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
Lost in Libya (2009)
Director: Dan Henry
Starring: Roberto Chiarvetto, Brendan O'Carroll (II), Kuno Gross
Follow three 'history hunters' on a journey through the Sahara Desert in Libya. This mixed group of adventurers share a common interest; that of findi... Read more
Hitler and Mussolini (2009)
Starring: Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini
Taking hold of the reins of fate, two very different men stood on the stage of world history - "Der Fuhrer" and "II Duce". They became the most photog... Read more
Flying the Secret Sky: The Story of the RAF Ferry Command (2008)
6.3/10
In 1940 Nazi air strikes had Britain on her knees. The RAF was desperate for aircraft - losing hundreds of planes in air battles over Europe. Their es... Read more
No Surrender: German & Japanese Kamikazes (2008)
7.1/10
This feature-length special recounts the desperate measures taken by Axis forces to stave off defeat in WWII and the mythical origins of the Japanese... Read more
The Last Voices of the Great War (2008)
8/10
Director: Nick Maddocks
A powerful first-person testimony to one of the most fascinating and traumatic episodes in human history, The Last Voices of the Great War, presents t... Read more
Secrets of the Civil War (2008)
Even today, almost 150 years after Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, unexpected secrets and little known stories continue to emerge from Civi... Read more
Living with the Enemy (2008)
5.4/10
Director: Karsten Laske
This is the story of the years between the end of World War II and the founding of the two German states: 1945 to 1949, which proved to be a decisive... Read more
Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire (2008)
7.9/10
It is 114 B.C. and the Republic of Rome is a small empire clinging to the rim of the Mediterranean. Suddenly, terror grips the Romans as the first bar... Read more
Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World (2008)
Director: Paul Cowan
For six fateful months in 1919, Paris was the centre of the world. The last shots had been fired in the most devastating war in history - and world le... Read more
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
8/10
Director: Ari Folman
Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman employs a unique animated style in this innovative documentary that recalls his military service in the early 1980s. When... Read more