The Mystery of Chaco Canyon

Jan 1, 1999

0h 57m

★ 8.0

Unveils the Astronomical Brilliance of an Ancient Culture in the American Southwest

Overview

Chaco Canyon, located in northwest New Mexico, is perhaps the only site in the world constructed in an elaborate pattern that mirrors the yearly cycle of the sun and the 19-year cycle of the moon. How did an ancient civilization, with no known written language, arrange its buildings into a virtual celestial calendar, spanning an area roughly the size of Ireland?

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

Bullfrog Films

The Solstice Project

The Mystery of Chaco Canyon Trailers

Cast

Narrator (voice)

Robert Redford

Self - Council Member, Laguna Pueblo

Paul Pino

Self - Archaeologist

John Stein

Self - Archaeologist

Mike Marshall

Self - Geologist

Rich Friedman

Self - Archaeoastronomer

Anna Sofaer

Self - Geodesist, Hopi Tribe

Phil Tuwaletstiwa

Self - Archaeologist, Zuni

Edmund J. Ladd

Self - Ethnohistorian, Santa Clara Pueblo

Dave Warren

Self - Historian, Acoma Pueblo

Petuuche Gilbert

Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

0.0

Shadow Chasers

Sep 23, 2000

This feature-length documentary is a portrait of eclipse chasers, people for whom solar eclipses - among nature's more spectacular phenomena – are a veritable obsession. The film follows 4 of them as they travel incredible distances to witness the last total eclipse of the millennium as it sweeps eastward across Europe to India. At various points along the way enthusiasts Alain Cirou in France, Paul Houde in Austria, Olivier Staiger in Germany and Debasis Sarkar in India offer their impressions of the historic event.

0.0

Destination astéroïdes

Oct 24, 2022

No overview available.

6.9

Cielo

Oct 6, 2017

The first feature from Alison McAlpine is a dialogue with the heavens—in this case, the heavens above the Andes and the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, where she alights on the desert- and mountain-dwelling astronomers, fishermen, miners, and cowboys who live their lives with reverence and awe for the skies.

6.0

Venus: Death of a Planet

Aug 28, 2021

Billions of years ago, Venus may have harbored life-giving habitats similar to those on the early Earth. Today, Earth's twin is a planet knocked upside down and turned inside out. Its burned-out surface is a global fossil of volcanic destruction, shrouded in a dense, toxic atmosphere. Scientists are now unveiling daring new strategies to search for clues from a time when the planet was alive.

7.9

The True Story of Pirates

Dec 31, 2022

Thanks to new excavations in Mauritius and Madagascar, as well as archival and museum research in France, Spain, England and Canada, a group of international scholars paint a new portrait of the world of piracy in the Indian Ocean.

8.0

Oppenheimer

Jul 19, 2023

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

8.5

Peru - Sacrifices in the Kingdom of Chimor

Sep 1, 2022

In northern Peru, the unprecedented archaeological discovery of the largest known mass child sacrifice in the world opens the doors to the kingdom of Chimor. This international archaeological investigation carried out like a criminal investigation reveals the mysteries of the last civilization of the Andes before the arrival of the Incas.

8.0

From the Atoms to the Stars

Sep 29, 2017

An incredible travel through space and time between the walls of the Paris Observatory, which is celebrating its 350th birthday. Place of discoveries such as speed of light or Neptune’s existence, it is still today one of the oldest operating observatories and the greatest hub in the world for astronomy and astrophysics researches, second only to Harvard.

0.0

The Silent Pulse of the Universe

Jul 24, 2021

Part of the Almost Famous series. Jocelyn Bell was a graduate student at Cambridge in 1967 when she pushed through the skepticism from her superiors to make one of the greatest astrophysical discoveries of the twentieth century. While Jocelyn was belittled and sexually harassed by the media, the Nobel Prize was awarded to her professor and his boss.

6.5

A Life on the Farm

May 25, 2023

A strange story from Somerset, England about a filmmaking farmer and the inspiring legacy of his long-lost home movies.

7.0

Angkor et Les Mystères de L'Empire Khmer

Nov 3, 2022

No overview available.

6.7

The 13th Warrior

Aug 13, 1999

A Muslim ambassador exiled from his homeland joins a group of Vikings, initially offended by their behavior but growing to respect them. As they travel together, they learn of a legendary evil closing in and must unite to confront this formidable force.

0.0

Hacking at Leaves

Apr 6, 2024

Hacking at Leaves documents artist and hazmat-suit aficionado Johannes Grenzfurthner as he attempts to come to terms with the United States' colonial past, Navajo tribal history, and the hacker movement. The story hones in on a small tinker space in Durango, Colorado, that made significant contributions to worldwide COVID relief efforts. But things go awry when Uncle Sam interferes with the film's production.

8.0

Le mystère Cléopâtre, la dernière reine d'Egypte

Jul 24, 2019

No overview available.

6.7

Secrets of the Neanderthals

May 2, 2024

This documentary delves into the mysteries surrounding the Neanderthals and what their fossil record tells us about their lives and disappearance.

6.2

The Catcher Was a Spy

Jun 22, 2018

Former major league baseball player Moe Berg lives a double life working for the Office of Strategic Services in World War II Europe.

10.0

Prehistoric Astronomers

Jan 1, 2007

Cave paintings and lunar calendars exist in the caves and remains of prehistoric hunters studied recently. What if Prehistoric Man were clever enough to develop in depth scientific knowledge? As unlikely as it may seem, new data tend to prove that Prehistoric Man actually invented Astronomy!

0.0

The Four Corners: A National Sacrifice Area?

Nov 15, 1983

Documents the cultural and ecological impacts of coal stripmining, uranium mining, and oil shale development in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona – homeland of the Hopi and Navajo.

6.6

Wonders of the Moon

Jan 31, 2018

Documentary which uses the latest, most detailed imagery to reveal the monthly life cycle of the moon. From Wales to Wyoming, Hong Kong to Croydon, the programme finds out how the moon shapes life on Earth, as well as exploring its mysterious dark side and discovering how the moon's journey around Earth delivers one of nature's most awe-inspiring events - a total solar eclipse. And at the end of a remarkable year of lunar activity, we find out why so many supermoons have been lighting up the night sky.