The computer animated film, presented at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, tells the story of the tiny state of Monaco, located on the Mediterranean Sea. Important stages in the history of the now world-famous principality are shown, from the mythological beginnings through the warlike Middle Ages to modern times including the prestigious Grand Prix of Monaco to close finally with a science fiction look into the future of Monaco.
In the depths of a snowy forest in an unknown wartime, two soldiers from opposing armies try to outwit each other in a perilous game of cat and mouse - until they find themselves outplayed by destiny.
A remarkable memoir of resilience, determination and love.Based on filmmaker Gaylene Preston's interviews with her father about his World War II experiences, reconstructed with actor Tony Barry as Ed Preston. Weaving strands of poetic imagined drama, and archival footage into the interview, Preston presents both sides of her parents' wartime marriage: the horror and hardship of battlefield and prison camp juxtaposed with the loneliness and grief of a young wife struggling with a newborn baby and a husband declared missing.Ed Preston, on his way home from rugby practice in 1940, joins the New Zealand Army to go to World War II. His new wife, Tui, is pregnant and distraught, but he tells her not to worry, he'll be home by Christmas. And so he is - four years later - after escaping from a prison camp in Italy. But while Ed is away, Tui has fallen in love with another man.
Dr Robert Ballard dives into Turkish waters to discover the ships and submarines wrecked during the bungling of the WWII Gallipoli campaign and the heroic stories of their crews.
Northern France, 1917. Australian Private Joseph Richmond and his fellow soldiers from the 18th Battalion A.I.F. have retreated into a supply trench during an artillery barrage. After being left by himself to act as a listening post, Joe discovers the all-important trench periscope has been damaged, meaning he has to poke his head above the parapet to determine enemy movements after he can overhear them close by. After exchanging shots with an unseen enemy, he retreats, but is confronted by a mysterious soldier. The soldier tells Joe go with him, even though he is not Joe’s relief. Joe refuses to leave his post without proper orders. The soldier reveals himself to be Joe as well, that Joe’s shooting exchange was fatal, and he has been dead ever since. The mysterious soldier represents everything Joe had to leave behind to become a soldier, but now he is dead, the two must reunite so Joe’s soul can meet its destiny.
Na Wewe is a 2010 Belgian short film directed by Ivan Goldschmidt, set in Burundi in 1994 or thereabouts. There is a civil war on, a genocidal conflict opposing Hutus and Tutsis. The film follows an attack by rebels of a minibus transporting ordinary passengers -- but who is a Hutu and who is a Tutsi? The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.
More than any other historical documents, It is the personal private letters written by a people to "their" dictator that provide the most intimate glimpses of the history of the Third Reich. A treasure of more than 100,000 such letters were recently found, hidden in a secret Russian archive. The uncensored letters reveal the true feelings of the German people - their hopes, longings and fears; also love letters, declarations of loyalty, birthday wishes and the occasional word of protest. Like a seismograph, it mirrors the change in mood in Nazi Germany, providing a reflection of the German spirit in the years from 1932 to 1945. A.K.A. Dear Uncle Adolf.
Year 1941, a roll of film is delivered to Shanghai and a Chinese spy named Gong An Ming (Liu Yun Long) must decide what he should do with the film, which turns out containing a great secret that could shock the whole world. He discovers the plan code named 'East Wind Rain' and passes the information to the American that their territory will soon be invaded by the Japanese. The code is aired during the weather report from Radio Tokyo on Dec 4, 1941. While in Shanghai An Ming meets with a singer cum pianist, Huan Yan (Fan Bing Bing) and falls in love with her, not realizing that she is also one of the spies. Soon An Ming realizes that his effort found no success and have been ignored due to some reason. And now by risking his own life he must also decide whether to make Huan Yan his lover or his enemy? Will the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in the end? Which country is Huan Yan working as a spy for? Will An Ming get caught by his enemy?
