historical documentary

347 movies and shows

Apollo 13: Survival

Fri, 08 Mar 2024

Using original footage and interviews, this documentary tells the nail-biting story of Apollo 13 and the struggle to bring its astronauts safely home.

Secrets of the Neanderthals

Thu, 02 May 2024

This documentary delves into the mysteries surrounding the Neanderthals and what their fossil record tells us about their lives and disappearance.

Endurance

Mon, 14 Oct 2024

A century after Shackleton's Endurance sank beneath the ice, explorers uncover the legendary shipwreck and an amazing tale of survival.

Einstein and the Bomb

Fri, 16 Feb 2024

What happened after Einstein fled Nazi Germany? Using archival footage and his own words, this docudrama dives into the mind of a tortured genius.

She's been around for so many decades but hasn't aged a day. She's had more than 180 different jobs; she's been president, she's been to the moon, and she's done all the things that women aspire to do. She has a massive closet, and thousands of different outfits. Barbie is way more than just a 12-inches long piece of plastic, she is way more than a toy. The legendary blond bombshell has grown into a phenomenon and a children's sensation. Wildly revolutionary, Barbie broke barriers, shattered glass ceilings, and has inspired countless dreams, wonder and imagination, with her signature color: Pink. The history of the doll is a testament to its enduring appeal and impact. Things have changed for her the same way things changed for women. Whatever we may think about Barbie - love or loathe her - it is impossible to ignore her worldwide impact. Let's step into the beautiful world of Barbie and take a look at her cultural revolution through the decades.

Bad Faith

Wed, 10 Jan 2024

On January 6, 2021, Americans witnessed an attack on the U.S. Capitol without precedent in our history. Armed militiamen and QAnon followers made headlines, but among them were a sea of crosses and Christian flags, rosaries and "Jesus Saves" signs. What motivated so many Christians to participate in this violent assault?

Out of the Cradle

Sat, 01 Dec 2018

How did humanity's earliest ancestors evolve into one of the most successful species on Earth? An extraordinary journey tracing the footsteps of early hominids. Using the latest paleoanthropological findings mixed with the latest CGI from Square Enix, this story is finally told.

Unknown: The Lost Pyramid

Mon, 03 Jul 2023

Egyptian archeologists dig into history, discovering tombs and artifacts over 4,000 years old as they search for a buried pyramid in this documentary.

Manufacturing Death: Birth of the Atom Bomb

Thu, 01 Jun 2023

The birth of the atomic bomb changed the world forever. In the years before the Manhattan project, a weapon of such power was not even remotely imaginable to most people on earth. And yet, with war comes new inventions. New ways of destroying the enemy. New machines to wipe out human life. The advent of nuclear weapons not only brought an end to the largest conflict in history, but also ushered in an atomic age and a defining era of "big science". However, with the world now gripped by nuclear weapons, we exist constantly on the edge of mankind's total destruction.

JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass

Fri, 12 Nov 2021

Thirty years after the release of his film JFK (1991), filmmaker Oliver Stone reviews recently declassified evidence related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which took place in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)

Wed, 07 Jun 2023

In 1968, art students Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell made a trippy photo collage for their musician friends Syd, David and Roger. The resulting album and album cover, A Saucerful of Secrets, helped launch two careers: that of Pink Floyd, one of the 70s megabands, and of Hipgnosis, which, over the course of the next 25 years, designed a stream of iconic album covers.

Hitler: A Career

Fri, 08 Jul 1977

A keen chronicle of the unlikely rise to power of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and a dissection of the Third Reich (1933-1945), but also an analysis of mass psychology and how the desperate crowd can be deceived and shepherded to the slaughterhouse.

I Am Not Your Negro

Fri, 03 Feb 2017

Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the United States.

The Atlantis Puzzle

Sat, 01 Jun 2024

Fascinating new translations and fresh research are transforming the myth of Atlantis from the realm of fantasy into an incredible reality. Travel across continents and centuries to unlock the secrets of Plato's final legacy - a true story of Ancient Greece, Africa, and climate change across deep time.

The Fog of War

Sun, 26 Oct 2003

Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company's president, to managing the Vietnam War as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

Bettie Page Reveals All

Fri, 22 Nov 2013

The world's greatest pin-up model and cult icon, Bettie Page, recounts the true story of how her free expression overcame government witch-hunts to help launch America's sexual revolution. When she saw the film The Notorious Bettie Page, produced by HBO in 2006, the main person concerned reacted unequivocally: “Lies! Lies!” In a long interview recorded shortly before her death, the woman who entered the collective unconscious as the ultimate pin-up gave her version of events to director Mark Mori. In a gravelly voice, Bettie Page tells her own story and lifts the veil on areas often hidden by images that have made so many men and women fantasize since the 1950s: her abused childhood, an eclipse that lasted forty years, her mental illness. Through testimonies and unpublished archives, this documentary brings back to life a body and a face endlessly declined before our eyes, just as Bettie wanted: “I would like people to remember me as I was in the photos.”

D-Day: 80th Anniversary

Mon, 27 May 2024

On June 6, 1944, the Allied Forces executed Operation Overlord, the largest seaborne invasion in history, storming the beaches of Normandy. This pivotal event, known as D-Day, liberated France and Western Europe. A new documentary features interviews with historians, experts, and eyewitnesses, providing detailed insights into the events leading up to this crucial day that played a vital role in bringing an end to World War II.

Who Killed JFK: The Conspiracies

Tue, 27 Oct 2020

Over the decades, unanswered questions, tampered evidence, ulterior motives, and witness testimony surrounding the assassination has perpetuated conspiracy theories and alternative explanations that challenge the official narrative. Most of the figures involved--or knew who was involved--have mostly passed away, leaving avenues of investigation dead in their tracks. Over time, efforts to determine what happened have left more questions than answers. We take a look back on the moment that changed the course of world history, questioning the official record. Was the assassination a conspiracy?

Peru - Sacrifices in the Kingdom of Chimor

Thu, 01 Sep 2022

In northern Peru, the unprecedented archaeological discovery of the largest known mass child sacrifice in the world opens the doors to the kingdom of Chimor. This international archaeological investigation carried out like a criminal investigation reveals the mysteries of the last civilization of the Andes before the arrival of the Incas.

The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout

Fri, 28 Jun 2024

The story of one of the great environmental disasters to befall the United States, and the terrible movie that helped bring the catastrophe to light.