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Three episodes from the history of socialism: Babeuf, whose virulent discourse is a radical assessment of the bourgeois revolution of 1789 (Vincent Nordon episode); the legend of Napoleon I, or the formation of the state as it still dominates today (François Barat episode); and the carnage of the Paris Commune, which official history strives to repress and forget (Joël Farges episode). What does it mean to make a historical film today? It means illuminating the present in the light of the past, and therefore adopting the new modes of modern storytelling to challenge what dominates us, structures us, and oppresses us.

National treasure and Poirot star David Suchet starred as the formidable Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s much loved masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest. Directed by Adrian Noble, (Amadeus, The King’s Speech, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) Wilde’s superb satire on Victorian manners is one of the funniest plays in the English language. Two bachelor friends, the adorable dandy Algernon Moncrieff (Philip Cumbus – regular player at Shakespeare’s Globe) and the utterly reliable John Worthing J.P., (Downton Abbey’s Michael Benz) lead double lives to court the attentions of the exquisitely desirable Gwendolyn Fairfax (Emily Barber) and Cecily Cardew (Imogen Doel). The gallants must then grapple with the riotous consequences of their deceptions, and with the formidable Lady Bracknell.

Planned by Britain’s MI6 and then executed by America’s C.I.A., the coup d’état which follows will destroy Iran’s last democracy, and relations between Iran and the West until the present day. Most shocking of all, the truth about Her Majesty’s role will be hidden from the Queen herself, and even the all-powerful Shah who will be used by Britain and American to replace Iran’s last democratic Prime Minister. The coup will lead to political upheaval all over the Middle East for decades to come, eventually resulting in the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which will end the reign of the Shah, and British and American influence in Iran, inspiring countless other Islamist revolutions around the world.

Nina, a young Polish woman exiled in London, and Pierre Bernard, envoy of General de Gaulle, are part of the international team assembled in Nuremberg after the Second World War to try twenty-four Nazi war criminals.

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)

On the evening of June 27, 1980, a DC9 of the private airline Itavia disappeared from radar screens without sending any emergency signal. The aircraft, stabilized in cruise at 7.600 meters above sea level, sank into the Tyrrhenian Trench, between Ponza and Ustica. 81 people lost their lives, including 14 children. There are three hypotheses about the disaster, but none has ever been proven, until the analysis of the findings and documentary material reveals a fourth, chilling possible cause of the disaster.

Bonn 1948. The member of parliament and lawyer Elisabeth Selbert fights tirelessly for the inclusion of the sentence "Men and women have equal rights" in the Basic Law of the future Federal Republic of Germany. Despite the opposition she encounters during sessions in the Parliamentary Council , there is _she does not stop and stubbornly sticks to her plan . Selbert experiences a grandiose triumph when her application is included in the new Basic Law under Article 3, Paragraph 2 . In doing so , she lays the foundation for what has now been a 65-year political and social debate on the subjectEqual rights.

The amazing story of the animograph, a machine created in France in the sixties by the cartoonist and self-taught inventor Jean Dejoux (1922-2015), whose creation was intended to revolutionize the animation industry.

Huw Edwards presents a profile of the former Prime Minister, depicting him as a brilliantly innovative social reformer to whom we owe old age pensions, National Insurance and much else. Contributors include Stephen Constantine, Margaret MacMillan, Neil Kinnock, Michael Heseltine and David Steel.

Carmine Gallone and Amleto Palermi’s The Last Days of Pompeii 1926 stages in sumptuous colour tinting the epic fall of the ancient city buried by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption. Adapted from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s love story, the film was innovative in its special effects and an early major box-office hit. A beautiful tinted restoration print was prepared using photochemical processes by Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia-Cineteca Nazionale in the mid-1990s and the premiere screening of the restoration print was held in the amphitheatre in Pompeii, followed by a screening at the major restoration festival ‘Il Cinema Ritrovato’ in Bologna in 1998.

Year 1763, the Seven Years' War is about to end. August III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, has died, leaving empty the royal treasury and an extraordinary collection of paintings, sculptures, jewelry and goldsmith masterpieces, which he considered a symbol of his greatness, and that of Dresden, one of the European capitals of Baroque art.

