Subgenre Sampler

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Convert, The (2024): Dir. Lee Tamahori
Feat. Guy Pearce, Jacqueline McKenzie, Te Kohe Tuhaka…; A British lay preacher finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Maori tribes in this vivid colonialist epic from dir. Lee Tamahori.
Widow Clicquot (2024): Dir. Thomas Napper
Feat. Haley Bennett, Sam Riley, Tom Sturridge; After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe–Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business…
One Life (2023): Dir. James Hawes
Feat. Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Flynn…; the true story of a London broker Nicholas Winton; who secretly organised the rail transport of hundreds of Jewish children from Nazi occupied Europe…
Oppenheimer (2023): Dir. Christopher Nolan
Feat. Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon…; Christopher Nolan's grand biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the American Physicist credited with being the "father of the atomic…
Shackleton: The Greatest Story of Survival (2023): The true story of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance, told by the only man ever to have repeated their incredible…
Zone of Interest, The (2023): Dir. Jonathan Glazer
Feat. Christian Friedel, Sandra Huller; A Holocaust film quite unlike any other, The Hoss family have moved into their new home in Poland. The camera objectively documents their daily life…
Merkel (2022): Dir. Eva Weber; A fittingly admirable portrait of the one of the great diplomats of modern times, Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany for sixteen years, and most…
Woman King, The (2022): Dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood
Feat. Viola Davis, John Boyega; Inspired by true events, this is the remarkable, action–packed story about the all–female unit of warriors who protected the African…
Delicious (2021): Dir. Eric Besnard
Feat. Gregory Gadebois, Isabelle Carré, Benjamin Lavernhe…; Sumptuous historical drama set in the world of haute cuisine in 18th century France. As the Revolution dawns, a talented cook who has been sacked…
Raphael: The Young Prodigy (2021): Dir. Massimo Ferrari; A documentary about the Italian painter Raphael, and his extraordinary contribution to the short–lived High Renaissance movement of the late…
Pompeii: Sin City (2020): A documentary exploring the city of Pompeii and its profound influence on culture and art over the course of human history. Provides an evocative…
#Anne Frank: Parallel Stories (2019): Dir. Sabina Fedeli, Anna Migotto
Feat. Helen Mirren; Documentary marking the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation, featuring Helen Mirren reading from Anne Frank's diaries and providing a moving…
Apollo 11 (2019): Dir. Todd Douglas Miller; A handsomely mounted, meticulously conceived documentary presenting the events of the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon, led by commander Neil…
Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans (2019): Dir. Dominic Brigstocke
Feat. Emilia Jones, Sebastian Croft, Nick Frost…; Live action historical farce based on the book and TV series of the same name, about a teenager in the Roman era who is forced to join the Roman Army…
Civilisations (TV Series) (2018): Inspired by Kenneth Clark's classic documentary series CIVILISATION (1969), this nine–part series tells the story of art from the dawn of human…
Doctor Who (Series 11) [Jodie Whittaker] (2018): Feat. Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole…; The Thirteenth Doctor and first Doctor to be a woman, played by Jodie Whittaker, touches down on Earth where she recruits three new friends –…
Looming Tower, The (TV Mini-Series) (2018): Feat. Jeff Daniels, Tahar Rahim, Bill Camp; Mini–series exploring the rivalry between the FBI and the CIA in the lead up to 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan. Based on Lawrence Wright's…
Meeting Gorbachev (2018): Dir. Werner Herzog, André Singer; Werner Herzog directs this candid documentary based on three interviews with Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union. With…
Peterloo (2018): Dir. Mike Leigh
Feat. Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley; Elaborate historical drama directed by Mike Leigh (MR TURNER), portraying the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where British army forces attacked a…
Studio 54: The Documentary (2018): Dir. Matt Tyrnauer; In–depth account of how the world's most famous (and infamous) nightclub, Studio 54, was created by co–owners Ian Schrager and Steve…
The Pacific: In the Wake of Captain Cook with Sam Neill (2018): Feat. Sam Neill; 250 years after Captain James Cook began his epic exploration of the Pacific, Sam Neill journeys in the wake, uncovering stories that resonate from…
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018): Dir. Peter Jackson; Ground–breaking documentary that employs state–of–the–art technology to transform audio and moving image archive footage to…
Alone in Berlin (2017): Dir. Vincent Perez
Feat. Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Bruhl…; Earnest resistance drama set in 1940, with Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson as a working class couple who, after learning of their only son's death…
Bitter Harvest (2017): Dir. George Mendeluk
Feat. Max Irons, Samantha Barks, Terence Stamp; A modest epic with a romantic centre set against the backdrop of the Holdomor, a death–by–starvation program that ultimately killed…
Britannia (TV Series) (2017): Feat. David Morrissey, Kelly Reilly, Nikolaj Lie Kaas…; A historical fiction series set in 43AD, following the Roman conquest of Britain and it's opposition by the wild warrior women and powerful Druids of…
Churchill (2017): Dir. Jonathan Teplitzky
Feat. Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery; Brian Cox delivers an impressive performance as iconic Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the days before the D–Day landings in June 1944.
Diana: In Her Own Words (2017): Credible documentary on Princess Diana, based on unreleased audio interviews from 1991 which reveal her thoughts at a very specific point in her life.
Gunpowder (TV Mini-series) (2017): Dir. J Blakeson
Feat. Kit Harington, Peter Mullan, Mark Gatiss…; Three–part BBC dramatisation of the famous Gunpowder Plot in London of 1605 where activist Guy Fawkes conspires with a group of provincial…
Joanna Lumley's India (2017): Feat. Joanna Lumley; Actress and presenter Joanna Lumley, who was born in India in the last days of The Raj, travels back this country to explore it's wildlife, culture,…
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017): Dir. Guy Ritchie
Feat. Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Allwyn, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey…; Charlie Hunman plays the Arthur of legend, unaware of his royal lineage until drawing the sword Excalibur from the stone. Director Guy Ritchie brings…
Knightfall (TV Series) (2017-2019): Feat. Tom Cullen, Jim Carter; Historical drama series about the Knights Templar, the powerful and mysterious Catholic military order from the middle ages. Made by The History…
Ottoman Lieutenant, The (2017): Dir. Joseph Ruben
Feat. Hera Hilmar, Josh Hartnett, Ben Kingsley…; Undemanding, old–fashioned wartime romance following the fates of an army Lieutenant and a strong–willed American combat nurse who fall…
Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History (TV Series) (2017): An eight–part CNN series that incisively explores the music tied to iconic moments in history. Includes interviews with Pat Benatar, Melissa…
Story of Us with Morgan Freeman, The (TV Series) (2017): Feat. Morgan Freeman; 6–episode National Geographic TV Series presented by Morgan Freeman, which explores themes central to humanity such as love, belief and power,…
Viceroy's House (2017): Dir. Gurinder Chadha
Feat. Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Michael Gambon…; Another handsome chronicle of Britain's imperial history, this one depicting events of 1947, when Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, was charged…
Victoria and Abdul (Victoria & Abdul) (2017): Dir. Stephen Frears
Feat. Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard…; The legendary Judi Dench returns to the role of Queen Victoria in this sumptuous story of the unlikely bond between the the aging queen and a young…
1916: The Irish Rebellion (2016): Feat. Liam Neeson; Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Irish Rebellion, this superb three–part documentary covers the impact of this seminal event.…
Finding Altamira (2016): Dir. Hugh Hudson
Feat. Antonio Banderas, Golshifteh Farahani, Clément Sibony…; Antonio Banderas plays Spanish archaeologist Marcelino de Sautuola whose 1879 discovery of the 10,000–year–old cave paintings in the Cave…
Greeks, The (2016): Feat. Neil deGrasse Tyson; National Geographic landmark "event series" featuring historians, archaeologists, actors, athletes, scientists and artists all weighing in on the…
Joanna Lumley's Japan (2016): Feat. Joanna Lumley; British actress and presenter Joanna Lumley continues her series of travel documentaries with a 2,000 mile journey across the four main islands of…
Letters From Baghdad (2016): Feat. Tilda Swinton; The complex history of the Middle East and British colonial power is explored in this documentary centered around the remarkable life of British…
Lo And Behold: Reveries of the Connected World (2016): Dir. Werner Herzog; Acclaimed Documentarian Werner Herzog approaches the internet as a curious outsider on an exotic vacation. Meeting the digital natives, getting…
Roots (TV Mini-Series) (2016): Dir. Phillip Noyce, Mario Van Peebles, Thomas Carter
Feat. Laurence Fishburne, Matthew Goode, Derek Luke…; A powerful new adaptation of Alex Haley's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. This tragic story of resilience is told in four parts covering four…
Story of God, The (TV Series) (2016): Feat. Morgan Freeman; Ambitious cross–cultural survey of what God means to people and how religion has shaped world history , narrated and produced by Morgan…
Tutankhamun (TV Mini-series) (2016): Dir. Peter Webber
Feat. Max Irons, Jonathan Aris, Sam Neill…; A four–part dramatisation of how a penniless, ostracised archaeologist named Howard Carter became a household name following his discovery of…
Althea (2015): PBS documentary account of the story of Althea Gibson, a truant from the tough streets of Harlem, who overcame extraordinary odds to becomes the…
Banished (TV Mini-series) (2015): Feat. Orla Brady, Ewen Bremner, MyAnna Buring…; British period drama created by Jimmy McGovern (CRACKER), set in the 18th century in the first penal colony founded by the British in New South…
Cancer - The Emperor of All Maladies (2015): Dir. Barak Goodman; Ken Burns produced this illuminating study of Cancer from its first mention in Egyptian scrolls to the present day medical laboratories where the…
Dawn of Humanity (2015): National Geographic documentary focusing on a 2013 fossil discovery and the 2–year excavation process that followed, with insights into how…
Francofonia (2015): Dir. Alexandr Sokurov
Feat. Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Benjamin Utzerath; A richly evocative and insightful historical cine–essay from celebrated dir. Alexander Sokurov (RUSSIAN ARK) that charts the relationship…
Story of China with Michael Wood, The (TV Series) (2015): Feat. Michael Wood; Veteran historian and broadcaster Michael Wood follows his celebrated Story of India with this in–depth portrait of the most populous country…
From Scotland With Love (2014): Scottish history as told through a vast collection of real home movie and archival footage, this is a charming filmic tapestry of everyday family…
Genius of the Ancient World (2014): Historian Bettany Hughes takes a tour through the ancient world and examines the works of three key philosophers, Socrates, Confucious and Buddha.
