where many events actually took place during the war.

We follow the Newman-Haas (Andretti) racing team through the process of building, testing, and racing for a season. This includes extensive race speed on-track footage, including some pre-race footage with a full squad of cars. From time to time, we check in with a small shop building/restoring one of the first roadsters Mario Andretti raced; the finale includes him taking it for a spin.

A four-part undercover investigation by Al Jazeera into Israel’s covert influence campaign in the United States. To get unprecedented access to the Israel lobby’s inner workings, undercover reporter “Tony” posed as a pro-Israel volunteer in Washington. The resulting film exposes the efforts of Israel and its lobbyists to spy on, smear and intimidate US citizens who support Palestinian human rights, especially BDS – the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. It shows that Israel’s semi-covert black-ops government agency, the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, is operating this effort in collusion with an extensive network of US-based organizations.

In each one-hour episode, Tamron Hall is joined by a core team of correspondents with extensive knowledge of law enforcement and a passion for storytelling. Series goes beyond the headlines to explore not only what happened, but why it happened, and how it was investigated.

Documentary exploring Elton John's childhood, apprenticeship in the British music business, sudden stardom in the US at the dawn of the 70s and his musical heyday. Plus the backstory to the album reuniting him with Leon Russell, his American mentor. Features extensive exclusive interviews with Elton, plus colleagues and collaborators including Bernie Taupin, Leon Russell and others.

Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson is a 1993 film made by acclaimed American documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Though Tyson was in jail serving a sentence for rape, Kopple used existing interviews with the boxer, as well as her own extensive interviews with those closest to Tyson, to explore the man's history. The film traces Tyson's story from his troubled and tumultuous upbringing, through his rapid ascendancy in the ranks of the boxing world and his subsequent struggle with the trappings of fame. Fallen Champ earned Barbara Kopple a Directors Guild of America award as Best Documentary Director of 1993.

Todd McFarlane's Spawn is an animated television series which aired on HBO from 1997 through 1999. It is also released on DVD as a film series. It is based on the Spawn comic series from Image Comics, and was nominated for and won an Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Animation Program. An unrelated series titled Spawn: The Animation is in production since 2009, with Keith David reprising his role as the titular character. Like the comic book, the series features graphic violence, sexual scenes, and extensive use of profanity. Todd McFarlane's Spawn was ranked 5th on IGN's list of The Greatest Comic Book Cartoons Of All Time.

Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.

The Germanic, Britannic and other barbarian tribal wars with Rome ultimately led to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. This series is centered on the campaigns and battles with the barbarian tribes and extensive examinations of the reigns of little known Roman emperors and generals.

A film that exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.

Ed Kemper, also known as the Co-Ed Killer, murdered and dismembered 10 people, including his own mother. Former FBI agent John Douglas takes us through his extensive interviews with Kemper, which became the backbone of modern criminal psychology.

Robyn McCall, an enigmatic former CIA operative with a mysterious background, uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.

Hotel Impossible is a reality television program from Travel Channel in which struggling hotels receive an extensive makeover by veteran hotel operator Anthony Melchiorri and his team. The show premiered on April 9, 2012.

In April 2013, chaos erupted in Boston near the finish line of one of the world's oldest and most prestigious marathons. It was the worst terrorist attack on the United States since 9/11 and led to one of the most extensive and public manhunts in American history. Now, as the one-year anniversary approaches, National Geographic Channel presents a special two-hour event, Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers.

A thoughtful portrait of a renowned artist, this documentary shines the spotlight on New York City painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. Featuring extensive interviews conducted by Basquiat's friend, filmmaker Tamra Davis, the production reveals how he dealt with being a black artist in a predominantly white field. The film also explores Basquiat's rise in the art world, which led to a close relationship with Andy Warhol, and looks at how the young painter coped with acclaim, scrutiny and fame.

After a career-ending accident, former NFL recruit Ian Hunter is back on campus, and he's putting his extensive skills with women to work as one of the masterminds behind a successful and secretive dating service. But when Blake Olson requests the services of Wingmen, Inc., Ian may have landed his most hopeless client yet. As Blake begins the transformation from hot mess to smokin' hot, Ian realizes he's in danger of breaking his cardinal rule....

The life of Jimmy Savile, a man who, for decades, became one of the UK’s most influential celebrities, but in death has become one of the most reviled figures of modern history following revelations of extensive and horrific abuse.

This is a documentary about an honest search for the truth about the Federal Reserve Bank and the legality of the Internal Revenue System. Through extensive interviews with recognised experts and authority, the director shows an astonishing revelation of how the Federal Government and the Bankers have fooled the American public by taking thier wages and putting it in the pockets of the super-rich.

