Popular History Movies on Hoopla - Page 33

The Lie Detector

2023

The Lie Detector

2023
8
In the first decades of the 20th century, when life was being transformed by scientific innovations, researchers made a thrilling new claim: they could tell whether someone was lying by using a machine. Popularly known as the “lie detector,” the device transformed police work, seized headlines and was extolled in movies, TV and comics as an infallible crime-fighting tool. Husbands and wives tested each other’s fidelity. Corporations routinely tested employees’ honesty and government workers were tested for loyalty and “morals.” But the promise of the polygraph turned dark, and the lie detector too often became an apparatus of fear and intimidation. Written and directed by Rob Rapley and executive produced by Cameo George, The Lie Detector is a tale of good intentions, twisted morals and unintended consequences.
John Wesley

1954

John Wesley

1954
1
Rescued from a burning house as a child, John Wesley believes the experience marked him for a higher purpose, a 'brand from the burning'. The film follows Wesley's years at Oxford and as a clergyman, his disagreements with the church over the social position of the clergy, his mission to America, the founding of Methodism, and his bringing of the Gospel into the lives of ordinary people.
Riddles of the Sphinx

2010

Riddles of the Sphinx

2010
6
For over 4000 years, the Sphinx has puzzled all who have laid eyes on it. What is this crouching lion, human-headed creature? Who built it and why? To unlock its secrets, two teams of scientists and sculptors immerse themselves in the world of ancient Egypt — a land of pharaohs and pyramids, animal gods and mummies, sun worship and human sacrifice.
Newton's Grace

2017

Newton's Grace

2017
5
John Newton was a troubled young man with a violent temper and a penchant for vulgarity that literally made his fellow sailors blush. Whipped for desertion and sold into slavery, it seemed his life would end early in a West African grave...until he was rescued by a ship captain sent by his father. Following a powerful conversion experience during a storm at sea, Newton would eventually become a pastor in the Church of England and the writer of several of the church's most beloved hymns, including "Amazing Grace".
María Montez: The Movie

2014

María Montez: The Movie

2014
6
The story of Maria Montez, an exotic and glamorous Dominican actress who achieved fame and popularity in Hollywood and Europe until her untimely death in 1951.
The Art Dealer

2015

The Art Dealer

2015
3.6
A young woman is searching, today, in Paris, the collection of paintings stolen from her Jewish family during WWII.
Part Two: The Mao Years 1949–1976

1994

Part Two: The Mao Years 1949–1976

1994
7
The trilogy continues with The Mao Years, a look at the next period of modern China’s history: Mao Zedong’s rule, from 1949 to his death in 1976. The film begins with the celebrations marking the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, a moment of great hope for millions of Chinese. But the quarter-century of Mao’s rule was as turbulent as the decades which preceded it. Interludes of relative calm and increased prosperity were interrupted repeatedly by violent campaigns, purges, and a famine in which killed more than 30 million people. It culminated in Mao’s colossal and tragic experiment, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. When Mao died in 1976, people were exhausted by the turmoil and longed for stability.
Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy

2018

Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy

2018
7.8
Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy is a feature-length documentary film highlighting the history of the Crownsville State Mental Hospital in Crownsville, MD.
Orchard House: Home of Little Women

2018

Orchard House: Home of Little Women

2018
8
Emmy Award-winning chronicle of the history of Orchard House, the home in Concord, Massachusetts where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set Little Women.
Jack Jonah

2019

Jack Jonah

2019
2
This film follows the path of the Jonah Family in remembrance of the loss of their son, Jack, to a heroin overdose. The film brings awareness to the drug/opioid crisis in Massachusetts and the world itself. Focusing on Jack's Family and people they meet along the way, it shows different types of grief, the signs of an addiction we may miss, and how we can inspire courage to be contagious.
JFK: A President Betrayed

