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World War II: Lost Films (WWII in HD) [Blu-ray]

World War II: Lost Films (WWII in HD) [Blu-ray]Director: Frederic Lumiere
Studio: History Channel
Category: DVD

List Price: £24.99
Buy New: £14.92
as of 5/9/2010 08:32 EDT details
You Save: £10.07 (40%)
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New (15) Used (3) from £13.80

Seller: moviemars-usa
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars reviews
Sales Rank: 6,553

Format: Blu-ray
Language: English (Unknown)
Rating: Exempt
Media: Blu-ray
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 600 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 5.5 x 0.6

EAN: 5055298051475
ASIN: B00347A4AC

Release Date: April 26, 2010
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
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 colourised, 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 Harbour, 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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5 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Footage   April 18, 2010
Graham Chapman (London)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Having recently - and belatedly - watched Band of Brothers I was keen to purchase this blu-ray. The footage and reconstruction of history around it is extraordinary. The narration and account of the soldiers is meticulously done. This is an essential set of discs for any viewer interested in this period of history. It is remarkable how much excellent footage the producers have compiled together. Highly recommended.


4 out of 5 stars The US soldier's view of World War II in colour   August 18, 2010
Scram Voyager
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

So, as with all Blu-Rays in my collection, I move my seat closer to the screen to enjoy the cinematic resolution offered by Blu-Ray - and after a half hour of varied quality imagery, sat back in my seat for what is effectively a standard (for UK, not for the US) resolution set of archive footage. What's notably worse in the archive footage is a curious mixture of 4:3 original, either stretched to widescreen (wrong aspect ratio), or cropped to widescreen (missing top and bottom). It has a mix mostly of genuine colour footage but includes far too much of the bane of all documentary purists - 'colorised' black and white footage, which looks like it came from the 'Battlefront in Color' DVD set. For example, I've seen much higher quality newsreel based footage of Pearl Harbour elsewhere. Here the focus has been on previously unseen colour footage which is quite poor in quality and limited in coverage, given the enormity of the event.

The opportunity that has been missed with much of this archive footage is the lack of digital restoration. With only a few exceptions, there has generally been no obvious attempt to stabilise, or clean up the dust and scratches on the footage they used (and I don't include 'colorisation' which here is mostly worse than the black and white footage). This is more true of the early days of the war - the first 2-3 episodes. The picture quality situation (probably due to the volume of colour archival footage increasing as we progress chronologically through the war) does appear to improve with later programmes in the series.

I've seen comparisons on the US site to 'the World at War'. With the greatest respect, such a comparison is not sensible to make. The World at War handles the detailed story and the strategy of the war's progress for all countries involved requiring 26 52 minute episodes- this series covers in 10 episodes of 49minutes each. This series follows a bunch of US individuals who actually fought in the war, and it works quite well from that limited kind-of US-national 'foxhole-level' viewpoint. The modern footage of the US military folks today is all hi-def which contrasts with and at times shows up the archival footage. Their direct narration, segued with actors when showing archival footage, works extremely well. The cross-section of US personnel covered is reasonably good. Where World at War wins is in having direct interviews with the decision makers on all sides. You'll not get that here, but then 'tempus fugit' and not many are around today to be interviewed.

This series may (OK will!) upset the non-US nationalists amongst you - I draw attention to the North African campaign where the graphics clearly show the international element, but the British and Commonwealth military's actions are glossed over. The focus on the soldiers means that for the bigger picture stuff, say, the power-play between Montgomery and Patton subsequent to the North Africa campaign, or for instance the German-Russian campaign, you need to look elsewhere.

So in summary buy this if you can imagine the title should actually say something like 'The USA in WWII in HD'. It makes a worthwhile addition to existing content and is in my opinion the best recent US documentary series on the US involvement in the Second World War.


2 out of 5 stars Impressive footage, bad production   June 4, 2010
J. Bijvoets (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Though the quality of the footage is really impressive, the way it was edited, narrated and produced with the special effects and music makes it feel like a sort of low quality, not authentic and very dramatic made documentary. I expected a much more serious approach.


5 out of 5 stars Superb footage   May 8, 2010
Hugo Stiglitz (United Kingdom)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Being a huge fan of anything WW2 I really enjoyed this well made documentary. The programme features some superbly restored footage along with real life accounts from veterans who were actually there. Picture quality is as good as can be expected from material that is over 60 years old, but it is some of the best I've seen in a WW2 doc. The disc plays fine on my PS3, the error may only occur on a small number of BD players which a firmware update might fix.


5 out of 5 stars Lost film of word war 2 as good as today   June 27, 2010
Paul J
The documentry is an must for all history of 2nd world war.As well reanacters. You see such great details in the pictures and backgrounds of the films. The people giving there acount of the war and voice overs are second to none. Bye it great bit of history in an box.

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