How the Soviet Union was able to copy the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, and the influence of the resulting Tupolev TU-4 on the Cold War.
Social & External
Ireland, June 1944. The crucial decision about the right time to start Operation Overlord on D-Day comes to depend on the readings taken by Maureen Flavin, a young girl who works at a post office, used as a weather station, in Blacksod, in County Mayo, the westernmost promontory of Europe, far from the many lands devastated by the iron storms of World War II.
A silent short film promoting the United States Citizens Defense Corps, a group in which civilians served locally to aid in the war effort and to prepare their cities for possible military attacks.
The Nazi extermination camps at Auschwitz in Poland were photographed in extraordinary detail from the air. By combining emotional memories of those who experienced the camp and an almost forensic analysis of the shocking process of genocide, this film evokes details of the horror of Europe's darkest hour in a uniquely compelling way.
The Vietnam War during the JFK years and beyond. Made in 1972 in the filmmaker's apartment, without documentary footage of the war, metaphors are created through the animation of images and objects, and through guerrilla skits. By rejecting the authority of traditional documentary footage, the anarchist spirit of individual responsibility is established. This is history from one person's point of view, rather than a definitive proclamation.
At dawn on June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. On the same morning, Germany demanded permission from the Swedish government to transport 18,000 German soldiers from Norway to Finland across Sweden by railway. This was a difficult problem for the Swedish government. On one hand remaining friendly with Germany at the height of its power, on the other maintaining a strict neutrality. The Swedish cabinet meet in Stockholm to decide upon the best reply to the German demands.
A dramatic documentary film that deals with the Nazi rise to power in Germany in the 1930s and the development of the persecution of Jews up to the Holocaust. The film tells about the attitude of the Finnish government to the request for the handover of the Finnish Jews presented by Heinrich Himmler in the summer of 1942. The main focus of the film is the life of Jewish refugees in Finland in the years 1938-1942 and the attitude of the Finnish government to their handover in the fall of 1942.
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.
This film brings to life a vanished world: that of the Warsaw Ghetto, destroyed by the Nazis after the 1944 uprising. Two authentic "reconstruction" sources have been used to this end: photographic and cinematographic documents recorded at the time and discovered in Poland, East Germany, Israel and France; and the oral testimonies of 44 survivors, invited to evoke their personal tragedy in front of the images put before their eyes.
War and Peace of Mind explores what war does to the human mind and how both, the individuals and the nation as a whole, survive it psychologically. Finland and WWII, locally known as continuation war, is the backdrop of this documentary.
Documentary directed by Tom Kleespie inspired from Korean War veterans who recall memories both painful and patriotic, putting a human face on an often forgotten conflict. Stories include wartime recollections, such as one soldier's first moments seeing a MiG fighter up close, and veterans' often-tragic experiences returning home, where Americans largely neglected to welcome them back.
How could Hitler and Stalin, sworn ideological enemies, come to a secret pact in 1939? The captivating and detailed story of the diplomatic fiasco that led to the signing of the Nazi-Soviet pact and its devastating consequences.
This documentary traces the history of the Short Sunderland Flying Boat, from its introduction to service in the RAF in 1938 it was to become one of the longest serving careers of any front-line aircraft. The Sunderland was one of the very few types to remain in operational service through the Second World War and the only RAF aircraft to perform front-line duties for the whole of the Korean War. When it finally retired in 1959, it had served for a total of twenty one years and had built up a reputation as a tough and reliable workhorse.
Featurette about the demise, during the early 1940s, of the once-popular Mr. Moto B-films series that starred Peter Lorre.
This early docudrama uses dramatic reenactment, working models of early flying machines, and archival footage to trace man's attempts to fly from ancient times through the 1930s.
For 50 years, Berlin was the symbol of the Cold War. The city at the heart of the intelligence war between the US and the Soviet bloc. Thousands of KGB or CIA, agents observed each other, cogs in the biggest information war in history.
Here's the full true story of "Bloody Omaha". Thousands of soldiers were killed as soon as they stepped onto the beach, or even into the water as they waded to shore.
Directed by John Blackman, "A Wing and a Prayer – The Story of Knock Airport" follows the efforts to construct an international airport at Knock in County Mayo during the early 1980s. Originating from a 1981 RTÉ News report, the film charts Monsignor James Horan’s campaign to build a full-length runway in a remote, rural location, documenting the political resistance, changing governments, and repeated setbacks that accompanied the project before the airport’s opening in 1986.
An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable wall of a self-imposed seclusion: how his dramatic experiences during World War II influenced his life and work, his relationships with very young women, his obsessive writing methods, his many literary secrets.
A new look at the public and private life of one of the most important statesmen in the history of Europe: Winston Churchill (1874-1965), soldier, politician, writer, painter, leader of his country in the darkest hours, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, a myth, a giant of the 20th century.
A documentary about US-led covert actions under the Reagan administration intended to bolster the perception of Soviet aggression, undermine the peace initiatives of Sweden's PM Olof Palme, and to tie the non-aligned Sweden to NATO.
A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.
Ten of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.
A wide-ranging, definitive look at Hawk’s life and iconic career, and his relationship with the sport with which he’s been synonymous for decades, featuring unprecedented access, never-before-seen footage, and interviews with Hawk and prominent figures in the sport including Stacy Peralta, Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Neil Blender, Andy MacDonald, Duane Peters, Sean Mortimer, and Christian Hosoi.
The definitive portrait of one of sport's most inspirational, influential figures - whose legacy lives on far beyond the football field.
An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance.
The story of Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, who became fast friends during their youth in Germany. With Rob coming from a broken home and Fabrice having left an abusive household, they shared a similar upbringing, as well as a future goal: to become famous superstars. In a few short years, their dreams came true. Rob and Fab, better known as Milli Vanilli, became the world's most popular pop duo in 1990 and won the GRAMMY for Best New Artist. However, their ascension to success came with a devastating price that ultimately led to their infamous undoing.
50 years after the legendary fest, Barak Goodman’s electric retelling of Woodstock, from the point of view of those who were on the ground, evokes the freedom, passion, community, and joy the three-day music festival created.
Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "free lance, " goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts.
In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self-appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star.
Documentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, based on his famous 1994 autobiography.
Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.
The most famous murder scene in movie history comprises 78 camera settings and 52 cuts: the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. 78/52 tells the story of the man behind the curtain and his greatest obsession.
An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.
Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.
In this documentary, recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it therefore to be his rightful property.
When Steve Jobs died the world wept. But what accounted for the grief of millions of people who didn’t know him? This evocative film navigates Jobs' path from a small house in the suburbs, to zen temples in Japan, to the CEO's office of the world's richest company, exploring how Jobs’ life and work shaped our relationship with the computer. The Man in the Machine is a provocative and sometimes startling re-evaluation of the legacy of an icon.
A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
A look behind the curtain of Washington politics following three "renegade" Republican Congressmen as they bring libertarian and conservative zeal to champion the President’s call to “drain the swamp.”
Deep beneath the surface in the Syrian province of Ghouta, a group of female doctors have established an underground field hospital. Under the supervision of paediatrician Dr. Amani and her staff of doctors and nurses, hope is restored for some of the thousands of children and civilian victims of the ruthless Syrian civil war.
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