Great Fire, The (TV Mini-series) (2014): Dir. Jon Jones
Feat. Andrew Buchan, Charles Dance, Jack Huston…; Vivid dramatisation of The Great Fire of London that details the stories of a city and its people in crisis..
Intrepid New Zealand (2014): Ambitious follow–up to Kevin Biggar and Jamie Fitzgerald's FIRST CROSSINGS (2012) finds the pair tackling a new set of legendary journeys…
Pompeii (2014): Dir. Paul Anderson
Feat. Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning…; This inglorious disaster epic from the 'other' Paul Anderson imagines the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in tandem with a hoary Ancient Roman melodrama.
Queen Victoria's Letters: A Monarch Unveiled (2014): A.N. Wilson guides the viewer through revealing look at the life of Queen Victoria, told through a selection of the Monarch's correspondences..
12 Years a Slave (2013): Dir. Steve McQueen
Feat. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Paul Giamatti…; Steve McQueen (HUNGER, SHAME) directs this powerful historical drama of a free black man from upstate New York who is abducted and sold into slavery.
Beyond the Edge (2013): Dir. Leanne Pooley
Feat. Chad Moffitt, Sonam Sherpa; Thrilling, definitive docu–drama on Sir Edmund Hillary's historic 1953 scaling of Everest with sherpa Tenzing Norgay.
Bonnie and Clyde (TV Mini-Series) (2013): Dir. Bruce Beresford
Feat. Emile Hirsch, Holliday Grainger, Sarah Hyland…; The legend of depression era outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker is given the full treatment in this evocative History Channel drama.
Butler, The (2013): Dir. Lee Daniels
Feat. Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey…; A stagy but sincere history of post–war Black America from the point of view of a White House servant (played by Forest Whitaker). It works as…
Da Vinci's Demons (TV Series) (2013): Feat. Tom Riley; A lavishly produced historical fantasy which imagines Leonardo da Vinci's life as an artist, inventor and genius. Season One: eight episodes…
German Doctor, The (2013): Dir. Lucía Puenzo
Feat. Àlex Brendemühl, Natalia Oreiro; Chilling domestic thriller centred on the Argentine family who lived unknowingly with Josef Mengele, the notorious Auschwitz physician, after he fled…
Killing Lincoln (2013): Dir. Adrian Moat
Feat. Billy Campbell; Bill O'Reilly's novel about the assassination of President Lincoln from the point of view of John Wilkes Booth is the basis for this uneven but…
Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death (2013): Historian Dr Helen Castor examines everyday life for medieval society, from Queens to peasants, and in particular the trials of childbirth in the…
Physician, The (Der Medicus) (2013): Dir. Philipp Stölzl
Feat. Tom Payne, Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgard…; A historical epic centred on an orphan from an 11th–century English town whose mother died of a mysterious illness, travels to Persia where he…
Richard III: The King in the Car Park & The Unseen Story (2013): Dir. Louise Osmond
Feat. Simon Farnaby; In the British town of Leicester, archaeologists unearth the skeleton of a man. The man's spine is deformed. His skull shows signs of violent trauma.…
Secrets of Britain (TV Series) (2013): A PBS–produced series that goes behind the scenes to reveal detailed history and contemporary insights about various British landmarks and…
Spirit of '45, The (2013): Dir. Ken Loach; In this illuminating documentary, Ken Loach movingly celebrates the radical changes during postwar Britain under the new Labour government, which…
Story of the Jews, The (2013): Simon Schama leads this exhaustive five–part documentary series on the Jewish story and experience, from past to present.
Vikings, The (TV Series) (2013): Going beyond their bloodthirsty reputation, Neil Oliver charts the rise of the Vikings, from their prehistoric Scandinavian homelands to a vast…
Village, The (TV Series) (2013): Feat. John Simm, Maxine Peake, Juliet Stevenson…; A gritty riposte to the swell of glossy period dramas, this small scale epic charts the progress of a village of working class characters in early…
Andrew Marr's History of the World (2012): A 'definitive' account of human history, according to acclaimed British journalist Andrew Marr, filtered through the 'big stories' of the last 70,000…
British, The (2012): Britain’s tumultuous history is dramatised in this seven–part BBC series looking at the monarchs, leaders, reformers, inventors, pioneers and…
Crusades, The (2012): Medieval historian Thomas Asbridge re–examines the religious fanaticism and unspeakable brutality of the 'Holy War', first explored for the BBC…
Dust Bowl, The (2012): Dir. Ken Burns; The Great Depression and the subsequent decade–long drought experienced by farmers during the 30s forms the basis of this latest historical…
First Crossings (TV Series) (2012): This rugged adventure series literally retraces the steps of New Zealand's pioneer explorers in the intrepid, no–holds–barred style of…
Francesco's Shakespeare in Italy (TV Series) (2012): Further travels with charismatic Italian architect Francesco da Mosto, here exploring the Bard's great love affair with Italy, with the likes of…
Hyde Park on Hudson (2012): Dir. Roger Michell
Feat. Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Colman…; Pleasant chronicle of the affair between President Roosevelt (Bill Murray) and his distant cousin, Daisy (Laura Linney), which comes to light during…
Labyrinth (TV Mini-Series) (2012): Dir. Christopher Smith
Feat. Jessica Brown-Findlay, Vanessa Kirby, John Hurt…; The search for the Holy Grail provides the link between two parallel story lines – one set in medieval France, the other during a modern day…
Lincoln (2012): Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn…; Daniel Day–Lewis portrays the famed U.S. President between 1861 and 1865 as he dealt with personal demons and politics during the Civil War in…
London: The Modern Babylon (2012): Dir. Julien Temple; Julien Temple directs this vast, illuminating portrait of London, charting the story of its immigrants and bohemians from the beginning of the 20th…
She-Wolves: England's Early Queens (2012): Dr Helen Castor explores the lives of seven queens who challenged male power during medieval and Tudor England in this proto–feminist history…
Story Of Wales, The (TV Series) (2012): An ambitious, all–encompassing 30,000 year history of Wales, as told by the BBC's Huw Edwards. Covers everything from the Tudor Court, to the…
Titanic (TV Mini-series) (2012): Dir. Jon Jones
Feat. Linus Roache, James Wilby, Timothy West…; Four–part serial from the pen of DOWNTON ABBEY creator Julian Fellowes that tells the story of the doomed ship through four very different…
What Really Happened: Votes for Women (2012): Feat. Sara Wiseman, Craig Hall, Stephen Lovatt; Another edifying take on a key turning point in New Zealand history (following What Really Happened: Waitangi), this Sunday Theatre commission…
A History of Ancient Britain (TV Series) (2011): A nine–part documentary series presented by Neil Oliver, about Britain's ancient history from the earliest neanderthal inhabitants through to…
Beginning of the Great Revival (The Founding of a Party) (2011): Dir. Sanping Han, Jianxin Huang
Feat. Andy Lau, Chow Yun-Fat, Daniel Wu…; In the tradition of unashamedly jingoistic cinema comes this state–sanctioned celebration of ninety years of Chinese Communist Party rule.…
Bible, The - A History (2011): Enlightening, SBS–broadcast examination of the origins and ideas behind "the most influential book ever written."
Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, The (2011): Dir. Göran Hugo Olsson; A cache of 16mm footage shot by Swedish reporters investigating the Black Power movement is restored the re–edited with supporting context is…
Civilization: Is the West History? (2011): A compelling overview of the world as we know it, in which historian Niall Ferguson takes us through the ascendancy of Western civilisation via its…
East to West (2011): An epic six part series which traces the birth of civilisation back to the Middle East, arguing that the influence of ancient Greece on world history…
Flowers of War, The (2011): Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Paul Schneider; Dir. Zhang Yimou tackles the Nanking massacre with equal parts grim realism and stylish melodrama – befitting of a lavish wartime epic, less so…
Freedom Riders (2011): Dir. Stanley Nelson Jr; A lesser noted, but equally important strain of the American Civil Rights Movement vis–a–vis Rosa Parks's famous bus boycott, this…
Fry's Planet Word (2011): Dir. John Paul Davidson
Feat. Stephen Fry; This five–part BBC series joins Stephen Fry as he travel's the continents exploring the nuanced diverse world of human language.
J. Edgar (2011): Dir. Clint Eastwood
Feat. Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench…; Heavyweight biopic from dir. Clint Eastwood, with Leonardo DiCaprio stepping into the shoes of controversial FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, whose…
Mill and the Cross, The (2011): Dir. Lech Majewski
Feat. Rutger Hauer, Michael York, Charlotte Rampling; Polish experimental auteur Lech Majewski offers a breathtaking, elegantly construed anatomy of Pieter Bruegel's epic 1564 painting ''The Procession…
North (TV Series) (2011): Feat. Marcus Lush; The ever–endearing Marcus Lush follows up his award–winning SOUTH with this typically offbeat traverse of New Zealand's far…
Planet Egypt (2011): Egypt's history as an empire and Pharaoh dynasty is explored from beginning to end in this comprehensive survey of the world's first great…
Prohibition (2011): Dir. Ken Burns, Lynn Novick; Ken Burns focuses on a notorious chapter in American 20th century history – the Prohibition era – in this typically illuminating PBS…
Story of Ireland, The (TV Mini-Series) (2011): An RTE and BBC co–production in which presenter Fergal Keane showcases Irish history, charting the origin and impact of the myths that have…
Where Were You? (Events That Changed The World) (2011): 26–episode series that takes some of the most shocking events of the 20th and early 21st century and analyzes how news of their occurrence…
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010): Dir. Werner Herzog; Although intended to be viewed in 3–D, this extraordinary trip inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France – home to the oldest known…
Churches: How To Read Them (TV Series) (2010): Dir. Jonathan Mayo; Six–part series presented by historian and author Richard Taylor, exploring ideas about God, salvation, life and death through visits to some…
Disappearing London - Suggs and the City (2010): Madness front–man Graham McPherson presents this roving history of London’s unique character and charm via the city’s idiosyncratic…
Engineering An Empire (TV Series) (2010): Dir. Ted Poole
Feat. Peter Weller; The complete series hosted by Peter Weller (Robocop) examines history's greatest societies by reanimating the architectural and engineering feats…
Great Epochs of European Art, The (2010): A detailed, German–produced art history series illustrated by selected masterpieces of architecture, sculpture and painting. In addition to…
Henry The 4th (Henri 4, Henry of Navarre) (2010): Dir. Jo Baier
Feat. Julien Boisselier, Joachim Krol; Henry IV (of France) is the subject of this grand and involving German–produced epic, originally conceived as a mini–series framed by the…
History of Christianity, A (TV Mini-Series) (2010): In this fascinating six–part series Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, one of the world's leading historians and Professor of History of the Church…
Lope (The Outlaw) (2010): Dir. Andrucha Waddington
Feat. Alberto Ammann, Leonor Watling, Pilar López de Ayala; Splendid biopic of Lope de Vega, the Spanish playwright who dominated Spain's early Golden Age of theare.
