Kirk Wolfinger Movies

For many around the world, the October 1957 launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik represented a pivotal event that single-handedly gave rise to the global Cold War. In America, the satellite prompted government leaders to dramatically escalate spending on both space exploration and military. Additional research, however, suggests that Sputnik may not have been as much of a surprise as the media and press traditionally indicated. The documentary NOVA: Sputnik Declassified investigates the basis for these claims, including the accounts that Nazi employ-turned-NASA rocket scientist Wernher von Braun performed satellite launch experiments in the U.S. a year before Sputnik, President Dwight Eisenhower's desire to launch a satellite to spy on the Russians, and extended pre-Sputnik discussions about how the U.S. should kick-start the space race. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Fifty years after the Soviet Union made history by launching Sputnik into space, the reverberations of that historical event are still echoing around the world. Produced to coincide with the 50th anniversary of this defining moment in human history, this documentary from filmmaker David Hoffman draws on lost footage and informative interviews to detail the remarkable story surrounding the launch of Sputnik, as well as the incredible events that unfolded in America the following year. While American enthusiasm over this technological breakthrough was at first palpable, that excitement quickly turned to dread as politicians and the media pointed out that the same rocket used to propel Sputnik into space could have just as easily been outfitted with a nuclear warhead and used to launch a devastating war against the United States. The following year, tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States reached an all-time high, effectively propelling the Cold War into overdrive. With bomb shelters being built, nuclear testing lighting up the atmosphere every three days, and then-senator Lyndon B. Johnson comparing the launch of Sputnik to another Pearl Harbor, it's no wonder that folks began to get so fatalistic. In this film, Hoffman explores the tenuous first steps into the modern age, the positive and negative effects of those steps on international relations, and the staunch determination of Americans to always be the first and the best. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

National Geographic: Pearl Harbor - Legacy of Attack is an historical documentary that features the events surrounding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Come along with Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard for an underwater look at the wreckage of a Japanese midget submarine that was sunk by an American destroyer, as well as sections of the battleship Arizona that have not been viewed since December 7, 1941. The 120-minute film contains commentary by historian Stephen Ambrose and the eyewitness accounts of three Pearl Harbor survivors.

~ Kathleen Wildasin, All Movie Guide

In this two-hour special, Nova follows a team of divers down to the ocean floor for a six-year investigation that eventually determined the identity of a sunken World War II submarine -- and rewrote history in the process. The German U-Boat, first discovered in 1991 just 60 miles off the New Jersey coast, posed a significant challenge to would-be explorers; the program explains the kinds of dangers that even highly trained professional divers face under 230 feet of water, and it showcases the cutting-edge technology that allowed them to investigate the wreck of U-869. Finally, Hitler's Lost Sub discusses the history of the Nazi submarine fleet and the role that these ships played during the war. After an early version of the film aired in Germany, a 78-year-old survivor of the U-869 disaster came forward; his incredible story is included in the final film. ~ Sarah Welsh, All Movie Guide

For the 30th anniversary of man's landing on the moon, Nova presents a two-hour tribute to one of the greatest scientific achievements in history. In July of 1969, much of the civilized world watched transfixed as an American astronaut planted his feet on the dusty surface of the moon. The images were perhaps not the clearest, but they were live, and demonstrated the culmination of a joint effort between scientists and engineers to begin an exploration of the moon. These technical experts, the unpublicized heroes of the lunar effort, tell of their contributions that brought it all together. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide

The White Star Line owned three ships, one was the Titanic. This Nova film features her sister ship, the Britannic, in Nova: Titanic's Lost Sister, which was just as luckless. When the Titanic sank, despite its claim of being unsinkable, the Britannic was overhauled with the new, more stringent ship regulations in mind. However, in 1916, the Britannic sank as well. Did a German torpedo cause the demise of Britannic? Or did the ship hit a mine? Explorer Robert Ballard looks for answers using a debris field theory, in which debris sinks in a certain pattern depending on the current. Determining the point of impact would allow Ballard to find the true reason for the loss of the Britannic. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide

The sport of aerobatics involves pilots maneuvering airplanes at high speeds in a choreographed competition. When the US Aerobatics Team headed to the 1992 World Aerobatics Championships, Nova documented their training, as well as their performance, for television. ~ Thomas Carpenter, All Movie Guide