Versailles, construction d'un rêve impossible (2018)

Land of Celtic Ghosts

A collection of Irish legends and sightings, featuring eerie ruins of castles. A moody film, very well narrated by Richard Basehart. Rich in folklore and timeless legends, Ireland possesses a history of supernatural phenomena and in fact, may be the most haunted country in the world. This documentary traces the ghostly paths of the spirits that have roamed the Emerald Isle since the beginning of man. Filmed entirely on locations in Ireland, including the city of Dublin and at many other ghostly places such as Killakee House, St. Michan’s Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Carrickmines, Howth Castle, Malahide Castle, Aillwee Cave (Ballyvaughan), Cliffs of Moher, Kilfenora Cathedral, Glenfesk, Muckross Abbey, Kildemock Church, Castlegregory and many more.

Versailles' Dirty Secrets

The chateau of Versailles is believed to have been a dirty palace: a place where everyone tossed the contents of their chamber pots from the windows above… Yet during the chateau’s construction, Louis XIV had given thought to commodities, and several public latrines were built as well as a very modern water system. So where did this bad reputation come from?

Chambord: The Castle, the King and the Architect

Chambord, the most impressive castle in the Loire Valley, in France, a truly Renaissance treasure, has always been an enigma to generations of historians. Why did King Francis I (1494-1547), who commissioned it, embark on this epic project in the heart of the marshlands in 1519? What significance did he want the castle to have? What role did his friend, Italian genius Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) play? Was he the architect or who was?

Bienvenido Mr. Heston

Spain, 1961. Life in the small village of Torrelobatón, in the province of Valladolid, was turned upside down when the cinematic magic circus of a future Hollywood blockbuster, produced by Samuel Bronston, the rogue mogul of his own film empire, came to town: its inhabitants became participants and witnesses of the shooting of “El Cid,” a film directed by Anthony Mann, starring mythical actors Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. Those days, legends came alive.

Marie-Antoinette, la véritable histoire

Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria and a very young girl, marries King Louis-Auguste, Dauphine of France. This historical drama tells the tragic tale of a young woman who, in the beginning started out with task, that ended with great sadness and sorrow.

Versailles Rediscovered: The Sun King's Vanished Palace

Based on the latest technological and scientific advances, this documentary explores the palace's architectural past to resurrect Louis XIV's vanished Versailles. Versailles was an ongoing building site at the time of Louis XIV and continued to be transformed by its successive occupants later on. The Versailles we know today only vaguely resembles the Versailles of the Sun King. Most of its original features and apartments no longer exist. Thanks to the digitisation of thousands of plans, a team of scientists takes us back in time to explore this forgotten past in a new way, through a large-scale reconstruction project to bring back the Versailles of Louis XIV as he designed it, according to his requirements and dreams.

A86 : Le Défi d'un tunnel à double étage

The Duplex A86 is a 10 kilometer underground highway buried more than 90 meters deep. This concrete tube, measuring the equivalent of more than 30 lying Eiffel towers, is the longest tunnel in France. The result of a succession of technical prowess born from the imagination of visionary engineers, the Duplex A86 allows you to cross all of western Paris in a few minutes.

The Real Versailles

As BBC Two premieres its lavish new drama set in the sumptuous surroundings of Versailles, Lucy Worsley and Helen Castor tell the real-life stories behind one of the world's grandest buildings. They reveal the colourful world of sex, drama and intrigue that Louis XIV and his courtiers inhabited. Lucy untangles Louis's complex world of court etiquette, fashion and feasting, while Helen delves into the archives and unpicks the Machiavellian world of court politics that Louis created. We meet the people behind the on-screen characters and discover what drove Louis to glorify his reign on a scale unmatched by any previous monarch, examine the tension between Louis and his brother Philippe, a battle hero and overt homosexual, and they meet the coterie of women who competed for Louis's attention. We see that Louis was ruthless in his pursuit of glory and succeeded in defeating his enemies. In his record-breaking 72-year reign, France became renowned for its culture and sophistication.

Versailles, une révolution au jardin

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The Glorious Story of Castles

The Glorious Story of Castles Carriers of myths and legends, castles strongly mark our imaginations, appearing most often as the pivot of a dark and barbaric period. Reality is different. They are full of mystery and grandeur, emblematic abstractions of the Middle Ages, they testify to medieval civilization.

Amazing Engineering: Knights Templar Castles

Looks at the engineering of the Knights Templar, the religious order that marked the rise of the Middle Ages, and their amazing buildings in the west of Europe.

André Le Nôtre, le jardinier de Louis XIV

André Le Notre is certainly the most famous French gardener. He was also a designer, architect, engineer, landscaper and urban planner. He worked for Louis XIV from 1645 to 1700 and designed the gardens of Versailles, Vaux le Vicomte, Chantilly and Fontainebleau, as well as the Tuileries in Paris.