Michael Wood's Story of England (2010): Feat. Michael Wood; Michael Wood (STORY OF INDIA) embarks on an archeological profile of the village of Kibworth in Leicestershire in this fascinating,…
Normans, The (TV Series) (2010): Three–part British documentary series about the Normans in the 11th century, from their conquest of England through to their expansion into…
Nostalgia for the Light (2010): Dir. Patricio Guzmán; Famed documentarian Patricio Guzmán directs this mesmerizing journey into Chile’s recent and faraway past through the annals of astronomy,…
Of Gods and Men (2010): Dir. Xavier Beauvois
Feat. Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin; Residing peacefully in a North African monastery, eight French Christian monks must confront the threat of an Islamic fundamentalist group in this…
Oranges and Sunshine (2010): Dir. Jim Loach
Feat. Hugo Weaving, Emily Watson, David Wenham…; Dir. Jim Loach (son of Ken) tackles the scandalous post–war history of Britain's deportation of lower class children to the colonies –…
Royal Upstairs Downstairs (TV Series) (2010): The secret lives of British servants and aristocrats are speculated on this prim history series which takes viewers on a tour of the houses and…
Story of Science, The (2010): Passionate overview of the forces that came together to create scientific knowledge. Revealing how scientific ideas have shaped the modern world this…
Turn Back Time (TV Series) (2010): Illuminating series that takes a group of modern shopkeepers and has them experience their occupations through differing periods of history beginning…
We Believed (Noi credevamo) (2010): Dir. Mario Martone
Feat. Luigi Lo Cascio; Period drama set during the repressive Bourbon reign in Italy in 1828, where two aristocrats and a young peasant join Giuseppe Mazzini's Young Italy…
100 Years - 20th Century Almanac (2009): Witness the most significant events of the 20th Century, from the Wright Brothers’ first flight to the moon landing, from WWI to the end of the…
Age Of Stupid (2009): Dir. Franny Armstrong
Feat. Pete Postlethwaite; Confronting and dynamic docodrama from the director of McLibel, has Pete Postlethwaite as an archivist in the devastated world of the future, looking…
America Before Columbus (2009): Intriguing revisionist documentary considers America before Columbus stepped ashore in 1492 as an 'Old World', whose inhabitants had built a vast…
Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain (TV Series) (2009): Following on from his "History of Modern Britain", Andrew Marr this time overviews the first half of the 20th Century, re–visiting the dramas…
Christianity - A History (2009): Reasonably thorough and alternative overview of the origins and divergent paths of Christianity. Eight episodes.
City of Life and Death (2009): Dir. Chuan Lu
Feat. Ye Liu, Yuanyuan Gao, Hideo Nakaizumi; This first serious depiction of the atrocities wrought on Chinese refugees and soldiers during the occupation of Nanking is a harrowing, expertly…
Darwin's Brave New World (TV Mini-series) (2009): Feat. Socratis Otto, Richard Jongejan, Nicola Bowman; Three–part dramatized series tells the story of Charles Darwin and his contemporaries, Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Alfred Russel Wallace,…
Empire of the Word (2009): Ambitious, page–turning companion piece to THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH chronicles the act of reading across five thousand years of history. Host…
Founding of a Republic, The (Jian guo da ye) (2009): Dir. Sanping Han, Jianxin Huang
Feat. Guoqiang Tang, Guoli Zhang, Qing Xu…; The People’s Republic of China rolls out the big guns for this 60th anniversary epic, chronicling in big, sweeping gestures, the uprising of Mao…
Hitler's Bodyguard (TV Series) (2009): 13–part documentary series offering a thorough, at times incredible, examination of the men who protected Adolf Hitler against numerous…
Horrible Histories (TV Series) (2009): Feat. Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Sarah Hadland…; Educational irreverance for kids, offering an unconventional take on history's funniest – and most gruesome – moments in a multitude of…
Hunting the Lost Symbol (2009): Dir. John Tindall; Dan Brown–inspired documentary uses the author's blockbusting 'Da Vinci Code' novel as a launching pad to shed light on, among other…
Into the Storm (2009): Dir. Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Feat. Brendan Gleeson, Janet McTeer, James D'Arcy…; Enthralling sequel to HBO's acclaimed THE GATHERING STORM focuses on Winston Churchill's challenging term as Prime Minister during the war, followed…
Paris 1919 (Un traité pour la paix) (2009): Dir. Paul Cowan
Feat. David Lowe, Paul Bandey, Yan Brian; History–drenched docudrama merging archival footage with live action, examining the tricky negotiations that led to the signing of the Treaty…
South (TV Series) (2009): Feat. Marcus Lush; Another "love story" from intrepid broadcaster Marcus Lush, who this time explores the South Island of New Zealand, an area he fell in love with…
Taking Woodstock (2009): Dir. Ang Lee
Feat. Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman…; Dir. Ang Lee painstakingly recreates the age of Aquarius for this sprawling yet tepid comedy based on the 'true story' of a Jewish interior designer…
Underbelly - Season 2 (TV Mini-series) (A Tale of Two Cities: The Mr Asia Story) (2009): Feat. Roy Billing, Anna Hutchison, Matthew Newton…; A prequel to the events of the original series, this is loosely based on the hard drug trade that hit New South Wales and Victoria between 1976 and…
Young Victoria, The (2009): Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée
Feat. Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany…; Emily Blunt radiates in this elegant if corseted biopic of Queen Victoria's early years as she deals with royal power struggles while being wooed by…
10,000 B.C. (2008): Dir. Roland Emmerich
Feat. Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis; Beasts, behemoths and flesh–eating emus prowl the prehistoric landscape in another of Roland (INDEPENDENCE DAY) Emmerich's effects–heavy…
102 Minutes That Changed America (2008): Dir. Nicole Rittenmeyer, Seth Skundrick; Documentary about the September 11 attacks produced for the History Channel for the seventh anniversary of the events, telling the story using newly…
A History of Scotland (TV Series) (2008): A fresh and exhaustive chronology of Scotland's fascinating narrative, full of battles and allegiances, political intrigue and religious conflict.…
A Wall in Berlin (2008): Illuminating documentary on the history of the Berlin Wall with biggest attraction being the sheer wealth of interviews and footage never seen…
American Future - A History by Simon Schama (2008): Resonant look at the superpower filmed during the run up to the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama with popular historian Simon Schama turning his…
Bank Job, The (2008): Dir. Roger Donaldson
Feat. Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows; Heavy–for–hire Jason Stratham stars in this enjoyable crime caper based around the true story of a robbery in a London bank vault in…
Bridge, The (Die Brücke) (2008): Dir. Wolfgang Panzer
Feat. Franke Potente, François Goeske, Lars Steinhöfel; Inferior remake of the 1959 film based on the true story of a group of German teenagers who fight to defend a bridge from the approaching allied…
Bush's War (2008): Dir. Michael Kirk; Extensive two–part documentary chronicling the Iraq War from the post 9/11 murmurings and "Weapons of Mass Destruction" allegations through to…
Cadillac Records (2008): Dir. Darnell Martin
Feat. Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Gabrielle Union…; Flashy interpretation of the rise of the seminal Chess Records, regarded by many as America's greatest blues label. This ensemble piece is more…
Che: Part One (The Argentine) (2008): Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Feat. Benicio Del Toro, Julia Ormond, Rodrigo Santoro…; An epic undertaking by dir. Steven Soderbergh, this two part resurrection of the Che Guevara legend (played charismatically by Benicio del Toro)…
Che: Part Two (Guerilla) (2008): Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Feat. Benicio Del Toro, Rodrigo Santoro, Demian Bichir…; An epic undertaking by dir. Steven Soderbergh, this two part resurrection of the Che Guevara legend (played charismatically by Benicio del Toro)…
Children Of The Silk Road (The Children of Huang Shi) (2008): Dir. Roger Spottiswoode
Feat. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun-Fat…; Inspired by real events, this solid WWII epic reveals the story of a young British journalist and Australian nurse who led sixty orphans to safety…
Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008): Dir. Stacy Peralta
Feat. Forest Whitaker; Incisive documentary examining the shared histories and violent rivalries of Los Angeles' most notorious street gangs. Tracing the roots of the…
Devil's Whore, The (TV Mini-series) (Devil's Mistress) (2008): Dir. Martine Brant, Peter Flannery
Feat. Andrea Riseborough, Dominic West, John Simm…; Period romp set during the English Civil War concerning the devilishly manipulative Angelica (Riseborough), and her marriage to revolutionary Thomas…
Duchess, The (2008): Dir. Saul Dibb
Feat. Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling…; Costume connoisseurs will rejoice in the splendour of Keira Knightley’s dazzling dresses and eye–catching cranial plumage in this depiction…
Female Agents (Les femmes de l'ombre) (2008): Dir. Jean-Paul Salome
Feat. Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain…; Substantial, exciting WWII espionage thriller following an all–female commando unit of the French Resistance recruited to rescue a British…
First Australians (TV Series) (2008): Dir. Rachel Perkins, Beck Cole; Landmark Australian series produced by top Aboriginal filmmakers tracking the history of Aboriginal culture and the fraught culture clashes between…
Francesco's Mediterranean Voyage (2008): Further travels with charismatic Italian architect Francesco da Mosto, here taking us on a lengthy voyage across the Mediterranean in search of…
Hunger (2008): Dir. Steve McQueen
Feat. Michael Fassbender, Stuart Graham; Combating harrowing subject matter with formal brilliance, this masterful examination of extreme resistance concerns the 1981 IRA hunger strike and…
India Reborn (2008): Fascinating and disturbing doco series that looks at India as the next superpower, and the juxtapositions to its mighty wealth that cloud its future…
John Adams (2008): Dir. Tom Hooper
Feat. Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Sarah Polley…; Acclaimed miniseries on the life of America's second president and founding father John Adams. Simultaneously epic and intimate this is compulsory…
Last Confession of Alexander Pearce, The (2008): Dir. Michael James Rowland
Feat. Adrian Dunbar, Ciaran McMenamin, Don Hany…; Potent docu–drama revealing the true story of the infamous Irish convict Alexander Pearce during the days leading up to his execution at the…
Living With the Enemy (2008): Thorough and absorbing History Channel series examines the five year period after the end of World War II, accounting for the events and decisions…
