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
A Film Unfinished (2010)
7.3/10
Director: Yael Hersonski
In 1942, more than two years after Nazi troops herded Poland's Jews into a ghetto in Warsaw, where they were to be held until they were sent to exterm... Read more
The Tillman Story (2010)
7.8/10
Director: Amir Bar-Lev
Pat Tillman gave up his professional football career to join the Army Rangers in 2002 - and became an instant symbol of patriotic fervor and unflinchi... Read more
Armadillo (2010)
7.6/10
Director: Janus Metz
Offering a unique glimpse into the international war against the Taliban, filmmaker Janus Metz's harrowing documentary follows a platoon of Danish sol... Read more
Armadillo (Blu-ray) (2010)
7.5/10
Director: Janus Metz
Offering a unique glimpse into the international war against the Taliban, filmmaker Janus Metz's harrowing documentary follows a platoon of Danish sol... Read more
Restrepo (2010)
7.5/10
Director: Tim Hetherington
Riveting and intimate, this documentary shot in a U.S. outpost in Afghanistan follows-without comment or added perspectives-the activities of a 15-man... Read more
Fighting the Red Baron (2010)
7.3/10
Director: Christopher Spencer
At the outset of WWI the aeroplane was seen as having little use other than to act as a spotter plane for the cavalry and artillery. But within six mo... Read more
Instant Expert: The Battle of Britain (2009)
Germany's devastating campaign to gain air superiority over the RAF and the British isle was the first such battle to be fought entirely in the air an... Read more
The Lancaster at War (2009)
Director: Stephen Saunders
Starring: Narrated by, Stuart Rodgers
The Avro Lancaster is widely regarded as the finest British heavy bomber of the Second World War. Using the best wartime film and air-to-air footage o... Read more
Churchill's German Army (2009)
7.4/10
Director: Mark McMullen
Millions of soldiers fought against Hitler's Germany in World War Two, but one group of men and women sacrificed everything in the battle against the... Read more
The Great Escape: The Reckoning (2009)
7.5/10
Director: Steve Westh
In March 1944, seventy-six Allied airmen broke out of Stalag Luft III, a prison camp in the heart of Nazi Germany in a story made famous by the iconic... Read more