History
Hitler, Nazi propaganda and 1936 Berlin Olympics are put under the microscope to uncover hidden truths and the historical legacy of those games.
Nam-bok, a middle-aged South Korean farmer is conscripted and assigned a mission to deliver a classified military document that may decide the fate of the war. After losing it while under attack from the enemy, he then faces a teenage North Korean soldier named Yeong-gwang who happens to acquire the secret document on his way to the North.
With his true love captured by the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham, the legendary Robin Hood and his crew of outlaws execute a daring rescue to save her.
Horse breeder Scott Engstrom has been trying for years to prove that the Appaloosa, a rare American horse breed, came from Asia and not Spain. With only 109 true Appaloosas left in the world the question is vital. After spotting a horse uncannily like an Appaloosa on a TV show filmed in Kyrgyzstan, the fiery 69-year-old heads for central Asia.
In July 1945, during the end of World War II, Japan is forced to accept the Potsdam Declaration. A cabinet meeting has continued through days and nights, but a decision cannot be made. The U.S. drops atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. General Korechika Anami is torn over making the proper decision and the Emperor of Japan worries about his people. Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki leads the cabinet meeting, while Chief Secretary Hisatsune Sakomizu can’t do anything, but watch the meeting. At this time, Major Kenji Hatanaka and other young commissioned officers, who are against Japan surrendering, move to occupy the palace and a radio broadcasting station. The radio station is set to broadcast Emperor Hirohito reading out the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.
Behind the walls of a forbidden city, the only thing more dangerous than its secrets is the truth.
Buddhism-themed Chinese-Indian historical adventure film based on Xuanzang’s seventeen-year overland journey to India during the Tang dynasty in the seventh century. Xuan Zang (c. 602 – 664), was a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang dynasty. From boyhood, he took to reading religious books, including the Chinese classics and the writings of ancient sages. He later travelled throughout China in search of sacred books of Buddhism. Subsequently, he developed the desire to visit India. This is when he became famous for his seventeen-year overland journey to India, which is recorded in detail in the classic Chinese text Great Tang Records on the Western Regions.
From the onset of the AIDS epidemic, author Larry Kramer emerged as a fiery activist, an Old Testament-style prophet full of righteous fury who denounced both the willful inaction of the government and the refusal of the gay community to curb potentially risky behaviors. Co-founder of both the service organization Gay Men’s Health Crisis and the direct action protest group ACT UP, Kramer was vilified by some who saw his criticism to be an expression of self-hatred, while lionized by others who credit him with waking up the gay community — and, eventually, the government and medical establishment — to the devastation of the disease.
Follow the lives of the elderly survivors who were forced into sex slavery as “Comfort Women” by the Japanese during World War II. At the time of filming, only 22 of these women were still alive to tell their story. Through their own personal histories and perspectives, they tell a tale that should never be forgotten to generations unaware of the brutalization that occurred.
The story of Hitler’s final hours told by people who were there. This special features exclusive forgotten interviews, believed lost for 65 years, with members of Hitler’s inner circle who were trapped with him in his bunker as the Russians fought to take Berlin. These unique interviews from figures such as the leader of the Hitler Youth Artur Axmann and Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, have never before been seen outside Germany. Using rarely seen archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, this special tells the story of Adolf Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, Egon Schiele is one of the most provocative artists in Vienna. His life and work are driven by beautiful women and an era that is coming to an end. Two women will have a lasting impact on him – his sister and first muse Gerti, and 17-year-old Wally, arguably Schiele’s one true love, immortalized in his famous painting ‘Death and the Maiden’. Schiele’s radical paintings scandalize Viennese society while daring artists like Gustav Klimt and art agents alike are sensing the exceptional. But Egon Schiele is also prepared to go beyond his own pain and to sacrifice love and life for his art.
In 645 AD, the Tang Dynasty’s emperor Li starts his invasion into Goguryeo, one of the ancient kingdoms of Korea. One victory after another, the Tang army marches into Ansi, protected by General Yang, the lord of the fortress. Abandoned by his country and outnumbered by thousands, the brave general gathers his men and women to face the Tang army on his own.
It is 1939. Flamboyant Czech diplomat Jan Masaryk has fled to America to escape his recent past. Germany has invaded Czechoslovakia and Masaryk is now a man with no nation. In America he tries to forget the personal and political betrayal he and his country have suffered but these events shadow his every step. As the Czechoslovak ambassador in London, Masaryk failed to win the support of the British and could not avert the ruination of his country. With the help of Dr. Stein, an emigre German psychiatrist, and the beautiful writer Marcia Davenport, Masaryk tries to overcome his demons and re-live the dramatic events leading to the outbreak of the second world war.
