Welcome to Operation Reality’s documentary section. Here you will find all sorts of full length online streaming documentaries for your viewing pleasure. A broad range of subject categories is available and we will continue to do our best to continually add to the selection as our editors come across poignant and interesting new content. Feel free to contact us or drop us a comment if you have content you would like to see included. Please note portions of this section of the website still remain WIP. So remember to bookmark this page and check back often for updates. Also make sure to ...
National Geographic presents the first accurate non-stop voyage from Earth to the edge of the Universe using a single, unbroken shot through the use of spectacular CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) technology. Building on images taken from the Hubble telescope, Journey to the Edge of the Universe explores the science and history behind the distant celestial bodies in the solar system. This spectacular, epic voyage across the cosmos, takes us from the Earth, past the Moon and our neighboring planets, out of our Solar System, to the nearest stars, nebulae and galaxies and beyond - right to the edge of the Universe ...
In the mid-80′s two young climbers attempted to reach the summit of Siula Grande in Peru; a feat that had previously been attempted but never achieved. With an extra man looking after base camp, Simon and Joe set off to scale the mount in one long push over several days. The peak is reached, however on the descent Joe falls and breaks his leg. Despite what it means, the two continue with Simon letting Joe out on a rope for 300 meters, then descending to join him and so on. However when Joe goes out over an overhang with no ...
Episode 1: Girlfriend for sale - Thailand Acclaimed documentary film-maker Monica Garnsey investigates the parts of the world where prostitution has become a mainstream career choice for young women. In Venezuela, where men travel over for the ‘real girlfriend experience’, and in parts of north-east Thailand, where it has replaced rice as the driver of the local economy and women sets their sights on marrying a rich westerner.
Uncover the story of the invention and history of photography. Uncover the story of the invention of photography and the way in which it became an integral part of the modern world, including the remarkable achievements of the pioneer photographers, the revolution that took place when George Eastman made photography available to the masses with the invention of the Kodak brand. “Being in the right place at the right time”, “the decisive moment”, “getting in close” – in the popular imagination this is photography at its best, a medium that makes us eyewitnesses to the moments when history is made.
History Channel’s “That’s Imposible” program points the artificial intelligence’s potential and shows today’s technology by examples of stronger, emotionless, faster, incessant killing machines. The episode includes Darpa’s projects and also civilian Japanese robots. The ultimate goal is autonomous robots that can decide on their own, and it is closer than we think. Not to forget that the most of the technology is still highly classified and only select aspects are disclosed in this program.
BBC Documentary looking at the wildlife of the most stunning mountain range in the world, home to snow leopards, Himalayan wolves and Tibetan bears.
Snow leopards stalk their prey among the highest peaks. Concealed by snowfall, the chase is watched by golden eagles circling above. On the harsh plains of the Tibetan plateau live extraordinary bears and square-faced foxes hunting small rodents to survive. In the alpine forests, dancing pheasants have even influenced rival border guards in their ritualistic displays. Valleys carved by glacial waters lead to hillsides covered by paddy fields containing the lifeline to the East, rice. In this world of extremes, the Himalayas reveal not only snow-capped mountains and fascinating animals but also a vital lifeline for humanity.
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We have an extraordinary relationship with dogs – closer than with any other animal on the planet. But what makes the bond between us so special?
Research into dogs is gaining momentum, and scientists are investigating them like never before. From the latest fossil evidence, to the sequencing of the canine genome, to cognitive experiments, dogs are fast turning into the new chimps as a window into understanding ourselves.
Where does this relationship come from? In Siberia, a unique breeding experiment reveals the astonishing secret of how dogs evolved from wolves. Swedish scientists demonstrate how the human/dog bond is controlled by a powerful hormone also responsible for bonding mothers to their babies.
Why are dogs so good at reading our emotions? Horizon meets Betsy, reputedly the world’s most intelligent dog, and compares her incredible abilities to those of children. Man’s best friend has recently gone one step further – helping us identify genes responsible for causing human diseases.
CNBC Original, Maria Bartiromo takes viewers Inside The Mind of Google for a rare look at the world’s most powerful technology company and its crown jewel, the Google Internet search engine. This is the fascinating story of how two grad students, in barely a decade, took a one-time research project and turned it into a global technology powerhouse…changing the way we interact with information, the Internet, and each other. See how Google came to dominate the search industry and turn it into a profit machine… and see where it’s taking its next step… and how the company plans to address arguably the biggest controversy in today’s digital age: privacy.
Read the rest of Inside the Mind of Google »
Sprawling over 11 time zones and two continents from Europe to the Pacific, and beyond the magnificent cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, this huge country contains a wealth of unspoilt natural wilderness.
