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World War 2: Lost Films (WWII in HD) [DVD]

World War 2: Lost Films (WWII in HD) [DVD]Studio: History Channel
Category: DVD

List Price: £19.99
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as of 5/9/2010 08:52 EDT details
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New (18) Used (2) from £10.00

Seller: Graceland Books
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars reviews
Sales Rank: 6,374

Format: PAL
Language: English (Unknown)
Rating: Exempt
Region: 2
Number Of Discs: 3
Running Time: 600 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.5 x 0.9

EAN: 5055298051673
ASIN: B002TLUWXI

Release Date: April 26, 2010
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance, the very concept of WWII in HD seems like an oxymoron. After all, isn't the footage from back then nothing more than grainy black-and-white newsreel? And really, how much definition can be added to film that was shot more than 60 years ago? The answers: no, and quite a lot, actually. The quality of much of what is seen in the course of these 10 episodes (each around 45 minutes long) is surprisingly good. Add to that the fact that most of it is in colour (not colorized, but originally recorded in that medium, some at the behest of the United States government), and the result is nothing short of astonishing. It's not easy viewing; there are sequences that are shockingly graphic (vivid examples include the carnage on view after major battles and the shots of Japanese civilians on the Pacific island of Saipan hurling themselves off cliffs to avoid capture by American troops). But all of it has been put to good use in what is undoubtedly one of the most compelling accounts of World War II ever produced.

Other documentaries have chronicled the same events seen here, from the earliest days of the war (when Hitler was overrunning Europe and the ill-prepared Americans were still years away from becoming involved), through Pearl Harbor, the major confrontations with the Japanese in the Pacific theatre (like Guadalcanal, Tarawa, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the incomparably bloody Iwo Jima) and with the Germans in Europe and North Africa (the invasion of Tunisia, D-day, the Battle of the Bulge), and straight on to victory in Europe and finally the Japanese surrender after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But what separates WWII in HD is the filmmakers' decision to view these events through the experiences of a dozen individuals who were actually there, including a couple of war correspondents (one of whom, Richard Tregaskis, was the author of the seminal Guadalcanal Diary); an Austrian immigrant who escaped the Nazis and almost immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army; a nurse with General George Patton's Third Army; an African-American pilot who was one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen; a Japanese-American medic who fought heroically while his family was held in an internment camp; and others from the rank and file. All of them are voiced by such actors as Rob Lowe, Amy Smart, Steve Zahn, Josh Lucas, and LL Cool J; and with Gary Sinise providing voice-over narration, the whole piece comes off as a dramatic film as much as a straight documentary (an effect also enhanced by some brilliantly creative juxtapositions of words, images, and music). Not all of these men and women made it through the war (those still alive also appear in on-camera interviews), but none could ever forget the horrors they witnessed, and while those of us who did not serve will never really comprehend the sacrifices they made, this remarkable programme may be as close as we can get. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews:
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3 out of 5 stars Semi-hollywoodised history   May 6, 2010
streetyson (UK)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I've a life-long interest in military history and spent 30 years of that time in more serious research, re-enactment, and some field-archaeology. And I've watched the series and would support most of Mr Ahmed's review & further comments. Whilst I don't see much cgi I can assure you that a fair bit of the footage has been seen in other documentaries. Whilst there is some good stuff here, the content is sadly entirely American and contains a lot of pro-American rhetoric that ignores, misrepresents or belittles the effort of the other Allies and has almost nothing at all about the Axis side. A lot of American "documentaries" take this collection-of-personal-memories approach, as do their popular "historical" books like Stephen Ambrose's and Rick Atkinson's works. The problem with this approach is that it is overdone to the point where the bias, exaggeration and rhetoric of individuals' memories are not balanced/corrected by expert context.

Nat Geo's documentary is, as Mr Ahmed states, a much better choice - it is a 6-part French TV made series called "Apocalypse: the Second World War". Another excellent pair of series (both using original colour footage) are "The Second World War in Colour" and "Britain at War in Colour" both narrated by the late John Thaw. I would also highly recommend the four part-series "Hell in the Pacific". Some other quality documentaries (that aren't coloured much but include a mix of original footage with re-enacted scenes in colour) are the BBC's "Battle of the Atlantic" and "D-Day to Berlin", and Canadian TV's 4-part "Convoy:War for the Atlantic". Another interesting series is the German made "Hitler's War". I haven't yet seen any good (i.e. quality and accurate) documentaries about WW2 made by Russian or Japanese sources. There is the "Battlefield Tour" 4-part series made by Italian TV, which isn't bad and gives some of the war from an Italian viewpoint. There are many other good documentaries - I just suggest the above as good overview series approached by different countries.


5 out of 5 stars in glorious colour   September 3, 2010
D. Lloyd (uk)
Lets not make WAR glamorous but this does bring a strange sense of it being only a few years away and not sixty. THE FOOTAGE IS VERY RAW, there is no NO glamour here , this is never before seen ,WHY ,because of it,s grafic nature , DON,T let this put you off , for the first time and don,t forget this is real life we see what it was really like.
A good collection to watch as a family to promote discussion, every child should see what a bullet really does. (BUT NOT ON THEIR OWN).


5 out of 5 stars World War 2: Lost Films   June 7, 2010
M. J. Hunter
Missed the TV series but thoroughly enjoyed this issue. To a generation of baby boomers World War 2 was a war fought in black and white. Colour makes it almost unreal and a bit of adjustment is needed to take it all in.


3 out of 5 stars average   June 9, 2010
Jimmy Fung (uk)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

It covers mainly on Us marines & the pacific Islands.If u r a Us marine-lovers--good for keep.

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