A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.
In 1911, minor stage comic, Vernon Castle meets the stage-struck Irene Foote. A few misadventures later, they marry and then abandon comedy to attempt a dancing career together. While they’re performing in Paris, an agent sees them rehearse and starts them on their brilliant career as the world’s foremost ballroom dancers. However, at the height of their fame, World War I begins.
For millennia mankind lived upon this planet without the need for electronic devices. No smart phones, tablets or gadgets running our homes. We knew about the cycles of nature and the balance of life. Now, we live in an artificially created dream state that controls every aspect of our lives. The majority of people in the world have no idea how to hunt and gather, how to heal themselves, build a shelter and even communicate without texting. Huge leaps in technological evolution have destroyed in one generation what thousands of generations developed. The threats we are facing in the very near future are immense. Criminals, terrorists and governments are only just the beginning. We will soon be facing the greatest threat ever known as we are feeding and nurturing the monster of our own destruction. Welcome to your future.
13 years after the King Injo Revolt, the Chosun Dynasty is attacked by the Chung Dynasty of China. A young man named Na-mi leaves his demolished village to find his young sister, Ja-in, and her finance Su-koon, who were to wed on the very day of the attack. While on his mission to rescue her, he is being traced by Jushinta, a fierce Chung Warrior, and his band of malicious men who are out to stop him. Na-mi has but a day to rescue his sister before she is taken away to be a slave. When Na-mi finally finds his sister, Jushinta comes between them and a fierce battle between two of the finest warriors unfolds.
Parikka, the actor once called the Funniest Man in Finland, and his troupe are about to be executed for the atrocities committed during the Civil War in Finland. Jaeger Lieutenant Nyborg, an admirer of Parikka, suspects a definite miscarriage of justice. He wants to save the actors. The forthcoming visit of the German General von der Goltz to the prison island provides him with a suitable opportunity. Nyborg suggests that the actors prepare a comical performance for the visitor and not be shot. Instead, they will be given a new trial. Preparing a comedy in the horrible circumstances, in the midst of hunger and death, seems quite an overwhelming task. Only a handful of real actors are still alive, the rest of the troupe consists of stagehands. Parikka has to use all his inventive skills to be able to produce something funny.
French novelist, Colette, overcomes an abusive marriage to emerge as a leading writer in her country and a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
A story about greed, politics and the land grab of the century, ZIPPER chronicles the battle over an American cultural icon. Small-time ride operator, Eddie Miranda, proudly operates a carnival contraption called the Zipper in the heart of Coney Island’s gritty amusement district. When his rented lot is snatched up by a real estate mogul, Eddie and his ride become casualties of a power struggle between the developer and the City of New York over the future of the world-famous destination. Be it an affront to history or simply the path of progress, the spirit of Coney Island is at stake. In an increasingly corporate landscape, where authenticity is often sacrificed for economic growth, the Zipper may be just the beginning of what is lost.
Set in Shanghais Gangster era of the early 1900s, THE LAST TYCOON tells the tale of CHENG (Chow Yun-Fat), a young man who is set up by the chief of police (Sammo Hung) and must leave the life he knows and QIU (Monica Mok), the woman he loves, to start again. After escaping prison CHENG quickly and violently moves his way up the ladder of Shanghais criminal underworld to become on the most powerful mob bosses in Shanghais history. But fame and notoriety take their toll when CHENG finds himself stuck between the looming Japanese army and the scheming local secret service. Matters are only made worse when he bumps into the love of his life QIU, along with her writer husband. Will love re-kindle in the dusk of an era?
During the reign of the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Yunagaya Domain in the Tohoku region is a small han. But at the han, there is a gold mine. Suddenly, Masaatsu Naito of Yunagaya Domain receives an order to perform Sankin-kotai within 5 days. Sankin-kotai is a custom that requires the daimyo to visit the shogun in Edo. Unfortunately, the time needed to visit the shogun in Edo for Masaatsu Naito is 8 days. Masaatsu Naito also learns he received the order because a high ranking government official wants the gold mine. Also, the expense for Sankin-kotai is high and the Yunagaya Domain is such a small han that it seems impossible to complete. Nevertheless, Masaatsu Naito begins an unexpected operation to complete Sankin-kotai in 5 days.
