Customer Reviews

Restricted Films of WWII

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is another good set from Timeless Video. This set is from the group of U.S. videos taken in Europe and Pacific which were classified and released recently with the Freedom of Information Act. They are complete with maps and commentary, and will be video not seen before. They will show some U.S. defeats the military didn't want the public to see. The time period is from roughly the last half of 44 and the 1st of 45. Confidential, the companion set from Timeless Video, is late 43 through the 1st half of 44. The video is mostly crystal clear. Some of it is a little dark.

This is strictly real footage. There is continual commentary, but the interesting part is watching events occur in actual video shot at the time events occurred. It can get a little long, but well worth watching for those history buffs ... like me. I was fascinated by it. Black Triangle

The DVD sleeve is very nice, so I had hopes that the visual qualtiy of the two DVD's would be very good, which is not the case. The poor quality is no doubt the result of these being produced directly from the free, dark and fuzzy reference room VHS or 1" tape copies at the National Archives. These low visual quality shelf copies are intended for content review and the idea then, is to have masters made from their film intermediates that would be ordered and processed by a NA approved lab. This does not appear to be the case.

When DVD's such as these are made from the 35mm film intermediates, the result is a crisp, sharp, gorgeous black and white result. If I could return these DVD's I would do so. After watching a few minutes of the DVD's I set them aside, and will give them to someone else.

I was most interested in seeing AND hearing the DVD about WWII, however the audio is simply non-existent in this DVD. I had my volume maxed out and still could not hear the dialog for the hissing and low quality.

The video is okay, but the sound makes it not worth the money unfortunately.

Unlike "Confidential Films of World War II" by the same company which has high quality film, these "Restricted Films" look like they've been taken by a handicam from the backrow of a theater. There's some Russian and Chinese footage that's so muddy and blurry that it's tough to get any sense of what you're looking at. Avoid this.

Disclaimer: I am not a total WWII nut but am a fan of history. I found this 2 DVD set fascinating and well worth the price.

Being a multimedia person, I do wonder about the audio. Just seems way too clear to me.

Still, I feel this DVD set gives an interesting look at various WWII operations from the US viewpoint.

I purchased "Restricted Films of WWII" because it implied that the contents were never (or seldom) seen before. Actually, there's nothing "restricted" about the DVDs. The entire product is simply a series of news reels that millions of people have already seen, and, quite honestly, the news reels are quite bland. Don't bother purchasing this one.

Apart from the nice art work on the DVD cover, this film is a waste of money! The quality is quite bad, and truly nothing shown on these DVDS would merit the title RESTRICTED films of WWII! Save your money, do not buy this DVD set!

B&W short films with added in commentary and gun fire effects. Nothing to write home about, the box indicates "secrets" revealed. What secrets is the question! Nothing new presented on these DVDs if you are just a bit knowledgeable about WWII. The B&W quality is acceptable on most, but on some a bit dark. Save your money and skip this video, it is not worth it!

Disappointed in quality of film. Much to dark to see clearly. Background should have been lightened to make clearer.To much jumping around to different areas. Thought editing could have been much better in keeping inspecific areas.