War Docos
Innovative German film-maker Leni Riefenstahl's pioneering masterwork epic "Triumph of the Will" (1934) was explicitly propagandistic yet historical in its spectacular yet horrifying documentation of the Nazi Party Congress rally in Nuremberg in 1934. It was a revolutionary film combining superb cinematography and editing of Third Reich propaganda. She also documented the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the stunning film "Olympia" (1938) - with graceful and beautiful images of 'Aryan' athletes in competition. To respond to the Nazi propaganda, Frank Capra was commissioned by the US War Department to direct seven films in a "Why We Fight" (1943) series of narrated WWII newsreel-style films. The first in the series, "Prelude to War," a look at the events from 1931-1939, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1942. These and many other truely great War Documentaries, including the BBC's brilliant "World At War" series, are available by scrolling below.
Right: William Wyler's Academy Award winning "The Memphis Belle"Â
Islands of Death: Volume 2 (1945)
The second volume of this excellent series continues its exposition of the battle that raged in the Pacific during the Second World War. Vintage foota... Read more
It Happened Here (1965)
6.8/10
Director: Andrew Mollo, Kevin Brownlow
Starring: Pauline Murray, Sebastian Shaw
Shot over an eight-year period on a shoestring budget by British film historian Kevin Brownlow and colleague Andrew Mollo, this acclaimed, harrowing s... Read more
Iwo Jima - 36 Days of Hell: Part 1 (2006)
At first thought to be an easy target, the island of Iwo Jima was only supposed to take three or four days to secure. Instead a month of brutal fight... Read more
Iwo Jima - 36 Days of Hell: Part 2 (2006)
By 1945, US troops had recaptured most of the land taken by the Japanese in the early part of the war. Iwo Jima marked the first time they landed on... Read more
Iwo Jima - 36 Days of Hell: Part 3 (2006)
When the Japanese realised the US were about to unleash an offensive in the Pacific they stationed thousands of planes throughout the Philippines, but... Read more
Iwo Jima - The Boys of H Company (2006)
On 19 February 1945, along with 60,000 other US Marines, the boys of H Company - many of them barely more than teenagers - stormed the beaches of the... Read more
John Ford Goes To War (2002)
6.2/10
Starring: Oliver Stone, Peter Bogdanovich, Leonard Maltin, Narrated by, Kris Kristofferson
The World War II films of legendary director John Ford are the focus of this insightful documentary narrated by Kris Kristofferson. Highlighting excer... Read more
Killing Hitler (2003)
6.6/10
Director: Jeremy Lovering
Starring: Keith Allen, Kenneth Cranham, Peter McDonald, Kate Ashfield
A BBC/History Channel docudrama combining fast-paced action with true-life facts to portray the 1945 Allied plot to assassinate Hitler. Dubbed Operati... Read more
Kokoda Frontline (1942)
Starring: Damien Parer, Peter FitzSimons
This ground-breaking documentary released in 1942 became Australia's first Oscar-winning film - the first and only Oscar given for news footage. Reno... Read more
Korea: The Forgotten War (1987)
7.5/10
Starring: Narrated by, Robert Stack
In June 1950, the North Korean Army initiated a massive attack on its southern neighbour, beginning a see-saw battle that would engulf the entire Kore... Read more