In 1987, to capitalize on his growing success in Europe, Prince toured extensively to promote the album of the same name and sales increased accordingly. However, the United States remained resistant to his latest album, and sales began to drop; it was at this point that Prince decided to film a live concert promoting the new material, for eventual distribution to theaters in America. Featuring the band that accompanied Prince on his 1987 Sign o' the Times Tour, including dancer Cat Glover, keyboardist Boni Boyer, bassist Levi Seacer, Jr., guitarist Miko Weaver, drummer Sheila E. and former member of The Revolution keyboardist Dr. Fink, the film sees the group perform live on stage (although "U Got the Look" is represented by its promotional music video).

Through extensive archive and expert interviews this series explores the stories behind mankind's greatest engineering disasters.

Track the main events of World War II with the help of remarkable archive footage and see exactly what happened, and when. Learn about Pearl Harbor, The Battle of Britain, D-Day, the dropping of the atomic bomb and more. From the early battles right through to the complexities of the endgame, this extensive 24 episode series shines a spotlight on a period of history that should never be forgotten.

Dian Fossey's life story from childhood and her early days researching in Congo, through to her arrival in Rwanda, where she spent 18 years studying and protecting the mountain gorilla population. Through extensive and rarely seen archival footage, dozens of Fossey’s letters, interviews with friends and colleagues, and narration by Sigourney Weaver, the event series explores Fossey’s murder and the investigation and trial of her research student Wayne McGuire, who was found guilty in absentia of her murder by the Rwandan courts.

This documentary serves as the complete and definitive father and son story of two men who were raised in the mob and became the reigning king and heir apparent with John Gotti Jr. providing his most extensive on-camera interview to-date.

The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.

New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots.

John Cassellis is the toughest TV news reporter around. After extensively reporting about violence and racial tensions in poor communities, he discovers that his network is helping the FBI by granting them access to his footage to find suspects.

Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts is a feature-length documentary that takes an in depth look at the life, career and mind of the British comic book writer Warren Ellis. The film combines extensive interviews with Ellis with insights from his colleagues and friends, as well as ambient visual re-creations of his prose and comics work.

A look at Fellini's creative process. In extensive interviews, Fellini talks a bit about his background and then discusses how he works and how he creates. Several actors, a producer, a writer, and a production manager talk about working with Fellini. Archive footage of Fellini and others on the set plus clips from his films provide commentary and illustration for the points interviewees make. Fellini is fully in charge; actors call themselves puppets. He dismisses improvisation and calls for "availability." His sets and his films create images that look like reality but are not; we see the differences and the results.

When Lou Simms starts her internship at Fountain Pictures she seems like a naïve Hollywood newcomer, awestruck by the studio’s notorious CEO, Joyce Holt. In truth, Lou has done extensive research on Joyce and landing this internship was no happy accident. As Lou’s obsession grows, she will do anything to get close to her idol.

Julian Assange. Bradley Manning. Collateral murder. Cablegate. WikiLeaks. These people and terms have exploded into public consciousness by fundamentally changing the way democratic societies deal with privacy, secrecy, and the right to information, perhaps for generations to come. We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks is an extensive examination of all things related to WikiLeaks and the larger global debate over access to information.

In 1985, against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Brian Jackson enrolls in the University of Bristol, a scholarship boy from seaside Essex with a love of knowledge for its own sake and a childhood spent watching University Challenge, a college quiz show. At Bristol he tries out for the Challenge team and falls under the spell of Alice, a lovely blond with an extensive sexual past.

Featuring extensive interviews with the cast and crew, this all-access documentary gives a rare glimpse into the daunting behind-the-scenes efforts that went into the production of the HBO Original smash hit series The Last of Us.

British Melodrama and crime thriller that follows a group of jewel robbers after a major heist. The film makes extensive use of bombed out areas of London.

In July 2017, an experienced outdoor enthusiast vanished in Northern Nevada while on an outdoor excursion. After an extensive search, he was never located. On the three-year anniversary of his disappearance, friends and loved ones recall the events leading up to his vanishing, and for the first time, speak about the horrifying conclusion of his fate.

Toby is a teenager who doesn't care much about school. In fact, he has his eyes on the title of a prestigious dog-sleigh race. He will have to undergo extensive training in order to win it.

This documentary is a three-part tribute to director Guru Dutt, who died in 1964 at the age of 39. The work traces Guru Dutt's personal story through many interviews with his family members and colleagues and observes his work through the use of extensive film excerpts. The documentary was produced by the British television network Channel 4 producer Nasreen Munni Kabir.

In the most ambitious dating experiment ever attempted, a group of gorgeous single women and guys are put through an extensive and scientific matchmaking process to find their Perfect Match.

