Mysteries in the Archives
Season 1
Not Rated
A series of documentary shorts, focusing on various important historical events captured on film. Each episode, the film's and pictures of one event are carefully analyzed. As to why, how and by whom they were shot. Accompanied by historical, technical and social background information.
Where to Watch Mysteries in the Archives • Season 1
10 Episodes
- 1946: A-Bomb Tests on Bikini
E81946: A-Bomb Tests on BikiniIn July of 1946, a year after Nagasaki and Hiroshima the United States Air Force dropped two even more powerful atomic bombs over the Bikini atoll, the culmination of Operation Crossroads, a military endeavour with multiple objectives. No event in the history of cinema had ever been so thoroughly covered. Nearly 700 cameramen and photographers were hired to film the entire operation. The images, devised by American propaganda, were broadcast around the world. The stakes were high: to show American supremacy over the Soviet Union, at the very start of the Cold War. Why so many cameras and equipment to film two atomic explosions just after the end of the Second World War? What happened the minute before a historic photo was taken? And what is the relationship between atomic testing and the famous bathing suit?
