Les dossiers de l'écran: La 1ère guerre mondiale

Relying on newly discovered archival footage, memoirs from the fallen, and expert commentary from scholars, this documentary tells the story of World War I from the American perspective: Its ace pilots, mine-laying Sailors, heroic doughboys, Harlem Hell Fighters, and courageous nurses.

We all learned in schools that the WWI began with the assasination of Franz Ferdinand done by a young Bosnian Gavrilo Princip. In fact, the war was brewing much longer.

The sinking of the German fleet interned at Scapa-Flow (Orkney Islands), June 21, 1919. We know that one of the stipulations of the armistice signed with Germany on November 11, 1918 was that that power's surface warships were to be "immediately decommissioned and interned in neutral or Allied ports, and remain there under the supervision of the Allies and the United States, guard detachments only being maintained on board". In fact, all the ships designated by the Allies - 11 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 7 light cruisers and 50 destroyers - had, a few days after the armistice, been assembled in Scapa-Flow Bay, in the center of the Orkney archipelago, i.e. north of Scotland, and had remained there ever since, under the supervision of the English naval authorities, but under the effective authority of German Admiral von Reuter.

A short story narrated by an unknown British soldier who reveals his hopes, fears, and disillusionment while heading into battle against the German army.

Winston Churchill, one of the most revered men of the twentieth century. Adolf Hitler, one of the most hated leaders in contemporary history. Between 1940 and 1945, these two enormously contradictory personalities faced each other in both politics and war. A clash of giants whose story begins in the trenches of the World War I and ends with the debacle of the World War II.

Through unreleased archives and contemporary footage shot in the archeological digs of World War I's battlefields, this film tells the heroic and tragic tale of the American soldiers in this terrible conflict.

Russia, 1917. After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II Romanov, the struggle for power confronts allies, enemies, factions and ideas; a ruthless battle between democracy and authoritarianism that will end with the takeover of the government by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

Built on archive footage – much of it previously unseen – this film reveals one of the most unexpected legacies of the First World War -- popular participation in sports, once the realm of the elite. For four years, sport represented a welcome respite from the killing fields of Europe.

100 years ago Mata Hari faced the firing squad as a convicted Dutch spy. It was at this moment that the legend of Mata Hari, the seductive spy, was born. Newly-discovered documents cast doubt on her guilt and reveal startling truths about her life. Mata Hari was a self-made woman whose boldness and sexuality threatened the male establishment. Most of what we've known about her until now has largely been myth. Mata Hari's challenges as an abused wife, single mother and a creative independent woman are familiar to women around the world. At the turn of the century, her struggles to attain sexual freedom, artistic expression, and liberation from the constraints of conventional society are the same ones women face today. She graced the cover of Vogue, performed all over Europe and left a coterie of smitten admirers in her wake.

Bravery, compassion and the will to save lives motivated the young Nurse Helen Fairchild to leave home in Pennsylvania and embark on a journey to Europe, where she served as a surgical nurse during World War I before dying on the front lines.

Samuel Wilder King, a descendant of Scottish sailors and Hawaiian royalty, served as a distinguished Naval officer in both World Wars before becoming Governor of the Hawaii Territory. This short film delves into King’s fearless leadership—from navigating the high seas during WWI to fighting against the internment of Japanese Americans in Hawaii during WWII—ultimately championing Hawaii's path to statehood as the 50th star on the American flag.

John Henry Balch was a Pharmacist's Mate attached to the 3rd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment when his unit entered the Belleau Wood. His dedication to the Marines under his care earned him the Medal of Honor.

The story of WWI Pilot Gervais Raoul Lufbery, a triple confirmed WWI ace, mechanic and world traveler. Explores the Lafayette Escadrille squadron, a formation of volunteer pilots serving in France on behalf of the United States whose service marked the early origins of the U.S. Air Force.

Neil Oliver describes the worst ever railway accident in the UK, which happened a hundred years ago on 22 May 1915, in which three trains collided at Quintinshill near Gretna Green. One of the trains was a troop train taking soldiers to fight in World War I at the Battle of Gallipoli: many of the dead were in this train which caught fire due to escaped gas from the archaic gas lighting in the carriages. The cause of the crash was attributed to a catastrophic signalman's error, but Neil examines whether there were other contributory factors and whether there was a cover-up to prevent investigation of them, making convenient scapegoats of the signalmen.

1917, The Train from Hell is an historical documentary about a train accident during WW1.

Za trvalý mír

Esther Johnson’s film uses local archive footage to convey the story of Sunderland's involvement in the First World War, from the men who fought in the fields to those who stayed behind to work in the region’s shipyards and munitions factories.

Soldiers representing South Africa and New Zealand billeted in London get stuck in during a rugby fixture in Richmond Park.

A holiday of sorts for Stockport army reserves, fitting high-jinks between drills over two weeks of summer training in South Wales.

The small Belgian army held up the German advance, the British Expeditionary Force fought its first battle and the invincible German army was brought to a standstill in Belgium. This film traces that first month, the battles of Liège, Antwerp and Mons. In reconstruction it uses the words of those who took part and looks at the remains of the battlefields and the fortifications that still exist.