clive's - Rented List
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The Soldiers of the Wehrmacht After the British and French declared war with Germany on September 3rd, 1939; the Western Front became a ghost front. It was only the beginning of the Western Campaign on May 10th, 1940 that started the battles. The fast advance to Moscow in 1941 forced the German soldiers to use tremendous marching skills to overcome challenging terrains. On dirt roads, often through boggy surfaces, the German troops pushed eastwards. The Wehrmacht Soldiers had to cope with an enormous and difficult workload. Trenches had to be dug, mines had to be set or diffused, new bridges had to be erected over rivers and huge quantities of supplies (ammunition, food, vehicle parts, etc.) needed to be transported to the fronts. Heavy military equipment of all types were deployed along the main battle lines. The weaponry and equipment of the soldiers were constantly evolving and improving to compete with the enemy. - Director:
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This war-time film was made in 1943 in order to help motivate the hard pressed German infantry to resist the increasing tide of Soviet armour. Made shortly before the introduction of the 'Panzerfaust' it is a remarkable film in many respects as it features a dramatized and highly realistic record of a Soviet attack on the German lines by T-34 tanks and provides a detailed summary of the potential defences which the infantryman could use to defend against Soviet tanks. This unique film is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the true nature of warfare on the Russian front. - Director:
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The Nuremberg Trials (1947)Sud Narodov / 9 Men in Hell / Nazi SS
The Nuremberg trials began in 1945 and the film cameras of the victorious Allies were there to record the proceedings. The first documentary film to emerge was the Soviet film account which appeared as soon as the verdicts were given and before the full proceedings had even been completed. As might be expected, the narrative is vengeful, partisan and jingoistic. The ringing accusations of the prosecutors are illustrated by extracts from newsreels. The court room footage, however, provides the most complete primary source reference and extensive extracts from the speeches made by the Soviet prosecutors are featured. The film makes much play on the often overlooked fact that the Soviet Union objected to the acquittal of Hans Fritzsche, Franz von Papen and Hjalmar Schacht, and also to the fact that Rudolf Hess was given a sentence of life imprisonment, rather than a death sentence. - Director:
- Roman Karmen
- Cast:
- Francis Biddle, Henri Donnedieu de Vabres, Karl Dönitz
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As Japan stubbornly clung to the idea of victory at the end of the Second World War, the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki could have had no idea that the cities in which they lived would become the targets of a new and devastating weapon - the atomic bomb. With the use of wartime archive footage and American military film the effects of the bomb on the towns and people are examined as well as a brief look at how the US prepared themselves for the real possibility of an atomic attack on home soil. - Director:
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Echoing the sentiments of Schindler's Li Auschwitz is a hard-hitting but respectful war film which shows life as it really was at the death camp. Including documentary footage, controversial German director Uwe Boll says "50% of the German population doesn't know anything about the Holocaust. When I realized that there were many people who deny the Holocaust, or who had a distorted point of view about it, I decided to make this movie and get straight to the point, without any metaphors." - Director:
- Uwe Boll
- Cast:
- Maximilian Gärtner, Friedhelm Gärtner, Uwe Boll
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Auschwitz: The Last Journey (2006)The Last Train / Der letzte Zug / Auschwitz: The Final Journey
It's 1942 and the Nazi chieftains decide once and for all to "resolve" the question of the Berlin Jews. Under the pretext of protecting them from air raids, entire Jewish families are penned up in the cattle cars of a special train and taken off to a place of no return - Auschwitz. When all hope, reason and human dignity seem lost, they battle to stay strong and survive. - Director:
- Joseph Vilsmaier
- Cast:
- Gedeon Burkhard, François Goeske, Lale Yavas
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With the use of archival footage and expert commentary, this fascinating six-part documentary profiles the key figures of World War II, providing the viewer with an insight into the personalities of the men whose psychological duels decided the fate of the world.
Hitler: A profile of the notorious German Fuhrer: from his early career with the German army during World War I all the way to his meteoric political rise to power as leader of the Nazi party and dictator of Germany.
