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
Paragraph 175 (2000)
7.9/10
Director: Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein
Starring: Narrated by, Rupert Everett
The title refers to a 19th-century German anti-homosexuality statute that was rarely enforced until Hitler came to power and used the law to wage a ca... 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
World War 2 In Colour (2000)
This two part series from Germany, brings together a compilation of amazing unseen archival footage from pre-war Germany to the end of the war in Afri... 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
Hidden Wars of Desert Storm (2000)
8/10
Director: Gerard Ungerman, Audrey Brohy
Starring: Narrated by, John Hurt
On August 2nd, 1990, Saddam Hussein launched his troops against Kuwait, triggering the first major international crisis of the post-Soviet Union era.... Read more
Vietnam Air War (2000)
"Vietnam Air Wa"r is the most comprehensive film record ever produced of the aircraft, weaponry, strategy and tactics deployed during the Vietnam War.... Read more
They Filmed the War in Colour: France is Free! (2000)
Director: Rene-Jean Bouyer
France under German occupation, civilian life during this greatly troubled period, army exercises in North Africa and Great Britain to prepare for the... Read more
Scorched Earth: Propaganda (2000)
5/10
This episode provides an intriguing look at the part played by propaganda as governments struggled to gain the upper hand in the war away from the bat... Read more
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)
7.8/10
Director: Mark Jonathan Harris
Starring: Narrated by, Judi Dench
In the months before WW2, an extraordinary rescue operation aided the youngest victims of Nazi terror. Ten thousand Jewish and other children were tra... Read more
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