Epic film about WWII, a sequel to Utomlyonnye solntsem (1994). Evil Stalin is terrorizing people of Russia while the Nazis are advancing. Russian officer Kotov, who miraculously survived the death sentence in Stalin's Purge, is now fighting in the front-lines. His daughter, Nadia, who survived a rape attempt by Nazi soldiers, is now a nurse risking her own life to save others. In the war-torn nation even former enemies are fighting together to defend their land. People stand up united for the sake of victory. Written by Steve Shelokhonov
"The photonovel FIASKO is based on and named after Kertész’ novel. He describes his absurd attempt of a new beginning – after Auschwitz and Buchenwald – in the Budapest of the Stalin area. Our photonovel transfers Kertész’ literary method into a visual language: the joining of fragmentary elements of the past and of the present, finding a trace that links experience and remembrance. From 2008 to 2010 approximately 800 colored medium-format photos were taken. The sequential photos have been taken on the original locations. The remainders of the past systems are rendered via multiple exposures, pictures shown in their ambivalence, mirroring etc. The literary text and the photographies remain independent from one another, however they enter into a dialog and open up space for associations. The course of movement caused by the juxtaposition of multiple still images is continued when one turns the pages (see chronophotography)."
The true story of Australia's cat-and-mouse underground mine warfare—one of the most misunderstood, misrepresented and mystifying conflicts of WW I. It was secret struggle BENEATH the Western Front that combined daring engineering, technology and science. Few on the surface knew of the brave, claustrophobic and sometimes barbaric work of these tunnellers.
Mugaldekoak is set in the early 40s, when, on this side of the border, the wounds of the Civil War were still open and, on the other, they were living under occupation by the German Army. The tale revolves around the Comète Network, an initiative developed during World War II on the border with Navarre: the clandestine evacuation of British pilots brought down in enemy territory.
This World War II documentary rests on an unusual thesis: it argues that, in the wake of Pearl Harbor, the actions precipitated by the U.S.A.F. that truly helped turn the tide were perpetrated not by the widely-ballyhooed U.S.N. aviators or aircraft carriers, but by the American submarines - silent warriors beneath the deceptively placid ocean surface. The subs, after all, were responsible for gravely wounding Japan's industry, all but destroying the Japanese merchant fleet, and therefore preventing reinforcement of Japanese military garrisons. In relaying this story, the program draws on a series of interviews with military veterans, and endless archival footage of naval battles that chronologically tells the gripping story of the Pacific Front of the war.
On the flat island of Texel, Marie is a girl who has a vivid imagination who dreams about mountains. She feels oppressed by the strict religious island community and its narrow-minded way of life. Being the only girl in a big and poor family during wartime, she doesn't have much of a choice than to marry Paul, the beachcomber’s son. From the moment a regiment of Georgians are stationed on the island, Marie’s life changes and flourishes. With their film, music, and especially with their inventive, unusual survival strategies and entirely different life style, this isolated group of outsiders and in particular the young soldier Goga opens a new way for Marie. Through them, she realizes all her dreams without fear.
Just prior to the end of World War II, the German military secretly undertook a massive push to design miracle weapons - colossal tanks, the world's first guided missiles, and high-speed jets that could attack New York. Now, nearly 60 years later, a team of experts examines the original blueprints to determine if these so-called "Wunderwaffen," or "wonder weapons," could have changed the outcome of the war. One of Adolf Hitler's most top secret bombs: The Fritz X grandfather of the modern smart bomb. Prototype testing revealed that the success rate with this radio-guided bomb was over 80 times higher than with conventional free-falling bombs of the time. In every documented case the destructive power of the Fritz X proved so strong that it would completely rip through any battleship it hit. It would never explode while still inside the ship, but on exiting or in the water.
Coalition Forces are at war in Iraq. On March 31, 2004, a group of American soldiers are sent to the City of Fallujah. After a fierce attack from Iraqi insurgents, one soldier is captured and held hostage. As a response to this horrific event, the US military sends in American troops to rescue him. But will they arrive in time, can he survive?