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

While exploring the Baltic Sea in 2006, a Polish oil firm stumbled upon the remains of Germany’s first – and last – aircraft carrier at 80 meters depth off the coast near Gdansk. It was a discovery that solved an enduring maritime mystery that had baffled experts for over half a century. The Graf Zeppelin has finally been found! This film tells the incredible story of the lead ship of the German "Kriegsmarine", from its construction to its sinking and its amazing discovery over five decades later. The Graf Zeppelin was a war ship of massive proportions that was never used for its intended purpose and eventually fell into the hands of the Russians, who used it for target practice off the coast of Poland. The program features rare access to private Graf Zeppelin archives, state-of-the-art animation, dramatic reconstructions and a high-tech underwater shoot at the mysterious site of the sunken wreck.

5.0

The Hawker Hurricane

Jan 1, 2001

The Hawker Hurricane was the first fighter monoplane to join the Royal Air Force and the first combat aircraft adopted by that arm capable of exceeding 300 mph in level flight. The Hurricane shouldered the lion s share of Britain s defence during the Battle of Britain. This program portrays the history of this legendary aircraft which was to form an immortal partnership during the infamous battle.

6.4

Hitler's Hollywood

Feb 23, 2017

Film journalist and critic Rüdiger Suchsland examines German cinema from 1933, when the Nazis came into power, until 1945, when the Third Reich collapsed. (A sequel to From Caligari to Hitler, 2015.)

0.0

Breath of Freedom

Feb 17, 2014

In World War II. African-American GIs liberate Germany from Nazi rule while racism prevailed in their own army and home country. Returning home they continue fighting for their own rights in the civil rights movement.

6.7

Public Enemies

Jul 1, 2009

Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis, the task of bringing him in dead or alive.

7.0

39/45 : Amours interdites

May 26, 2020

No overview available.

0.0

6th Marine Division on Okinawa

Jun 7, 1945

A documentary covering the actions of the 6th Marine Division on Okinawa during WWII.

6.2

Germany in Autumn

Mar 3, 1978

Germany in Autumn does not have a plot per se; it mixes documentary footage, along with standard movie scenes, to give the audience the mood of Germany during the late 1970s. The movie covers the two month time period during 1977 when a businessman was kidnapped, and later murdered, by the left-wing terrorists known as the RAF-Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Fraction). The businessman had been kidnapped in an effort to secure the release of the orginal leaders of the RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang. When the kidnapping effort and a plane hijacking effort failed, the three most prominent leaders of the RAF, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, all committed suicide in prison. It has become an article of faith within the left-wing community that these three were actually murdered by the state.

6.1

Charlotte Gray

Dec 28, 2001

This is a drama set in Nazi-occupied France at the height of World War II. Charlotte Gray tells the compelling story of a young Scottish woman working with the French Resistance in the hope of rescuing her lover, a missing RAF pilot. Based on the best-selling novel by Sebastian Faulks.

6.9

Battle of the Bulge

Dec 16, 1965

In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp.

6.7

Katyn

Sep 21, 2007

On September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland, unleashing World War II. On September 17th, the Soviet Red Army crosses the border. The Polish army, unable to fight on two fronts, is defeated. Thousands of Polish men, both military and government officials, are captured by the invaders. Their fate will only be known several years later.

0.0

Pope Vs. Hitler

Apr 1, 2017

In the darkest days of World War II, St. Peter's was shrouded in the shadow of the swastika. But even as the Führer surrounded him, the Pope was plotting a secret counter-offensive. Wartime Pontiff Pius XII has been derided for his public silence about the Holocaust. But evidence suggests his silence may have been subterfuge.

7.5

Barefoot Gen

Jul 21, 1983

A story about the effect of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.

0.0

Black Women and World War II: The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion

Aug 23, 2023

In the midst of World War II, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-female African-American unit, undertook the monumental task of sorting and delivering a massive backlog of mail for the U.S. military. Despite facing deplorable working conditions and the pervasive dual discrimination of race and gender, these women served their country with unbreakable determination and pride. Led by the formidable Major Charity Adams, they not only achieved their mission in half the expected time but also broke barriers, standing firm against inequality and inspiring future generations. Tragically overlooked for years, the story of the 6888th sheds light on a remarkable, untold chapter of American history, reflecting both the triumphs and injustices that shaped the nation's path towards civil rights. Their courage and resilience continue to resonate, a poignant reminder of the societal strides still needed to fully recognize and honor their invaluable contribution.

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0.0

The Reckoning: Remembering the Dutch Resistance

Jan 1, 2007

Documentary - The Reckoning: Remembering the Dutch Resistance is the international award-winning documentary that captures the compelling story and eyewitness account of six survivors in war-torn Netherlands during World War II. - Diet Eman

7.4

The Thin Red Line

Dec 23, 1998

The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived.

7.0

The Maginot Line: France's Defensive Barrier

May 3, 2022

The Maginot Line: thousands of subway bunkers and concrete defenses lining the French border from Belgium to the Mediterranean Sea, a monumental engineering feat that was celebrated as a technical masterpiece when it was created. When the impregnable wall was demolished by the unbeatable Nazi war machine in 1940, the conquered fortress became the shattered symbol of French defeat.

0.0

Rosies of the North

Nov 10, 1999

They raised children, baked cakes... and built world-class fighter planes. Sixty years ago, thousands of women from Thunder Bay and the Prairies donned trousers, packed lunch pails and took up rivet guns to participate in the greatest industrial war effort in Canadian history. Like many other factories across the country from 1939 to 1945, the shop floor at Fort William's Canadian Car and Foundry was transformed from an all-male workforce to one with forty percent female workers.

6.0

No Escape

Sep 28, 2008

During WWII two sisters have stolen some emeralds from the lesbian Nazi SS officer (Rena Riffel) and now are on the run. One gets captured by her and gets tortured with electrified Freddy Krueger glove into revealing the location of the gems. The other escapes to her cousin's house, but her cousin who isn't that pleased with her appearance and blackmails the girl into becoming her personal slave in return for not turning her over to the SS.

Great Escape

Overview

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Great Escape Trailers