Reviews of the World War II documentary film series.
Latest hand-picked WWII news. See also: WWII Footage, Nazi movies, WW2 documentary films, German WW2 militaria.
Documentary film series "D-Day to Victory" recounts Allied WWII campaign in Europe
When Bob Ross looks back on his tour of duty in Normandy, France in July 1944 he doesn't linger with sorrow over the loss of his right leg. The 87-year-old veteran - who served with the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade - says he feels for the countless others whose horrors he witnessed: the sudden deaths of fellow infantry men, and the sombre padre from his regiment, whose tunic was soaked with the blood of dead bodies, as he waded through wheat fields to offer final prayers. "Ever since then I've never opened my mouth because there's always someone worse off," explained Ross, who is among dozens of WW2 veterans who appear in "D-Day to Victory," a 6-part documentary series.
(news1130.com)
WWII documentary series: Nazi Collaborators
Nazi Collaborators lifts the lid on the stories that history prefers to cover up, asking the simple question: how could anyone collaborate with the Third Reich? The series is told through the experiences of people who were prominent collaborators, from Pierre Laval, who was one of the most loathed men in France after rounding up Jews in Vichy, through to the Latvian Viktor Arajs, who set up his own Kommando, which took part in the killing of 26-thousand people. Many say they did what they did out of the best intentions. Some argue they had no choice, whilst others offer much darker and disturbing motives. At the heart of Nazi Collaborators lies one uneasy question: If you were in a similar position, would you have done the same thing and danced with the devil?
(broadwayworld.com)
20-part documentary series "The Unknown War: WWII and the Epic Battles of the Russian" finally published on DVD
After the success of "The World At War" WWII-series, the Soviet Union wanted to tell more of battles with the Nazis on the Eastern Front. From their vaults, they found millions of feet of WWII footage to create "The Unknown War: WWII and the Epic Battles of the Russian" which includes twenty 50-minute episodes. But the timing failed. When the series first broadcast in the U.S. in 1978, America was approaching the height of the Cold War with the Soviets. They were the enemy. Historians complained "The Unknown War" was more Soviet propaganda than education, so the documentary series vanished from the airwaves.
(insidepulse.com)
Best WWII Documentary Series: Color footage brings the Third Reich and the Second World War alive
"The World at War", which has survived time amazingly well, features a lot of content and wide range of topics covered. --- "The Nazis: A Warning from History" is the series to watch if you want to understand the Nazi-era, Hitler's rise to power, and what it was like to live in the Third Reich. --- "The Color of War" includes color footage, which takes soldiers' everyday struggles to a complete different level. --- "The Wehrmacht" offers the German side of WWII military campaigns with scores of interviews of German veterans. --- "Hitler's Children" takes an in-depth look at Nazi youth organizations for both girls (BDM, Bund Deutscher Mädel) and boys (Jungvolk for the youngest and HitlerJugend for those aged over 13).
(cloudworth.com)
Hunters in the Sky: The Figher Aces of World War II -- 13 part WWII series on DVD
"Hunters in the Sky" is a 13-part WWII series made in 1991 using archival footage from the National Archives and the Smithsonian Institution. The narrative for each episode is decent, plus talking heads are noteworthy because they include pilots from both Axis and Allied countries. 13 episodes are: Knights in the Sky; Defending the Realm; Red Star Rising; Tigers over China; Hell in the Pacific; Closing the Ring; Victory in the Pacific; Under All Flags; Big Friend, Little Friend; Struggle for Supremacy; Assault on Fortress Europe; Fall of the Third Reich; Reflections on War. Extras include: documentary Silent Wings; TV movie Last Flight to Berlin; The Story of the Red Baron.
(dvdtown.com)
Documentary film Third Reich: The Rise and Fall premieres on History on December 14/15 (Article no longer available from the original source)
"Third Reich: The Rise and Fall", 4-hour miniseries airing on History on December 14/15, tells the story of the Third Reich from the German perspective, taking viewers on tour inside the Nazi Germany in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s with rarely seen private home movies, Nazi propaganda footage and other contemporary material. The narrative consists of personal recollections from Germans' diaries, journals and letters.