Through unprecedented access we showcase the spectacle that is Wild Russia. From east to west, via mountains, volcanoes, deserts, lakes and Arctic ice, this breathtaking six-part series uses stunning cinematography to chart the dazzling natural wonders of this vast country.
Read the rest of Wild Russia – National Geographic »
We might think humans are the most powerful living thing on Earth, but it’s plants that time and again have set the agenda for life. All animals rely on plants for their survival. This is not an accident – they are the most powerful evolutionary force on Earth. Plants enabled amphibians to leave the water, they had a hand in the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, and they ensured the ultimate triumph of insects, mammals, birds and even us – all for their own benefit. Because plants have only ever had one goal – the total domination of the planet. It is a story of ruthless ingenuity, seduction and deception; of unimaginable power and ambition. An epic tale, How to Grow a Planet offers a stunning new perspective on Earth history.
BBC This World tells the inside story of the 2011 massacre in Norway, offering new insights into the life and mind of the perpetrator Anders Breivik, and exposing the hidden hatreds that inspired him. Through interviews with key players, including the Norwegian prime minister, survivors, the commander of the police response and the head of the Delta Force team that arrested Breivik, and including unique footage and unseen archive, the film pieces together, minute by minute, the course of the attacks and the response of the security services.
Read the rest of Norway’s Massacre »
Off the coast of San Francisco, an unexpected killing challenged the great white shark’s supremacy as the ultimate predator when one became prey to a killer whale. Whale-watchers witnessed a stunning act of nature as a killer whale rose to the water’s surface with a great white in its mouth and held it there for 15 minutes. Even more amazing, biologist Peter Pyle was nearby and able to get underwater footage of two whales feeding on the shark. They ate the liver and then departed the scene, leaving the rest to the birds. The incident raised questions, such as how did the killer whale take the huge shark without a struggle? And why did they only eat the liver?
Read the rest of The Whale That Ate Jaws »
Nice Guys Finish First is a documentary by Richard Dawkins which discusses selfishness and cooperation, arguing that evolution often favors co-operative behaviour, and focusing especially on the tit for tat strategy of the prisoner’s dilemma game. The film was produced by Jeremy Taylor. The twelfth chapter in Dawkins’ book The Selfish Gene (added in the second edition, 1989) is also named Nice Guys Finish First and explores similar material.
Richard Dawkins responds very precisely to what he views as a misrepresentation of his first book The Selfish Gene. In particular the response of the right wing for using it as justification for social darwinism and laissez-faire economics (free-market capitalism). Richard Dawkins has examined this issue throughout his whole career and focused much of the recent documentary, The Genius of Charles Darwin on this very issue.
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In 2001 scientists announced an amazing discovery: the oldest skull of a human ancestor ever found. The 3,5 million year old fossil was remarkably complete, and unlike any previous fossil find. Its discovery – by a team led by Meave Leakey of the famous Leakey fossil-hunting family – has revolutionised our understanding of how humans evolved.
The great mystery of our evolution is how an ape could have evolved into the extraordinary creature that is a human being. There has never been another animal like us on the planet. And yet ten million years ago there was no sign that humans would take over the world. Instead the Earth was dominated by the apes. More than 50 different species of ape roamed the world – ten million years ago Earth really was the planet of the apes. Three million years later, most had vanished. In their place came something clearly related to the apes, but also completely different: human beings!
Leading statesmen, generals, terrorists and others who made the headlines in one of history’s most bitter and enduring struggles tell the story of the Arab-Israeli conflict in The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs. Opening with the U.N decision to partition Palestine in 1947, the program charts the ensuing half-century of enmity, warfare, mediation and negotiation.
Among the current and former heads of state and prime ministers interviewed or featured in the series are Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir of Israel; King Hussein of Jordan; Yasir Arafat of the Palestine Authority; Hafez al-Assad of Syria; Jafaar Numeiry of Sudan; and U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Jimmy Carter. Also appearing are foreign ministers, defense ministers, commanders in the field, heads of intelligence and guerrilla leaders, as well as high-ranking officials in the United States and the former Soviet Union.
In 1989, two Melbourne teenage hackers known as Electron and Phoenix stole a restricted computer security list and used it to break into some of the world’s most classified and supposedly secure computer systems. So fast and widespread was the attack, no-one could work out how it had happened – until one of the hackers called The New York Times to brag.
Ten years after their arrest, this dramatised documentary uncovers not only how they did it but why. It takes us headlong into the clandestine, risky but intoxicating world of the computer underground.
Read the rest of In the Realm of the Hackers »
