A Distant Shore: African Americans on D-Day

The role of African American soldiers during the World War II Allied invasion of Normandy.

John Ford Goes to War

When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7."

Theirs Is the Glory

Re-enactment of World War 2 Battle of Arnhem using the survivors from the battle.

My Mother, the Nazi Midwife and Me

My Mother, the Nazi Midwife, and Me unearths a chilling story that time has almost buried - the systematic murder of 52 Jewish babies in a Displaced Persons' camp under the American military after the end of the war.

Guy Martin's Lost WW2 Bomber

Guy joins an ambitious engineering project to recover a crashed WW2 Lancaster Bomber – and the remains of its missing crew members – from the depths of the Dutch lake where it’s lain for 80 years.

The Act of Killing

In this chilling and groundbreaking documentary, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various film genres. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia's 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.

Gettysburg

An examination of the Battle of Gettysberg on both the personal and strategic level.

The Cu Chi Tunnels

During the war in Vietnam, thousands of people in the Vietnamese province of Cu Chi lived in an elaborate system of underground tunnels. THE CU CHI TUNNELS is the story of life underground told by the people who lived the experience.

The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru

Filmmaker Fang Li and his crew explore exhaustive historical investigation, as far as possible to find the core of the British, American, Japanese and Chinese parties and descendants, trying to infinitely close to the truth of the World War II "Death Ship" — "Lisbon Maru", which is 30 meters under the sea off the East Polar Island in Zhoushan, China.

Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story

Father Edward J. Flanagan is a familiar name to many Americans, often for the Oscar-winning 1938 film starring Spencer Tracy about Flanagan’s groundbreaking child welfare organization. But the story extends far beyond that, to a man whose name and legacy are still well-known as far as Germany and Japan. Flanagan gained influence and admiration over the course of his life from Presidents, CEOs, celebrities and more, but none mattered more to him than that of the children for whom he tirelessly worked. A sobering reminder of this was during WWII, as Flanagan saw droves of former Boys Town citizens go off to war. In fact, so many former Boys Town boys named Flanagan as their next of kin that the American War Dads Association named him as America’s No. 1 War Dad.

We are Soldiers

Tree Ukrainian volunteers, injured during the war with the Russians and the separatists, are treated at the military hospital of Kyiv. Three generations, three social environments, three different regions. Dmytro, Oleksii and Anatolii are recovering, hoping and preparing for their future.

The Runaway

The extraordinary life story of former Auschwitz prisoner no. 918, Kazimierz Piechowski, who organized one of the most amazing escapes from the camp.

Pétain, such a popular hero

On October 24, 1940, Philippe Pétain met Adolf Hitler in Montoire and led the French into collaboration with the Nazis. A black page in the history of France, written by a man whom many then considered a hero: the winner of Verdun.

Inside Prora

On the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea lies one of the most megalomaniac projects built by the Nazis. The ‘Monster by the Sea’, a colossus of brickwork that stretches for kilometres, intended as a futurist holiday resort for the inhabitants of the Third Reich. A paragon of ‘guilty architecture’. Later occupied by the communist regime, it has since the fall of the Wall fallen victim to property developers who have found it a tough nut to crack. Nico Weber’s Inside Prora uncovers the storied history of a project that symbolises the utopian intentions of modernism and the emergence of mass tourism.

Great Escape at Dunkirk

As France fell to the German armies in May 1940, 400,000 Allied troops were trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk. Their annihilation seemed certain—a disaster that could have led to Britain’s surrender. But then, in a last-minute rescue, Royal Navy ships and a flotilla of tiny civilian boats evacuated hundreds of thousands of soldiers to safety across the Channel. A team of archaeologists and historians recovers fresh evidence of the courage, technical ingenuity, and brilliant planning that led to the operation’s success. With access to previously classified files recently released by the British government, they uncover the truth behind the myths of Dunkirk—notably, a claim that the Royal Air Force failed to protect the stranded men from the Luftwaffe’s constant bombing of the beaches. This film debunks the myths and highlights the essential role of RAF planes and pilots in reversing the desperate stakes that played out in the air above the beleaguered men.

Liberators Take Liberties, part 2

Based on years of research into the mass rapes committed by the Red Army at the end of the Second World War. In the second part of the documentary Helke Sander interviews former Soviet soldiers, and children born from rape, splicing their statements with material from archives. While avoiding an emotional presentation of the subject matter to rule out revanchist interpretations.

War for Peace

War with Russia on the east of Ukraine through the director's lens who stayed for a year in the centre of the conflict zone. He became a paramedic volunteer and continued filming everything what was happening in front of his eyes, making a rare true document of this brutal war that continues to happen in the centre of Europe.

Von Garmisch in den Kaukasus

On April 9, 1938, the 1st Mountain Division was formed in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and quickly grew to a strength of 20,000 men. At the beginning of the Russian campaign on 22 June 1941, the "Edelweiss Division" ran into a buildup of 122 Red Army divisions with over 10,000 tanks and 91 air squadrons on the southern front alone. In the toughest of battles, the mountain troops fought their way to the summit of Mount Elbrus - the highest mountain in the Caucasus! - and set military as well as alpinistic standards of almost superhuman performance. In moving eyewitness accounts, illustrated by gripping original footage, the triumphant march and ordeal of the 1st Mountain Division from June 1941 to December 1942 is traced under the leadership of the renowned British book and film author.

Shoah: The Unseen Interviews

This film, produced by the Museum’s Spielberg Film Archive staff, features 55 minutes of previously unseen interviews from the Claude Lanzmann Shoah Collection. SHOAH: The Unseen Interviews includes the testimony of Abraham Bomba, a barber in the Treblinka killing center, who escaped, was smuggled back into the ghetto, and tried to warn friends, who refused to believe what was happening; details of American responses to the Holocaust from Peter Bergson, who tried to rally American Jews and the US government to act sooner to save the Jews in Europe; and Ruth Elias’s harrowing tale of survival in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Mai 40, les 30 jours du désastre

A Toxic Love Story

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20

An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

Don't F*#% With John Wick

Behind the scenes look at fight choreography and action training.

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.

Come See Me in the Good Light

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

The Class of ‘92

A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye

Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.

My Mom Jayne

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

Aquaman: Heroines of Atlantis

Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.

The Battle of Midway

The Japanese attack on Midway in June 1942, filmed as it happened. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, in 2006.

Extremis

A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me

From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.

Gilbert

The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.

Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show

“Showrunners” is the first ever feature length documentary film to explore the fascinating world of US television showrunners and the creative forces aligned around them. These are the people responsible for creating, writing and overseeing every element of production on one of the United State’s biggest exports – television drama and comedy series. Often described as the most complex job in the entertainment business, a showrunner is the chief writer / producer on a TV series and, in most instances, the show’s creator. Battling daily between art and commerce, showrunners manage every aspect of a TV show’s development and production: creative, financial and logistical.

For the Love of Spock

The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.

Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin

Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.

The Summers of It - Chapter Two: It Ends

This documentary focuses on the actors and their journey over two summers to create the remake to the original IT, by Stephen King. The documentary originally released as bonus material, bundled with IT: Chapter Two.

Night Will Fall

When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad

A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

Hell House

A look at the "Hell House" performed annually in October by the youth members of Trinity Church (Assemblies of God) in Cedar Hill, Texas (a Dallas suburb) — seen by over 10,000 visitors each year.