The Somme

A documentary and propaganda film which shows the British Army's preparations for, and the early stages of, the battle of the Somme.

The film focuses on the naval warfare around the Battle of Coronel and Battle of the Falkland Islands during the First World War. It was the last in a successful series of documentary reconstructions of First World War battles by British Instructional Films made between 1921 and 1927.

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.

England, early 20th century. The future writer and philologist John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) and three of his schoolmates create a strong bond between them as they share the same passion for literature and art, a true fellowship that strengthens as they grow up, but the outbreak of World War I threatens to shatter it.

The Trench tells the story of a group of young British soldiers on the eve of the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916, the worst defeat in British military history. Against this ill-fated backdrop, the movie depicts the soldiers' experience as a mixture of boredom, fear, panic, and restlessness, confined to a trench on the front lines.

In 1914, the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa invites studios to shoot his actual battles against Porfírio Diaz army to raise funds for financing guns and ammunition. The Mutual Film Corporation, through producer D.W. Griffith, interests for the proposition and sends the filmmaker Frank Thayer to negotiate a contract with Pancho Villa himself.

Fact-based war drama about an American battalion of over 500 men which gets trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest in October 1918 France during the closing weeks of World War I.

Drama-documentary recounting the events of the 1st July 1916 and the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. Told through the letters and journals of soldiers who were there.

An exploration into the man behind the film-inspired myth, from both Western and Arab perspectives. Thomas Edward Lawrence, a 24-year-old British spy, was a figurehead in the Arab struggle for independence. In 1916, he united Arab tribes and led them in a war against the Turks who ruled over them for 400 years. The consequences of his successes and failures sowed the seeds of conflict that continue to plague the troubled region even today.

Based on diaries, records and eyewitness accounts, this is the story of the two Battles of the Somme from the perspective of British and German soldiers. It shows how the major lessons learned by the British Army leadership after the disastrous first attacks of July 1916 were turned into victory at the second attempt in September 1916, arguably the turning point for the First World War.

21 Brothers tells the story of the Canadian 21st Battalion as they prepare for the battle of Courcellette in WWI. Taking place in real time, the film follows Sgt. Reid as he must get his men ready for the impending battle. Not only must he prep his battalion Sgt. Reid must also deal with the day to day difficulties of Life in the trenches, including injuries to his men, supply issues, and an underage recruit who has recently been sent into the front lines.

The story of eight women and how they served their country during World War I.

In 1925, with the cooperation of the War Office, British Instructional Films set out to make a dramatic, feature-length reconstruction of the five Ypres battles in which 1.7 million soldiers lost their lives. Directed by William Summers, the result is a silent classic. Unlike the famous 1916 documentary The Battle of the Somme, the Ypres footage is entirely ”faked” and the film shares some of Somme‘s propagandist approach. Regardless, the film is no less fascinating as an artistic endeavour of its time and it features some stunning images. A degree of authenticity is provided by real soldiers taking part and by the filming having taken place in the actual Ypres trenches.

To celebrate the centenary of WW1, a TV Documentary team travels to the Somme to put together a ratings smash about new mysteries relating to the famous battle. However, what they unearth is far from a new story of those that died 100 years ago – but an army of the undead and a brand new war.

Natural and man-made catastrophes retold by eyewitnesses and dramatic reconstructions.

Battle Castle is an action documentary TV series co-produced by Parallax Film Productions Inc. with London-based Ballista Media Inc. It explores the medieval arms race reflected in castle construction in the Middle Ages and, using location filming, re-enactments and CGI reconstruction, tells the stories of six castles tested by siege. Hosted by Dan Snow, the series has aired on History Television, SBS Australia and most recently, Discovery UK.

The evolution of the modern naval warship, from the days of wooden vessels under sail to today's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines, and missile cruisers.

Documentary series that casts a covert eye over the ever-growing problem of insurance fraud, and sees outlandish claimers as they're caught out on camera.

In a landmark history series, Jeremy Paxman describes how the First World War transformed the lives of the British people, and helped shape modern Britain.

Documentary telling the stories of the men and women who travelled across Egypt to uncover the earliest Christian texts.

Colorized historical footage in ascending order of World War 1. Not only the relatively known Flanders and France battles, but also the generally unknown Italian-Austrian, German-Polish-Russian, Japanese-German, Ottoman Empire- Allied and African German Colonies, and other unknown or forgotten fronts and battles.

With World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Russian Civil War as backdrop, it's an old-fashioned, blood-and-guts narrative, filled with earthly humor and a wealth of colorful characters. The story concerns the fluctuating fortunes of Grigory Melekhov, a young Cossack who is both a hero and a victim of the uprising.

For over a century, locomotives played a vital role in wartime. We explore some of the trains and railways, from the American Civil War through World War II, that turned the tides of battles and changed history. Rarely seen archival footage and accounts from vets who were there highlight these thrilling stories of engineering genius and extraordinary bravery.

When relationships go bad and one partner becomes obsessive, the gruesome fact is that, sometimes, the victim can pay the ultimate price.

The extraordinary story of how the Allies turned the tide in the final months of 1918 to win the First World War.

Explore the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy.

This documentary-series examines Grant's life story using his perspective and experiences to explore a turbulent time in history: the Civil War and Reconstruction.

An epic romantic adventure series based on the life of famous American outlaw Billy the Kid — from his humble Irish roots, to his early days as a cowboy and gunslinger in the American frontier, to his pivotal role in the Lincoln County War and beyond.

Morris Chestnut hosts this renovation docuseries chronicling the ongoing reconstruction of Tulsa's Greenwood District, which was destroyed in the 1921 massacre, while celebrating the personal and professional journeys of Black Wall Street descendants.