Best History Movies of 1998

The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived.

The story of the ascension to the throne and the early reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the endless attempts by her council to marry her off, the Catholic hatred of her and her romance with Lord Robert Dudley.

Young Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter," before it's even written. When a lovely noblewoman auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love -- and his play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship progresses, Shakespeare's comedy soon transforms into tragedy.

Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis, Athos and Porthos, have fought together with their friend, D'Artagnan. But with the tyrannical King Louis using his power to wreak havoc in the kingdom while his twin brother, Philippe, remains imprisoned, the Musketeers reunite to abduct Louis and replace him with Philippe.

Jean Valjean, a Frenchman imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a police officer named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

Five Jewish Hungarians, now U.S. citizens, tell their stories: before March, 1944, when Nazis began to exterminate Hungarian Jews, months in concentration camps, and visiting childhood homes more than 50 years later. An historian, a Sonderkommando, a doctor who experimented on Auschwitz prisoners, and US soldiers who were part of the liberation in April, 1945.

Alain Lefevre is a boxer paid by a Marseille mobster to take a dive. When he wins the fight he attempts to flee to America with the mobster's girlfriend Katrina. This plan fails and he seeks escape by joining the foreign legion. As part of the legion he tangles with abusive lieutenant Steinkampf and bonds with legionnaires Luther, Mackintosh and Rosetti.

We're in an English village shortly before Dunkirk. "Mr. Tom" Oakley still broods over the death of his wife and small son while he was away in the navy during WWI, and grief has made him a surly hermit. Now children evacuated from London are overwhelming volunteers to house them. Practically under protest, Mr. Tom takes in a painfully quiet 10-year-old, who gradually reveals big problems.

The real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team, but attracted unwanted attention from the police, the I.R.A., the U.V.F., and members of his own team.

In 1834, Tatiana and her family lived peacefully in an old windmill on the property of the Marquis of Icecrown until one day, her father, the miller, due to a series of poor harvests, has to ask the Marquis to lend him 1,200 escudos. Since the Marquis is wicked and cruel, he decides to get his money back and while the father is away, he forces the younger sister to fuck all the members of his escort service and himself. Deranged with anger, Tatiana decides to avenge her sister, but to do that, she needs money and finds herself forced to become a prostitute.

Due to her father’s financial problems, and the raping of her sister, Tatiana is forced to prostitute herself at a grand brothel of the city. Having overheard a conversation between the Marquis’ butler and the brothel “madame”, Tatiana pretends to be the girl with the shaved sex pierced by a gold ring, with whom the Marquis has always dreamed. This way she can earn a lot of money and prepare her revenge. Meanwhile, back at the Icecrown Castle, the Marquis is visited by his friend the Duke, with whom he enjoys the company of peasant women while their wives, and even their daughters, are fucking all over the garden, and even in the lake. After reading a report from his butler on Tatiana, the Marquis accepts seeing her and goes to the brothel personally. The second part of the saga in which sex and action intermingle with a cast full of beautiful girls and epoch gowns.

The young Jeremiah grows up in a priest's family in the village of Anathoth, near Jerusalem. God appears to Jeremiah in different human guises on several occasions, and makes it clear to him that he has been selected to announce God's message to the people of Jerusalem

At the Icecrown Castle by the lake, one of the Marquis' maids tells a washwoman about the latest rumours on her master. After a heated argument, the Marquise and her daughter abandon the castle, leaving her husband's guard with a pleasant memory. The Marquis madly in love with Tatiana, unloads all his burning desires on his servants while Tatiana, thanks to the money she has so skillfully earned, runs away from the brothel so as to go back to the person she loves, Thierry. But, unfortunately, it isn't that simple. Tatiana is forced to withstand unspeakable things and, distressed, flees to the arms of the person she most hates in the world who nevertheless, treats her like a princess: the Marquis of Icecrown. Don't miss the last episode of the hottest of all sagas, in which the main characters join in on the most perverse games, for your delight.

Influenza 1918 is the story of the worst epidemic the United States has ever known. Before it was over, the flu would kill more than 600,000 Americans - more than all the combat deaths of this century combined.