(Press Release)
The iconic WWII series "The World at War" out on Blu-ray: 26 episodes plus 12 hours of extras
"The World at War" (1973) is one of the premier authentic-footage documentaries on the Second World War, and the only one to cover it in detail from start to finish. The blue-ray release includes 26 episodes (20 hours) plus 12 hours of extras.
(dvdtown.com)
The Pacific: Hell on Earth -- Review of the History Channel WWII documentary series
Not to be confused with HBO's WWII series "The Pacific" or "Hell in the Pacific: The True Stories" or the WWII film "Hell in the Pacific"; this WWII series has been created from History Channel archives to meet the interest stirred by the HBO series. This is standard production from The History Channel, mixing archive footage with interviews from veterans and historians. To really form the link to HBO's "The Pacific" there is an episode of "Unsung Heroes: Sledgehammer Old Breed Marine" included on a bonus disc, telling the story of Private Eugene B. Sledge, whose diaries were the inspiration for the HBO series.
(myreviewer.com)
Patton 360° series follows General George S. Patton and his units from 1942 to 1945
Patton 360° is a mix of historical footage, photos, and eyewitness accounts, joined with busy editing and fancy CGI animation. It's easy to be put off by the MTV-style visuals, but for the most part the show is praiseworthy - and it is genuinely different than other WWII series. In 10 episodes, General Patton's major WWII campaigns are explored in detail - but this is not a giography, although excerpts from Patton's diaries and letters are used. Patton's failures, such as his ego-driven clashes with Bernard Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, and the incident when he slapped two soldiers, are covered.
(dvdverdict.com)
Der Krieg: New footage allows Germans to watch World War II in colour
WWII series Der Krieg (The War) uses previously unseen film footage and photos, colourised using the latest technology. The series was originally a film shown in France under the title of Apocalypse. It has now been split into three 45-min parts: Hitler's Attack In Europe, The World In Flames, and Victory and Defeat. Material from 100 archives was used to piece together World War II as it was seen by the front-line soldier and the civilians in the Nazi occupied area. Colour photos include British Home Guard units training, ships being sunk by U-Boats, Russian cities aflame and Adolf Hitler in Berghof.
(dailymail.co.uk)
Two WWII documentary film series: WWII in HD, Apocalypse: The Second World War
Every time war starts to sound a little bit glorious, something like these realistic World War II documentaries comes along. They look at the bloodiest war in history from the inside, through the eyes of soldiers and civilians who didn't all survive it. The 5-part show "World War II: Lost Films - WWII in HD", with Gary Sinise narrating, finds a fresh angle by taking a dozen Americans and following them into the war. The Smithsonian's "Apocalypse: The Second World War," a 6-part series narrated by Martin Sheen, arrives with greater hype, promising graphic film that until now was deemed by authorities as "unfit for civilians to see."
(nydailynews.com)
WWII Remembered - A Complete History - documentary series on DVD
WWII Remembered 2-disc DVD set includes 10 one-hour episodes, with a familiar timeline. (1) Pre-War Years: Beginning at WW1's end, this episode looks at the era between the two conflicts, exploring the Great Depression, Germany's frustration with the Treaty of Versailles, Adolf Hitler's rise to power and America's desire to remain an isolationist nation. (4) March Into Russia: Wehrmacht's march on Russia (Operation Barbarossa), told by newsreels, actual footage and written accounts. (5) Birth of Special Forces: Did you know the Navy SEALS were indirectly started during WW2 as Naval Demolitions Experts?
(dvdtown.com)
Britain's World War Two films were more than just propaganda: Home Front Britain
In the key matters – arming its soldiers and invading other countries – the start of WWII saw Nazi Germany with a good head start. The same went for brainwashing its citizens. Joseph Goebbels and Department of Film had been pumping out Nazi propaganda since the Reichstag burned down in 1933. Britain's answer to Leni Riefenstahl was Humphrey Jennings, whose trilogy of war films (Listen to Britain, Fires Were Started, A Diary for Timothy) surpass the rest of the propaganda by the Ministry of Information's Crown Film Unit. Most of it's 2,000 films are in the vaults of the British Film Institute, but a select few can be seen in documentary series "Home Front Britain".
