To understand eighteenth-century America through a woman's eyes, historian and author Laurel Thatcher Ulrich spent eight years working through Martha Ballard's massive but cryptic diary. "A Midwife's Tale" chronicles the interwoven stories of two remarkable women: an eighteenth-century midwife and healer and the twentieth-century historian who brought her words to light.
When six-year-old Ruby Bridges is chosen to be the first African-American to integrate her local elementary school, she is subjected to the true ugliness of racism for the first time.
Shiloh was one of the largest amphibious campaigns ever waged by an American Army. It was a brutal Civil War battle that where one in four who fought was killed or wounded. Highlights the 135th Anniversary Reenactment with 13,000 participants of the Tennessee battle, along with archival photos, digital effects, first-person accounts and narration.
In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.
They've ridden dusty miles without end and fought fierce battles. Yet when these brave African-American cavalrymen enter a scraggly frontier town, they must walk through it instead of ride. The town dishonors them but the soldiers' Native-American foes do not. Apache leader Victoria and other warriors give the horsemen a name of honor and strength: "Buffalo Soldiers". The troopers' daring hunt for Victorio frames this stirring tribute to the former slaves and other African-Americans of the 9th and 10th U.S. Calvary Regiments. Danny Glover, Mykelti Williamson, Glynn Turman, Carl Lumbly and Michael Warren star in an adventure bringing to light that largely unknown story and the unique moral dilemma the men faced. Atten-hut! "Buffalo Soldiers are riding" through town.
Max is a handsome young man who, after a fateful tryst with a German soldier, is forced to run for his life. Eventually Max is placed in a concentration camp where he pretends to be Jewish because in the eyes of the Nazis, gays are the lowest form of human being. But it takes a relationship with an openly gay prisoner to teach Max that without the love of another, life is not worth living.
A film scrapbook, images, phrases from our past, hiding their meanings behind veils. Let's lift those veils, one by one, to find how images, at one time seeming innocent, have revealed, after decades, to have homosexual overtones.
Jim Charlesworth, director of Princeton University's Dead Sea Scrolls Project believes that a large number of scrolls have yet to come to light. The programme is about his quest to track them down, an undertaking not without risks. The cliffs of Qumran still attract scroll hunters with non-academic motives - the scrolls are much sought after by private collectors and the shady figures of the black market who supply them.
Fernando, a journalist, and his friend César join terrorist group MR8 in order to fight Brazilian dictatorial regime during the late sixties. César, however, is wounded and captured during a bank hold up. Fernando then decides to kidnap the American ambassador in Brazil and ask for the release of fifteen political prisoners in exchange for his life.
Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Lhasa, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.
Oscar Wilde is a married playwright who has occasionally indulged his weakness for male suitors. After much toil, Wilde debuts 'The Importance of Being Earnest' in London, and a chat at the theatre with Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas leads to a full-fledged romance. However, this affair leads to a legal dispute with Lord Alfred's oppressive father, the Marquess of Queensberry, and, given the local anti-gay laws, Wilde is jailed. Wilde's vast intellect helps him survive until he regains his freedom.
Hal Holbrook narrates this breathtaking documentary. Produced for national release on PBS Television, Trail of Hope captures the 22-year history of the Mormon Trail, a singular saga in American history. This conduit to the West was used by more than 70,000 emigrants - most of them migrating for religious reasons on their journey to the Great Basin. The great majority of these pioneers made the trek on foot across windblown plains, sunbaked deserts and frozen mountain valleys; each step a triumph in the face of tragedy, and a testament to unwavering faith.
Amidst the 1971 Indo-Pak war, a company of 120 Indian soldiers stationed at the border region of Longewala in Rajasthan must defend their post through the night against two thousand Pakistani troops armed with tanks. Based on the true events of the Battle of Longewala.
A cinematic version of the life of famous Indian saint-poet, Annamayya (born May 1408), follows the spiritual awakening of the mystic composer Annamayya, who's first motivated to write a song of praise after visiting a temple. His devotion is put to the test when he vows to fast until he comes face to face with God, an act of faith for which he's rewarded with a blessed meal of prasad. As his fame as a singer spreads, Annamayya eventually becomes a real personification of the holy Nandaka Sword.
Follow a group of international journalists into the heart of the once cosmopolitan city of Sarajevo—now a danger zone of sniper and mortar attacks where residents still live. While reporting on an American aid worker who’s trying to get children out of the country, a British correspondent decides to take an orphaned girl home to London.
The Soong family was a political dynasty in China that reached the highest levels of power. This film follows the lives of the three Soong daughters, who were educated in America and returned to China. Ai-ling married a wealthy and powerful businessman. Ching-ling married Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary founder of modern China. Mei-ling married Chiang Kai-shek, China's leader during World War II. The sisters captured the world's fascination for their brilliant marriages and their strong influence on their nation.