Historical Programming Archives - Page 12 of 14

A look at Olympic events then, now and in the future

July 10, 2012 StayTuned Staff

Download a FREE Olympic TV viewers guide with schedules, athlete profiles, facts and more. The Olympics are now in their third century. In that time, the spirit of the Games hasn’t much changed — seemingly everywhere, people have followed them and been swept up in the euphoria of it all — but the events that are part of it have changed and evolved with the times. Some have enjoyed a brief moment in the spotlight never to be seen again, either officially or as demonstration events; others have dropped off the program and found their way back on it again. […]

Military Channel unveiling “Narrow Escapes of WWII”

May 11, 2012 StayTuned Staff

Most World War II history buffs know about the so-called “Great Escape” as lionized in the film starring Steve McQueen, but war is full of escapes, both great and narrow — and it’s the latter that are getting their time in the sun with Military Channel’s Narrow Escapes of WWII premiering May 15 at 10pm ET/PT. The series honors the generals and troops both on the line and in the rear echelon who, through brilliant tactical maneuvers, selfless heroism and in spite of terrible odds, carried out missions that saved hundreds of thousands of innocent lives — and who lived […]

Nicole Kidman, Clive Owen and Philip Kaufman tell us about HBO’s “Hemingway & Gellhorn”

April 30, 2012 Lori Acken

When iconic screenwriter/director Philip Kaufman set his sights on creating a film about the peerless war correspondent Martha Gellhorn and her tumultuous relationship with her second husband, writer Ernest Hemingway, he knew exactly who he wanted to embody his title characters. Problem was, his Gellhorn wasn’t available. Or so he was told. Still reeling from the death of his beloved wife and screenwriting partner Rose, Kaufman ventured out to the January 2010 groundbreaking ceremony for the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s International Conference Center in San Francisco — and came face-to-face with United Nations Development Fund for Women goodwill ambassador Nicole […]

Discovery special presents details on classified bin Laden intel

April 27, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

On May 1 — one day before the first anniversary of Operation Neptune Spear, the special operations mission that led to the killing of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden — Discovery Channel will premiere the one-hour special Secrets of Bin Laden’s Lair. The program reports on currently classified intelligence seized during the May 2, 2011, raid on bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan (pictured above the day after the raid), and is narrated by NBC News correspondent Harry Smith. When the United States Navy SEALs killed bin Laden during the operation, they captured a prize far greater and more valuable […]

Angelo Guglielmo on his ID film “The Woman Who Wasn’t There”

April 13, 2012 StayTuned Staff

Director Angelo Guglielmo didn’t want to make this film. The Woman Who Wasn’t There — executive produced by Meredith Viera and premiering Investigation Discovery April 17 at 8pm ET/PT — started out as the idea of its eventual subject, Tania Head. One of the most celebrated survivors of the September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center, Head had one of the most harrowing and inspirational stories of any who made it out alive that day. After barely escaping death on the 78th floor of the South Tower, she escaped the immediate carnage and although badly burned, managed to […]

Peter O’Toole waxes eloquent tonight on TCM

April 11, 2012 StayTuned Staff

There are some people who, when you get the chance to hear them talk about their lives, you just have to stop what you’re doing and listen. The late Richard Harris was one such person — whenever he stopped by David Letterman’s set, I always tended to drop everything and just tune in 100 percent, because, well, first of all, he was so well-spoken, but also because he told such fantastic stories. Never mind whether or not they were all true or greatly exaggerated — they were entertaining as hell, full of ribaldry and drunken exploits, and often including fellow […]

James Cameron and Bob Ballard NGC specials explore the Titanic disaster

April 6, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

“For me, the mysteries [of Titanic] have never died.” So says filmmaker James Cameron during the opening of his new National Geographic Channel special about the legendary, doomed ship. Ever since the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic during its maiden voyage and sank to the bottom of the sea 100 years ago this month — on April 14, 1912 — people have been fascinated with its tale, a mix of human tragedy, engineering marvel and hubris. Of the 2,223 people onboard, 1,517 lost their lives in the sinking. And while the ship had the ability […]

“World War I in Colour” coming to Military Channel

April 6, 2012 StayTuned Staff

It’s a growing trend and a source of fascination for history buffs. Seeing footage of historic eras and events that we’re used to seeing only in black and white, but in color, or upgraded to HD. And, as fate would have it, some of the films built around this footage have been vivid and excellent regardless of the color factor. Documentaries about the Russian Revolution and, more recently, World War II featuring color and colorized images bring an immediacy to events that usually seem distant in part because of the antiquated media on which they often were captured. To that end, Military Channel […]

Military Channel presents “Edge of War”

April 3, 2012 StayTuned Staff

Fans of Military Channel have something of a treat coming their way tonight with the premiere of Edge of War, hosted by retired U.S. Army General Wesley K. Clark. A worthy complement to the network’s recent Combat Tech series, Edge of War aims to take viewers link by link in the chains of events that led to the most consequential declarations of war in modern history. From World War II and Korea to Argentina and the Middle East, Edge of War examines how leaders throughout the world have brought their nations to the brink of war, and what their motivations were for […]

“American Masters” spotlights Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell tonight on PBS

April 2, 2012 Lori Acken

In a win-win for book and film lovers alike, tonight PBS’ acclaimed biography series American Masters will present back-to-back profiles of Gone With the Wind scribe Margaret Mitchell and To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee that present facts, photos and interviews fresh to even their most ardent fans. Though Mitchell was born in 1900 and Lee in 1926, like their works, these women are every ounce as compelling as any character from today’s entertainment realm, real or fictionalized. Did you know Mitchell rappelled down buildings as a newspaper reporter and funded the education of African-American medical students after GWTW […]