Margaret Thatcher - The Long Walk to Finchley (2008): Dir. Niall MacCormick
Feat. Geoffrey Palmer, Andrea Riseborough; Appealing political drama focused on Margaret Thatcher's younger years as she attempts to enter parliament despite opposition from the British…
Milk (2008): Dir. Gus Van Sant
Feat. Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin…; Saying it proud but not too loud, this dramatized biopic of the first openly–elected gay official fittingly tributes the legacy of San…
National Parks, The - America's Best Idea (2008): Dir. Ken Burns; Ken Burns offers another weighty tome on American history, this time surveying the country’s 58 majestic, awe–inspiring national parks.…
Nazi Number One: Herman Göring (2008): Dir. Guido Knopp; German director Guido Knopp continues his straightforward, biography–centric investigations into all things Nazi with this documentary on…
Of Time and the City (2008): Dir. Terence Davies; Terence Davies (DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES) launches a broadside on the transformation of his beloved, bricks–and–mortar Liverpool, in…
Other Boleyn Girl, The (2008): Dir. Justin Chadwick
Feat. Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana…; Blue–ribbon adaptation of the best–selling novel by Philippa Gregory, which tells the compulsive true story of sisters Anne and Mary…
Paris - An Insider's Guide (2008): A 3–part BBC documentary series presented by Sandrine Voillet, about the city of Paris and its history. In part one, she visits the Louvre,…
Phantom Punch (2008): Dir. Robert Townsend
Feat. Ving Rhames, Stacey Dash, Nicholas Turturro…; Adding to the growing canon of boxer biopics, this takes a bull–headed look at the great Sonny Liston's story of…
Richard Dawkins Presents - The Genius of Charles Darwin (TV Series) (2008): Dir. Russell Barnes; Richard Dawkins finally gets to wax lyrical for a few hours about the love of his life – Charles Darwin in this one–sided documentary…
Salute (2008): Dir. Matt Norman; Compelling documentary investigating the untold story of Australian runner – Peter Norman who placed second in the 200m sprint at the 1968…
Ships That Changed the World (2008): Compelling three–part series looks back at the engineering, building, sailing, and subsequent fate of three history–making ships…
Tudors, The (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Johnathon Rhys-Myers, Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill…; Top–rating British costume drama brings to noughties audiences the rollicking, bed–hopping, head–lopping early years of the court…
Underbelly - Season 1 (TV Mini-series) (2008): Feat. Vince Colosimo, Kevin Harrington; Gritty, unflinching crime series dramatising the Melbourne gangland killings and seedy underworld, featuring Aussie actors who bear a striking…
Valkyrie (2008): Dir. Bryan Singer
Feat. Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson…; Hollywood crosses enemy lines with Tom Cruise perversely cast as a disaffected Nazi officer who leads a plot to assassinate Hitler. Dispensing…
Winning World War 1 (The Western Front Diaries) (2008): Crucial documentary telling the story of the Australian battalion's influence and impact on winning World War 1 on the Western Front, based on the…
Ancient Megastructures (2007): National Geographic series extolling mankind's greatest architectural landmarks and their extraordinary feats of construction. Vol 1: The…
Andrew Marr's The History of Modern Britain (TV Series) (2007): Political commentator Andrew Marr turns his astute focus on the key events that have shaped British society since the end of WWII, including the…
Battle of the Little Bighorn, The (2007): Ideal introduction to the famous battle where General Custer made his last stand, featuring expert commentary and skillful re–enactments.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007): Dir. Yves Simoneau
Feat. Aidan Quinn, Adam Beach, Anna Paquin…; Distinguished HBO western based on the 1970 book of the same name by Dee Brown. A historical drama set in the 1860's and 1870's, the plot…
Captain Cook: Obsession and Discovery (2007): Award–winning documentary that examines the controversial legacy of the great explorer Captain James Cook. Hosted by geographer Vanessa…
Chapter 27 (2007): Dir. J.P. Schaefer
Feat. Jared Leto, Lindsay Lohan; An uneven historical psycho–drama based on events leading up to the infamous shooting of John Lennon by a deranged loner. While laudable…
Chicago 10 (2007): Dir. Brett Morgen; Unique documentary that splices together archival footage and motion–capture animation to recreate the infamous trial of anti–war…
Company, The (TV Series) (2007): Dir. Mikael Salomon
Feat. Chris O'Donnell, Alfred Molina, Michael Keaton…; Three–part miniseries based on the novel by Robert Littell, set during the Cold War and following the CIA, KGB, MI6 and Mossad, with a…
Francesco's Venice (TV Series) (2007): Italian architect and TV presenter Count Francesco da Mosto goes on a journey back through the history of Venice and discovers how the city came to…
Gangland (TV Series) (2007): Hard hitting expose of today's nastiest gangs provides the viewer with both historical context and unprecedented access. Some of the stories are now…
Goodbye Bafana (Color of Freedom) (2007): Dir. Bille August
Feat. Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Diane Kruger; Nelson Mandela's imprisonment and subsequent friendship with a bigoted Afrikaner prison warden is eavesdropped in this humanist portrait of a crucial…
Here to Stay (TV Series) (2007): An enlightening, culturally pertinent reference point for the current make up of New Zealand society, this six part series revisits a number of key…
Heritage of Maori Song (2007): Comprehensive collection of 15 Maori song and dance performances, including 3 poi dances, stick games, haka and a number of well–known songs…
History of the Devil (2007): Historical doco charting the changing role and face of the devil throughout history by way of factual information and academic interview.
In the Shadow of the Moon (2007): Stellar doco reflects on the true story of American astronauts' expeditions into space and the truly remarkable historic achievement of landing on…
James May's 20th Century (TV Series) (2007): Feat. James May; TV presenter James May presents a candid look at the creations of the 20th century; ranging from weaponry to medical breakthroughs and the…
Katyn (2007): Dir. Andrzej Wajda
Feat. Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Żmijewski, Pawel Malaszynski; Andrzej Wajda cements himself as Poland’s greatest director with this late–career triumph, a war story addressing the eradication of some…
Last King of Scotland, The (2007): Dir. Kevin MacDonald
Feat. Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington…; A riveting tale of the seductive nature of power, this is worth the admission alone for Forest Whitaker’s astonishing Oscar–winning turn as…
Last Legion, The (2007): Dir. Doug Lefler
Feat. Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai; CGI fantasy dramatising the plight of Rome's last emperor, the child Romulus Augustus, and his protectors – Firth, Kingsley, and Bollywood star…
Lusitania - Murder on the Atlantic (2007): Dir. Christopher Spencer
Feat. John Hannah, Kenneth Cranham; Historically imperative docu–drama retelling the tragic story of the cruise liner Lusitania that was torpedoed by a German U–Boat off the…
Mighty Heart, A (2007): Dir. Michael Winterbottom
Feat. Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman; Michael Winterbottom's sober, well–acted docudrama covering the 2002 abduction of Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl by Pakistani…
Miss Marie Lloyd (2007): Dir. James Hawes
Feat. Jessica Wallace, Richard Armitage, Shaun Parkes…; Vintage–styled bio–pic dramatising the life of Miss Marie Lloyd – a scandalous Music Hall performer renowned for her lewd songs…
Moliere (2007): Dir. Laurent Tirard
Feat. Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Laura Morante…; Jaunty period rom–com in the spirit of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE speculates on the creative catalysts for the comic masterpieces of famed French…
Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work (TV Series) (2007): Dir. Matt Reid; In–depth television series spanning a year in the life of the British Royal Family and the myriad of employees that keep the Royal Machine…
Mongol (2007): Dir. Sergei Bodrov
Feat. Tadanobu Asano; A fiercely–mounted early history of Genghis Khan, from the Mongol leader’s childhood years through to his all–conquering warpath across…
My Boy Jack (2007): Dir. Brian Kirk
Feat. David Haig, Daniel Radcliffe, Kim Cattrall…; Haunting WW1 drama based on Rudjard Kipling's poem of the same name based on Kipling's own experience of guilt and consequences after insisting his…
New Orleans: Music in Exile (2007): Dir. Robert Mugge; On–the–ground documentary that follows New Orleans musicians as they try to piece their lives and careers back together after the…
Nightwatching (2007): Dir. Peter Greenaway
Feat. Martin Freeman, Emily Holmes, Eva Birthistle; Ambitious re–telling of the creation of Rembrant's famous 1642 Nightwatch, the controversial painting that ultimately lead the Dutch master to…
No End in Sight (2007): Dir. Charles Ferguson; Devastating documentary that comprehensively examines the negligence and political mis–steps that led to the Iraq war. "Traces the…
Oswald's Ghost (2007): Dir. Robert Stone; This intelligent investigative doco focusing on the chain of events leading up to John F. Kennedy's assassination and the impact it had on America is…
Powder and the Glory, The (2007): A welcome insight into two of America's greatest female entrepreneurs – Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein; two immigrants with limited…
Rain of the Children (2007): Dir. Vincent Ward
Feat. Vincent Ward, Rena Owen; Vincent Ward's masterful docu–drama – in which he investigates the 'cursed life' of an elderly Maori woman – is a deeply personal…
Roman Mysteries (TV Series) (2007): Children's mystery series set in 79 AD, Rome, based on a series of kids books that focuses on a group of young friends embarking on crime solving…
Story of India with Michael Wood, The (TV Series) (2007): Feat. Michael Wood; Acclaimed historian Wood takes to the destination du–jour – India – in order to acknowledge its history and research its…
Story of Ned Kelly, The (2007): Feat. Charles Tingwell, Ian Jones; Historically accurate doco tracking the life of the ultimate Aussie rogue Ned Kelly. Aptly led by distinguished Kelly historian / author Ian Jones…
There Will Be Blood (2007): Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
Feat. Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor…; Rising to the challenge, overachiever Paul Thomas Anderson delivers some formidable filmmaking to match his grim, egocentric tale of burning…
Warlords (TV Series) (Untold Stories of World War II) (2007): Well–reviewed UK documentary series analyses WWII's big players from a psychological perspective: Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt and…
Amazing Grace (2006): Dir. Michael Apted
