Great Escape

Nov 16, 2004

★ 6.0

Overview

The real Great Escape didn't feature Steve McQueen racing through the Third Reich on a motorcycle like in the 1963 movie, but the big breakout was still thrilling in every way. This program sheds new light on the audacious escape of 76 Allied airmen from a Nazi POW camp during World War II.

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

NOVA

Great Escape Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator

Richard Donat

Himself - Reporter

Robert Krulwich

The incredible story of swimmer Alfred Nakache, played by Amir Haddad. Alfred Nakache is one of those modern-day heroes whose story is little known. Born in Constantine and raised in Toulouse, he was France's best swimmer in the 1940s. Arrested by the Gestapo and then deported, he swam in the unsanitary pools of Auschwitz, from which his wife and daughter never returned. In their memory, this survivor of horror picked himself up and resumed competition until he regained his title as French Champion and once again represented his country at the Olympic Games. Filmed at Studio Marigny at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris's 8th arrondissement.

0.0

Elvis and the USS Arizona

Nov 14, 2021

The surprising story of how one of music's biggest icons helped to establish a USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor. Elvis’ fundraising concert drew public attention to the plight and helped to galvanize efforts to finish the USS Arizona Memorial as it stands today.

6.3

13 Hours That Saved Britain

Apr 20, 2011

In this documentary, experts dissect the Battle of Britain, which took place on Sept. 15, 1940 — a day that determined the fate of the nation.

6.9

Mariana's Room

Apr 23, 2025

In the darkest days of the Second World War, Yulia and Hugo, a Jewish mother and son, escape from a Ukrainian ghetto. Fearing for his safety, Yulia entrusts her boy to the care of her friend Mariana, a sex worker who lives in a brothel. Hugo is placed in a closet, nominally for his safety, but from which he rarely leaves. With little view of the outside world, he conjures up ghosts and scenarios. But over time, Mariana brings the boy out and in doing so transforms his life.

7.0

Art of War

May 3, 2009

Documentary on the main principles of Sun Tsu "Art of War" illustrated with examples from the second world war, the Vietnam war and the American civil war.

8.0

Churchill: When Britain Said No

Jun 2, 2015

Documentary which examines the reasons why Winston Churchill and the Conservative Party lost the General Election of 1945, after Churchill had just led the country to victory in the World War II.

0.0

As If They Were Angels

Oct 6, 2018

The little known story of one of the worst non-combat disasters in the history of the US Navy, …AS IF THEY WERE ANGELS is a story of courage, heart, sacrifice and the heroism of miners & fishermen of 2 small towns, who risked their lives to save nearly 200 American sailors, shipwrecked on the rugged cliffs of Newfoundland. Narrated by Peter Coyote, it’s a deeply layered tale of navigation errors, courts martial mistakes, a steep loss of life, and resonates today as if the very telling of its deep humanity offers a lifeline for our fractured times.

10.0

Letters from Europe

Apr 24, 2021

"Letters from Europe" brings to light the words of men and women who gave their lives resisting the Nazi and fascist conquest from 1939 to '45 across the European continent. The moving goodbyes penned by a few of those sentenced to death are sometimes true spiritual testaments that explore the meaning of civic responsibility, human existence, fraternity, and life and death. Their words, which the film mingles with footage of the present day, can perhaps restore meaning to a humanist ideal and to the ever-changing idea of a united Europe.

6.0

The Ugliest Car

May 30, 2017

The youngest protagonist of the documentary is Wartburg, an automobile over 50 years of age. The car is still on the road, driven by Bogdan, a 70-year-old who is taking his mother to visit the German factory where she was forced to work during WWII. In this road movie which takes place between Majdanpek and Germany, the trip becomes a journey into the past, retracing memories from the war and revealing a unique relationship between an old son and his elderly mother.

6.4

Beyond the Front Line

Mar 5, 2004

A movie based on real wartime diaries tells the story of the Swedish speaking Finns' infantry regiment 61. The story follows the regiment during the Continuation War from 1942 to 1944 and from Syväri to the Karelian Isthmus where they faced some of the most grueling battles against the Soviet Union.

6.1

Into the Darkness

Jan 9, 2020

Karlskov is a self made, successful owner of a large electronics factory, has a wife and five children. They live the good, privileged upper-class life on Strandvejen north of Copenhagen when the Nazis occupy Denmark in April 1940. Karl struggles to continue production at the factory, but to protect his family and employees he reluctantly begins to produce for the German market. It brings him into a controversial collaboration with the occupying power and causes painful breaks in the family.

6.3

Hanussen

May 20, 1988

A man's story parallels Hitler's rise. Austrian Klaus Schneider, wounded in World War I, recovers in the care of Dr. Emil Bettleheim. Bettleheim discovers that Schneider possesses powers of empathy and of clairvoyance, such that could aid suicidal patients. After the war, with one friend as his manager and another as his lover, Schneider changes his name to Eric Jan Hanussen and goes to Berlin, as a hypnotist and clairvoyant performing in halls and theaters. He always speaks the truth, which brings him to the attention of powerful Nazis. He predicts their rise (good propaganda for them) and their violence (not so good). He's in pain and at risk. What is Hanussen's future?

6.0

The Valkyrie Legacy

Nov 24, 2008

Created as a companion documentary to the film "Valkyrie," this documentary details the true story behind the plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler.

Great Escape

Overview

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