Flashback: The First World War

Jan 1, 2014

1h 20m

★ 9.0

Overview

A collection of 2 minute documentaries that tell not only the historical facts of WW1, but also the stories of those most involved and others greatly affected by the day to day events. The deadly serious to more light-hearted, this has it all compiled from the vast resources of the Imperial War Museum.

Genres

Documentary

Flashback: The First World War Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self (archive footage)

Edmund Allenby

Self (archive footage)

D.W. Griffith

Self (archive footage)

Michael Heaviside

Self (archive footage)

W.E. Lawrence

Self (archive footage)

Manfred von Richthofen

A century ago, from February to December 1916, the French and Germans provided a superhuman effort to control a few hills in eastern France, located in front of Verdun . A frontal confrontation, conducted without the help of their allies, army against army, nation against nation. Today, this battle seems absurd to us. Because it has caused almost as many casualties in each camp and its strategic utility has never really been demonstrated. But in 1916, soldiers on both sides did not consider it absurd: they agreed to fight. Why ? By reliving the rare Herculean confrontation of our ancestors, using reconstructions made in the 1920s, using a large number of animated computer-generated images that recreate the topography of the battlefield, this documentary returns, with the help of the historical adviser Paul Jankowski , on the last great victory won alone by France against Germany.

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0.0

The Zeppelin Raids on London and the Siege of Verdun

Sep 30, 1916

This lost WWI documentary appears to be about the German zeppelin attacks on Londonon September 2nd, 1916.

6.7

Paris 1919: Un traité pour la paix

Apr 1, 2009

The last shots had been fired in the First World War — but peace had yet to be made. Inspired by Margaret MacMillan’s acclaimed work of popular history, Paris 1919 takes us inside the most ambitious peace talks in history, revisiting the event with a vivid sense of narrative. Evoking a pivotal moment when peace seemed possible, director Paul Cowan reflects upon the hard-learned lessons of history.

0.0

The Millionaires' Unit

May 24, 2015

A documentary about the First Yale Unit, a group of Yale students who trained for World War I.

10.0

Sam's Army

Mar 1, 1999

Canada was led to war by a bigoted, ignorant, self-obsessed Minister of Militia, who may well have been clinically insane, but the importance of Canada's contribution in that war owes a great deal to him. The man of course, was Colonel - later made Lieutenant General by his own hand - Sam Hughes. Sam's Army is a compelling portrait of a complex man and the formidable military he built. Sam Hughes was not your standard-issue military leader. Canada's World War I Minister of Militia and Defence concentrated power in his own hands, insisted that the Canadian military use the ill-conceived Ross rifle and liberally promoted his cronies. But there was no denying Hughes was a visionary. He assembled the world's largest-ever volunteer army and bucked superiors to keep his ferocious fighting force together in one Canadian Corps.

10.0

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

Mar 21, 1999

A two-hour documentary which recreates for the viewer one of the greatest battles in Canadian military history. The film was made to show that Canadian character at its best, forging an identity for a country that before the First World War had been seen only as a British colony - an identity and a character that became recognized and respected throughout Europe.

10.0

The Last 100 Days

Mar 28, 1999

Canadian military accomplishments in the last hundred days of World War I, when the German Army was destroyed, surpassed those of any other army. The Canadian success was, in no small measure, due to Arthur Currie, whom a recent British historian describes as "the most successful Allied General and one of the least well known."

9.0

The Red Baron, a Hero of Aviation

Jan 1, 1998

A documentary of early airplane pilot and WW1 fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, famously known as The Red Baron.

0.0

Asunder

Jul 10, 2016

Esther Johnson’s film uses local archive footage to convey the story of Sunderland's involvement in the First World War, from the men who fought in the fields to those who stayed behind to work in the region’s shipyards and munitions factories.

10.0

1917, The Train from Hell

Nov 8, 2019

1917, The Train from Hell is an historical documentary about a train accident during WW1.

7.9

Charcot: Secret Poles

Oct 1, 2016

The adventures and exploits of Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936), an intrepid scientist and explorer who laid the foundations of modern oceanography.