It is 1918 and the end of WWI. Millions have died, and the world is exhausted by war. But soon a new horror is sweeping the world, a terrifying virus that will kill more than fifty million people - the Spanish flu. Using dramatic reconstruction and eyewitness testimony from doctors, soldiers, civilians and politicians, this one-off special brings to life the onslaught of the disease, the horrors of those who lived through it and the efforts of the pioneering scientists desperately looking for the cure. Narrated by Christopher Eccleston, the film also asks whether, a century later, the lessons learnt in 1918 might help us fight a future global flu pandemic.
Could King Richard III's spinal deformity have prevented him from leading the charge at the Battle of Bosworth? Modern scoliosis sufferer Dominic Smee and a team of scientists and medieval warfare experts embark on an extraordinary journey to reveal new research that's changing our knowledge of a defamed medieval king.
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.
Mein Kampf - Das gefährliche Buch
From dreamy aerial opening shots, we are sent on an expedition through the storied land of our fifth most populous state, Illinois, often called a miniature version of America. Deborah Stratman’s experimental documentary explores how physical landscapes and human politics can each re-interpret historical events. Eleven parables relay histories of settlement, removal, technological breakthrough, violence, messianism, and resistance. Who gets to write history—physical monuments, official news accounts, or personal spoken-word memories?
Did you know that the quaint custom of Christmas caroling actually began with drunk and rowdy revelers threatening people door to door looking for food and liquor? Early versions of the heartwarming legend of Santa Claus described him as a horrible devil named Krampus who beat and kidnapped naughty children. In America during the 17th and 18th Centuries, celebrating Christmas was against the law! There's a lot to tell about the history of Christmas, and a lot you may not know. Along the way, meet Ebenezer Scrooge and George Bailey, The Grinch and Rudolph, and learn the true origins of our Christmas traditions. So grab some eggnog and a slice of fruitcake as HISTORY unwraps THE REAL STORY OF CHRISTMAS.
July 1969. America made history and sent the first humans to the moon. High-quality NASA footage and extensive news broadcasts bring this sensational moment in history bursting back into life. Live news footage from every corner of the globe recreates the excitement and elation that surrounded the event, as 600 million people tuned in to watch Neil Armstrong's remarkable first steps.
This World War II documentary rests on an unusual thesis: it argues that, in the wake of Pearl Harbor, the actions precipitated by the U.S.A.F. that truly helped turn the tide were perpetrated not by the widely-ballyhooed U.S.N. aviators or aircraft carriers, but by the American submarines - silent warriors beneath the deceptively placid ocean surface. The subs, after all, were responsible for gravely wounding Japan's industry, all but destroying the Japanese merchant fleet, and therefore preventing reinforcement of Japanese military garrisons. In relaying this story, the program draws on a series of interviews with military veterans, and endless archival footage of naval battles that chronologically tells the gripping story of the Pacific Front of the war.
Sixty-years after setting sail on the PT 658, a group of World War II veterans reminisce about their extraordinary experiences on the boat while attempting to restore it to it's original condition in a documentary that has a little something for war buffs and amateur historians alike.
Hot Wheels and Bobcat Studios are partnering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the most popular — and disruptive — toy in the world, Hot Wheels.
It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
A fascinating, revealing, and poetic documentary exposing the disappearance, obliteration, and omission of a culture. The disappearance of a humanist equilibrium during the Ottoman Empire and the willful erasing of the nonconformist history of a city that did not adhere to the nationalistic ideology that turned the Balkans upside down and continues to do so. The ancient Jerusalem of the Balkans has become a forgotten city, a “judenfrei” city. Organized like a stroll around the urban environment and accommodating the words of survivors of the extermination camps of 1943, the film puts together fragments of memories and nostalgia to witness the exceptional past of the city. A Thessaloniki-born director tres to raise his own cinematic voice, to refuse the elimination and silence which are like a second death, more definitive than the first.
A look at the gritty world of New York through the eyes of Sheldon Nadelman, bartender at the old Terminal Bar. A follow up to the prize winning short from 2002.
A documentary about the history of settler groups that came to New Zealand from Europe.
Out of Darkness is a full length three-part documentary by director Amadeuz Christ (Δ+), examining the untold history of African people, the African cultural contribution to the nations of the world, and the events that have contributed to the condition of African people today. Out of Darkness will explore the Nubian/Kushitic origins of Nile Valley Civilization, contact between Africa and the Americas since the times of antiquity, as well as the influence of the Moors in Europe leading to Europe’s intellectual Renaissance. In addition, the film will analyze the history of modern day racism, the concept of “white supremacy,” the impact of Hip Hop as a social movement, and the idea of nationhood. Out of Darkness is narrated by Prof. Kaba Kamene and co-stars Dr. Umar Johnson, Dr. Claud Anderson, Tim Wise, Prof. James Small, Dr. Joy DeGruy, Anthony Browder, Sabir Bey, Atlantis Browder, and Taj Tarik Bey.
This short film provides highlights from American history, focusing on George Washington's farewell to the troops to the War of 1812.
A look at contemporary Paris through the lens of theories and ideologies of the past two centuries, with a particular focus on the utopian socialist ideas of Charles Fourier.
At the dawn of history, the ancient Egyptians showed the world how to build the impossible... In an age before machines, when copper was the strongest metal yet discovered, great pharaohs like Khufu and Ramses II demonstrated how boundless ambition and vast quantities of human labour could transform rock and stone into some of the most incredible monuments ever created from carving out spectacular tombs in the Valley Of The Kings to the building of the iconic Great Pyramid. In this fascinating documentary special we uncover the secrets of Ancient Egypt Pharaoh, engineers and architects and bring to life great buildings and the ancient Egyptians saw them - towering over their great civilisation in the history of Africa, and perhaps the World....
An Irish doctor survived the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki and was given a Samurai sword for the lives he saved. 70 years later his family searches for the origin of their father's sword.
Mountain men Joseph R Walker was probably the first non-Indian to see Yosemite, in 1833, but not until the California militia entered the valley rounding up the Ahwahneechee Indians was the region discovered. In June, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant, making it a California State Park. It became famous through the writings of Horace Greeley and the efforts of John Muir. Cinematographer Dennis Burkhart captures in this video the magnificence of Yosemite Valley (El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, Half Dome), the High Sierra (John Muir Trail, Tuolumne Meadows, Tioga Pass) and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. The camera catches the wildlife that roams the 1,1170 square miles of Yosemite, i.e. the mule deer, mountain lion, black bear, coyotes, bighorn sheep, and the rare peregrine falcon. This video reveals why 3.8 million visitors come each year and stand before awe-inspiring panoramas they will never forget.