History Movies

Bearing Witness Native American Voices in Hollywood

For over 100 years, Hollywood cinema has crafted the ultimate "villain"- the Indian, as they were labeled in early Westerns. Confined almost exclusively to this genre, the Western became a vehicle for American racism, obscuring the genocide upon which the United States was built. In this documentary, only Native Americans are given a voice to share their story, one that has been overshadowed by Hollywood's portrayal. Their narrative, part of the larger American story, highlights how cinema has long been used as a powerful propaganda tool, distorting history and perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

Ougon No Toki - Kintaro Hattori Story

The End Of The Line: Rochester's Subway

"The End of the Line - Rochester's Subway" tells the little-known story of the rail line that operated in a former section of the Erie Canal from 1927 until its abandonment in 1956. Produced in 1994 by filmmakers Fredrick Armstrong and James P. Harte, the forty-five minute documentary recounts the tale of an American city's bumpy ride through the Twentieth Century, from the perspective of a little engine that could, but didn't. The film has since been rereleased (2005) and now contains the main feature with special portions that were added as part of the rereleased version. These include a look at the only surviving subway car from the lines and a Phantom tun through the tunnels in their abandoned state, among others, for a total of 90 minutes of unique and well preserved historical information.

Terror and Virtue: Robespierre

From April to July 1794, Robespierre forms a triumvirate with Saint-Just and Couthon. He plans to instate his ideal based on virtue and in times of revolutionary crisis, on terror. In May, he establishes the Cult of the Supreme Being. However, he still has numerous enemies...

His Trust

A Confederate officer is called off to war. He leaves his wife and daughter in the care of George, his faithful Negro servant. After the officer is killed in battle, George continues in his caring duties, faithful to his trust.

My Little Sunrise

After leaving the Rohwer Japanese internment camp, a Japanese father and his young daughter hide in rural Arkansas, where survival depends on every choice that could lead to their freedom... or capture.

Speeches That Shook the World

Speech-making is the art of persuasion. Well-honed rhetoric appeals not just to the mind, but to the heart and, deeper down, in the guts. Examining the speeches that provoked radical change, surprised pundits or shocked listeners, poet Simon Armitage dissects what makes a perfect speech. Simon gets the inside story behind some of the famous speeches of the modern age, talking to Tony Blair's speechwriter, to Earl Spencer on his controversial address at his sister's funeral and the woman who challenged the rioters in Hackney. We hear how Peter Tatchell confronted the BNP, Paul Boateng on how Enoch Powell's divisive speech personally affected him as a child, and Colonel Tim Collins, whose charge was to motivate his troops on the eve of the Iraq war. Simon discusses the nuts and bolts of speech writing with Vincent Franklin, aka the blue-sky thinking guru Stuart Pearson from The Thick of It, and gets tips on powerful delivery from actor Charles Dance.

Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №8. Part 1. Hunting for a Princess

Russia, 1736. The sixth year of Anna Ioannovna's reign. To strengthen the family of her female ancestors, the Miloslavskys, the Empress bequeaths the throne to the future son of her niece Anna Leopoldovna. There has never been such a thing in history that a non-existent child has become the heir. Meanwhile, for the sake of a worthy military alliance with Austria, the Empress trains Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich, Duke of Brauschweig. The mother of the future heir does not like the groom, and this is used by Peter, the offspring of Biron, and the Saxon envoy Moritz. The hunt for the princess begins between these two knights.

The Rest Is Ashes

Atanas Burov (played by Assen Blatechki) is considered as the most influential politician in Bulgaria's history. The movie is about him and his love story with Dilyana Popova as the main female character.

Winning Your Wings

Winning Your Wings is a 1942 short American World War II recruitment film produced by Warner Bros. Studios for the US Army Air Forces, starring Jimmy Stewart. It was aimed at young men who were thinking about joining the Air Force.

Henry VI Part 3

The life of King Henry the Sixth, in three parts.

Sebechlebskí hudci

Two Sebechleby musicians, Peter and Jakub, and their guardian Klimo set out in the mid-17th century to rescue the noblewoman Dóciová, abducted by Ottoman raiders into Istanbul. Lacking language skills and guidance, they rely on courage, wit and their newly enchanted instruments to overcome dangers.

Young Eagles

Grodno, the eastern border of pre-war Poland. On September 1, 1939, German planes bomb the city. One of the bombs hits the school of Leoś, Ewelina and Tadek. Literally and symbolically, the world of a carefree childhood, fun and first crushes ends.

Beethoven privat

To mark Beethoven's 250th birthday, the documentary sheds light on the composer's private side, linking his writings with his music in an original way. Beethoven's many letters and notes tell of his temperament, his love affairs, his humanism and his struggles, especially with the early onset of deafness.

Gustav III

Based on play by famous swedish author/playwright August Strindberg adapted for swedish TV in 70's. It's about the real life assassination on swedish king Gustav III who was killed by a lieutenant Jacob Johan Anckarström who acted on behalf of a group conspirators.

Días de mayo

During the Rosariazo of 1969, two young people, a university activist and theater student and a freelance photographer and cameraman for a TV channel, fall in love.

Emperor Shivaji

The film chronicles the ascent of Shivaji, the great Maratha warrior who fought for liberty from the erstwhile Muslim rulers in order to establish a secular Hindu kingdom.

Here We Drown Algerians

In response to the call of the Front de libération nationale (F.L.N., the National Liberation Front), thousands of Algerians from Paris and its surroundings march on October 17, 1961, to protest against the curfew imposed on them. This peaceful demonstration will be violently put down by the police. 50 years on, the filmmaker sheds light on this still taboo subject. Blending testimony and unseen archive footage, history and memory, past and present, the film relates the different stages in these events and reveals the strategy and methods applied at the highest level of the French state: manipulation of public opinion, the systematic challenge of every accusation, the censoring of information in order to prevent investigation.

The Scarlet Tunic

Passions erupt between a German hussar (Jean-Marc Barr) serving with King George III's personal cavalry and the only daughter of an English solicitor (Emma Fielding) in this period tearjerker adapted from a short story by Thomas Hardy. Longing to escape their own personal imprisonments -- he, his service to the king, and she, her engagement to a man she doesn't love -- they find solace in each other's arms.

Rain of Light

This documentary-style film recreates the infamous Asama Sanso Incident of 1972 wherein an extreme faction of the Students Allied Red Army holed themselves up in a mountainous cabin in the dead of winter. By the time the police finally caught up with them, it was discovered that they had murderously turned upon themselves in a bizarre extension of their radical philosophy. This event virtually marked the end of the Student Revolution.