Albert Camus died at 46 years old on January 4, 1960, two years after his Nobel Prize in literature. Author of “L'Etranger”, one of the most widely read novels in the world, philosopher of the absurd and of revolt, resistant, journalist, playwright, Albert Camus had an extraordinary destiny. Child of the poor districts of Algiers, tuberculosis patient, orphan of father, son of an illiterate and deaf mother, he tore himself away from his condition thanks to his teacher. French from Algeria, he never ceased to fight for equality with the Arabs and the Kabyle, while fearing the Independence of the FLN. Founded on restored and colorized archives, and first-hand accounts, this documentary attempts to paint the portrait of Camus as he was.

In 17th century Holland, a faction of royalists is scheming to restore the monarchy and jail the De Witt brothers, who control the Republic. At the same time Tulip Fever is raging, and bulb-grower Cornelis van Baerle tries to obtain the secret of black tulips. Van Baerle will soon find himself threatened by radical royalists and rival bulb-grower Isaac van Boxtel.

This educational documentary describes the political, social, and religious conditions of sixteenth century Europe. It also Interprets the reforms of Martin Luther as a part and/of these conditions as indications of future trends.

This story first takes you to Misslimeri, a little Sicilian village, and into the home of Don Ruggero, a wealthy landowner. Don Ruggero is an iron-hearted man and strongly prejudiced against the lower classes. His son, Corrado, a young fellow, loves Rosalia, a shepherdess, but Don Ruggero has always refused to allow their marriage and to recognize little Vincenzino, their child, as his grandchild. Finally to destroy all Corrado's hopes, he discharges poor Rosalia from his farm, where she had been employed for many years. Even the sight of her departure with Vincenzino in her arms does not soften him. Rosalia is the very ideal of the Sicilian beauty, and Capt. Altieri, an officer in the service of the Dominators, the Bourbons, admires her immensely, but all his approaches are strongly repulsed by her. Don Ruggero and his son have for a long time conspired to free their motherland from the hands of the Bourbons, and when they receive news of the arrival of Garibaldi.

Inside the Ravensbrück concentration camp, one hundred thousand women from forty-two different nations live together - the camp brings out the best and the worst in each of them. This is the story of four of these women: Gertrud, Leah, Aga and Mar.

A look back at one of the biggest espionage cases of the post-war period, which in 1974 led to the resignation of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.

The stories of The Arabian Nights (One Thousand and One Nights) have captivated mankind for centuries. However, two of its most famous tales do not belong to the original canon.

A man walking along the way to St.Anna of Stazzema, place of the massacre, feels and sees strange presences, that make him live the awful massacre when on August the 12th, 1944, 560 civilians, women, children and elderly people, were killed.

The Mona Lisa by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci is the most famous painting in the world. What is the secret behind the "real" Mona Lisa? It draws legions of visitors to the Louvre in Paris to contemplate her enigmatic expression. In this "detective story," historians tell us how Leonardo developed the painting and uncover the long-hidden identity of the smiling woman.

On the island of La Gomera, children imagine stories while they examine archeological remains. An ethno-fictional journey in which past and present coalesce, creating resonances between the volcanic landscape and Silbo, the whistled language of the island.

This dramatization of the origin of Dr. Gatling's self-named invention stands tall in the annals of the Old West. As cavalry transported the high-tech gun across the dangerous frontier, it blasted its way into history to become the predecessor to the modern-day machine gun.

Not an easy decision! District Administrator Hans Schuierer from the Upper Palatinate first opposed his own political line in 1981 and finally against the entire Bavarian Free State and Prime Minister Strauss. Because the planned reprocessing plant Wackersdorf promised 3,000 new jobs for the structurally weak region - but what if these are associated with massive health and ecological damage for future generations? Isn't it then the duty of a politician and citizen to resist?

A historian and professor Amanda Vickery explores why Jane Austen's books have been popular for nearly 200 years.