Chambord: The Leonardo Da Vinci Mystery

A building lost in the midst of a 5 000 hectare park, that's the equivalent of the surface of Paris, Chambord is the castle of all superlatives. Having required nearly 220,000 tonnes of stone to build, the Chateau de Chambord, in the Loir-et-Cher department, is an architectural gem. 156 metres of facade, it has more than 70 staircases, 282 fireplaces and 426 rooms. The castle commissioned by Francis 1st in the 16th century is also the most mysterious. The majestic monument has its share of mysteries: identity of its architect, influence of the Florentine painter Leonardo da Vinci in its design, location in the middle of marshes in the heart of the forest and even longevity because it has survived through time without being damaged since the beginning of its construction in September 1519.

Touring Royal Castles & Stately Homes of England

Explore the treasures and histories of eight of England's most splendid homes on your own private tour.

The Fairytale Castles of King Ludwig II

Ludwig II of Bavaria, more commonly known by his nicknames the Swan King or the Dream King, is a legendary figure - the handsome boy-king, loved by his people, betrayed by his cabinet and found dead in tragic and mysterious circumstances. He spent his life in pursuit of the ideal of beauty, an ideal that found expression in three of the most extraordinary, ornate architectural schemes imaginable - the castle of Neuschwanstein and the palaces of Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. Today, these three buildings are among Germany's biggest tourist attractions. Dan Cruickshank explores the rich aesthetic of Ludwig II - from the mock-medievalism of Neuschwanstein, the iconic fairytale castle that became the inspiration for the one in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, to the rich Baroque splendour of Herrenchiemsee, Ludwig's answer to Versailles. Dan argues that Ludwig's castles are more than flamboyant kitsch and are, in fact, the key to unravelling the eternal enigma of Ludwig II.

The Life of a Castle

A documentary showing the proceedings around a French castle, turned luxury hotel, over a year.

Conway - River of a Thousand Moods

Take a scenic trip through 1920s North Wales to the sea.

Tudors From Above

For over 100 years the Tudor dynasty ruled over England, and in that time they changed the face of the country. Featuring stunning aerial photography, this fascinating documentary gives us a unique vantage point to understand how this family imposed itself onto the very fabric of the land with battlefields, ruined monasteries, powerful castles and the beautiful symmetry of the era’s grand houses and palaces. Swooping above the landscapes and buildings behind some of Britain’s best-known events – places where Sir Francis Drake, Henry VIII, Shakespeare and Elizabeth I once walked – this beautifully shot programme explores history from a whole new angle.

The Pit and the Pendulum

In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.

Dementia 13

A widow deceives her late husband's mother and brothers into thinking he's still alive when she attends the yearly memorial to his drowned sister, hoping to secure his inheritance, but her cunning is no match for the demented, axe-wielding thing roaming the grounds of the family's Irish estate.

Count Yorga, Vampire

Sixties couples Michael and Donna and Paul and Erica become involved with the intense Count Yorga at a Los Angeles séance, the Count having latterly been involved with Erica's just-dead mother. After taking the Count home, Paul and Erica are waylayed, and next day a listless Erica is diagnosed by their doctor as having lost a lot of blood. When she is later found feasting on the family cat the doctor becomes convinced vampirism is at work, and that its focus is Count Yorga and his large isolated house.

Castle of Blood

When a cynical journalist accepts a wager that he won't survive the night in a haunted castle, it unlocks an odyssey of sexual torment, undead vengeance, and a dark seductress who surrenders the gravest of pleasures.

The Castle of the Living Dead

Count Drago invites over entertainers to his castle, but what the people don't know is that Drago mummifies animals and humans!

Castle Freak

John Reilly discovers that his family's newly inherited castle in Italy is haunted by a relentless bloodthirsty creature.

Elvira's Haunted Hills

The setting is Carpathia. The year is 1851. When Elvira gets kicked out of an Inn for a slight monetary discrepancy, she is rescued by a local who takes her to stay at the castle in the hills high above the village. The fact that she happens to resemble the count's former "missing" wife opens a can of worms or two.

Ronja Rövardotter

Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.

Brideshead Revisited

Artist Charles Ryder runs into aristocrat Julia Flyte and recalls his friendship with her eccentric family prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Based on the classic British novel by Evelyn Waugh.

The Last Duel

King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel.

Tomb of Torture

A woman is tormented by dreams that she is the reincarnation of a dead countess. Her father, trying to get her to stop the dreams, takes her to a village near the castle of the late countess. In the village she meets a reporter who is investigating reports of the deaths of two young women who it is believed were killed by a creature that lives in the castle.

