Street Scene in unidentified European city

Vincenz Priessnitz

October 1999 •Czech

Last Words: The Battle for Arnhem Bridge

Invalid date •English

The Survivors of the WW2 Battle of Arnhem tell their stories of the brutal and exhausting conflict.

Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge

October 1888 •

A film by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, shot in late October 1888, showing pedestrians and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge.

The Russian Revolution

June 2017 •English

Starting in 1881 this film shows the personal battle between Lenin's Ulyanov family and the royal Romanovs that eventually led to the Russian revolution.

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God

November 1984 •English

They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers.

Darwin's Darkest Hour

October 2009 •English

In 1858 Charles Darwin struggles to publish one of the most controversial scientific theories ever conceived, while he and his wife Emma confront family tragedy.

The Emma Bovary Trial

September 2021 •French

On January 31, 1857, the French writer Gustave Flaubert (1821-80) took his place in the dock for contempt of public morality and religion. The accused, the real one, is, through him, Emma Bovary, heroine with a thousand faces and a thousand desires, guilty without doubt of an unforgivable desire to live.

Praise to the Man

January 2005 •English

With a divine answer to a humble prayer at age 14, Joseph Smith began to fulfill his inspired mission. He translated the ancient Book of Mormon and restored the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. Many flocked to the American frontier to worship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, led by the Prophet Joseph's dynamic and courageous example. Unstopped by his martyrdom at age 38, Joseph's legacy continues today in the dedicated lives of Saints throughout the world who still sing; "Praise to the Man who Communed with Jehovah!"

Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle

September 2002 •English

Ken Russell revisits the life of Elgar, with musical background provided by the composer's works.

Amashinga

June 2024 •English

The last sovereign Zulu King, a female British missionary, an ambitious colonial official and a young Welshman are all voiced by actors to make AMASHINGA a beautiful and epic explanation of the British invasion of the Zulu Kingdom in 1879.

Romantik – Kunst wider das Chaos

October 2021 •German

Romantic art was a response to the social upheavals of the 19th century, as shown by works by its emblematic painters Friedrich, Venetsianov and Delacroix.

Passage of Venus

December 1874 •French

Photo sequence of the rare transit of Venus over the face of the Sun, one of the first chronophotographic sequences. In 1873, P.J.C. Janssen, or Pierre Jules César Janssen, invented the Photographic Revolver, which captured a series of images in a row. The device, automatic, produced images in a row without human intervention, being used to serve as photographic evidence of the passage of Venus before the Sun, in 1874.

The Mountain of the Lord

March 1993 •English

Recounts the 40-year history of building the Salt Lake Temple, shown as if recounted by Wilford Woodruff to a young reporter. It portrays the pioneers' dedication to temple worship.

Opening of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge

October 1911 •

Extraordinary pictures of an accident with a royal audience at Middlesbroughs magnificent Transporter Bridge.

Paris Train Stations: Shaping the City

October 2020 •French

Every day, Paris’ six railway stations welcome over 3,000 trains and more than a million travelers coming from France and all over Europe. The stations’ sizes are impressive: Gare du Nord is bigger than the Louvre or Notre-Dame de Paris. These railway stations are architectural landmarks and a model of urban planning despite the radical changes they’ve undergone since their construction in the middle of the 19th century. How did the railway stations manage to absorb the boom of travelers in just a few decades? What colossal works were necessary to erect and then modify these now essential buildings? From the monumental glass walls of Gare du Nord to the iconic tower of Gare de Lyon, to the first-ever all-electric train station, each has its own story, technical characteristics, and well-defined urban image.

Paname: The Ghost of the Great Frenchman

November 2018 •French

Ferdinand de Lesseps, known as “The Great Frenchman”, will embark in the greatest adventure of his life: To unite the Pacific and Atlantic oceans through a Canal in the Isthmus of Panama – without knowing that this will cost him his reputation, thousands of innocent lives and the biggest financial scandal of all time, up to that point: the famous “Scandal of Panama”. Today, the French capital is known as “Paname”.

Tea War: The Adventures of Robert Fortune

July 2016 •French

In the 19th century, China held the monopoly on tea, which was dear and fashionable in the West, and the British Empire exchanged poppies, produced in its Indian colonies and transformed into opium, for Chinese tea. Inundated by the drugs, China was forced to open up its market, and the British consolidated their commercial dominance. In 1839, the Middle Empire introduced prohibition. The Opium War was declared… Great Britain emerged as the winner, but the warning was heeded: it could no longer depend on Chinese tea. The only alternative possible was to produce its own tea. The East India Company therefore entrusted one man with finding the secrets of the precious beverage. His mission was to develop the first plantations in Britain’s Indian colonies. This latter-day James Bond was called Robert Fortune – a botanist. After overcoming innumerable ordeals in the heart of imperial China, he brought back the plants and techniques that gave rise to Darjeeling tea.

Wisconsin Death Trip

September 1999 •English

Inspired by the book of the same name, film-maker James Marsh relays a tale of tragedy, murder and mayhem that erupted behind the respectable facade of Black River Falls, Wisconsin in the 19th century.

The True Legend of the Eiffel Tower

December 2005 •French

This movie is a docudrama relating the early history of the Eiffel Tower: From the planning to its first military use.

Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln

September 2024 •English

An examination of the intimate life of America's most consequential president, Abraham Lincoln. As told by preeminent Lincoln scholars and never before seen photographs and letters, Lincoln's romantic relationships with men is detailed. The lens is widened into the history of human sexual fluidity and focuses on the profound differences between sexual mores of the 19th century and those we hold today.