Feat. Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Albert Finney…; Stirring dramatisation of the true story of 18th–century abolitionist William Wilberforce and his revolt against Britain’s slave…
Ancient Rome (TV Series) (2006): Extensive series dramatising the rise and fall of the Ancient Roman Empire through six episodes each presenting a different turning point in the fate…
Battleplan (TV Series) (2006): A comprehensive history and analysis of military strategies, combat tactics, and the art of modern warfare. Across eighteen episodes, historical…
Blame it on Fidel! (La Faute à Fidel!) (2006): Dir. Julie Gavras
Feat. Nina Kervel-Bey, Julie Depardieu, Stefano Accorsi; A warm, wise and wryly observed evocation of a child's accelerated maturation in the midst of early 1970s social and political upheaval, Nina…
Catch a Fire (2006): Dir. Phillip Noyce
Feat. Tim Robbins, Derek Luke; Sturdy, serious–minded political thriller from the steady hand of dir. Phillip Noyce, couched in the turbulence of South Africa’s Apartheid…
Cats of Mirikitani, The (2006): Dir. Linda Hattendorf; Tenderly constructed documentary revealing the compelling life of a homeless artist living on the streets of NYC who survived an internment camp,…
Civilisations (2006): Purporting new insight, this series chronicles four of the most influential ancient civilizations to lay foundations for the world we know today.…
Crown Prince, The (TV Mini-series) (Kronprinz Rudolf) (2006): Dir. Robert Dornhelm
Feat. Max von Thun, Vittoria Puccini, Klaus Maria Brandauer…; Sumptuous historical Austrian mini–series based on the Crown Prince's doomed love affair with a baroness, that eventually requires the pair to…
Exodus Decoded, The (2006): Dir. Simcha Jacobovici; Speculative historical documentary in the wake of the 'Da Vinci Code' phenomenon that attempts to find a factual basis behind the biblical story of…
Francesco's Italy Top to Toe (TV Series) (2006): Further travels with charismatic Italian architect Francesco da Mosto, here giving a sweeping tour of the art, history and beauty of greater Italy by…
Golden Door, The (Nuovomondo) (2006): Dir. Emanuele Crialese
Feat. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vincenzo Amato; Award–winning Italian drama from the dir. of RESPIRO follows the fortunes of a family of dirt–poor Sicilian peasants, from their homeland…
Hoax, The (2006): Dir. Lasse Hallstrom
Feat. Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Marcia Gay Harden…; Solid Lasse Hallstrom–directed ‘literary hoax’ recounts the true story of Clifford Irving, a struggling writer allegedly commissioned by…
Life Under Napoleon (TV Series) (2006): Dir. Georg Schiemann; Broad, challenging historical overview of late 18th/early 19th century Europe, informed by the legacy and reign of French Emperor Napoleon.…
Marie Antoinette: The True Story of the Last Queen of France (2006): Dir. David Grubin; Exhaustive documentary on French monarchy's infamous last queen and the history behind her extravagant persona which has come to symbolise 18th…
One Giant Leap (50 Years of Space Exploration) (2006): Historical doco covering 50 years of humans being propelled into space. Includes remastered footage from Sputnik all the way through to Apollo and…
Power of Art (TV Series) (2006): A scholarly, and indeed powerful, roam through art history’s seminal figures, with knowledge imparted by the revered Simon Schama. Disc 1…
Rang De Basanti (2006): Dir. Rakesh Omprakash Mehra
Feat. Aamir Khan, Alice Patten; Progressive Bollywood fare bypasses musical melodrama for an overarching tale of history and self–discovery, guided by a British–Indian…
Rape of Europa, The (2006): Dir. Bonni Cohen, Nicole Newnham; Documentary about the huge amount of European art that was tragically stolen and damaged by Nazi Germany, and the effort by the Allies to return and…
Secret History of 9/11, The (2006): Dir. Terrence McKenna; A serious–minded Canadian television documentary which details the lead–up to the 9/11 attacks on the NYC World Trade Centre, including…
Shackleton and Scott - Rivals for the Pole (2006): The intense 'polar' rivalry of Shackleton and Scott is relived in this documentary of the two explorers’ fatal trajectory towards the South Pole.…
Unknown Soldier, The (2006): Dir. Michael Verhoeven; A sobering documentary exploration of the reaction to a museum exhibit in Munich detailing the war crimes and atrocities committed by Nazi Germany's…
War of the World: The New History of the 20th Century (2006): Eye–opening historical documentary, presented by acclaimed historian Professor Niall Ferguson, challenging how we view and assess the arch of…
What Lies Beneath (TV Series) (2006): Feat. Simon Dallow; An eight–part series about New Zealand's archaeological heritage, presenting a series of intriguing site studies, with Simon Dallow asking the…
Around the World in 80 Treasures (2005): A fascinating world tour through civilisation's lasting imprint, with historian Dan Cruickshank globetrotting the planet in search of the eighty…
Catherine the Great (2005): Dir. John Burgess, John-Paul Davidson; Made with the help of newly–available documentation from the former Soviet archives, this impressive biopic about the life and times of…
Churchill's Bodyguard (2005): Imposing, unprecedented memoir of the life and times of Winston Churchill, adapted from the diaries of his stoic bodyguard, Walter H.…
Empire (2005): Feat. Colm Feore, Emily Blunt, Jonathon Cake; Glossy and occasionally patchy drama which reconstructs the events surrounding the assassination of Julius Caesar (Freore) and the succession of…
Greatest Game Ever Played, The (2005): Dir. Bill Paxton
Feat. Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane; Inspiring Disney drama based on the true story of an ambitious amateur golfer determined to defeat his idols at the 1913 US Open. Shia LaBeouf…
Guns, Germs and Steel (2005): National Geographic TV series in which innovative thinker Jared Diamond outlines his groundbreaking theory of history, which tries to account for the…
Helen of Troy (2005): Bettany Hughes based this investigation on her own acclaimed book, which continues the historian’s pursuit of the ‘real’ Helen of Troy. Her…
How Art Made the World (2005): Flying in the face of Simon Schama's higher, learned arts emporium, this illuminating and invigorating study of human nature through art considers…
In Search of Myths and Heroes (TV Series) (2005): Feat. Michael Woods; BBC presenter Michael Wood explores four of the most famous myths in the world – Shangri–la, the Golden Fleece, the Queen of Sheba, and…
In the Light of the Sun (Alla luce del sole) (2005): Dir. Roberto Faenza
Feat. Luca Zingaretti; Grave Italian drama, set in a time of increased Mafia terrorism and based on the chain of events that led to the assassination of the Catholic priest…
Nomad - The Warrior (2005): Dir. Sergei Bodrov, Ivan Passer
Feat. Kuno Becker, Mark Dacascos, Jason Scott Lee; Historical war epic set in Kazakhstan centred around the life of the prophesied warrior destined to unite the Kazakh peoples. With its awkwardly…
Sometimes in April (2005): Dir. Raoul Peck
Feat. Debra Winger, Idris Elba, Oris Erhuero; A worthy HBO dramatisation of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which around one million ethnic 'Tutsis' were slaughtered by ethnic 'Hutu' military and…
Virgin Queen, The (TV Mini-Series) (2005): Dir. Coky Giedroyc
Feat. Anne-Marie Duff, Joanne Whalley, Dexter Fletcher…; Imprecise yet compelling mini–series portraying the life and loves of the infamously independent Queen Elizabeth I – from her fearful…
Warm Springs (2005): Dir. Joseph Sargent
Feat. Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon, David Paymer…; Typically smooth and competent HBO biopic, which dramatises Franklin D. Roosevelt's (Branagh) pre–presidency years, especially the period from…
White Countess, The (2005): Dir. James Ivory
Feat. Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave…; Set in the tumult of 1930s Shanghai, when China was threatened with Japanese invasion, this final Merchant–Ivory production (producer Ismail…
Who Do You Think You Are? (TV Series) (2005): Celebrated BBC series which explains the 'ins and outs' of researching your own family genealogy through a featured celebrity. Each episode touches…
Why We Fight (2005): Dir. Eugene Jarecki; Matching THE FOG OF WAR in terms of impact and cogency, this Sundance–winning doco investigates the long history of American involvement in…
Alexander (2004): Dir. Oliver Stone
Feat. Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer…; A valiant, though flawed attempt by dir. Oliver Stone (PLATOON) to depict the life and times of Grecian military commander Alexander the Great,…
Aryan Couple (2004): Dir. John Daly
Feat. Martin Landau, Judy Parfitt, Kenny Doughty; Mild World War II drama set in against the backdrop of The Euopa Plan in which in wealthy European Jews traded their riches and property in exchange…
Century of Flight, The (TV Series) (2004): All the accidents and achievements of man’s quest for flight are documented in this unprecedented history of taking to the skies. 26 episodes…
Europe in the Middle Ages (2004): Comprehensive, revisionist history documentary attempts to change perception of the Middle Ages as an era of ‘dark times’, largely through…
Great Moments of the 20th Century (2004): A newsreel journey through the momentous 20th century, told in three separate parts and narrated by Laura McKenzie. An essential resource for…
Gunpowder Treason and Plot (TV Mini-series) (2004): Dir. Gillies MacKinnon
Feat. Robert Carlyle, Richard Coyle, Kevin McKidd; A smokingly violent historical drama, penned by Jimmy McGovern, set around the infamous plot of Guy Fawkes to blow up the English Parliament and the…
Hotel Rwanda (2004): Dir. Terry George
Feat. Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, Sophie Okonedo…; A deeply affecting expose of the Rwandan conflict of the early 1990s that matches its political conscience with vivid staging and terrific…
Jasmine Women (Mo li hua kai; Blossoming Jasmine; Jasmine Flower) (2004): Dir. Yong Hou
Feat. Joan Chen, Wen Jiang, Zhang Ziyi; Intergenerational Chinese weepie about women who are unlucky in love, set during the 1920s, '50s and '80s, and based on the book by Su Tong (also the…
Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon, The (2004): The recent discovery of 800 rolls of early nitrate film on a building site proved a rare cinematic find – turning out to be documentary footage…
Michael King - History Man (2004): Feat. Colin Hogg; A balanced television documentary on acclaimed NZ historian Michael King, made shortly after his untimely death in 2004. Presenter/writer Colin Hogg…
Monarchy (TV Series) (2004): Historical TV Series presented by Dr David Starkey tracing the blood–stained history of the English monarchy covering all the epic battles and…
Operation Valkyrie (Stauffenberg) (2004): Dir. Jo Baier
Feat. Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Hardy Kruger…; Highly credible Germanic take on the failed 'Valkyrie' plot to assassinate Hitler favors sobering realism over Hollywood heroism. Made for German…
Roman Empire (2004): Overarching three–part documentary series anatomising the rise and spectacular fall of the Roman Empire.