Steven Rambam is a private investigator who has pursued suspects all over the world. He has conducted or coordinated foreign insurance-related probes, including those of hundreds of deaths, and a significant number have resulted in confessions, arrests and prosecutions. In "Nowhere to Hide," Rambam recounts the most dramatic cases from his extensive file -- just when criminals think they have it made, the world-renowned PI finds them and brings them to justice. Each hourlong story interweaves exclusive undercover surveillance clips with the exotic adventures, before concluding with the captures.

After 200 years under lock and key, all the personal papers of one of our most important monarchs are for the first time seeing the light of day. In the first documentary to gain extensive access to the Royal Archives, Robert Hardman sheds fascinating new light on George III, Britain's longest reigning king. George III may be chiefly remembered for his madness, but these private documents reveal a monarch who was a political micromanager and a restless patron of science and the arts, an obsessive traveller who never left southern England yet toured the world in his mind and a man who was driven (sometimes to distraction) by his sense of duty to his family and his country. Featuring Simon Callow and Sian Thomas as the voices of King George and Queen Charlotte.

"I Am Steve McQueen" tells the incredible life story of this legendary actor, racer, and cultural icon. Extensive interviews, movie clips, archival footage and sound bites chronicle his extraordinary career while focusing on the correlation between his on-screen and off-screen experiences. Narrated by Robert Downey Jr.

An intense relationship drama that takes the form of a mystery, The Event centers around a series of unexplained deaths that occur among the gay community in New York's fashionable Chelsea district. Nick, a district attorney investigating the most recent case, a suspicious apparent suicide, and her interviews with friends and family of the deceased trigger extensive and intricately interwoven flashbacks that reveal surprising facts about the man's life and death.

Jane Goodale has everything going for her. She's a producer on a popular daytime talk show, and is in a hot romance with the show's dashing executive producer Ray. But when the relationship goes terribly awry, Jane begins an extensive study of the male animal, including her womanizing roommate Eddie. Jane puts her studies and romantic misadventure to use as a pseudonymous sex columnist -- and becomes a sensation.

A true crime series that takes viewers deep into some of Canada’s most infamous criminal cases. Using extensive archives and intimate family interviews, each week new details are revealed that go beyond the news headlines giving a voice to victims and their families, unraveling how each case was solved, and exploring lasting impacts on the community and justice system.

A crime gang leader is losing her sight, so while her lover goes into hiding, she checks in to the hospital for extensive surgery to recover her eyesight. There she is treated by a handsome young doctor. As expected not only does the doctor successfully open her eyes, he also opens her heart for him.

Gay detective Donald Strachey is commissioned to protect gay activist John Rutka, who is known for "outing" prominent citizens. Strachey abandons bodyguard duty when he feels that Rutka is staging the threats against himself. When Rutka turns up dead, Strachey is faced with an extensive list of enemies all with enough motive to kill.

During the course of an ordinary week in Hollywood, movie producer Ben must navigate his way through shark-infested waters as he struggles to complete his latest projects. A demanding studio boss demands extensive changes to a movie starring Sean Penn, while another chief won't greenlight a project unless star Bruce Willis shaves his beard. Meanwhile, Ben tries to reconcile with his wife and maintain a relationship with his young daughter.

The series begins with history teacher Nima Zande-Karimi (Siamak Ansari) realizing that his extensive research on Persian and world history is of little use to financing his day-to-day life. He is about to leave Tehran for good to go back to his hometown by the name of Darab, when he comes across young university student Roya Atabaki (Sahar Jafari-Jozani) who is researching for her final year dissertation, which is regarding the period 1198–1203, that is said to be a period of turmoil for Iran's ruling elite. Such turmoil that, very few books are available on that period for Roya's research. It is then that Nima receives an anonymous telephone call, which leads him to Niavaran Palace (currently a museum), where he is told to have a coffee and wait. The coffee (which is bitter) is ready and he duly drinks it, his sight becomes hazy, and when he manages to refocus he is in the year 1201 (1822 AD), and the story develops therein.

When a state trooper is gunned down on a New Jersey highway, his friend and colleague sets out to track down the killers. Realizing the murder is connected to an extensive underground terrorist ring, he joins forces with the FBI on a massive five-state hunt. Based on a true story.

Using soundtracks and extensive footage from many old movies, this spoof/homage of 1950's science-fiction films brings back many favorite actors from these classic movies, some reprising their former roles, to help destroy a giant stop-motion monster that is threatening to destroy Los Angeles.

It took the terrorists on Flight 93 two years to plan their attack. It took the 40 strangers aboard 30 minutes to defeat it. On September 11, 2001, passengers aboard United Flight 93 – one of four planes hijacked by terrorists that day and the only one to be diverted from its intended target – faced the unthinkable and inspired a nation. This is the story of their courage as told through unparalleled access to actual voice recordings, the personal accounts of family and friends, and extensive research into the events on board. Follow the account of their "first strike back at terrorism" and learn how these complete strangers – united by adversity – came together to thwart the terrorists' plans.