Kirk Wolfinger Movies

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and RMS Titanic, Inc., present their findings at the Titanic's legendary wreck site by using high-resolution optical video, sonar, acoustic imaging, and 3D HD video and acoustic modeling. The visuals and effects supplement the personal stories of those who died before their time while traveling on the so-called unsinkable boat. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Plunge beneath the waters of Pearl Harbor with NOVA on a journey to investigate the sinking of the USS Arizona. After decades of believing the Arizona was sunk by Japanese bombers, researches now speculate that Japanese midget subs could be to blame for the tragedy. In that incident alone, over 1,000 servicemen perished. By exploring the ocean floor, investigators uncover the wreckage of a two-man Japanese submarine they believe may have fired that fateful torpedo. Additional aerial photos and interviews with U.S. and Japanese veterans offer an intensely personal take on the event that plunged the U.S. directly into the fray of World War II. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This documentary follows the preparations of two very different high-school football teams in Maine - one located in a struggling blue-collar town and the other in an affluent area that can afford the best resources for their local school - as they prepare for their annual meeting on the gridiron. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi