Military & War

Screening in the American Spectrum section of the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, this documentary by Academy award-winning filmmakers Freida Lee Mock (Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision) and Terry Sanders (A Time Out of War) explores the 462 American prisoners of war who were held in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War. Told entirely through interviews with survivors and previously unseen Vietnamese footage that documents their lives during the imprisonment, the filmmakers focus on the strength of overcoming adversity rather than the horrors of the war and the prisons. The film also concerns itself with the return of the 462 pilots held for over eight-and-one-half years, and how Americans celebrated their homecoming. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide

This video is part three of a six-volume set of films that chronicles the story of the great wars of the 20th century, and the role that the United States played in them. This volume features some of the definitive battles of World War II, and the turning points they represented in the fight between the Axis and Allied Powers. The viewer goes, via live vintage newsreels, to the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters of the war. One can witness the Battle of Britain, the success of the Allied forces at the Battle of Stalingrad, the campaign against Rommel's Afrika Corps, D-Day at Normandy, U.S. naval victories in the Pacific, and U.S. and Chinese forces training in India. Of interest also are the shots of women factory workers building bombs on the home front, and U.S. Army nurses in training, then wading ashore for service in the Pacific islands. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

Explore the live of the woman whose name has become synonymous with the French monarchy as filmmakers explore just how one wanton sovereign set into motion the wheels of the French Revolution. From her early childhood in the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire to her grim final hours in a French prison cell, this two-hour portrait of Marie Antoinette paints a vivid portrait of a historical figure that was as tragic as she was courageous. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Vought F4U Corsair was the Marine's most famous fighting aircraft in World War II, used by "Pappy" Boyington and his famous Black Sheep squadron. This video takes us for a ride in one of these classic warbirds and also lets us take a look under the hood to find out what makes them tick. As a bonus, the program salutes the life and career of Marines air ace Verne Salisbury. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Barbet Schroeder transcends the borders of the political and judiciary arenas to explore the mystery of a man who stands up for some of society's most deplorable figures. Enigmatic lawyer Jacques Vergès began his career by defending Djamila Bouhired - an activist who became the manifestation of the people's hunger for freedom - during the Algerian War of Independence. Later, after marrying his client and adopting an anti-colonialist stance, Vergès disappeared from the public eye for nearly a decade. Upon his return Vergès shocked the world by defending the rights of terrorists ranging from Magdalena Kopp to Anis Naccache, and even standing up for notorious Gestapo butcher Klaus Barbie. In addition to exploring the career of a man who has dedicated his life to defending the undefendable, director Schroeder also reveals the uncanny connections between the world's increasingly expansive blind terrorist networks. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this documentary that touches on minority life in Israel, two Arab women are interviewed and asked why they would stay in a state that has killed, wounded, or maimed so many Arabs. The older woman explains that her land was illegally expropriated when the state of Israel was formed, and after three decades, she has been offered money for it -- and she refuses to sell in spite of arguments to the contrary from her children. The younger woman has written about the dilemma of Arabs in Israel and is more actively involved in their cause. Both interviews are complemented with scenes of the women talking and interacting with others, helping to clarify why they hold their positions. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In 1961, as Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his final address to the nation before leaving the office of President of the United States, he warned that America "must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence...by the military-industrial complex." Nearly 45 years later, as the United States finds itself waging a war in Iraq for reasons that seem increasingly unclear with the passage of time, Eisenhower's statement becomes all the more pertinent, and the question becomes more apt: has the machinery the United States established to wage war helped prevent conflict, or has it done more to inspire it? Documentary filmmaker Eugene Jarecki offers an in-depth look at how the United States has readied itself for battle, and why and how the nation goes to war in the film Why We Fight. Named for Frank Capra's famed series of Defense Department films (which explained the motives behind America's entry into World War II), Why We Fight features interviews with foot soldiers, Army recruits, Pentagon personnel, decorated veterans, members of Congress, national security advisors, top military strategists, and many more as they talks about the core philosophies of American military strategy and how they have changed since the end of the Second World War. Why We Fight received the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Part of the Biography television series from A&E, this documentary reviews the career and personal life of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. He quickly became one of Italy's most intelligent and menacing young Socialists. He broke with the Italian Socialist Party after advocating intervention in World War 1. In 1922, he became prime minister, and by 1925, he had established himself as dictator. His rule saw an official totalitarian system; the establishment of the Vatican state; the annexation of Abyssinia and Albania; and the formation of the Axis with Germany. His declaration of war on Britain and France was followed by a series of defeats in Africa and in the Balkans. Following the Allied invasion of Sicily, his supporters deserted him, and he was overthrown and arrested. Rescued from imprisonment by German paratroopers, he was placed in charge of the puppet Italian Social Repbulic, but in 1945 he was captured by the Italian Resistance and executed. ~ John Patrick Sheehan, All Movie Guide

Two survivors of WWII atrocities meet in Fighter, an emotional road-trip documentary from director Amir Bar-Lev. The film follows friends Jan Wiener and Arnost Lustig as they journey from Prague to Italy -- the exact path that Wiener used to escape from a Nazi labor camp. Lustig is an author who seeks to write about his friend Wiener's experiences, but over the course of the film, each man shares his tale of oppression, escape, and emotional recovery. Both men recount tales of watching their parents die in ghettos, and being told that they wouldn't live to see adulthood. Far from being agreeable old chums, however, the two men philosophically bicker; after one such argument, they vowed that they would never speak to each other again, and filming halted until the two reconciled. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

This film is a documentary, nominated for an Academy Award, of the destructive fires set by Iraqi soldiers at the close of the Persian Gulf War. In defeat, Saddam Hussein remained defiant, committing one last war atrocity: setting fire to oil wells in Kuwait, the land his troops invaded. The video presents graphic film footage that shows the magnitude of the fires and the immense destruction and waste that resulted. Scorched earth and terrible air pollution were Hussein's war legacy to the Middle East. The film shows the heroic efforts of thousands of firefighters to contain the blaze. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

Shortly after President George W. Bush announced that "major combat operations have ended" in the war in Iraq, filmmaker Michael Tucker (a self-described "Army brat" whose father served in Vietnam) traveled to Baghdad, where he and his camera crew were embedded with the 2-3 Army Field Artillery unit, improbably based out of a bombed-out mansion which once belonged to Saddam Hussein and his son Uday. Tucker and his crew spent two months with the soldiers of the 2-3 FA (in September 2003 and February 2004), following the young men and women as they went about their daily rounds in a land where they were welcomed by some and targeted by others. Gunner Palace offers a sympathetic but objective portrait of the American fighters as they go on routine patrol, try to ferret out insurgents, help train Iraqi forces, keep an eye peeled for homemade explosives, police some of the local troublemakers, and for the most part simply try to get through their days without the loss of life and limb in the midst of what they sarcastically call "minor combat operations." Gunner Palace received its world premier at the 2004 Telluride Film Festival and became the first documentary about the war in Iraq to be shot and released while the war was still taking place. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide