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
The Devil Came on Horseback (2007)
7.8/10
Director: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg
In 2004, former U.S. marine Brian Steidle was assigned to Darfur as an 'unarmed monitor' and became a key witness to the region's unfolding genocide,... Read more
The Great War (1990)
8.3/10
"The Story of World War I 1914 - 1918". This compelling story of World War I has been compiled using archive and rare footage from the 4th of August 1... Read more
The Cats of Mirikitani (2006)
8.3/10
Director: Linda Hattendorf
Starring: Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani
Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens hi... Read more
The War (2007)
9.1/10
Director: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick
Ken Burns presents a fourteen-part documentary on World War Two, focusing on the impact it had on the people involved - the soldiers and the families... Read more
In the Year of the Pig (1968)
7.7/10
Director: Emile de Antonio
Produced at the height of the Vietnam War, Emile de Antonio's Oscar-nominated 1968 documentary chronicles the war's historical roots. With palpable ou... Read more
The Nazis: A Warning From History (1997)
8.7/10
This fascinating six-part BBC documentary chronicles the rise of the Nazi party, using interviews and archive footage to determine if the civilized, c... Read more
The Third Reich in Color (2001)
8.3/10
This remarkable trove of colour footage, assembled from far-flung private and state collections, presents Hitler's Europe as never seen before. Amateu... Read more
The World at War: Volume 1 (1973)
9.2/10
Director: David Elstein, Hugh Raggett
Starring: Narrated by, Laurence Olivier
The definitive story of the Second World War in seven volumes and narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier. From the rise of Nazi Germany to the dramatic resc... Read more
The True Glory (2004)
7.2/10
Widely regarded as one of the greatest war documentaries ever made, this Oscar-winning film was produced by the Allied military during 1944 and 1945,... Read more
NZSAS: First Among Equals (2007)
8.9/10
Made for TV3's Inside New Zealand documentary slot, this 3-part series is a unique in-depth look at New Zealand's most elite fighting force. Beginnin... Read more