Guy Martin honours the Lancaster bomber crews of World War II, as he tries out several onboard roles including pilot, gunner and bomb aimer. Has he got what it takes to join Bomber Command?
From reuse to energy generation, new innovations across five continents are explored in this documentary about building a future for sustainable water.
French film and WWII historian Sylvie Lindeperg analyzes Alain Resnais's seminal 1956 film, "Night and Fog", and attempts to place it in the context of the historical treatment of WWII, and specifically of the Holocaust, in the decade following those harrowing events. Oddly, she argues that the images of Resnais's famous film are "powerless", in her words.
On January 26, 1950, a US Airforce troop plane left Anchorage for Montana with 44 people on board. The crew of the Douglas C-54 Skymaster #2469 was supposed to check in every half hour along the route. As the aircraft crossed into Yukon, they radioed the tiny outpost of Snag to say that there was ice forming on the wings, but otherwise all was well. After that, the Skymaster disappeared. And to this day no sign of the aircraft or its passengers has ever been found. This fascinating Yukon-shot documentary tells the stories of the victim’s families and an intrepid group of Yukoners striving to give those families closure by searching every summer in hopes that the Skymaster will finally turn up.
50 years after the death of General De Gaulle, this film retraces his life, from his birth in 1890 to his burial at Colombey-Les-Deux-Eglises in 1970.
A docudrama about the relationship between writer Charles Dickens and his mistress Nelly Ternan.
Return to Guam is a 1944 short propaganda film produced by the US Navy about the taking and recapture of the island of Guam. The film starts when a convoy of ships nearing the island sees strange lights flashing from the island in Morse code "information". After cautiously investigating the signal, they find that it was made by a white man, George Tweed, the last survivor of the original garrison at Guam. Tweed relates his harrowing story of how he survived in the bush for 31 months with the help of the natives, Chamorros.
British Air Ministry short film highlighting the need for the public to stay clear of aircraft wreckage during World War II.
On the 29th September 1945, the incomplete rough cut of a brilliant documentary about concentration camps was viewed at the MOI in London. For five months, Sidney Bernstein had led a small team – which included Stewart McAllister, Richard Crossman and Alfred Hitchcock – to complete the film from hours of shocking footage. Unfortunately, this ambitious Allied project to create a feature-length visual report that would damn the Nazi regime and shame the German people into acceptance of Allied occupation had missed its moment. Even in its incomplete form (available since 1984) the film was immensely powerful, generating an awed hush among audiences. But now, complete to six reels, this faithfully restored and definitive version produced by IWM, is being compared with Alain Resnais’ Night and Fog (1955).
An African American gospel choir is the Greek chorus for a Palestinian play on Martin Luther King, Jr. which tours the West Bank, preaching nonviolence. The devoutly Christian choir grew up in churches strongly allied with Israel. On their first trip to the Holy Land they witness the harsh realities of life under occupation, a nonviolent movement for justice, and an assassination. Our story is a unique view of a crucial human rights conflict. Mixing the excitement of foot-stomping gospel music and creative theater it reveals the power of art to communicate, heal, and give voice to communities living in fear. It is a cultural exchange of immense depth and far-reaching implications, where, during the course of the journey, people's preconceptions are radically changed.
Doomed attempt to get to California in 1846. More than just a riveting tale of death, endurance and survival. The Donner Party's nightmarish journey penetrated to the very heart of the American Dream at a crucial phase of the nation's "manifest destiny." Touching some of the most powerful social, economic and political currents of the time, this extraordinary narrative remains one of the most compelling and enduring episodes to come out of the West.
Made famous by the 1957 Hollywood movie, the bridges of the River Kwai emblematize one of the most misunderstood events in history. Contrary to the romanticized film version, the structures represent a period of terror, desperation, and death for over 16,000 POWs and 100,00 local slaves. The Thailand - Burma Railway was the vision of the Japanese Imperial Army: a 250-mile track cut through dense jungle that would connect Bangkok and Rangoon. To accomplish this nearly impossible feat, the fanatical and ruthless Japanese engineers used POWs and local slaves as manpower. Candid interviews with men who lived through the atrocity - including Dutch, Australian, British, and American POWs - illuminate the violence and horror of their three-and-a-half-year internment. From Britain's surrender of Singapore the enduring force of friendship, The True Story Of The Bridge On The River Kwai narrates a moving and unforgettable account of a period in history that must be remembered.
In 1946, just after the end of World War II, a secret organization of Holocaust survivors plans a terrible revenge: since the Nazis have killed millions of Jews, they will kill millions of Germans.
A remarkable film that takes a special look at the first war to be truly reported and recorded by one of the more unsung heroes of World War II: the combat photographer. Through the unflinching eye of their camera's lenses, these courageous soldiers continually risked their lives in their brave attempts to capture history.
Focusing on three women from vastly different backgrounds this film weaves together powerful moments from each of these Rosie's journeys of transformation.
For early aviators, conquering the forces of gravity was a daunting challenge. But black aviators had an additional challenge - conquering the forces of racism. Meet the men and women who took to the skies throughout the 20th century, proving to a segregated nation that skin color doesn't determine skill level. From biplanes to commercial jets, and from barnstormers to war fighters, meet the path-breaking pilots who opened the skies for all -- and contributed in countless ways to the development of aviation.
Hitler's invasion of Russia was one of the landmark events of World War II. This documentary reveals the lead-up to the offensive, its impact on the war and the brinksmanship that resulted from the battle for Moscow. Rare footage from both German and Russian archives and detailed maps illustrate the conflict, while award-winning historian and author John Erickson provides insight into the pivotal maneuvers on the eastern front.
The De Havilland Comet was the world's first passenger jet airliner. But less than two years into service, two aircraft blew up in mid-air, killing all aboard. PM Winston Churchill ordered an assemblage of experts to discover what went wrong - in the process, inventing many of the air crash investigation techniques still used today.
A documentary on the volunteer Estonian Army's defense against the Soviet Army in 1944 with an emphasis on its last stand in the region known as the Blue Hills of Estonia.
This FitzPatrick Miniature visits the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the largest geographically unbroken political unit in the world, covering one-sixth of the world's land mass.