The true story of Ruby Bridges, an African-American girl who, in 1960 at age 6, helped to integrate the all-white schools of New Orleans. Although she was the only black girl to come to the school she was sent to, (and since all the white mothers pulled their children out of class, she was the only one there, period), and though she faced a crowd of angry white citizens every day, she emerged unscathed, physically or emotionally. Encouraged by her teacher, a white woman from the North named Barbara Henry, and her mother, Lucille, and with her own quiet strength, she eventually broke down a century-old barrier forever, a pivotal moment in the civil-rights movement

The true story of the influential and controversial columnist, Walter Winchell.

A dramatization of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Based on the book by Jim Bishop.

During the 20 months before Italy's liberation from Fascism, a group of university students trade empty rhetoric for action by joining the Partisans into the mountains of Nazi-occupied northern Italy. There, group leader Gigi falls in love with his best friend's girl. As the Resistance struggle continues, some of the "little teachers" are killed, and the brutal reality of war leaves its mark on their youthful idealism.

Filmed in IMAX, a young girl questions her grandfather about the alleged curse of King Tutankhamen. His response takes us up to the source of the nourishing river Nile, to the Great Pyramids of Giza, to the Valley of the Kings.

Produced and directed by Walt Missingham who, in 1983, became the first non-Chinese to practice Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple, this authoritative and informative programme uses rarely seen archive footage to trace both the history of martial arts and the phenomenal impact Bruce Lee had on this culture. Narrated by Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee Keasler.

Seeking to escape the stifling London court society, the beautiful headstrong Lady Dona St. Columb flees to her family estate on the Cornish coast. Her new freedom swiftly brings her into contact with the dashingly handsome French privateer Jean Aubrey who sweeps her off her feet and into a world of adventure on the high seas very different from her dull and boring life at court with her husband Sir Harry. Together with Jean Aubrey and her enigmatic servant William, Lady Dona conceives a daring plan to steal a ship right from under the noses of the English authorities. The theft enrages the authorities who make every effort to trap the French Pirate. However, as the noose begins to tighten around the lovers, Lady Dona is faced with the dilemma of duty and children with Sir Harry or freedom and excitement with Jean Aubrey

A look at the 1950s muscle men's magazines and the representative industry which were popular supposedly as health and fitness magazines, but were in reality primarily being purchased by the still-underground homosexual community. Chief among the purveyors of this literature was Bob Mizer, who maintained a magazine and developed sexually inexplicit men's films for over 40 years. Aided by his mother, the two maintained a stable of not so innocent studs.

A kaleidoscopic history of the American heartland, nuclear weapons and the Native American genocide.

The Female Closet uses archival photographs, home movies, interviews, and other visual materials to explore the closeted lesbian stories of artists Alice Austen, Hannah Höch and Nicole Eisenman. Utilizing groundbreaking research, newly discovered home movies, and archival photographs, and other visual sources, The Female Closet is a cultural interrogation of the closeted and not-so-closeted lives of three women artists.

The story behind the creation of the transistor, one of the 20th century's most important inventions.

Another nostalgic look at Southern California's past, particularly things and places in and around Los Angeles which no longer exist.

It was one of humankind's most epic quests - a technical problem so complex that it challenged the best minds of its time, a problem so important that the nation that solved it would rule the economy of the world. The problem was navigation by sea—how to know where you were when you sailed beyond the sight of land - establishing your longitude. While the gentry of the 18th Century looked to the stars for the answer, an English clockmaker, John Harrison, toiled for decades to solve the problem. His elegant solution made him an unlikely hero and remains the basis for the most modern forms of navigation in the world today. This film will be both a celebration of Harrison's invention and an adventure story. An expedition on a period sailing vessel as it sails the open sea will demonstrate the life and death importance of finding your longitude at sea.

Enver Hoxha ruled Albania with an iron fist for nearly 40 years and for a long time Albania was the only Maoist regime and by far the most isolationist society in Europe - politically, psychologically and physically. Colonel Muro Neto was the man Hoxha charged with constructing the bunkers throughout the country which ostensibly protected Albania from its enemies both without and within. He became known as "Kolonel Bunker."

Two fact-based tales about citizens who risked everything, including their lives, to save Holocaust victims.

This two hour and twenty minute feature tells the powerful tale as it was intended, focused on the simple truth that violence and revenge simply begets only more violence and revenge. A tale of timeless relevance and depth, yet a bizarre and exotic indulgence in the horrific imagery of humankind's inhumanity to itself ...

A Voice from the Past examines the life and intrigue of this compelling scholar by using impressive documentation and dramatizations to bring his many predictions to life.