The incredible story of the Avro Lancaster, one of the finest bombers of the Second World War, which played a crucial role in the long and savage campaign to defeat Hitler's Third Reich. This documentary features interviews with surviving veterans of Bomber Command, who share frank personal accounts of their part in an aerial battle of attrition which claimed the lives of 55'000 aircrew.

This specific production from the "Le Grandi Operette" collection is a nostalgic gem, led by the legendary Sandro Massimini. If you're a fan of old-school European musical theater, this is the definitive Italian take on Franz Lehár's masterpiece.

Louis Guilloux (1899-1980) is one of the great figures of 20th-century literature. Rolland Savidan and Florence Mahé's film accurately retraces the writer's career and his commitments to the century, while emphasizing the significance of his work.

An account of the life and work of the charismatic and seductive Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, from his beginnings as a soccer player in the Spain of the 1960s, in the midst of Franco's dictatorship, to his astonishing worldwide success.

Jack the Ripper was a prince, a pauper, a mason, a madman... A host of more and more bizarre theories have surrounded the unexplained killings in Whitechapel since they hit the headlines in 1888. This film dispels the grisly fiction, revealing for the first time the true contents of the police and Home Office files on the case, drawing on the expertise of historians and of those who have encountered today's killers - on the street or behind bars.

In Germany during World War II, a well-known psychic decides to collaborate with the Nazis.

Documentary that discovers all the secrets of mummification in the Canary Islands thanks to pioneering research. Regis Francisco López approaches the mummification techniques that took place in Tenerife for more than 10 centuries.

Ludwig van Beethoven, absorbed in his world, composes in the forest under the snowstorm. In the solitude of this place, his temple, he feels happy, full, fertile. Johanna, his sister-in-law, widow of his brother Caspar, approaches him by surprise and chases him through the trees, trying to reach an agreement with him about the guardianship of his son Karl. In his will, Caspar left his brother Ludwig as the sole guardian of his son Karl. But Ludwig was away for a few hours on Caspar's last night and when he returned in the morning the will had changed... Between them there is more than a hard fight for the child. They are two untamed, wild, asocial beings, fighting for their freedom.

New York, June 3, 1968. Valerie Solanas enters the Factory, Andy Warhol's studio, and fires three shots at him, who miraculously survives, but is seriously wounded. What led this woman to try to kill the famous pop artist, as well as to write a manifesto calling for the eradication of men?

Exploring the life and impact of the greatest spiritual and legal philosopher in Islamic history, this film examines Ghazali's existential crisis of faith that arose from his rejection of religious dogmatism, and reveals profound parallels with our own times. Ghazali became known as the Proof of Islam and his path of love and spiritual excellence overcame the pitfalls of the organised religion of his day. His path was largely abandoned by early 20th century Muslim reformers for the more strident and less tolerant school of Ibn Taymiyya. Combining drama with documentary, this film argues that Ghazali's Islam is the antidote for today's terror.

A rigorous reconstruction of Sandro Pertini's (1896-1990) tough and difficult anti-fascist activities, often carried out in secret or in prison. In the role of the future President of the Republic, and in his first film role, is actor Maurizio Crozza, alongside Carla Signoris, Ivano Marescotti, and Augusto Zucchi. Broadcast only once on Rai 3 in 2003, it is effectively a "first viewing," having been harshly criticized in its early stages, for private reasons, by Pertini's widow.

After the death of Octavian, the rebel populations of Illyria and Pannonia pose a grave threat to the Roman Empire. Tribune Marcus Ventidius is sent to subdue the uprising and, after a bitter battle, captures Pannonian chief Magdus together with a number of women hostages. These include Magdus's own daughter Helen, betrothed to cruel Illyrian warrior Batone who has killed many Romans. Julia, daughter of the Roman governor Messala, is in love with Tribune Marcus and, jealous of his sympathy for the barbarian girl, plots an escape by Helen and her father. Pursuing the fugitives, Marcus crosses a mountain pass where Batone has laid a trap.

A docudrama on John F. Kennedy's early travels through Europe with his best friend Lem Billings. A road trip that would lay the foundation for JFK's later love for Europe and its countries, such as Germany.

The incredible story of Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), daughter of Pope Alexander VI (1431-1503), deliberately used politically by her powerful family and historically slandered as a poisoner and incestuous femme fatale. But who was the real Lucrezia?