2013

JFK: A President Betrayed

2013
7.4
Narrated by Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, "JFK: A President Betrayed" uncovers new evidence that reveals how JFK embarked on secret back channel peace efforts with Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro and was determined to get out of Vietnam despite intense opposition inside his own government.
Destined for Blues

2005

Destined for Blues

2005
7.4
The life of Ryszard Riedel, former leader of cult Polish rock-blues band Dzem, including the history of his family relationships, music career and addiction to alcohol and drugs.
Effigy: Poison and the City

2020

Effigy: Poison and the City

2020
7
1828 in the German port city of Bremen: Two very different women collide in an age that has no place for either of them. One strives for a career in law, at a time when women aren't even admitted to universities. The other has lived life outside the law and may now have to pay the tab. One of them needs to get her head together – while the other would do anything not to lose hers. -- Based on a true story.
Sins of Jezebel

1953

Sins of Jezebel

1953
4.8
The aging king of Israel, Ahab, falls under the influence of a young and beautiful but scheming Pagan woman named Jezebel and, against the advice of his advisers and the prophet Elijah, marries her. Her plan to introduce her idols to Israel angers God, who wreaks vengeance on Israel.
Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion

2003

Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion

2003
5.3
A true story about the tragic explosion at Halifax Harbour, Canada, in the early hours of December 6, 1917.
Blind Logic: The Ralph R. Teetor Story

0000

Blind Logic: The Ralph R. Teetor Story

0000
The documentary follows the remarkable journey in America's heartland of automotive pioneer and visionary, Ralph R. Teetor.
Wesley

2009

Wesley

2009
7.7
The year is 1732. John Wesley, an irritatingly self-righteous instructor at Oxford is offered the chance to go to the new colony of Georgia, where he hopes to preach to the Indians. John struggles with his failure and fears and is finally experiences the peace he longed for: "I felt my heart strangely warmed." Wesley begins to preach about his experience of saving faith, but is turned out of most churches in London. Despite opposition, mob violence that seeks to break up their meetings, Wesley and his "Methodies" establish social ministries to the poor that transformed the face of England. Today, almost 75 million people worldwide trace their spiritual heritage back to John Wesley.
Beavers: Patagonia invaders

2015

Beavers: Patagonia invaders

2015
8.7
In 1940 twenty Canadian Beavers were brought to 'Tierra del Fuego' island in southern Patagonia for commercial fur production. However, beavers having no natural predators, quickly spread throughout the island, causing massive destruction of trees threatening the entire Patagonian forests rivers and species. Why wildlife conservationist are convinced that 150.000 beavers must be killed? Why some of the most recognized specialist are convinced that an eradication is not possible? Meanwhile truism is capitalizing on the situation: a man dressed as a beaver passes out flyers promoting a famous sky resort: 'Cerro Castor' - Beaver Hill. Hunters claim for subsidies, scientists are researching, rangers do what they can and restaurants tray to offer beaver meat to tourist.
1964

2014

1964

2014
6.4
1964 was the year the Beatles came to America, Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, and three civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi. It was the year when Berkeley students rose up in protest, African Americans fought back against injustice in Harlem, and Barry Goldwater’s conservative revolution took over the Republican Party. In myriad ways, 1964 was the year when Americans faced choices: between the liberalism of Lyndon Johnson or Barry Goldwater’s grassroots conservatism, between support for the civil rights movement or opposition to it, between an embrace of the emerging counterculture or a defense of traditional values.
Rabbit à la Berlin

2009

Rabbit à la Berlin

2009
6.4
The untold story about wild rabbits which lived between the Berlin Walls. For 28 years Death Zone was their safest home. Full of grass, no predators, guards protecting them from human disturbance. They were closed but happy. When their population grew up to thousands, guards started to remove them. But rabbits survived and stayed there. Unfortunately one day the wall fell down. Rabbits had to abandon comfortable system. They moved to West Berlin and have been living there in a few colonies since then. They are still learning how to live in the free world, same as we - the citizens of Eastern Europe.