In 1918, when New York City hired its first scientifically trained medical examiner Charles Norris. Over the course of a decade and a half, Norris and his extraordinarily driven and talented chief toxicologist, Alexander Gettler, would turn forensic chemistry into a formidable science, sending many a murderer to the electric chair and setting the standards that the rest of the country would ultimately adopt.
The printing press was the world's first mass-production machine. Its invention in the 1450s changed the world as dramatically as splitting the atom or sending men into space, sparking a cultural revolution which shaped the modern age.
Chronicles the little-known story of Allied airmen imprisoned at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in the waning months of World War II. In the summer of 1944, 168 airmen from the US, England, Canada and other Allied countries were captured in Paris by the German Gestapo and sent to the infamous "Koncentration Lager Buchenwald" in Germany. Falsely accused of being "terrorists and saboteurs," the airmen faced a terrifying fight for survival and a race against time to escape their execution. A controversial moment in history that their home countries tried to hush-up, Lost Airmen of Buchenwald tells this harrowing story through interviews with seven surviving members of the group, including their heroic commanding officer. The film follows them from their days hiding with the French Resistance to the darkest corners of the Holocaust, where they struggled to survive as Germany collapsed under the weight of the advancing Russian and Allied armies
From the early race to build gliders to the D-Day invasion at Normandy and Nazi Germany's final surrender, "Silent Wings - The American Glider Pilots of WWII" narrated by Hal Holbrook, reveals the critical role gliders played in World War II offensives. Through rare archival footage and photographs, the film places the audience right at the center of the action in the dangerous world of the American glider pilot. During WWII, 6000 young Americans volunteered to fly large unarmed cargo gliders into battle. For these glider pilots every mission was do-or-die. It was their task to repeatedly risk their lives landing the men and tools of war deep within enemy-held territory, often in complete darkness. Thousands of lives were saved and battles won because of their efforts. In fact, one pilot interviewed said - the 'G' in their emblem didn't stand for glider; it stood for 'guts.' Features include: - Virtual walk-through tour of the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas
Ghosts of the Third Reich documents the poignant and anguished stories of descendants of the Nazis, who confront their family's past and communicate their most profound feelings of guilt by inheritance. These individuals, whose family members were supporters, officers, and elite of the Nazi regime, share a common desire to distance themselves from Nazi ideology and the actions of their ancestors.
In 1942, when computers were human and women were underestimated, a group of female mathematicians helped win a war and usher in the modern computer age. Sixty-five years later their story has finally been told.
For centuries, humans have sought to express beauty in architecture and art, but it is only recently that neuroscience is helping to determine how and why beauty plays an important role in our wellbeing. Architects and neuroscientists are embarking on a new field of study in which subliminal responses to one’s built environment may influence the future of design. Experts argue that positive subliminal reactions lead to a pleasurable experience, one reminiscent of a powerful meditation session. The question remains: what makes a building beautiful - or more specifically, which elements of the built environment does the brain recognize as beautiful? Narrated by Martha Stewart.
Was Christopher Columbus born in Genoa, Italy? Most definitely not, say an unlikely collection of experts from European royalty, DNA science, university scholars, even Columbus's own living family. This ground breaking documentary follows a trail of proof to show he might have been much more than we know.
Famed countertenor Andreas Scholl sings the title role of Roman emperor Julius Caesar in this memorable production of Georg Friederich Handel's "Giulio Cesare," staged at the Royal Danish Opera. Transporting the action from ancient times to the present day, director Francisco Negrin paints a passionate portrait of Caesar's storied romance with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra (played by soprano Inger Dam-Jensen).
The 2008 election of Barack Obama led many to believe we had entered a post-racial America, one in which the nation's traumatic and painful history of racism had finally been erased. In the years since, it's become increasingly clear that the deep roots of racism and white supremacy continue to run through our political, cultural, and religious institutions. Based on interviews and current research, the documentary film White Savior explores the historic relationship between racism and American Christianity, the ongoing segregation of the church in the US, and the complexities of racial reconciliation. Featuring interviews with Lenny Duncan, Soong Chan Rah, Jacqueline Woodson, Jim Bear Jacobs, Dominique Gilliard, and more.
The life of Shalom, The Nazi major officer Adolf Eichmann's hangman, turned ritual slaughterer, encapsulates the story of Israel from the perspective of the 'other'- the marginalized Sephardi prison warden who is forced to do the dirty work of hanging the arch enemy and thus to carry a national burden that dramatically shaped his life. His job in the abattoir, together with his memories of his past, create a fascinating and complex portrait. His voice, yet unheard, from the edge of Israel's historical events, reveals new insights through his unique perspective. Shalom's clear, alternative voice from the margins of society carries a deeply humanistic universal message.
Narrator Robin Roberts recounts the story of the 15th National Guard, part of the 369th Infantry in World War I, and how the predominantly African American unit faced down the realities of war abroad alongside injustice and prejudice at home.
One war, ten days, three stories: the Old City of Jerusalem, at the dawn of a new Middle East. For the Brits, it’s the shameful end of 30 years Mandate. For the Jews, it’s the birthday of their State. And for the Palestinians, it’s a catastrophe. Only now, 60 years later, images can be shown from three opposing points of view, telling a whole new story.
Between love madness, scandals, intrigue and happiness - the stories of German princesses on the Russian tzar's throne were shaped by strokes of fate. Princess Charlotte of Prussia was married on exactly her 19th birthday in 1817 with the future Russian Tsar. She joined a long line of German princesses at the Tsar's court, beginning with Catherine the Great and extending to the last Russian Empress. 200 years later, her descendant Maria in St. Petersburg is searching for the traces of these German women.
Over the past few decades, significant discoveries have been made on the very site where the pyramids were built. But now, hundreds of kilometers from the pyramids themselves, we are gaining more insight into just how they were built. Two teams of Egyptologists, one based in the middle of the desert, the other located on the Red Sea coast, are currently discovering more about the Egypt of Khufu’s time, than at the foot of the pyramids. What they found help them figure out how ancient Egyptians worked. This film has been shot from within, immersed for several weeks within these 2 archaeological missions. Authentic archaeological experiments have been filmed in real time, revealing ancient techniques and methods, unlocking certain secrets of these ancient great builders.
Literary history's greatest mystery? Who created the greatest works of iambic thunder in the English language, and who lived the courtly life that is written about in the works of Shakespeare. An uneducated tradesman from Stratford?
an intuiting of the core feelings of the Moses story relating to the current capitalistic global system all told through a hybrid of stop motion animation and live action.
This film looks back at the twisted world of hate, fear, sexual transgression and mind-control of one of the world's most notorious villain's, Charles Manson. He once had dreams of a Hollywood recording career. Fame was elusive, so he chose infamy. This is the story of how one man transformed a harmless group of hippies into a gang of brutal murderers. What evil lurked in this strange man's heart?
'Let the People Decide' traces the history of voting rights struggles in the United States from 1960 through the present day. The film draws parallels between the Mississippi voter registration drive of the early 1960's and North Carolina's 'Moral Monday' movement in the present day.