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Private Notes
In November of 1939, when Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union, no one expected that this tiny nation could resist the largest military force in the world. And no one anticipated that 1939 would be one of the coldest winters in recorded history – a winter many historians have described as a ‘frozen hell.’
Filmed on the old battlefields of Finland and Russia, “Fire and Ice” dramatically depicts the intensity of the warfront and the homefront. Outnumbered and outgunned, Finns knew this war was not about changing the borders between nations. The Winter War involved all of Finland’s people, including its women who organized themselves into a unique corps called Lotta Svärd. Finland's fierce resistance changed the course of World War II and saved a democracy. “Fire and Ice” is a timeless story of courage against all odds, of a people united to preserve their freedom.
The story of the war's most concentrated aerial attack on London in 1941 and how the city nearly perished under the German barrage. Featuring harrowing first-hand accounts from survivors of the attack and dramatic recreations of events based on newly declassified information, this film brings to life the story of one night that nearly changed the course of history. Had Hitler trusted the intelligence on the amount of damage to the city and continued his attack, London would have crumbled under the sustained barrage.
How did life begin? Is there life outside of Earth? Is there a future for humankind on other planets? Each new discovery inches us closer to answering these cosmic questions linking life on Earth with the rest of the Universe and renewing our dreams of what lies in the unknown realms of the stars.
The Armenian Genocide is the complete story of the first Genocide of the 20th century, when over a million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks during World War I – an event that is still denied by Turkey to this day. This film features interviews with the leading experts in the field, such as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power and New York Times best-selling author Peter Balakian. The documentary includes never-before-seen historical footage of the events and key players including Rafael Lemkin telling the story of how he invented the word Genocide in the 1940s. The Armenian Genocide is narrated by Julianna Margulies and includes historical narrations by Ed Harris, Natalie Portman, Laura Linney, Jared Leto, Lou Zorich and Orlando Bloom.
There is an intriguing story to tell about the lives and times of Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn, two remarkable scientists whose extraordinary collaboration culminated in the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938, turning Einstein's "theory" into atomic science. Not only did these two revolutionize the history of science and the role of women in physics and chemistry, their tale also parallels the social changes and turbulent history of their times. It involves the war against memory, Nazi intimidation, forced exile, betrayal, and a Nobel Prize awarded only in chemistry that to this day distorts science history.
Produced by award-winning Rosemarie Reed (Widow of the Revolution: The Anna Larina Story), this documentary explores the intriguing development of atomic science in the first part of the twentieth century. It captures Meitner's efforts to make her way in the male-dominated world of physics, Hahn's early work and independent discoveries, their collaboration, the racial and political discrimination that forced Meitner to live in exile, and ongoing speculation about her exclusion from the Nobel Prize. These elements are explored through photos, letters, notes, stock footage, and maps; interviews with writers, scientists, and historians; and music of the day.
A new high-definition television documentary, Cézanne in Provence, explores the deep connection between post-impressionist master Paul Cézanne — credited by many as the father of modern art — and his native Provence, illuminating how the region and its history fostered the painter’s genius. Featuring footage of some of the same locales made timeless by Cézanne and his work, Cézanne in Provence was inspired by the major international exhibition of the same name.
NIAGARA FALLS is more than the celebration of a natural wonder: it's a study of human achievement and human folly on an epic scale. It is a tale of exploitation and preservation and the changing nature of love in America - of the way Man has related to Nature over centuries. With spectacular high definition videography, the camera takes us to the edge of the falls via helicopter and boat; we see newsreel footage, actual weddings and much more.
She has been portrayed on film by some of the most famous actresses of their times, from Norma Shearer to Kirsten Dunst, and her name is now synonymous with privilege and excess. But who was the real Marie Antoinette?
This film goes beyond the infamous, yet apocryphal quote, ‘Let them eat cake’, that has been used for centuries to damn the seemingly frivolous queen of France. Instead viewers are introduced to a tender-hearted, complex woman, whose life began in splendour, yet ended under the guillotine’s blade. History has often blamed Marie Antoinette for the French Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror. Her story is, undoubtedly, tied up with one of extravagance, inequality and bloody revolution, but could the wife of Louis XVI in fact have been a scapegoat? This film, featuring input from luminaries such as Simon Schama, traces her journey from her childhood in Austria, to her troubled marriage and life in the extraordinary Palace of Versailles, and ultimately, to her final hours in a squalid prison cell. Could the time have come for a reassessment of one of history’s most famous women?
Go behind the scenes to see how scientists, engineers, and veterinarians are creating and managing the Georgia Aquarium, the world's newest and largest aquarium. Management and care of the vast array of fish and mammals requires new techniques and technologies, and many species can now be studied in-depth for the first time. Medicine, biology, zoology, environmental science and engineering all come to play in creating this new aquarium adventure.
An unabashedly spiritual take on the Selma voting rights marches of 1965 from some of its unsung foot soldiers - Catholic nuns. Following "Bloody Sunday," sisters from around the country answered Dr. King's call to join the protests in Selma. Never before in American history had avowed Catholic women made so public a political statement. In 2003, director Jayasri Hart reunited the nuns to let them view the protests on tape for the first time.
A 30,000-tonne aircraft carrier is designed to function in the heat of battle and built to be capable of withstanding a great deal of punishment. This documentary follows the efforts of a team of engineers and demolition experts to sink one.
Commissioned in 1950, the USS Oriskany was one of the flagships of the Pacific fleet, deployed in action during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Even such a leviathan of the seas has only a finite life-span, however, and the carrier was decommissioned in 1976. The ship lay berthed for almost 30 years, before a decision was taken to sink the hulk for use as an artificial reef off the coast of Florida. The operation involved the most explosives ever used in a controlled marine demolition. The film follows the process and some of the principal characters involved, including project manager Don Herring, part of whose job was to ensure that all hazardous material was stripped off the carrier in time for the sinking. Millions of dollars were invested in the project and time was of the essence, for the sinking had to be carried out before the onset of the hurricane season. The ship was eventually sunk on May 17, 2006, after an operation that required not only a precise combination of science and engineering but also an element of luck, for its outcome was never going to be totally predictable.