Scared Sacred (2004): Dir. Velcrow Ripper; Visiting sites of some of the world’s most horrible stories doesn’t seem like a relaxed night’s viewing, but this doco by the interestingly…
Seconds From Disaster (TV Series) (2004): Compellingly constructed doco series covering some of the most devastating disasters of modern history, each episode opening with a dramatic…
Shake Hands With the Devil (The Journey of Roméo Dallaire) (2004): Dir. Peter Raymont; Arresting account of the deplorable Rwandan genocide, told through the eyes of one of the most controversial figures surrounding the 1994 massacre,…
Trilogy 1: The Weeping Meadow (To Livadi pou dakryzei) (2004): Dir. Theo Angelopoulos; The first part of an intended trilogy of films dealing with 20th century Greece, this monumental epic depicts the travails of a Greek refugee family…
Worst Jobs in History (TV Series) (2004): Dir. Brendan Hughes
Feat. Tony Robinson; BLACKADDER’s Tony Robinson (aka Baldrick) takes us through the hardship of British history via the most unenviable jobs imaginable. A tour of…
Augustus (TV Mini-Series) (2003): Dir. Roger Young
Feat. Peter O'Toole, Charlotte Rampling; Peter O'Toole takes on the role of Augustus Caesar in this refreshing series focusing on the time when Augustus stepped into his adopted father's…
Battlefield Britain (TV Series) (2003): Dir. Mary Cranitch; Father–and–son team Peter and Dan Snow explore the history of Britain through a detailed investigation into 8 epoch–making battles…
Best of Youth, The (La Meglio gioventù) (2003): Dir. Marco Tullio Giordana; Sprawling and heady Italian saga tracks the lives of two brothers through the idealistic dreams of the 1960s and the long messy aftermath of…
Days That Shook The World (TV Series) (2003): A monumental overview of the world’s most profound and history–defining events, this tome to humankind's great achievements and failures is…
Give it a Whirl (2003): An in–depth visual and musical exploration of New Zealand rock 'n' roll stories, from the fledgling sounds of the 1950s to today's…
Hitler - The Rise of Evil (2003): Dir. Christian Duguay
Feat. Robert Carlyle, Stockard Channing, Peter O'Toole…; Somewhat controversial account of Adolf Hitler's rise to power, attempting to fathom his potential for evil–doing. An only…
Killing Hitler (TV Mini-series) (2003): Dir. Jeremy Lovering
Feat. Peter McDonald, Kate Ashfield, Kenneth Cranham…; Accurate docu–drama merging archival footage with recreations and educated interview to portray and dissect 'Operation Foxley' – a secret…
Lost Prince, The (2003): Dir. Stephen Poliakoff
Feat. Gina McKee, Miranda Richardson, Bibi Andersson…; A sumptuous BBC production concerning Prince John, the youngest son of King George V of England, whose autism and mild epilepsy embarrassed the…
Mandela - The Living Legend (2003): Feat. Nelson Mandela; Notable BBC documentary on the former South African President who was imprisoned in the 1960s under the Apartheid regime and survived decades behind…
Ned Kelly (2003): Dir. Gregor Jordan
Feat. Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush…; Australia's most famous bushranger is portrayed with outright sympathy and a large measure of romantic invention in this messy, but not entirely…
Private Life of a Masterpiece, The (TV Series) (2003): Expansive, all–encompassing art history as tackled by the BBC, canvassing masterpieces from the Renaissance era through to 20th Century works…
Reckoning, The (2003): Dir. Paul McGuigan
Feat. Willem Dafoe, Paul Bettany, Vincent Cassel…; A sober minded recreation of plague–blasted England of the Middle Ages, with Bettany cowling–up as a monk on the run who falls in with a…
Test, The (2003): Television documentary celebrating 100 years of rugby with New Zealand's All Blacks. Includes interviews with various legends of the game –…
11'09'01 (September 11) (2002): Dir. Ken Loach, Claude Lelouch, Sean Penn
Feat. Ernest Borgnine; A consistently intriguing omnibus of 11 short films made by various top directors about the catastrophic events of September 11, 2001 in New York –…
9/11 (2002): Dir. Jules Naudet, Gedeon Naudet, James Hanlon; What started out as an amateur documentary by two French brothers about the New York Fire Department turns into a vital, ground’s–eye view of…
A History of Britain (TV Series) (2002): The complete series of Simon Schama's accessible, but provocative look at British history from 3000 BC to 2000 AD. Disc 1 – Beginnings,…
Adventure of English, The (2002): Dir. Robert Bee, David Thomas; An involving lesson in linguistics, presenter Melvyn Bragg takes us back to the roots of the English language – which found its genesis in…
Fidel and Che (TV Mini-series) (Fidel) (2002): Dir. David Attwood
Feat. Victor Huggo Martin, Gael Garcia Bernal; Fairly balanced exploration of the Cuban Revolution as told through the rise of Fidel Castro, from revolutionary fighter, to popular leader and…
Gathering Storm, The (2002): Dir. Richard Loncraine
Feat. Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Broadbent…; Critically acclaimed telemovie depicts the life of Winston Churchill during his 'wilderness years', the turbulent 1930s, centred by a mighty…
Kings and Queens (TV Series) (2002): A solid TV documentary series tracing lives and reigns of 12 of England's most influential monarchs. Historian Dr Nigel Spivey draws from an array of…
Live From Baghdad (2002): Dir. Mick Jackson
Feat. Michael Keaton, Helena Bonham Carter, Joshua Leonard…; Media drama set in war–time Iraq tracking a gutsy group of CNN journalists who are among the few to choose to remain in Baghdad to capture the…
Rosa Parks Story, The (2002): Dir. Julie Dash
Feat. Angela Bassett, Cicely Tyson, Peter Francis James; A drama based on the life of Mrs. Rosa L. Parks from director Julie Dash (DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST). In America in 1955, her courageous act of…
Russian Ark (2002): Dir. Alexandr Sokurov; Distinguised by its dazzling cinematic conceit – 300 years of Russian history staged in the Hermitage Museum (with 2000 extras) and captured in…
Trials of Henry Kissinger, The (2002): Dir. Alex Gibney, Eugene Jarecki; A corrosive yet robust investigation that alleges a misuse of power amounting to 'war crimes' by controversial US diplomat Henry Kissinger –…
Weather Underground, The (2002): Dir. Sam Green, Bill Siegel; A stimulating, incisive look back at the angry workings of "The Weathermen", a radical splinter faction of the protest movement who were responsible…
Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary (2001): Dir. Othmar Schmiderer, Andre Heller; The astonishing true story of Hitler's private secretary, Traudl Junge, who at the age of 80 comes to terms with working alongside unspeakable evil…
Epitaph (TV Series) (2001): Feat. Paul Gittens; TV series that scours the cemeteries of New Zealand for the intriguing, weird and worthy tales of our ancestor's demises. Paul Gittens is the…
Evolution (TV Series) (2001): Thorough and rigorous seven–part PBS series extols – and not without wading into the science vs. religion debate – the virtues of Charles…
Jazz (2001): Dir. Ken Burns; Sprawling and absorbing documentary series from the maker of THE CIVIL WAR, charting the rising star of jazz during the 20th century, with an…
Celtic Britain (TV Series) (2000): Visually splendid three–part series that examines the history of the Celtic lands of Britain, using a mixture of dramatisation and sweeping…
Howard Goodall's Big Bangs (TV Series) (2000): Feat. Howard Goodall; Presented by affable Brit maestro, Howard Goodall (whose own notable works include the theme tunes to Blackadder and Mr. Bean), this enlightening,…
Nuremberg (2000): Feat. Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy, Brian Cox…; This two part miniseries follows the Chief Prosecutor through the Nuremberg Trials of 1945–46.
