UPCOMING EPISODES

The movie ‘Unbroken’ tells of the tale of American war hero, Louis Zamperini, but Hollywood ignores the most extraordinary part of his life story - his incredible journey to forgive those that had tortured him in the prisoner of war camps of Japan.

Hacksaw Ridge is an unusual film about the Battle of Okinawa, unusual because it is the story of a pacifist and his role in the battle. Desmond Doss was a Seventh day Adventist who refused to carry arms. For his actions in the battle he became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor – for saving 75 men when his unit was over run on Hacksaw Ridge on Okinawa. It was difficult to get the film financed as it is not about a normal combatant. Doss refused to carry a firearm of any kind, the film says because he once had to threaten his drunken father with one, but it seems more likely that this was simply because of his strongly held pacifist beliefs. What the film does not go into is how badly injured Doss was after his experiences in the Second World War. He was wounded four times in Okinawa – and later contracted tuberculosis in Leyte. His treatment for TB involved him losing a lung and five ribs. He also became completely deaf after treatment with antibiotics. Despite this he lived until he was eighty seven and raised a family.

Zodiac is a 2007 film about the Zodiac series killings in San Francisco in 1969. They remain unsolved. The film follows the real life research of cartoonist Robert Graysmith, who became obsessed with the murderer, as he could decode some of his letters. Graysmith became convinced that the murderer was Arthur Leigh Allen. However the evidence against him was inconclusive. The final letter form Zodiac was sent in 1974. There have been no more Zodiac killings. Robert Graysmith stopped being a cartoonist and became a successful crime writer. So who was Zodiac? This film looks at the mystery.

When a string of women are found raped and strangled in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, Police Detective Phil DiNatale launches a major homicide investigation. The killer leaves a macabre calling card – a giant bow wrapped around the victim’s neck. Hollywood dramatized the investigation in, The Boston Strangler, and the film ends with the killer, Tony Curtis, held in an asylum. But in the real story, the murders were never officially solved and Phil DiNatale died among accusations that he caught the wrong man. 50 years after the Strangler Murders, modern-day forensics finally vindicates him.

The Hollywood blockbuster, 13 Hours, tells of the horrific assault on the US Consulate in Benghazi, in 2012. The film focuses on the heroic battle of US security forces, but the real story lies with the target of the attack - Ambassador Chris Stevens - a man who risked his life to pursue peace in Libya. Failed by those he fought to protect - he battles for his life without backup. The Real Story reveals what went wrong and reveals the truth behind why he was left exposed.

In the Hollywood blockbuster ‘American Made’, Tom Cruise stars as legendary 80s drug smuggler Barry Seal. In the movie, the CIA recruit Seal to fly clandestine reconnaissance missions in Central America - but the truth is that Seal never worked for the CIA. In the Real Story, Seal, a prolific drug smuggler for the Medellín Cartel flips as a DEA agent after being caught in an elaborate sting. Seal leads the DEA directly to Pablo Escobar - but his mission is sunk when clandestine photos he takes of Escobar loading cocaine are leaked to the press. Seal’s identity was revealed to the world and he is abandoned by the system to the cartel’s wrath. Inevitably Barry Seal is killed in a hail of bullets.

In the 2016 film the Infiltrator Bryan Cranston stars as US Customs agent Robert Mazur. Robert and his team of agents go deep undercover to infiltrate the dangerous world of Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel. Their work leads to the arrest of some of Escobar’s top importers and the collapse of a multinational bank that laundered their dirty money. But what the film doesn’t show is that the deeper Robert infiltrates the cartel the more they suspect he’s a federal agent. When he realises he’s in too deep he knows the only way of getting out alive is to put the Cartel behind bars before they discover his real identity.

In the Oscar winning movie ARGO, Ben Affleck immortalizes CIA legend Tony Mendez, who masterminded the escape of six diplomats from revolutionary Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis by dressing them us a Canadian film crew. But by placing the CIA firmly as the heroes, Hollywood overlooks the vital role played by another group in helping coordinate the brilliant escape plan – the Canadians themselves. This is the REAL STORY OF… how a small group of diplomats from Canada risked their lives by housing the escapees in a dangerous city, breaking every rule of diplomacy to help sneak the disguised Americans out of Iran... in broad daylight.