The convoluted and moving story of Russian writer Vassili Grossman (1905-64) and his novel Life and Fate (1980), a literary masterpiece, a monumental and epic account of life under Stalin's regime of terror, a defiant cry that the KGB tried to suffocate.

A chronicle of the life of Bertrand du Guesclin, grand officer of the French army in the 14th century.

Wallenstein is adaptation of the drama by Friedrich Schiller. Set midway through the religious conflicts that ravaged war-torn Europe in the 17th century, the 18th-century German dramatist Friedrich Schiller wrote 3 plays that chronicle the final year and downfall of the celebrated Bohemian leader Albrecht Wallenstein, duke of Friedland (1583-1634), and explores the factors contributing to his demise.

Tribune Marcus Aulus, out of favor in Rome because of his alleged sympathy for Christians, arrives to take charge of an aqueduct project on the hot, arid fringes of the Empire. Centurion Gaius, cruel and corrupt, resents being replaced by Marcus. He instigates a revolt by his slave-workers, then blames the situation on Marcus. During the revolt, five muscular slaves escape. They meet up with fellow escapee Balisten, a farmer unjustly condemned to the aqueduct project. Balisten, impressed by Marcus's enlightened attitudes, has rescued the Tribune from the revolt. The six slaves, with Marcus's advice, plan to gain their freedom using their prowess as gladiators. Marcus plans to clear his name and to re-unite with his fiancée, Claudia, recently arrived from Rome. Gaius plans to kill Marcus and thus hide the truth about the slave revolt. Brawls and fights both inside and outside the arena come thick and fast.

In Kisangani, a group of high-school students who cannot afford to pay the teachers' "bonuses" organized themselves to prepare the State exam together.

Alice and Horst paints a moving portrait of two siblings from Saarbrücken whose lives were shaped by their family’s antifascist resistance. As children, Alice Hornung and Horst Bernard were forced to flee from the Nazis into exile in France, where, despite constant danger, they also experienced great solidarity. After their return they continued their parents’ political commitment: against fascism, for peace and disarmament. The film combines personal memories with rare archival footage and portrays two individuals who, well into old age, remain unwavering in their commitment to justice and remembrance.

Parisian authorities clash with the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) in director Alain Tasma’s recounting of one of the darkest moments of the Algerian War of Independence. As the war wound to a close and violence persisted in the streets of Paris, the FLN and its supporters adopted the tactic of murdering French policemen in hopes of forcing a withdrawal. When French law enforcement retaliated by brutalizing Algerians and imposing a strict curfew, the FLN organizes a peaceful demonstration that drew over 11,000 supporters, resulting in an order from the Paris police chief to take brutal countermeasures. Told through the eyes of both French policemen as well as Algerian protestors, Tasma’s film attempts to get to the root of the tragedy by presenting both sides of the story.

A medieval heresy and the first Protestant church in history, the Waldenses are both an 850-year-old peasant community and a current that in recent decades has challenged the Vatican on issues such as gay marriage, euthanasia and abortion.

The story of the Renaissance-era Swiss physician, alchemist and astrologer Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, better known to the world as Paracelsus.

Biography of the life of Guillaume Apollinaire.

The film is biographical, telling the story of the life and artistic struggles of the French composer Hector Berlioz. Berlioz is shown as a recalcitrant medical student in an anatomy class dreaming of becoming a composer; at a demonstration during a performance at the Paris Opéra conducted by Habeneck; at supper with other young artists (Hugo, Janin, Dumas, Mérimée, Delacroix); and chasing after his future wife Harriet Smithson, after a performance of Hamlet. Also depicted are his life in a garret, while suffering from an illness due to an abscess in the throat; a visit from his mother who curses him; and the composition of the Symphonie fantastique. The film then shows his marital breakdown, the premiere of his opera Benvenuto Cellini, his travels throughout Europe, his second marriage to Marie Recio (called "Marie Martin" in the film), public acceptance in old age and reconciliation with his son.

This documentary is the first of a series that dedicated 4 issues to the activity of the Durruti column in Aragon.