Our People Our Century (2000): Major, award–winning series tells the story of New Zealand and its people throughout the 20th century. Six episodes across three…
Paragraph 175 (2000): Dir. Robert Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman; An uneasy delve into past atrocities, this bitter–tasting but necessary document of Nazi war crimes goes beyond the oft–told persecution…
Rebels with a Cause (2000): Dir. Helen Garvy; Straight–up look at the 'Students for a Democratic Society', the student group that began as pro–civil rights organization concerned with…
Faith Of The Century - A History Of Communism (1999): Using fascinating, never–before–seen footage from the national archives of many countries including Russia and France, this documentary…
Federation (1999): Well–written doco that brings to life the events, personalities and experiences that lead up to the federation of the Australian colonies in…
Millennium (1999): Dir. Various; Exhaustive history of the last thousand years, taken from the book by Felipe Fernandez–Armesto and presented by CNN. Refreshingly deals not…
New York: A Documentary Film (1999-2003): Dir. Ric Burns; Grand and compelling PBS portrait of New York City in the vein of Ken Burns's fulsome documentaries (incidentally, directed by younger brother Ric)…
Scarlet Pimpernel, The (Mini Series) (1999): Dir. Simon Langton
Feat. Richard E. Grant, Elizabeth McGovern; A lively television adaptation of the Baroness Orczy's famous novel set around the bloody chaos of post–revolutionary France and one English…
1968: The Year That Shaped a Generation (1998): Dir. Steve Talbot; Stolid examination of the watershed year filled with familiar images and oft heard soundbites. Key people and events featured include: the…
Barry Humphries - Flashbacks (TV Series) (1998): Feat. Barry Humphries; Iconic Aussie entertainer Barry Humphries and his alter–ego's Dame Edna, Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone take us on a journey through a slice…
Cold War (1998): Dir. Various; With encyclopedia–like detail, this lengthy documentary series analyses every aspect of the Cold War, from the onset of frosty relations…
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great (1997): Dir. David Wallace; Following the travails of the Greek military commander who conquered most of Asia Minor, historian Michael Wood explores the traditional story and…
Mabo (Mabo: Life of an Island Man) (1997): Dir. Trevor Graham; Landmark documentary, passionately told, that recounts the extraordinary life story of land activist Eddie Mabo.
Peoples Century (TV Series) (1997): Dir. Various; Indispensible BBC TV series covering 20th century history told via the accounts of ordinary people, gives a vivid and sobering taste of world events.…
Thomas Jefferson (1997): Dir. Ken Burns
Feat. Sam Waterston, Blythe Danner, Ossie Davis…; Burns "paints an enigmatic portrait of self–contradiction" in this comprehensive and reverential documentary of America's third President,…
Rhodes (TV Mini-series) (1996): Dir. David Drury
Feat. Martin Shaw, Frances Barber, Joe Shaw; Lengthy but worth–it biopic telling the story of Cecil Rhodes, the 19th–Century businessman who was sent to Africa to die, but came back…
Russia - The Missing Years (1996): A glance at the disturbing facts of the Eastern Front conflict of 1942–43 that resulted in Russian glory at a cost of three million lives.…
West, The (TV Series) (1996): Dir. Stephen Ives; Steered by a protégé of documentary–guru Ken Burns (JAZZ), this epic TV–study of the conquest and reshaping of the American West shares…
Churchills, The (1995): Dir. Greg Lanning; Composed primarily of archival footage, this profiles Winston Churchill and the role his family played during his time as the nation's leader.…
Crusades, The (TV Series) (1995): Dir. Alan Ereira, David Wallace
Feat. Terry Jones; The gruesome history of the crusades is covered here in great detail in this BBC production, from the political background to the harsh daily life of…
Lost Civilizations (TV Series) (1995): Historical series covering nearly 7000 years of history over 25 countries. Brought to life with spfx technology and recreated historically accurate…
Trinity and Beyond (1995): Dir. Peter Kuran
Feat. William Shatner; Solid presentation of the history of the US atomic weapons programme, including interviews and much recently de–classified footage. Narrated by…
Baseball (1994-2010): Dir. Ken Burns; Ken Burns's celebrated documentary transcends its sporting appearance to deliver an elegant and engrossing social history through baseball over 150…
House of Windsor, The (TV Series) (1994): The story of the most famous family in the world – from the reign of the first Windsors, King George V and Queen Mary, to the long rule of…
Time Team (TV Series) (1994): Feat. Tony Robinson; Stimulating television series featuring a group of enthusiastic archaeologists unearthing the secrets of British history from overlooked areas of…
From the East (1993): Dir. Chantal Akerman
Feat. Natalia Chakhovskaia; Travelogue documentary shot on 16mm which describes the lives of people in Poland, Russia and East Germany before the collapse of the Soviet…
Last Bolshevik, The (1993): Dir. Chris Marker; Chris Marker's video essay celebrates the life and work of little known film pioneer Aleksandr Medvedkin to reflect on the legacy of Soviet…
Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993): Dir. John Akomfrah; A tribute to the revolutionary activist compiles interviews with people that knew him and those that know much about him as well as authentic footage…
Tangiwai and Wahine Disasters (1993-2002): Dir. David Sims, John Carlaw; Released for the first time together on DVD, two in–depth documentaries detailing two of New Zealand's worst transport disasters of the last…
Carry On Columbus (1992): Dir. Gerald Thomas
Feat. Julian Clary, Rik Mayall, Alexei Sayle; Julian Clary, Rik Mayall and Alexei Sayle, among others, contribute double entendres aplenty to this tribute to that '60s comic institution, the…
Gully-ites, The (1992): Dir. John Anderson; A slice of character–filled life filmed in our own backyard, this is a heartwarming insight into a community with a unique history, capturing…
JFK: Assassination Tapes (1992): Dir. John Barbour; Largely a basis for Oliver Stone's opus, Jim Garrison himself speaks frankly about his investigation into the alleged cover–up surrounding the…
Architecture of Doom (1991): Dir. Peter Cohen; Uniquely, this study of the Nazi era concentrates on the vast creations of Adolf Hitler’s Masterplan – choreographed rallies, architecture,…
Making Sense of the Sixties (1991): Fulsome documentary overview of the turbulent sixties, specifically in context with America, where John F. Kennedy, civil rights, the Vietnam War,…
Rebels in Retrospect (1991): Dir. Russell Campbell; An inquiry into the aims, methods and achievments of the Progressive Youth Movement, Kiwi political activists in the turbulent '60s.
Berkeley in the Sixties (1990): Dir. Mark Kitchell; A lively, dense study of 1960s counter–culture in microcosm, this chronicles the rise and fall of the student movement in a Californian campus…
Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg (1990): Dir. Kjell Grede
Feat. Stellan Skarsgard, Karoly Eperjes; Swedish WWII film starring Stellan Skarsgard as Raoul Wallenberg, a businessman who saved over 60000 Hungarian Jews by helping them to acquire…
Civil War, The (The American Civil War) (1989): Dir. Ken Burns; An extraordinary documentary series on the American Civil War, widely recognised as one of the greatest ever made. Using archival photographs,…
Shakers, The (1989): Dir. Ken Burns; Documentary about the religion often characterised by their ecstatic dancing, pacifism and belief in non–conventional medicine. Ken Burns…
Lord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy (TV Mini-series) (1986): Dir. Tom Clegg
Feat. Nicol Williamson, Janet Suzman, Nigel Davenport…; Epic mini–series tracing the life and influence of 'Lord Mountbatten' choosing to focus on the final days of the Indian British Empire and his…
Monocled Mutineer, The (TV Mini-series) (1986): Dir. Jim O'Brien
Feat. Paul McGann, Robert Fellows; A four–part BBC historical drama depicting the life of Private Percy Toplis, who supposedly led a British army mutiny against training officers…
Peter the Great (TV Mini-Series) (1986): Feat. Maximilian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave, Omar Sharif…; Emmy Award–winning mini–series about Peter I, Tsar of Russia from 1682, and his efforts to transform Russia in an "all European" country,…
Burke and Wills (1985): Dir. Graeme Clifford
Feat. Jack Thompson, Nigel Havers, Greta Scacchi; True blue Aussie classic chronicling the famous journey of two ill–prepared explorers across the unforgiving outback.
Day the Universe Changed, The (TV Series) (1985): Feat. James Burke; Science historian James Burke's classic 10–part series for the BBC exploring key moments in Western History where new knowledge in science…
Dunera Boys, The (Mini-series) (1985): Dir. Ben Lewin
Feat. Bob Hoskins, Warren Mitchell, Julia Blake; WW2 set mini–series following a group of suspected Jewish spies sent from England to a POW camp in NSW, Australia. Nicely balanced historical…
In Search of the Trojan War (1985): Dir. Bill Lyons; A thorough, intelligible excavation of Homer’s epic poems and the speculation of a Trojan Society, historian Michael Wood takes us back in time via…
Islands of the Empire (1985): Dir. Alister Barry, Rod Prosser, Russell Campbell; Documentary from Wellington production company Vanguard Films (SOMEONE ELSE'S COUNTRY) offering a valuable examination of military relationships…
Mussolini and I (1985): Dir. Alberto Negrin
Feat. Bob Hoskins, Anthony Hopkins, Susan Sarandon…; The last days of Il Duce as embodied by Bob Hoskins in this strong Italian miniseries.
Revolution (1985): Dir. Hugh Hudson
Feat. Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland, Nastassja Kinski…; Disastrous epic with Pacino almost committing career suicide as a fur trapper caught in the upheaval of the American Revolution. Some handsome…
By the Sword Divided (TV Series) (1983): Feat. Sharon Maughan, Andrew MacLachlan , Lucy Aston; Classic BBC period drama following the aristocratic Lacey family, whose lives are thrown into turmoil as their political allegiances split during the…
Kennedy (TV Mini-Series) (1983): Dir. Jim Goddard
Feat. Martin Sheen, Blair Brown, John Shea…; Absorbing, detailed biography of the doomed president covering the key events of his brief reign and providing subtle insights into his private life.
I Remember Nelson (TV Mini-series) (1982): Dir. Simon Langton
Feat. Kenneth Colley, Geraldine James; Soap–opera–tinged four–part miniseries taking a look at Naval Officer Lord Horatio Nelson, from the viewpoint of four who knew him…
Nancy Astor (TV Mini-series) (1982): Dir. Richard Stroud
Feat. Lisa Harrow, Pierce Brosnan; Rags–to–riches biography of the life of Nancy Astor, the first woman to hold a seat in the house of commons.