A Taiwanese high school baseball team travels to Japan in 1931 to compete in a national tournament.
When the Amago samurai withdraw their protection of the village of Tatara, famous for their manufacture of the legendary swords, the younger generation – erroneously – believe that guns will suffice.
The movie depicts the three months before Choong-nyung (the future Sejong the Great) becomes king. The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which follows the history of the Joseon Dynasty between 1413 and 1865, leaves out records of this crucial period. While future generations would come to know him as King Sejong, the legendary figure who created the Korean alphabet and advanced the country’s scientific research and law, Prince Choong-nyung was originally dismissed as a reclusive bookworm. When his older brothers Yangnyeong and Hyoryeong fail to impress their father King Taejong, the king makes a royal command for Choong-nyung to become the next ruler of the kingdom instead.
WWII from Space delivers World War II in a way you’ve never experienced it before. This HISTORY special uses an all-seeing CGI eye that offers a satellite view of the conflict, allowing you to experience it in a way that puts key events and tipping points in a global perspective. By re-creating groundbreaking moments that could never have been captured on camera, and by illustrating the importance of simultaneity and the hidden effects of crucial incidents, HISTORY presents the war’s monumental moments in a never-before-seen context. And with new information brought to the forefront, you’ll better understand how a nation ranked 19th in the world’s militaries in 1939 emerged six years later as the planet’s only atomic superpower.
Brothers Colin and Ewan McGregor follow up their documentary The Battle of Britain with a film exploring Bomber Command, a rarely told story from the Second World War. The film focuses primarily on the men who fought and died in the skies above occupied Europe, with numerous examples of individual heroism and extraordinary collective spirit, and Colin learns to fly the key aircraft of the campaign: the Lancaster bomber. But this is also the story of a controversy that has lasted almost 70 years. The program covers six years of wartime operations, and traces the obstacles and challenges that were overcome as the RAF developed and deployed the awesome fighting force that was Bomber Command.
A little known fact is that Chinggis Khaan, better known as Genghis Khan, would collect orphans from his bloody battlefields and have his own mother raise them. These adopted brothers grew up to become his most loyal officials and advisers. Khaan organised his Mongol soldiers into groups according to the decimal system. Soldiers were arranged in units of 10 (“aravt”), 100 (“zuut”), 1,000 (“minghan”) and 10,000 (“tumen”). Each unit had an appointed leader reporting to a larger unit. A 10-person “aravt” unit is ordered by Khaan to locate a skilled doctor who lives in a forest. En route, they discover an abandoned baby. He is in fact the child of an enemy warrior who gives pursuit, even though they have saved the child’s life. Whilst protecting the child from attacks from enemy soldiers, the members of the “aravt” must also complete their mission. Through their actions, they demonstrate the benevolence and bravery of Mongol warriors as the final battle closes in.
Set during China’s the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), benevolent warrior Chenkang Lu (Joe Odagiri) enters into a torrid love affair with a woman (Maggie Q) from the nomadic Harran tribe. Their relationship sends the warrior to a place where humans were once wolves…
An obscure passage in the Book of Isaiah describing the fall of ancient Israel has, since September 11, 2001, been eerily re-enacted in the United States exactly as it originally occurred in the time of the great prophet of Israel leading to the nation’s demise.
A memorial concert reawakens the story of an artistic uprising in the Nazi concentration camp, Terezin, where a chorus of 150 inmates confronts the Nazis face-to-face – and sings to them what they dare not say.
A family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
Documentary about the psychotherapist Irvin D. Yalom.
Three childhood friends. Three sworn brothers. One was initiated into the sacrament and grew up to be a great shaman. The other two followed the path of war and the nation recognised them as leaders. But only one of them was to become the ruler of the entire steppe. He was chosen by the Eternal Blue Sky and the Sky itself put him on a trial. Love for a woman will make him a warrior. Allegiance to the law will lead him to fratricide. Striving for peace will force him to start war. The council of nine tribes, speaking nine tongues, proclaimed him the sovereign and gave him the name of an ancient deity – Genghis Kahn.
The Age of Stupid is the new movie from Director Franny Armstrong (McLibel) and producer John Battsek (One Day In September). Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
Underwater Dreams, narrated by Michael Peña, is an epic story of how the sons of undocumented Mexican immigrants learned how to build underwater robots. And go up against MIT in the process.
