Understanding Weather: Why Weather Changes(1992)

L.A. Story(en)

With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a "wacky weatherman" tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early-90s Los Angeles.

The Perfect Storm(en)

In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail.

Snow Day(en)

When an entire town in upstate New York is closed down by an unexpected snowfall, a "snow day" begins when a group of elementary school kids, led by Natalie Brandston, try to ensure that the schools stay closed by stopping a mechanical snowplow driver by trying to hijack his plow truck. Meanwhile, Natalie's big brother Hal is using this day to try to win the affections of Claire Bonner, the most popular girl in his high school, while Hal and Natalie's father Tom, a TV meteorologist, faces off against a rival meteorologist for weather coverage of the day's events.

Space/Time(en)

After a fatal test shuts down their project, a disgraced team of scientists enters the criminal underworld to rebuild a forbidden space-bending engine that could rescue humanity or annihilate it entirely.

The Search for Snow(fr)

In the northern hemisphere, snow is produced by atmospheric low pressure areas that move in from the western Atlantic in the form of huge cloud masses. Snow is vital to the balance of mountain ecosystems. Many animal and plant species at high altitudes depend on it for their survival. But due to global warming, snow is falling less and less. Will there be no more snow in the future? In the Alps and eastern US the situation is clear: as temperatures rise, snow falls less and less, and snow periods tend to shorten. This threatens the mountain flora and fauna. What future do the marmots or alpine bells have without a heat-insulating layer of snow? What future do the marmots or alpine bells have without a heat-insulating layer of snow? What will happen to the conifers in North America without the annual frost protection? Research teams are looking at the implications for snow-adapted species. The documentation shows animal mountain dwellers, who hope for the long-awaited snow every winter.

Identity(en)

Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.

Microcosmos(fr)

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

Lucky Numbers(en)

Russ Richards is a TV weatherman and local celebrity on the verge of losing his shirt. Desperate to escape financial ruin, he schemes with Crystal the TV station's lotto ball girl to rig the state lottery drawing. The numbers come up right, but everything else goes wrong as the plan starts to unravel and the game turns rough.

Cold Skin(en)

A young man who arrives at a remote island finds himself trapped in a battle for his life.

Bread. Gene(ru)

Each grain crop - wheat, rye, rice and corn - has been "creating" a special type of person for centuries. For example, rye formed the Slavic culture, wheat influenced the inhabitants of almost all of Central Europe and a significant part of Asia, corn formed the inhabitants from Mexico to Nicaragua, and rice - representatives of Japan, India and China. Today, genetic engineers are trying to create the bread of the future. It is likely that after some time we will have three-dimensional food printers in our kitchens that will be able to "print" buns, loaves or confectionery. However, scientists are convinced that only part of the components for the "printer" will be chemical, and the rest of the components will continue to be grown on earth. At the same time, some researchers believe that genetic engineering may turn out to be a "Pandora's box", while others are sure that they can no longer do without it.

Our Mr. Sun(en)

One entry in a series of films produced to make science accessible to the masses—especially children—this film describes the sun in scientific but entertaining terms.

Deep Impact(en)

A seven-mile-wide space rock is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to obliterate the planet. Now, it's up to the president of the United States to save the world. He appoints a tough-as-nails veteran astronaut to lead a joint American-Russian crew into space to destroy the comet before impact. Meanwhile, an enterprising reporter uses her smarts to uncover the scoop of the century.

CircleSpeak(en)

Shot in Southern England over the course of six weeks by a crew of three American filmmakers, CircleSpeak offers a nuanced look at the passions and beliefs of the people immersed in the crop circle phenomenon during the season of 2001. This feature-length documentary presents interviews with serious “researchers”, self-proclaimed “hoaxers”, local farmers and villagers who are all, in one way or another, involved in this strange and compelling summer spectacle taking place year after year.

Root of All Evil?(en)

In this two-part Channel 4 series, Professor Richard Dawkins challenges what he describes as 'a process of non-thinking called faith'. He describes his astonishment that, at the start of the 21st century, religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth. Science, based on scepticism, investigation and evidence, must continuously test its own concepts and claims. Faith, by definition, defies evidence: it is untested and unshakeable, and is therefore in direct contradiction with science. In addition, though religions preach morality, peace and hope, in fact, says Dawkins, they bring intolerance, violence and destruction. The growth of extreme fundamentalism in so many religions across the world not only endangers humanity but, he argues, is in conflict with the trend over thousands of years of history for humanity to progress to become more enlightened and more tolerant.

Éclipse 73(fr)

The Hurricane Heist(en)

Thieves attempt a massive heist against the U.S. Treasury as a Category 5 hurricane approaches one of its Mint facilities.

The 11th Hour(en)

A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse

The Rainbowmaker(ka)

Datho (Merab Ninidze) has been innocent in prison for many years. When he comes home nobody wants him. His angelic wife Elene (Anna Antonowicz) has fun with a fire-eater. The two children imagined the father as a hero, not as a sorrowful knight. But everything changes when Datho can freeze his enemies in the bathtub or he calls for rain so that they remain stuck in the mud.

Stormchasers(en)

Track monsoons, hurricanes, blizzards, and tornadoes. Take a journey around the planet to experience our most extreme storms and to witness the dramatic--and often perilous--efforts of scientists in the pursuit of understanding weather.Join meteorologists in the cockpit of a P-3 weather plane as they penetrate the eye of a hurricane; and in the tense, decisive moments on the road as they focus their radar on an approaching tornado, traveling to the heart of severe storms to learn what makes weather systems tick. Experience the bumpy ride into the sudden and spectacular calm of a hurricane’s eye, or the commando-like raid to the very brink of a killer tornado, and experience one of the elemental joys of doing science: that of confronting nature head-on to divine its awesome secrets.

Between Two Waves(en)

After her mother’s death, Cass Milligan returns home for the first time in years, only to find the house isn’t done with her. She’s convinced it’s haunted. Her twin brother thinks she’s unraveling. As buried memories surface, they must uncover the truth before the past swallows her whole.