April is about to burst into bloom with longer days, daffodils . . . and documentaries! In the coming month, MagellanTV will stream dozens of new releases straight to your favorite devices, so get ready to dive in.
Here are some highlights, along with a complete list of debuts:
The continent of Africa fires the imagination with epic natural spectacles and vistas of staggering beauty. And, you might say, it’s also truly and deeply wild at heart.
In 12 riveting episodes, Wildest Africa treats viewers to a virtual safari all around Africa, bringing into focus a broad spectrum of fascinating and entertaining wildlife. From the tiny but industrious ant to the mighty lion, no creature is too small or large to capture our attention.
For lovers of nature documentaries, Wildest Africa is not to be missed.
For millions of viewers, Bob Ross was their beloved personal guide to the simple pleasures of applying paint to canvas. For them, his show, The Joy of Painting, which was broadcast on public television stations in the U.S., Canada, and around the world for more than a decade, was must-see TV.
But how did this apparently gentle soul ascend from U.S. Air Force master sergeant to global fame as ‘the Fred Rogers of painting’?
Bob Ross: The Happy Painter reveals the public and private sides of its subject through loving accounts from close friends and family, childhood photographs, and rare archival footage. Famous Bob Ross enthusiasts, including talk-show pioneer Phil Donahue, film stars Jane Seymour and Terrence Howard, chef Duff Goldman and country music favorites Brad Paisley and Jerrod Niemann, provide fascinating insights into the man, the artist, and his legacy.
The Allied invasion of Normandy, on June 6, 1944, was fraught with uncertainty and peril. The war against Hitler’s Nazi regime hung in the balance, and the courageous men who crossed the English Channel that fateful day of days knew they were in for a hellacious fight. Many did not survive.
To create this memorable documentary, the filmmakers brought together a group of American D-Day veterans to share their experiences of that terrifying day. As they vividly recall details of their ordeal – from the perils of the amphibious assault to the invasion’s gruesome aftermath – their testimony yields long-buried and often painful memories.
Though these survivors may be reluctant to accept the accolade, we have no hesitation in applying it: They are heroes.
It’s called the “Overview Effect,” that feeling of awe and clarity that many astronauts report when describing the experience of gazing down at planet Earth from space. In 1961, when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to orbit our home world, he returned with a message to us all: “People of the world, let us safeguard and enhance this beauty, and not destroy it.”
Over the past 60 years, crews of astronauts and cosmonauts who have traveled into space have expressed similar feelings of reverence for our planet. Among these lucky groups of intrepid space travelers was a crew of the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour. Oasis Earth is an account of their thrilling mission 233 kilometers above our beloved planet – their message is truly memorable and inspiring.