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
Complete History of the Navy Seals (1999)
Starring: Narrated by, Tom Selleck
Long before President Kennedy commissioned the Navy SEALS in 1962, the Navy Combat Demolition Units were running demolition during WWII on D-Day, when... Read more
Last Days in Vietnam (2014)
7.6/10
Director: Rory Kennedy
Starring: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger
In the final weeks of the Vietnam War, American servicemen and others begin the difficult mission of evacuating as many friends, family members and So... Read more
Chain of Command: Season 1 (2018)
7.8/10
Starring: Chris Evans
Narrated by Chris Evans, this groundbreaking eight-part documentary series offers unprecedented access to the U.S. military’s mission to combat violen... Read more
Islands of Death: Volume 1 (1945)
Containing interviews from people who were there, this documentary series is a comprehensive guide to the battle that raged in the Pacific during the... Read more
When the War Came to Australia (2000)
This four part series tells the story of Australians on the Home Front during World War II. Personal recollections, rare archival footage and the musi... 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
Fighter Aces (2000)
6.8/10
Chronicles the history of aerial combat using archive footage. Features Adolf Galland, Ginger Lacey, Erich Hartmann and more. Read more
Battlefield: El Alamein (2001)
8.6/10
"Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat." Winston Churchill's words illustrate clearly why the two battles fought... Read more
I Was a Fireman (1943)
Director: Humphrey Jennings
Features three films from the man described by Lindsay Anderson as 'the only true poet of the English Cinema'. A collection of key war-time documentar... Read more
Winter Soldier (1972)
8.2/10
The film documents the "Winter Soldier Investigation" conducted by Vietnam Veterans Against the War in Detroit, Michigan in the Winter of 1971. The ev... Read more