Art of War

Léon Degrelle, Autoportrait d'un fasciste

1978

On the sidelines of history, some characters, often ignored of the greater public have, in the shadows, had a decisive weight on the most important events of our century. We are presenting you there «unknows». A two-part documentary, which is a two-and-a-half-hour interview with Léon Degrelle himself, was produced for FR3 in 1978 by Jean-Michel Charlier, as part of the series "LES DOSSIERS NOIRS" (The Obscure Records).The first part, "LÉON DEGRELLE: CHEF DE 'REX'" and the second part, "LE 'VOLKSFÜHRER' LÉON DEGRELLE".

Sketches

2017

A British artist misses his parents' wedding anniversary for a last-minute sketching commission in Cornwall, but memories of them affect his work along the way.

Life Goes to War: Hollywood and the Home Front

1977 · ★ 9

A retrospective on Hollywood's role in the war effort in World War II, narrated by Johnny Carson.

Attack! The Battle for New Britain

1944 · ★ 7

Actual footage by the United States Signal Corps of the landing and attack on Arawe Beach, Cape Glouster, New Britain island in 1943 in the South Pacific theatre of World War Two, and the handicaps of the wild jungle in addition to the Japanese snipers and pill-box emplacements.

B-17 Flying Legend

2007

B-17 Flying Legend examines the importance of World War II's most famous airplane, and raises awareness about the importance of keeping the remaining B-17s flying for generations to come. This documentary covers the history of the airplane, from early designs to the outbreak of war, and the stories of bravery behind the faces of the men who flew them. It contrasts the past by also focusing on today's struggles to keep these flying museums in operation. Unless awareness is created to help with this preservation, in the near future B-17s will only be found in static displays. Almost 13,000 B-17s were built during the war. Sixty years later only 13 still fly. It is important to capture the history of the men behind these flying machines while they are still alive. It is also important to capture images of these machines while they still exist.

Leningrad. Stimmen einer belagerten Stadt

2024 · ★ 7.8

It was one of the great crimes of the Second World War: from 1941 to 1944, a total of 872 days, the siege and starvation of Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht on Hitler's orders lasted. Over a million people fell victim to the blockade, most of them dying of hunger. Countless of these starving people wrote diaries with the last of their strength, and cameramen filmed in the paralyzed city. Evidence from the hell of the siege, many of the film recordings, but above all the written memories on which this documentary on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation is based, remained under lock and key after the war. The voices of those who had suffered through this terrible time should not be heard by anyone, because they did not fit the pathos of the Leningrad heroic song that was officially sung. Most of the recordings come from women. The writers feared neither the enemy nor the Communist Party or Stalin, who often proved incompetent in providing for the population.

Paper City

2021 · ★ 8

Just after midnight on 10 March 1945, the US launched an air-based attack on eastern Tokyo; continuing until morning, the raid left more than 100,000 people dead and a quarter of the city eradicated. Unlike their loved ones, Hiroshi Hoshino, Michiko Kiyooka and Minoru Tsukiyama managed to emerge from the bombings. Now in their twilight years, they wish for nothing more than recognition and reparations for those who, like them, had been indelibly harmed by the war – but the Japanese government and even their fellow citizens seem disinclined to acknowledge the past.

The Day Hitler Died

2015 · ★ 6.8

The story of Hitler’s final hours told by people who were there. This special features exclusive forgotten interviews, believed lost for 65 years, with members of Hitler’s inner circle who were trapped with him in his bunker as the Russians fought to take Berlin. These unique interviews from figures such as the leader of the Hitler Youth Artur Axmann and Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, have never before been seen outside Germany. Using rarely seen archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, this special tells the story of Adolf Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker.

Last Words: The Battle for Arnhem Bridge

The Survivors of the WW2 Battle of Arnhem tell their stories of the brutal and exhausting conflict.

The Pity of War

2014 · ★ 6

Professor Niall Ferguson argues that Britain's decision to enter the First World War was a catastrophic error that unleashed an era of totalitarianism and genocide.

Visions in the Dark: The Life of Pinky Thompson

2017

Pinky Thompson grew up in Hawaii during a time when one was punished for being Native Hawaiian. After almost losing his life in the battlefields of Normandy in World War II, Pinky brought his fierce energy to the arena of social service whre he championed a health care system, created invaluable educational programs and strengthened the pride of Native Hawaiians. Pinky fostered new methods of policy collaboration and community testimony. He elevated a new generation of Hawaiian leaders to represent the vibrant cultural identity and value system of the Hawaiian people.

A Letter from Beirut

1978 · ★ 6.8

Letter from Beirut documents the filmmaker's return to Beirut during one of the lulls, three years after the outbreak of the civil war, animated by the urge to return. She is confronted by the physical, emotional and psychological ravages of the war, terrified and sorrowful, she cannot find her place in the city. In that quest, she communicates with everyday people, friends, neighbors, people riding the bus across the city's eastern and western flanks. To pace her journeying and dramatic unraveling of the film, Saab borrows the guise of a letter read in a voice-over, written by world-renowned poet Etel Adnan. A rare document from the civil war, Letter from Beirut lays bare and spontaneously how people make sense of their everyday in the midst of chaos, violence, terror and sorrow.