Churchill: A look at the life and career of Britain's war-time leader: from his early upbringing and entry into politics all the way to the allied army's victory over Nazi Germany on 8th May 1945.
Stalin: From Stalin's introduction into the 'Workers Party' and subsequent power struggle with Trotsky, all the way to his eventual control of Russia, this programme illustrates how the 'man of steel' played a key role in the outcome of the Second World War.
Also featuring: De Gaulle, Trotsky and Mussolini- Director:
- Simon Berthon
- Cast:
- Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, David Morrissey
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Operation Market Garden: Arnhem (2012)Operation Market Garden: Arnhem: Battle of the Oosterbeek Perimeter
Arnhem - Battle for the Oosterbeek Perimeter is the next part in the 'Operation Market Garden'series of films from BHTV and Pen and Sword Digital and continues the story of this controversial campaign that saw lightly armed Allied paratroopers face a force of heavily armed SS Panzer troops. The film delves straight into the action, with 2 Para isolated at the Arnhem Bridge. With both 1 and 4 Para Brigades thwarted in their attempts to fight their way into Arnhem and falling back, what became the Oosterbeek Perimeter started to form around Divisional HQ at the Hartenstein Hotel. Beaten but not defeated, the remnants of 1st Airborne Division fought an increasingly grim battle with the SS supported by reinforcements and armour rushed to Oosterbeek from all over the West. Veterans and experienced battlefield guides vividly relate their experiences and take the viewer to the scene of the action. Harrowing tales of determined flying by the RAF, desperate attempts to contact XXX Corps and to fight off flame throwing panzers are central to the story, which is startlingly vivid, with many stories that the veterans have self censored over the years adding to the mix. While the Paratroopers fought to hold the Perimeter, XXX Corps was struggling to break out from the Nijmegen Bridgehead. Gradually, their heavy guns came within range of the Perimeter and the film concludes with the Polish Drop and the epic ten mile 'Dash to Driel' across the Island' by 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Would the rest of XXX Corps arrive before 1st Airborne Division was overwhelmed? - Director:
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The War in Italy (1945)The War in Italy: Hitler's War Machine
The German Propaganda Kompanien (PK) captured the events of Hitler's war on every front. Their footage was used to produce Die Deutsche Wochenschau, a weekly cinema newsreel detailing the events of World War II on land, sea and air. For the first time these unique primary source films have been collated, edited and translated into English in order to produce a complete military history of the Third Reich drawn exclusively from German primary sources. This amazing range of films captures the events of World War II exactly as they were presented to contemporary cinema audiences while the actions on the battlefield were still unfolding. This volume featuring translated Wochenschau newsreels records Churchill's attempt to seize the "soft underbelly" of Europe, which proved to be dogged by the defensive battles that lasted to the final moments of World War II. - Director:
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Fog in August (2016)Nebel im August
Based on the true story of 13-year-old Ernst Lossa (Ivo Pietzcker). Southern Germany, early 1940s. Ernst, a motherless child, is a bright but maladjusted boy. The homes and correctional facilities he has lived in so far have deemed him "uneducable". Eventually confined in a psychiatric unit because of his rebellious nature, he notices that other internees are being killed under the supervision of Dr. Veithausen (Sebastian Koch). By helping the other patients and planning an escape with Nandl (Jule Hermann), his first love, Ernst defies the clinic management, the very one who decides on whether the children there should live or die ... - Director:
- Kai Wessel
- Cast:
- Ivo Pietzcker, Sebastian Koch, Thomas Schubert
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"Spitfire" is an epic, sweeping tale of determination, vision, and courage. It is the story of an aircraft that was forged in competition, shaped as the war clouds gathered, and refined in the white heat of combat. Credited with changing the course of world history, this is the story of the Spitfire told in the words of the last-surviving combat veterans, with stunning aerial footage from the world's top aviation photographer. Her place in history assured, Spitfire also explores how this extraordinary plane thrives today and how it has become an international icon. - Director:
- David Fairhead
- Cast:
- Mary Ellis, Geoffrey Wellum
