Mise Éire

Mise Éire ("I am Ireland") is a 1912 Irish-language poem by the Irish poet and Republican revolutionary leader Patrick Pearse. In the poem, Pearse personifies Ireland as an old woman whose glory is past and who has been sold by her children. The poem inspired this 1959 film of the same name by George Morrison. Here, Morrison painstakingly assembled historical footage of the events surrounding the 1916 Rising from archives across Europe and deals with key figures and events in Irish Nationalism between the 1890s and the 1910s. The narration is by Liam Budhlaeir and Padraig O'Raghallaigh and the musical score is by Seán Ó Riada.

The Right Stuff

As the Space Race ensues, seven pilots set off on a path to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings forth momentous challenges.

The First Ever Commercial for Cats

On Wednesday 27th January 1999, Whiskas Singles made advertising history. The first-ever commercial for cats was shown on British TV. The results? Thousands of cats across the length and breadth of Britain jumping, staring and listening. (Apart from the ones who completely ignored it.) Even cat owners enjoyed the ad. It was splashed across the national press and TV and made the news as far away as Australia and the US. Now it's on video, along with an explanation of how the ad works and reactions from both cats and owners. Watch it with your cat and see what he or she thinks. (In our tests, 8 out of 10 preferred it.)

Don't Be a Sucker!

Propaganda short film depicting the rise of Nazism in Germany and how political propaganda is similarly used in the United States. The film was made to make the case for the desegregation of the United States armed forces.

The Corporation

Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.

Generation Sputnik!

From 1957 —the year in which the Soviets put the Sputnik 1 satellite into orbit— to 1969 —when American astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the surface of the moon—, the beginnings of the space conquest were depicted in popular culture: cinema, television, comics and literature of the time contain numerous references to an imagined future.

Hiroshima Revealed

Pulitzer Prize -- winning journalist John Hersey caused a sensation when he published "Hiroshima", the first account for American readers of the horror experienced by victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bomb attack. "Hiroshima" stunned readers with its descriptions of the terrible aftermath of the bombing, yet Hersey never spoke about his experience in Hiroshima.

Race for the World's First Atomic Bomb: A Thousand Days of Fear

The personalities behind the creation of the world's first atomic bomb were as extraordinary, and often as explosive, as the science they were working in. This is the inside-the-barbed-wire story of the men and women who worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Through first-hand accounts and never-before-seen interviews, this documentary looks inside the atomic insiders' hearts and minds, their triumphs and failures, their bravery in the face of paralyzing fear and, ultimately, their war-winning and world-changing accomplishments.

Зеркало

A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.

Space Race

K-19: The Widowmaker

When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.

Steel Town

Documentary examining the steel industry in Youngstown, Ohio during World War II. Focuses on steel production, including the smelting process, slagging and the blast furnace. Workers reflect upon their lives and the importance of their jobs. Emphasizes the importance of teamwork in the mills and on the plant's labor relations committee to help win the war. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Battle Front in Britain

From growing potatoes in Green Park, London, to transforming rabbit crates into seed boxes – just a couple of the many ingenious ways of supporting the war effort which are covered in this film from the Ministry of Information.

The Stasi: Secrets, Lies and British Spies

With access to recently-opened court files, Julie Etchingham reveals some of the Stasi's UK operations and asks why its other secrets are yet to be revealed.

Pitch People

The art of the "pitch" and its role in society, as told by many of the pitch industry's greatest salesmen, including Arnold Morris, Sandy Mason, Lester Morris, Wally Nash and Ed McMahon as well as a look at the Popeil family.

How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin

In August 1962, director Leslie Woodhead made a two-minute film in Liverpool's Cavern Club with a raw and unrecorded group of rockers called the Beatles. He arranged their first live TV appearances on a local show in Manchester and watched as the Fab Four phenomenon swept the world. Twenty-five years later while making films in Russia, Woodhead became aware of how, even though they were never able to play in the Soviet Union, the Beatles' legend had soaked into the lives of a generation of kids. This film meets the Soviet Beatles generation and hears their stories about how the Fab Four changed their lives, including Putin's deputy premier Sergei Ivanov, who explains how the Beatles helped him learn English and showed him another life. (Storyville)

Red Terror on the Amber Coast

Red Terror documents the soviet occupation of Lithuania and the resistance movements that sprang up in opposition to the brutal tactics used by the communists from 1941 up to 1991. Stories of deportation, life in the Gulag, exile to Siberia, KGB prison torture, confiscation of land are told by living survivors. Resistance fighters and those who aided them also share their stories for the first time to an American audience. Rare historical photos and moving images are used to bring these stories to life.

Istra

Yugoslav Partisan propaganda film about the liberation of Istria at the end of the World War II.

Istina o Puli

Yugoslav Partisan propaganda film about the post-World War II events in Pula.

X-Rated: The Ads They Couldn't Show

Every year, thousands of commercials are made that never reach our TV screens, deemed too shocking to see. In order to make it onto the screen, they must clear all manner of obstacles, from fussy clients to obsessive regulators and restrictive rights issues. X-Rated takes a look at these outlawed pieces of advertising, revealing the most explicit, controversial and shocking ads never seen. These are ads that break all manner of taboos, from sex, violence, blasphemy, homosexuality, animal cruelty, rapping pensioners, swearing children, suicidal toys and naked athletes to Kylie in her undies on a bucking bronco. Amongst the contributors are advertising executives, producers and censors. The programme also takes a look at the embarrassing world of western celebrities in Japanese ads.