Soviet Documentary

Fifty years after the end of World War II, historians now are coming to the consensus that Russia played the decisive role in the defeat of Hitler. At least 25 million Soviet soldiers and civilians perished at home and on the battlefield in the bloodiest struggle of our century.

Dziga Vertov, whose renegade approach to cinema is best remembered in the legendary Man with the Movie Camera and his series of Kino-Pravda newsreels, demonstrates his mastery of montage in this 1924 feature previously unseen in the United States.

This is a documentary about the Finnish-Soviet Winter War (Talvisota) of 1939-1940. It contains rare and never before seen footage from the official film archives (Sota-arkisto) of the Finnish army. The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union (USSR) and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the organisation.

From foot soldiers to fighter pilots, step into the shoes of those who fought for one of the largest armies in history. This series highlights ordinary foot soldiers, intelligence officers, mine pickers, gunners, tank men, marines, alpine and airborne raiders and fighter and attack aviation pilots whose role in the Allied victory over the Nazis played a crucial part in the war effort.

If anything defined the 20th century as the age of anxiety, it's the Cold War with its ultimate no-win nuclear endgame. While conflicts in Korea and Vietnam dragged on, providing the traditional images of modern warfare, some of the conflict's most dangerous battles were invisible–tactical, intellectual, and fought primarily in the minds and war rooms of U.S. and Soviet leaders: Kennedy, Krushchev, Castro, Kissinger, Gorbachev, and Reagan.

How does a crowd react to an historic event when certainties are shaken? A year after documenting the beginnings of the Ukrainian Revolution (Maidan, 2014), Sergei Loznitsa revisits a watershed moment in modern Russian history. Made entirely from black and white archival footage, with no commentary at all, The Event looks back on the failed coup in August 1991 that led to the collapse of the USSR. Documentary maker Loznitsa collected TV and amateur footage of street protests in 1991.

From foot soldiers to fighter pilots, step into the shoes of those who fought for one of the largest armies in history. This series highlights ordinary foot soldiers, intelligence officers, mine pickers, gunners, tank men, marines, alpine and airborne raiders and fighter and attack aviation pilots whose role in the Allied victory over the Nazis played a crucial part in the war effort. Using the latest computer graphics and technology, viewers witness the combat equipment design, tactics and strategy of conducting a battle. Rare newsreel shots and the reconstruction of the events allow viewers to feel they are being transported back to the battlegroud, allowing them to see war through a soldier's eyes.

How does a crowd react to an historic event when certainties are shaken? A year after documenting the beginnings of the Ukrainian Revolution (Maidan, 2014), Sergei Loznitsa revisits a watershed moment in modern Russian history. Made entirely from black and white archival footage, with no commentary at all, The Event looks back on the failed coup in August 1991 that led to the collapse of the USSR.

The Chernobyl disaster on 26 April 1986 is considered the worst nuclear accident in mankind's history – both in terms of casualties and costs. It has impacted the world forever. Many have seen the fictional account. But the true story is even more complex, more human and more shocking than we could ever have imagined.