Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Iceland, July 9, 2016. The surprising discovery of a canister —containing four reels of The Village Detective (Деревенский детектив), a 1969 Soviet film—, caught in the nets of an Icelandic trawler, is the first step in a fascinating journey through the artistic life of film and stage actor Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov (1899-1981), icon and star of an entire era of Russian cinema.

Explore the world’s most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries. Each episode features compelling contributions from scientists, historians, witnesses and experiencers—each seeking to shed light on how the seemingly impossible actually can happen.

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, is remembered as the instigator of the October Revolution of 1917 and, therefore, as one of the men who changed the shape of the world at that time and forever, but perhaps the actual events happened in a way different from that narrated in the history books…

St. Petersburg, Russia, December 30th, 1916. Grigori Rasputin is assassinated. The story of the humble peasant who became the most influential adviser to czarina Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of the last czar, Nicholas II Romanov.

Colorized historical footage in ascending order of World War 1. Not only the relatively known Flanders and France battles, but also the generally unknown Italian-Austrian, German-Polish-Russian, Japanese-German, Ottoman Empire- Allied and African German Colonies, and other unknown or forgotten fronts and battles.

Yekaterinburg, Russia, July 17th, 1917. Czar Nicholas II Romanov and his entire family are brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks. This tragic event puts an end to the long dynasty that had ruled the country with an iron hand since the coronation of Michael I Romanov in 1613.

The First World War - carnage on a scale never-before seen. But how did it all start? And how did some key figures of WWII fare in the earlier war?

The Island of the Dead is a film about the demise of the Russian Epocha Modern. The symbol of this culture was the legendary Russian film star Vera Kholodnaya, who evoked a poetic image of the young urban woman on the silver screen. Her death in 1919, shrouded in tragedy and mystery, put a symbolic end to the pre-Revolutionary period. The Island of the Dead is composed of fragments from numerous films from this period, juxtaposed with other contemporary artistic expressions such as music and painting. Kovalov shows convincingly how the fragile beauty of the Russian Epocha Modern had to make way for the pressure of Futurism, Constructivism and other 'progressive trends', and how these '-isms' were then also relegated to the melting pot to be remoulded by totalitarian norms.

The documentary film dedicated to the life of Nicholas II and his family was edited from chronicle of 1896-1916 from the funds of The Russian State Documentary Film & Photo Archive.

The adventures of Hergé, or how Georges Remi created The Adventures of Tintin. Interviews, archive footage and animation clips tell the story of Tintin, which is the history of the 20th century.

Traces the origins and actions of World War I, from the funeral of Britain's King Edward VII to the Versailles Treaty.

Documentary of war atrocities with newsreel footage of concentration camps.

Nicole Védrès' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.

A documentary about the threat of war breaking out in Europe, focusing on Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini.

A documentary film account of the Russian Revolution, based on archival footage.

For Histoire du soldat inconnu (Story of the Unknown Soldier) Storck watched newsreels for the whole of 1928, the year when 60 nations signed a pact outlawing war, and juxtaposed this heart-warming utopia with the signs of a forthcoming conflict (this was in 1932) – burgeoning nationalism, police brutality, excessive colonialism, bellicose politics. Ferocious editing sarcastically juxtaposes these good intentions with the political farce of speeches and parades, all to the tune of factory chimneys collapsing in slow motion and the exhumed body of an “unknown soldier”. —cinematek.be

A compilation of newsreels shot between 1913 and 1917 - the years leading up to the Russian Revolution.

Glimpses of Russia's doomed aristocracy - walking tall, before revolution brought them low. This World War I news item features both Tsar Nicholas himself and wartime general Grand Duke Nicholas, his first cousin once removed. Neither, in truth, was the idol of all Russia. The former would later be killed by Bolsheviks, while the latter escaped into exile - fates unknown and unknowable in 1915.

Nikolai II (1868-1918), the last Russian czar, son of Alexander III and Dagmar. He had been in Denmark on vacation with his parents several times. The royal houses usually met in September to celebrate Queen Louise's birthday. Even after Queen Louise's death, the families still kept the tradition.

Troops parade past the camera.

Queen Victoria and family experience the new 'cinematograph process'.

The Tsar visits the Russian embassy

The Tsar travels to Paris.

The Czar in France - Procession of the troops.

Russian sovereign Nicholas II and Alexandra Fiodorovna, and President Felix Faure, parading down the Champs-Elysées in a carriage, followed by horsemen.

Sovereign Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna and President Félix Faure, walking by, followed by their respective escorts.

Tsar Nicholas II arrives in Paris.

The German infantry parades in front of Nicholas II and Wilhelm II.

Wilhelm II and Nicholas II, on horseback, parade in front of the cheering crowd, during the inauguration ceremony of William I's monument in Breslau, Germany (nowadays Wroclaw, Poland).

Sovereign Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna and their suite slowly walk down a staircase, preceded by a company of cuirassiers.

100 seconds-long six-scene footage consisting of selected coronation ceremonies of the Russian Tsar (Emperor) Nicholas II. Shows distinguished guests entering a carriage, parade of troops and carriages, Nicholas II and his wife empress Alexandra Feodorovna descending the Kremlin Red Staircase, procession of the newly crowned Emperor and his wife under the baldacchino, guests from the Asian parts of the Russian Empire. (IMDb)