Scarlet Pimpernel, The (TV Mini-Series) (1982): Dir. Clive Donner
Feat. Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, Ian McKellen; Top–notch mini–series version of the classic tale of The Scarlet Pimpernel – an English nobleman who lived a double–life…
Bunker, The (1981): Dir. George Schaefer
Feat. Anthony Hopkins, Richard Jordan, Cliff Gorman…; Absorbing account of Hitler's last days spent hiding under Berlin with Hopkins giving one of his finest performances. Somber adaptation of James P.…
Our Heritage (TV Series) (1981): A unique series of television snippets, in which seven ballads by legendary Waitakere historian Jack Diamond are recited over historical imagery and…
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981): Dir. Ferninand Fairfax
Feat. Robert Hardy, Sian Phillips, Nigel Havers…; 8–part drama series about the future British Prime Minister, during his years in political exile in the 1920s and 1930s. Robert Hardy plays…
Oppenheimer (TV Mini-series) (1980): Dir. Barry Davis
Feat. Sam Waterston, Shane Rimmer, David Suchet; Excellent mini–series starring Waterson as nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped build the atomic bomb for the 'Manhattan…
Shogun (Mini Series) (1980): Dir. Jerry London
Feat. Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune; Exciting TV mini–series version of James Clavell's novel set in Feudal Japan. Great locations and rousing battle–scenes make for a most…
Strumpet City (Mini-Series) (1980): Feat. Peter O'Toole, Peter Ustinov; Broad, sweeping Irish history of Dubliners in the early 20th century. Based on James Plunkett’s popular novel.
Dick Turpin (TV Series) (1979): Feat. Richard O'Sullivan, Alfie Bass; Historical adventure series about the real–life 18th century highwayman Dick Turpin and his "Robin Hood" thieving of the rich to give to the…
Hitler - A Film From Germany (1978): Dir. Hans-Jurgen Syberberg; An epic and highly original exploration of the sources of German fascism, in which experimentalist dir. Syberberg weaves a tapestry of surreal…
Frost/Nixon Watergate Interviews (1977): Dir. Jorn Winther
Feat. David Frost, Richard Nixon; The legendary 28 hour interview between the charismatic David Frost and former President Richard Nixon is touted as the greatest political interview…
Hunter's Gold (TV Series) (1976): Feat. Ken Blackburn, Andrew Hawthorn, Ian Mune…; Classic kidult series follows young Scott Hunter as he searches for his father amidst the Otago Gold Rush in thismagnificent recreation of early New…
Victory at Entebbe (1976): Dir. Marvin J. Chomsky
Feat. Helmut Berger, Linda Blair, Burt Lancaster…; A made–for–television film first broadcast on ABC, depicting the raid on Entebbe Airport in Uganda and the freeing of Israeli hostages…
Winstanley (1975): Dir. Kevin Brownlow, Andrew Mollo
Feat. Miles Halliwell, Jerome Willis, Terry Higgins; The dramatized history of a Reformation–era religious sect called the Diggers. A nonviolent aggregation, the Diggers are devoted to tilling the…
General Idi Amin Dada (A Self Portrait) (1974): Dir. Barbet Schroeder; General Idi Amin Dada’s narcissism is serviced willingly by an intrigued Barbet Schroeder, focusing his camera on the lunatic dictator during his…
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill (TV Mini-Series) (1974): Dir. James Cellan Jones
Feat. Lee Remick, Warren Clarke, Barbara Parkins…; Rightly acclaimed series that reveals the fascinating life of the Lady Randolph Churchill, and mother of Winston. Adroitly scripted and acted –…
Ascent of Man, The (TV Series) (1973): Feat. Jacob Bronowski; Renowned TV series from the era of epic–length documentaries, this analyses the progress of mankind through scientific and technological…
Mururoa 1973 (1973): Dir. Alister Barry; Documentary filmed on the protest boat "The Fri" which visited Mururoa Atoll in 1973 to protest the testing of nuclear weapons by the French…
Swastika (1973): Dir. Lutz Becker, Phillipe Mora; Consisting solely of startling archival footage, this documentary portrait of the era of Adolf Hitler's domination of Nazi Germany, eschews narration…
World At War, The (1973): Epic – both in length and scope – series that comprehensively examines the second World War. Assembling a vast array of rare footage and…
Alistair Cooke's America (TV Series) (1972): Feat. Alistair Cooke; Considered one of the great TV documentary series, this is English broadcaster Cooke's personal view of American history and its teeming,…
Edwardians, The (1972): Dir. John Howard Davies, James Cellan Jones, Alan Clarke
Feat. Anthony Hopkins, Timothy West, Robert Powell…; Superb examination of eight famous Edwardians who helped shape the early 20th century. Impeccably presented and directed by some of the BBC's finest…
Rossellini's History Films: Renaissance and Enlightenment (The Age of the Medici, Cartesius, Blaise Pascal) (1972-1974): Dir. Roberto Rossellini; Three TV films about some of the western world's major figures and moments, from Italian master Roberto Rossellini in the final phase of his…
Carry On Up the Jungle (1970): Dir. Gerald Thomas
Feat. Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey; The 'Carry On' crew encounter familiar humour in darkest Africa, shipping the concept to the days of the British Raj.
Six Wives of Henry VIII, The (TV Mini-Series) (1970): Feat. Keith Michell, Rosalie Crutchley, Jane Seymour; Accurate BAFTA–winning TV series chronicling the life of the notorious Henry VIII by way of six plays, featuring a notable cast and immaculate…
Civilisation (TV Series) (1969): "Not a history of the arts, but a history of life–giving beliefs and ideas made visible and audible through the medium of art." Kenneth Clark's…
Complete and Utter History of Britain, The (TV Series) (1969): Dir. Maurice Murphy
Feat. Michael Palin, Terry Jones; A comedy sketch show created by future Monty Python members Michael Palin and Terry Jones, which depicts various events in British history as if…
This is New Zealand (1969): Dir. Hugh MacDonald; A long–awaited DVD release of the landmark three camera/three projection spectacle, produced by the National Film Unit for the New Zealand…
National Geographic - 125 Years (1966-2012): A commemorative boxset featuring the new anniversary documentary, 'Exploring New Frontiers: National Geographic at 125 years', plus a further 11…
Tokyo Olympiad (1965): Dir. Kon Ichikawa; Ichikawa produced this 'definitive' sports documentary from the output of over a thousand cameras to capture the fascinating human element behind the…
Culloden (1964): Dir. Peter Watkins; A groundbreaking documentary depicting the famous battle in 1746 between the English loyalists and Scottish Jacobites. Re–enacting this…
Crisis (1963): Dir. Robert Drew; Tense account of a key battle in the American Civil Rights movement with President Kennedy locked in a tense negotiation with Alabaman Governor…
Mein Kampf (1961): Dir. Erwin Leiser; Based on the infamous diary of Adolf Hitler, this is an impressive, prudent chronicle of his life, from his formative years through the horrors of…
David and Goliath (1960): Dir. Richard Pottier, Ferdinando Baldi
Feat. Orson Welles, Ivica Pajer, Hilton Edwards; Orson Welles plays King Saul in this adaptation of the biblical story about the unsuspecting shepherd David who is foretold to be the future King by…
Primary (1960): Dir. Robert Drew; Landmark documentary captures the charismatic JFK as he contests the Wisconsin Democratic Primary with Hubert Humphrey. One of the first films of…
I Was Monty's Double (1958): Dir. John Guillermin
Feat. Clifton James, John Mills, Leslie Phillips…; Absorbing war drama based on the true story of a man hired to imitate General Montgomery in order to hoodwink the Germans before the North Africa…
Long Gray Line, The (1955): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Donald Crisp; Engrossing true life tale of military instructors Marty Maher and his rise to the top of his profession.
Napoleon (1955): Dir. Sacha Guitry
Feat. Daniel Gelin, Raymond Pellegrin, Yves Montand…; A somewhat farcical film that suffers from being dubbed into English, over–narration, and the attempt to give a complete account of Napoleon's…
Classic TV Commercials of the 50's 60's & 70's (1950-1979): Collection of American TV commercials from the decorous 50's, rampant 60's and radical 70's. Includes ads on every perfect housewifes dream products…
Joan of Arc (1948): Dir. Victor Fleming
Feat. Ingrid Bergman, Jose Ferrer, Gene Lockhart…; Ingrid Bergman is radiant as the saintly Joan in Fleming's last film, and though perhaps unsuitably theatrical, has been greatly improved by…
Olympia (Olympiad) (1936): Dir. Leni Riefenstahl; Hitler confidant Leni Riefenstahl's legendary recording of the Berlin Olympics when German nationalism and Nazi pride was at fever pitch. A…
Prisoner of Shark Island, The (1936): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Warner Baxter, Gloria Stuart; Gripping John Ford–directed prison yarn is based on the ordeal of Dr. Samuel Mudd, a famous victim of circumstance who unknowingly cared for…
Land of Promise - The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950 (1931-1951): A revealing, 40–strong film archival of British society, culture, work ethic, and nationalism, preserved in documentaries shot during the…
Time to Remember, A - New Zealand Edition (Movietone Edition) (1930-1975): Comprehensive archive of New Zealand Cinesound and Movietone newsreels, from 1930–1975. Surveying five decades of Kiwi history and heritage,…
Time to Remember, A - British Empire Edition (Movietone Edition) (1920-1980): Widespread collection of British Empire Movietone newsreels, from 1920–1980. Providing an unbeatable insight into major events in British…
Time to Remember, A - World Edition (Pathe Edition ) (1900-1980): World edition of this invaulable newsreel series, compiling segments from the Pathe archives on two World Wars, totalitarianism, the Holocaust,…
American Civil War: Robert Powell summarises the four year history of America's most costly conflict.
CNN: 1991 Year in Review: America's News Network takes a look at a significant year in history – from the Russian revolution and the Gulf war to general events in sport,…
Death Row + Worst Crimes of the 20th Century: Part one looks at the history of capital punishment in America while the second examines four of the most horrific mass murders of this century…
Empires (TV Series): Epic mini–series series focused on the greatest eras of our time and how they shaped the world as we know it. Directed by respected…
Exiles - The Story Of A Polish Journey: Dir. John Anderson; A 30 year old writer and historian endeavours to uncover more about her Polish mother's harrowing life prior to arriving in Wellington in 1944, as…
Maori - Culture, Traditions and History: Historical doco presented by NZ historian Don Stafford tracing the history of Maori from their arrival on the fair shores of Aotearoa to traditional…

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