In 1941, nearly 800 Romanian Jewish refugees, packed like sardines aboard the Struma, a 46-meter boat bound for Palestine, found themselves stranded when the boat's engine failed. Limping along the Struma manages to reach Istanbul Harbor, where it waits while Turkey, trying to stay "neutral" in the war, deliberates the passengers' fate.
In France, King Louis XIV, better known as the Sun King (le Roi-Soleil), made of his kingdom the leading European power during the 17th century. An original portrait of Louis XIV's engineer, Vauban, a man who after serving his sovereign zealously, questions the idea of absolutism and the economic misery of the kingdom.
This gripping documentary recounts the story of the long search for Nazis in hiding from 1945 to the present day. Sixty years of relentless investigations, set-backs, trials and dramas brought about principally by three extraordinary individuals: the Austrian death camp survivor, Simon Wiesenthal and the German/French couple Beate and serge Klarsfeld who devoted their lives to search for the highest level Nazis still at large.
A personal and political biography of the Octopus, or the Prague National Library project, but also a biography of the last years of the life of the author of this design, Jan Kaplický, who wrote in his diary in 1998: to win the competition and have one love. With this entry, read by Eliška Kaplicky at the beginning of the film, it is as if the world-class Czech architect wrote not only the "script" for the final decade of his life, but also for a film that follows the dramatic social story of creative imagination and the intimate relationship between a man and a woman.
Imagine a kingdom where an entire populace is being devastated by an invisible plague, leaving only children to reign. Here, hundreds of thousands of children are raising children and are left to fend for themselves in a cruel and frightening world. This is not a fairy tale. This kingdom is Swaziland, Africa's last remaining absolute monarchy. It has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world, leaving 1/3 of its population orphaned or vulnerable. Without radical intervention to this preventable disease, there will be NO ADULTS in Swaziland by the year 2030. NEVER A NEVERLAND documents the reality of a kingdom moving towards extinction and the hope of a people working to ensure that Swaziland never becomes a 'Neverland'.
On New York's rapidly gentrifying Lower East Side sits the Streit's Matzo factory. When its doors opened in 1925, it sat at the heart of the nation's largest Jewish immigrant community.
Legendary as one of America's greatest horse tribes, the 21st century Nez Perce decided to bring horses back to their land and lives with the unlikely help of a charismatic Navajo horseman, Rudy Shebala. His mentorship guides at-risk teenagers toward the strong medicine of horses, and his equine skills bring historic Nez Perce horse culture to modern renown. But his personal demons imperil both accomplishments.
Founding father of Anthropology, Bronislaw Malinowski's work raises powerful and disturbing questions today. This is a look at his legacy and the imprints it has made on the generations that followed.
Exploring the idea that times of extreme difficulty facilitate increased resourcefulness and creativity, this compelling documentary takes a look at the art, music, literature, business, architecture, sports and entertainment of the Great Depression. The filmmakers also interview both ordinary people dealing with crisis and a diverse group of luminaries -- including Buzz Aldrin, Jesse Jackson, Hugh Downs, Mickey Rooney and Jerry Stiller.
Today, the House of Windsor continues to capture the world's imagination. This documentary gathers archival film footage and stills from nearly a century of official events.
Even as scientists work diligently to authenticate the Dead Sea Scrolls, a historical and momentous find for archaeologists, questions surface about their true origin. Who wrote them? Did they truly know Jesus? And what do the scrolls mean for modern-day Christianity? This riveting documentary aims to find the answers to these and many other questions and shares new information about this important archaeological artifact.
For many music fans, history is divided into the long, dull centuries before rock 'n' roll was born and the exciting decades since, when the influential musical form changed the world. This documentary traces the early years of this audio revolution, featuring historic footage and interviews with several musical pioneers, including Little Richard, Bill Haley and The Comets, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bo Diddley.
From PBS - Italy's Mystery Mountains explores the fascinating geologic story of Italy, the land known for its fabulous art, fantastic food, opera, the dolce vita, and so much more. What's less known about Italy is the diversity and turbulence of the geology behind all of this abundance: the continuously erupting volcanoes, the violent earthquakes, the clash of mighty tectonic plates, and the rising of the mountains from which Michelangelo sourced his famous marbles.
Follow Jill Morley as she delves inside the world of female boxers. Real emotional histories and traumas bubble up, fleshing out a compelling story about women overcoming adversity.
Israel, Egypt and Jordan serve as the backdrop for this modern investigation of one of the earliest stories ever told. A marriage of history and technology reveals details about the origins of Christianity while viewers time travel to the birth of Christ and the Holy Family's escape from the murderous Herod. Evidence from the Holy Land and contemporary scientific discoveries lend clarity to the ancient events that forever changed humanity.
Explore the events of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and hear from some of the actual participants in this riveting program. After an American naval blockade intercepted Soviet submarines on a secret mission to set up a military base in Cuba, the two nations engaged in a tense standoff that led the world to the brink of nuclear war. Submariners from both sides talk about the conflict, and viewers get a look inside their subs and the U.S. war room.
In 1917 Australian Light Horse soldiers claimed one of the greatest ever cavalry charged victories in history. Some 95 years later, 40 Australians retraced their footsteps in living detail – from the foothills of the pyramids to the treacherous expanse of ANZAC Cove. Incorporating archival footage from the Australian War Memorial, interviews with historians, experts and authors, The Charge of The ANZACS is a detailed documentary account of Australia and New Zealand’s equine involvement in WWI. Following the Australian Light Horse Association’s attempt to re-enact the monumental journey, they commemorate the anniversary of the charge of Beersheba and explore the extraordinary lives of many fallen heroes.
It's college basketball's ultimate rivalry: The Louisville Cardinals vs. the Kentucky Wildcats. This documentary weaves current events, including the schools trading national championships in 2012 and 2013, with the intriguing history of the matchup.
From the so-called Quiz Show Scandal of the 1950s to a phony biography of Howard Hughes and the accomplished forgeries of a rare documents dealer, this episode of "American Justice" examines some of the most famous hoaxes in recent history. Included is an interview with Herbert Stempel, the contestant on the popular '50s TV game show "Twenty-One" whose revelations of cheating caused nearly all the game shows of the day to be taken off the air.