As a war, it was small, nasty and suspicious. As news, it was a godsend. The Spanish-American War did many things it united an adolescent nation and paraded its global ambitions for all to see, while heralding the descent of a tired empire. In this unique program, the conflict comes to life as it was presented to people at that time through the accounts of newspapers nationwide. From the slow buildup of public sentiment against Spain to the sensationalistic coverage of the explosion of the USS Maine, the forces, personalities and events of the war that secured America a place on the world stage are relived. It is a revealing look at the power of the press and its often-problematic influence in the real world, where reporters can be as effective in spurring events as presenting them.

In this film essay, critic Peter Buchka explores the German cinema of the 1920s, ranging from the disquieting images of Fritz Lang's Metropolis to the castrating sexuality of Marlene Dietrich in Die Blaue Engel. The program provides an introduction to Weimar cinema, with Buchka's essay narrated over the images from film clips of 1920s era German films.

Documentary examining one of the most notorious incidents in college basketball history, when seven members of the City College of New York (CCNY) basketball team conspired with gamblers to fix games over two seasons (1949-51). Includes archival television footage, home movies, and interviews with p

Railroad action from throughout Minneapolis/St. Paul. Includes eight railroads and Amtrak passenger trains.

When the cameras rolled, Doris Day wore a happy face, never hinting at the pain she endured in her personal life. This documentary brings viewers close to the real Doris Day through the eyes of her friends and family members and with the help of film footage, newsreels and photographs. What surfaces is a complex picture of an equally complicated woman who faced problems far more formidable than her cinematic image revealed.

This DVD tours Vicksburg National Military Park and describes the vast 1863 military and naval campaign that culminated in the siege of Vicksburg.

Freely inspired by a poem called "Mu-Lan-Ci" narrated during the Soong dynasty (960-1279 AD). Mu-Lan is the legend of a young girl who convinces her old father to send her to war to keep the family honor intact, as there were no adult sons ready to fight at home. In his wanderings Mu-Lan will meet Chang, a nice boy who hides an incredible secret: in fact he is none other than a dragon with a heart of gold. With her help, Mu-Lan will become a brave, wise and respectful heroine in a story that will thrill you!

An adaptation of Percy Bysshe Shelley's play, The Cenci.

Passions erupt between a German hussar (Jean-Marc Barr) serving with King George III's personal cavalry and the only daughter of an English solicitor (Emma Fielding) in this period tearjerker adapted from a short story by Thomas Hardy. Longing to escape their own personal imprisonments -- he, his service to the king, and she, her engagement to a man she doesn't love -- they find solace in each other's arms.

Shiloh was one of the largest amphibious campaigns ever waged by an American Army. It was a brutal Civil War battle that where one in four who fought was killed or wounded. Highlights the 135th Anniversary Reenactment with 13,000 participants of the Tennessee battle, along with archival photos, digital effects, first-person accounts and narration.

Exclusive interviews with some of the U.S. military's first Black soldiers, sailors and airmen reveal how selflessly they fought against both systemic racism and foreign enemies.

Since 1998 the men of Chi Lambda Phi have dominated Oklahoma Christian University's school-wide singing and dancing competition known as "Spring Sing". These are their shows.

Through the brilliance of imagery and sound become enthralled with the ambitious yet achievable explorations of mankind to the outer limits of the earth. Witness the primary launching of the space shuttle and feel the trials and tribulations of the Apollo 13. Observe the first space walk on the moon. Behold the dramatic lift off of the Columbia and become astonished by the cataclysmic explosion of the Challenger.

A documentary about Sir Len Southward OBE and his collection of vehicles at his Southward Car Museum in Paraparaumu, New Zealand, among the largest car museums in the world.

Jonathan Cake, Jemma Redgrave and Hugh Bonneville lead an outstanding cast in this mini-series tracing the turbulent political career and tempestuous private life of Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists during the 1930s. The mini series charts Mosley's rise to political notoriety through his personal life – from youthful rising star of the Conservative Party to potential leader of the Labour Party, and later abandonment of conventional party politics to become a figurehead of burgeoning fascism.

An educational film about the Kuzuryuu River in Japan. It starts out in the Meiji Era where the villages along it kept getting plagued by floods. The villagers prayed for it to stop but it did nothing. A young boy who lost his childhood friend to the floods grows up into a man and decides to take matters into his own hands. He starts constructing an embankment which leads to a village-wide project which spread to other villages along the river.

An animated short film inspired by James Joyce's 'Ulysses.'