S3 E1 • True Grit

True Grit has all the elements of a classic Western film – revenge, retribution and redemption. Based on the book by Charles Portis, True Grit was an instant sensation when it hit the silver screen the first time. The film starred the legendary John Wayne who gave a tour-de-force performance as Rooster Cogburn, earning him his only Oscar. Four decades later the Coen Brothers put their own unique spin on this classic and proved that audiences still have a big appetite for Westerns. The story centers on the unlikely partnership between Mattie, a prim, sharp-tongued 14 year-old girl and Rooster Cogburn, the grizzled, one-eyed deputy Marshal, who join forces to avenge her father’s death. Their hunt takes them deep into Indian Territory, a haven for murderers, thieves and rapists. Hangings, shoot-outs and kidnappings are only a few of the dangers they encounter in their quest for revenge. In traditional Westerns there’s no confusing who’s who - the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys wear black hats. The True Story will show how True Grit turns this archetype on its head. Its hero, Rooster Cogburn, always shoots first and asks questions later. He walks a fine line between good and evil and we discover that in the real Wild West outlaws and lawmen were often interchangeable. Rooster Cogburn is a larger-than-life character who couldn’t be anything other than fictional. But, The True Story will reveal that there was a one-eyed deputy Marshal who was just as nasty and ruthless as Rooster. In a time before feminism could someone like Mattie have existed – a headstrong young girl who has no compunction about hiring a ruthless man hunter like Rooster. The True Story reveals that the West attracted legions of non-conforming women because it offered them opportunities they couldn’t find anywhere else. Mavericks like Calamity Jane who dressed like a man and was just as tough and skilled with a gun as the best of them. The True Story travels to Fort Smith, Arkansas, the rough and dangerous frontier town where True Grit is set. The man charged with keeping the peace was “Hanging” Judge Parker, who earned his nickname because he sent 79 people to the gallows. The True Story will reveal that Judge Parker was the only real character in the movie and despite his nickname was actually opposed to the death penalty. On a re-construction of the gallows where so many died at the end of a rope, we’ll demonstrate how a hanging is a lot more complicated than we saw in the film and any mistakes would mean a prolonged, ghastly death. Guns ruled the West, but which guns? In Westerns the pistol is always the star, but gun expert Jim Dunham will prove that the movies have got it wrong. Through dynamic live gun demos Jim will illustrate the shortcomings of the 1851 Colt Navy, the gun Rooster uses to take care of business and will demonstrate that the gun that won the West was in fact the rifle. True Grit is pure fiction, but the story behind it is rooted in fact. And, through interviews with a wide array of experts The True Story discovers that the truth about the Wild West is more exciting than fiction.

Première diffusion : 12 février 2012

S3 E2 • Saving Private Ryan

Historians, eye-witnesses, weapons and forensics experts provide compelling new insights into the facts behind the classic film.

Première diffusion : 14 février 2012

S3 E3 • Braveheart

Braveheart – Mel Gibson’s Oscar winning box office smash of 1995 tells the story of real life Scottish rebel and freedom fighter William Wallace. With savage battle scenes, a cast of thousands and a tragic love story at its heart, it is a sweeping historical epic brought to the screen with stunning photography set amongst the highlands of Scotland. But ever since it was first shown historians have asked questions about the accuracy of the movie. No one doubts that William Wallace was a real historical character - as was Edward 1st, Robert the Bruce, and many others who feature in the film. But was he really the “ordinary joe” made good portrayed by Mel Gibson, and did his life unfold in the way Braveheart depicts? Interviewing script-writer Randall Wallace we discover that the inspiration for the movie was the stories generated by an ancient Scottish poem about the life of Wallace. But an analysis by modern historian’s show that this poem, as much as any movie, was designed to create a legend rather than explain history. Scottish medieval expert Fiona Watson sets out to discover the story of the historical Wallace. With little to go on but a few mentions in ancient manuscripts, a weather-beaten sword, an eroded seal and a remarkable letter sent to the German city of Lubeck in 1297, she peels back the layers of legend to paint a compelling portrait of a man who is nothing like his Hollywood counterpart. Instead of a simple swash-buckling hero who will never bow down to the English and who takes up arms because of a lost love, the real Wallace is a much darker, more complex character. Caught up in the politics of the age, for a while fortune smiles on the real Wallace, but then he is confronted by a greater power, which brings about his ultimate destruction – and future martyrdom. Fiona is helped in her analysis by battlefield Historians Chris Brown and Michael Prestwich. They reveal just how the Scots triumphed against the odds to beat the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge and how the tables turned just a year later when the Scots were soundly beaten by the English King, Edward the 1st, at Falkirk. Remarkable new archaeological finds from Stirling Castle reveal just how brutal medieval warfare was. And a series of unique experiments with weapons of the day – including medieval war bows -- are conducted by historian and weapons expert Mike Loades. These experiments graphically demonstrate the damage 13th century weapons could inflict, and they tell us just how accurate Braveheart’s famous fight scenes really were.

Première diffusion : 21 février 2012

S3 E4 • Apollo 13

Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks grossed 62 million dollars at the box office and was nominated for nine academy awards. The movie tells the story of America’s ill-fated third mission to the moon in the summer of 1970. Based on the book co-written by Apollo 13 commander James Lovell, the film enshrined in the English language the phrase “Houston, we have a problem”. And it changed forever the way people relate to what has been called the most successful failure in the history of space exploration. The True Story shows how Hollywood plucked this amazing story from obscurity and turned what NASA feared would be an embarrassing stain on its reputation into a fascinating tale of how 3 astronauts, with the support of a group of brilliant engineers, overcame staggering odds and survived. The documentary explores the amazing feat of heroism and ingenuity that rescued the three astronauts from their crippled spacecraft two hundred thousand miles from earth and brought them home. It reveals the almost unbearable conditions the astronauts had to suffer through: Intense cold, dangerous levels of carbon dioxide and crushing physical exhaustion. But how close to the truth was Hollywood’s portrayal of the story? The True Story will investigate the real cause of the explosion that killed Apollo 13. It was not, as the movie tells us, the result of a damaged coil in one of the oxygen tanks. It was a spectacular blunder; a mistake that no one at NASA caught. We’ll show how one of the cheapest and simplest components on the spacecraft caused its undoing. Well put some of those big movie moments to the test: How close were the astronauts to succumbing to carbon dioxide poisoning? And who was the real hero who rigged up the air filter that saved their lives? Ultimately, the Apollo 13 movie succeeded in telling audiences a great deal about the actual mission. But you won’t know what really went on until you watch The True Story.

Première diffusion : 28 février 2012

S3 E5 • The Bridge On The River Kwai

S3 E6 • Alexander The Great

S3 E7 • The Black Sheep Squadron

S3 E8 • Troy

S3 E9 • Charlie Wilson

S3 E10 • The Mary Celeste

S3 E11 • The Internet

S3 E12 • Vlad The Impaler

S3 E13 • The Internet