The Sealed Room

The Count sets out to make a private room for him and his Countess, built in such a way no one can see, hear, and most importantly, disturb them. But unbeknownst to the Count, his wife has set her eyes on the court minstrel. Based on Edgar Allan Poe's “The Cask of Amontillado” and Honoré de Balzac's “La Grande Breteche”.

The Adventurers

The world's top thieves join forces to pull off the heist of a lifetime. But when they find themselves pursued across Europe by a legendary French detective, they'll have to take their game to the next level.

Bloody Pit of Horror

A photographer and his models go to an old, abandoned castle for a photo shoot. Unbeknownst to them, the castle is inhabited by a lunatic who believes himself to be the reincarnated spirit of a 17th-century executioner whose job it is to protect the castle against intruders.

Dracula's Daughter

A countess from Transylvania seeks a psychiatrist’s help to cure her vampiric cravings.

Black Angel

A knight returns home from the Crusades to find his village devastated by disease and his family gone. He roams the forest searching for them, until he finds a mysterious maiden who is being held prisoner by a black knight. In order to free her, he must confront her captor.

The Ninth Configuration

Army psychiatrist Colonel Kane is posted to a secluded gothic castle housing a military asylum. With a reserved calm, he indulges the inmates' delusions, allowing them free rein to express their fantasies.

The Lion in Winter

Henry II and his estranged queen battle over the choice of an heir.

I Capture the Castle

A love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle. Based on Dodie Smith's 1948 novel with the same name.

The Dark Crystal

On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.

Sleeping Beauty

Cursed to die by the evil fairy Maleficent when she was a baby, Princess Aurora is sent into hiding under protection from three good fairies. As she grows up far away, Maleficent becomes increasingly determined to seal the princess's fate.

The Tattoo

An art dealer wants to buy a Modigliani, which is tattooed on the back of an old soldier.

Zanni

A period drama set between Scotland and Italy.

Just Married

Although Tom Leezak and Sarah McNerney come from different worlds, they are both unexpectedly swept off their feet after their first meeting. They quickly fall in love and plan to get married, despite opposition from Sarah's uptight, rich family. After their wedding, the happy couple sets off - with the highest of hopes and ideals about love and marriage - on what they expect will be the perfect honeymoon in Italy. Thanks to a relentless string of bad luck with one disaster after another, and an impromptu visit from Sarah's wealthy one-time ex-lover Peter Prentiss, the newlyweds experience the honeymoon from hell that tests the limits of their young love. Is it worth throwing away their love and marriage?

Labyrinth

When Sarah is forced to babysit her half-brother Toby, she inadvertently summons the Goblin King and he whisks Toby away to his castle at the centre of a labyrinth. Sarah enters into a bargain with the Goblin King where she is given just thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth and rescue Toby, or else lose him forever.

Shrek

It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.

Willow

The evil Queen Bavmorda hunts the newborn princess Elora Danan, a child prophesied to bring about her downfall. When the royal infant is found by Willow, a timid farmer and aspiring sorcerer, he's entrusted with delivering her from evil.

The Dirty Dozen

12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of violent crimes, agree to the mission and the possible commuting of their sentences.

Metamorphosis

In the Seventeenth Century, while Hungary is fighting the Turks, the population of a small village in...

Castle in the Sky

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Ironclad 2: Battle for Blood

A survivor of the Great Siege of Rochester Castle fights to save his clan from from Celtic raiders. A sequel to the 2011 film, "Ironclad."

Fantomas vs. Scotland Yard

In the third and final episode of the trilogy, Fantômas imposes a head tax on the rich, threatening to kill those who do not comply.

Marie Antoinette

The retelling of France’s iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, after inheriting a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo, must leave his home in order to keep it from falling into the hands of its evil creator. Along the way, a fellowship is formed to protect the ringbearer and make sure that the ring arrives at its final destination: Mt. Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring--but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers--Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron's fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor. Frodo and Sam are trekking to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power while Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn search for the orc-captured Merry and Pippin. All along, nefarious wizard Saruman awaits the Fellowship members at the Orthanc Tower in Isengard.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

As armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men. Yet, the sole hope for triumph over evil lies with a brave hobbit, Frodo, who, accompanied by his loyal friend Sam and the hideous, wretched Gollum, ventures deep into the very dark heart of Mordor on his seemingly impossible quest to destroy the Ring of Power.​

A Mad Idea

A series of stupid coincidences causes the young Munich painter Paul to convert his uncle's castle into a hotel for four weeks. But he can't complain: business is good and he has plenty of guests. For exmple, there's Theo Muller with his revue troupe. For reasons of "sound", Muller calls himself "Miller", which, of course, causes more confusion. His daughter, the beautiful Evelyn, is confused with Mabel Miller, who has come to the hotel on a mission for her filthy rich father ... namely, to estimate the worth of the castle.