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In this series, world-renowned experts investigate the man behind the monster - taking us into the of depths Hitler's mind and revealing what made him tick. Using the latest research across the course of Hitler's life, they pinpoint the key moments in his meteoric rise and ultimate downfall. The series features some rarely seen archive material and state of the art colourisation which helps bring Hitler powerfully to life. Expert analysts also scour the archive for clues, revealing fresh insights into Hitler's body language and the power of his speech. Ultimately, this series provides a fresh perspective on Hitler and explains how he was able to go from jobless loner to a ruthless dictator loved and feared by millions. - Director:
- Stan Griffin
- Cast:
- Chris Wilson, Andrew Goddard, David Hopper
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"The Royal Air Force at War" is a unique collection of three, extra-length videos chronicling the RAF in service during the Second World War and covering the period 1940-1944. Each remarkable volume contains a wide selection of rare films that have never been released on video before and, in many cases, will not have been seen since the war years. These carefully selected films cover a truly diverse range of subjects, from ditching procedures for Halifax bomber crews to a celebration of the newly introduced Lancaster and from instructions for navigators on board Stirlings to the best way to rescue crashed fighter pilots from their cockpits. There are film guides to preventing air accidents, fascinating behind-the-scenes accounts of servicing Wellington bombers and even a look at the RAF Regiment Together, these 24 training and public information films provide a fascinating historical record of the Royal Air Force during the height of the war years. - Director:
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Continuing the story of 'Operation Bulbasket' the BHTV team follow the development of the attacks on the railways in order to delay the arrival of crucial German re-enforcements in Normandy. They find the clandestine drop zones where the men and jeeps dropped, look at the targets (railway bridges and junctions) and SAS camps deep in isolated forests, before examining how it all started to unravel.
Following the information from the torture cells of the Gestapo headquarters in Poitiers to the barracks of the SS training battalion who were to attack the SAS, this film details the German cordon and search tactics used in the Verrieres Camp Raid. The majority of the SAS were captured by the SS and the Resistance fighters with them were summarily executed. After interrogation and buck passing, 'Hitler's Kommando Order' to execute all Allied commandos was finally carried out in the depths of a remote wood.
But the operation went on, with Captain Tonkin and the surviving officers and men of the SAS carrying out regular and increasingly risky attacks on the railways, having been joined by US airmen. Together they forced the Germans to tie up increasing numbers of men guarding the lines if they were to avoid total logistic paralysis on the routes north to Normandy. A few brave men had an impact on the liberation of France out of all proportion to their number.
Finally, orders were received in early August for their extraction and the presenters look at the preparation of the landing strip and the risky night landing of RAF and USAAF aircraft to take them home.- Director:
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The German battery of six 150mm guns established on Pointe du Hoc during the building of Hitler's vaunted Atlantic Wall provided cover for both Omaha and Utah Beaches. The 100ft high cliffs weren't a suitable objective for paratroopers, who were already at full capacity elsewhere so the task fell to Colonel Rudder, who developed and trained 2nd Rangers in a series of scaling techniques. These included sectional aluminium commando ladders, rocket grapples and ropes, plus the so called Swans-London Fire Brigade ladders. On hearing the Ranger plan to scale the cliffs and seize the battery before the beach landings, experienced commanders commented that 'three old women with brooms could sweep them off the cliffs'. On the morning of 6 June a culmination of bad weather, navigational errors and communications failure meant that less than 200 of Rudder's Rangers were delivered to the foot of the cliffs. In an epic of American military history against every kind of difficulty, small groups of Rangers battled their way up ropes and ladders, with grenades bursting around them, to scale the unstable cliff. A handful of men spread out and cleared the stunned defenders but, as is often the case, seizing the objective was only a part of the battle. Isolated for over 24 hours, with no relief from the near disaster at Omaha, the Rangers fought on against increasingly determined German counter-attacks. Meanwhile, at Omaha Beach, Company C cleared a dominating German strongpoint and the remainder of the Rangers who should have gone to Pointe du Hoc made all the difference between success and failure in Dog Sector, when General Norman Cota coined the phrase 'Rangers Lead the Way'. - Director:
- Tim Saunders
- Cast:
- Tim Saunders, Richard Hone, Tom Dormer
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