(independent.co.uk)
The Nazi plan to kill WWII leaders in Tehran - Documentary series
The Moscow TV Center is producing documentary series "The Lion and the Bear" about Russian-British relations over 4 centuries, partly presented by Winston Churchill's granddaughter Celia Sandys. One of the sections is dedicated to the Tehran meeting in 1943, when Hitler's agents plotted to destroy the Big Three in one strike. The "Long Jump" operation to assassinate the Big Three was masterminded on Hitler's orders by Otto Scorzeny. The first tip-off about the attack came from Soviet spy Nikolai Kuznetsov, aka Wermacht Oberleutnant Paul Siebert, who got an SS man Ulrich von Ortel to spill the secret over a bottle of brandy.
(rian)
Heroes of World War II and Weapons of World War II
With access to over 500,000 hours of rare archive film, together with computer graphics, Heroes of World War II examines how handful of individuals had a far-reaching impact on the course of WWII. --- In 1939 most countries used obsolete weaponry. Even Nazi Germany's largest armies still relied on horse-drawn transport equipment. In order to gain supremacy it was necessary to develop more and more sophisticated killing machines. Weapons of World War II charts the development of each weapon system. The episodes include: Tanks, Midget Submarines, Gliders, Aircraft Carriers, Fighter Bombers, Heavy Bombers, Battleships, Rockets, Machine Guns, and Fast Attack Boats.
(monstersandcritics.com)
Gladiators of World War II - Documentary series
Behind all fighting forces are men and Gladiators of World War II examines the men of World War II. --- Waffen SS: The Waffen SS began as Adolf Hitler`s elite bodyguard and grew into one of the most formidable fighting forces of Nazi Germany. The men of the SS were combat soldiers, respected for their courage, feared for their ruthlessness and fanaticism. --- Paras and Commandos: Occupied Europe endured 4 years of Nazi domination. Angered by the defensive strategy which had brought disaster to Allied forces in 1940, Winston Churchill demanded an elite raiding force, formed to take the fight back to Nazi occupied countries.
(monstersandcritics.com)
Secrets of World War II - 1998 BBC documentary series
Showcasing couple of episodes: Adolf Hitler`s Last Days: With access to Eva Braun`s photograph album, this program reconstructs the final days in the Dictator's underground bunker, and examines the possibility of escape for the selected few. --- The Nazi Plundering of Europe: The Nazis systematically plundered the museums, galleries, and private collections. At the war`s end, a massive effort was mounted by the Allies to locate the missing art treasures. But even today many great objects are still unlocated. --- Destroy the German Oil Fields: New footage shows the raid by the US Air Force against the Ploesti oil fields which supplied 60% of Hitler`s oil in 1943.
(monstersandcritics)
DVD Review: The War by Ken Burns
The style of The War is similar to Ken Burns' other films in that extensive footage and still photographs from the era are incorporated into the film. Most remarkable is the producers' choice to not include historians in the narrative. Indeed, this is a film that is not so much about military tactics or records of battles (although the film explains the progress of the war and the Allies' blunders) but about the millions of ordinary citizens who were called into action to halt the progress of evil. The War is unlike any other film made about World War II: I gained a greater appreciation of the sacrifices made.
(blogcritics)
TV series on Soviet dictator Stalin -- Whitewashing history
Josef Stalin is speaking to his son Yakov, who has telephoned to say that he will soon head off to battle the Nazi invaders. "I sometimes was not fair to you. Forgive me. I devoted little time to you," the Soviet dictator apologizes... The poignant scene is part of a controversial 40-episode TV drama, "Stalin Live." For Stalin admirers, of whom there are many in Russia, the series is an entertaining look at the man who turned the Soviet Union into a superpower. To critics, it is a dangerous distortion of history that threatens to misinform a younger generation about a leader responsible for the deaths of millions of people.
(hnn)
See also:
WWII Footage
Nazi movies
WW2 documentary films
German WW2 militaria.