The Valiant Years was a documentary produced by ABC based on the memoirs of Winston Churchill, directed by Anthony Bushell and John Schlesinger, narrated by Gary Merrill and with extracts from the memoirs voiced by Richard Burton. It ran in the United States from 1960 to 1961, in 27 30-minute episodes and was broadcast in the UK by the BBC from February to August 1961. Its incidental music was written by Richard Rodgers, who won an Emmy for it in 1962. Scriptwriters included Victor Wolfson a dramatist and writer, Quentin Reynolds, William L. Shirer an American journalist, war correspondent and historian, and Richard Tregaskis. One of the program's London-based producers was actor Patrick Macnee, just prior to his being cast as secret agent John Steed in the long-running cult TV series The Avengers.,
As 40 Spitfires and Hurricanes assemble for a unique flypast marking the 75th anniversary of Battle of Britain Day, two special programmes commemorate the heroes Churchill famously called 'The Few'.
A candid look at what life was really like for those living in, and under Hitler's Swastika - at home - and abroad, a record not only of what they saw, but of what they knew.
Commanding shoguns and samurai warriors, exotic geisha and exquisite artisans—all were part of the Japanese “renaissance”; a period between the 16th and 19th Centuries when Japan went from chaos and violence to a land of ritual refinement and peace. But stability came at a price: for nearly 250 years, Japan was a land closed to the Western world, ruled by the Shogun under his absolute power and control. Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire brings to life the unknown story of a mysterious empire, its relationship with the West, and the forging of a nation that would emerge as one of the most important countries in the world.
During the second world war, the Nazis looted everything they could get their hands on, including an estimated 600 tons of gold, thousands of pieces of artwork, and millions of priceless artifacts. While some of these items have been found, much of it remains missing. Treasure hunter Darrell Miklos believes some of these stolen riches were loaded into specially modified U-Boats that are currently lying at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. His evidence: two top-secret documents acquired over 40 years of research.
Two-part documentary following World War I's biggest archaeological dig, taking place at Messines in Belgium, uncovering some of the best-preserved trenches, bunkers and tunnels ever discovered on the Western Front and revealing the realities of trench warfare, a Christmas football match and poison gas.
At the outset of the Yalta Conference on February 4, 1945, the «Big Three» were all optimistic: victory was in no doubt, and the accord that they had achieved seemed likely to preserve the values they had fought for.
However, in just a few months, nothing would remain of this agreement apart from irreconcilable differences. United in war, the Allies would reveal themselves as divided and rivals in peace. How can such a rapid failure of a real effort at entente be explained? With the Yalta Conference in 1945 to 1953, discover a new world order drawn up by three men, looking for a lasting peace... that would lead inevitably to the Cold War.
Combining archive footage, photographs, original letters and unique testimonies, these two episodes revisit this crucial period in History. A full immersion into postwar years and an emerging new world order.
November 1947. The United Nations votes the partition plan for Palestine. For some, it is a dream becoming reality; for others, it is the beginning of a catastrophe. Seventy years after this historic vote, the land of Palestine remains an open wound, a battleground for two peoples torn apart by their shared history, a source of inextricable tension in the region and even beyond the borders of the Middle East.
By making the Elysée Palace the most coveted, and also one of the most mysterious residences in France, the founder of the Fifth Republic surely never imagined that his successors would discover the immense solitude of power there. De Gaulle, Pompidou, Giscard d’Estaing, Mitterrand, Chirac, Sarkozy, then Hollande: Each of them had the opportunity to experience the dizzying nature of supreme office in this 18th century palace with the appearance of a bunker. It is this intimate, solitary and silent history that is recounted here, through key events, previously unheard accounts, and rare archive footage. The film reveals above all how heads of state are capable of secretly walling themselves up in serenity, gravity, tragedy, or dignity, as they embrace their destiny along with that of France.
Terror of the World: The story of a deadly war that intertwines Germany, Poland, Japan, Italy and Spain, and the remorseless development of weapons and bombers.
In this BBC documentary series newly declassified documents are used to examine the strategic roles played in the war by thirteen of the world's regular and resistance land, sea and air forces.