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267 of 268 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You have never seen anything like this on DVD !, July 16, 2000
I expect as you read this, the most two most important questions of your mind (if you're thinking of buying this DVD) is; what is the picture quality like and is it better that the other `WW2 in Color' DVD. The short answer is the picture quality is consistently superb - sharp, saturated and clear. Over three hours of bewildering, sad, horrific and poignant color film. The other DVD is a very good effort, but cannot compete because the new DVD contains footage never before seen anywhere in the last 60 years. This new DVD has been carefully re-packaged to disguise the fact that it is a British-made Documentary aired last year only in Britain (1999). What distinguishes this from out of the ordinary is not just the picture quality, but what you will see in color. It took three years for the team working on this project to find some of the material. You might think you have seen all possible color footage from WW2, but you will be stunned by some of the 35mm material in this DVD. Much of the new footage comes from two sources; Kodachrome 16mm color film shot by both the Germans (up to 1941), so for example, you will see the movies of an SS General who lead the invasion of France. You will see the pre-war build up in Britain, which starts with the optimism of the 1937 British Coronation (in rare 35mm Dufaycolor) and leads on to extraordinary fiery red images of London being bombed by night. You will see America on the dawn of Pearl Harbour and color film of the actual attack. Other footage is shot on 16mm German Agfacolor stock and includes the only color film of the Warsaw Ghetto, with the sharp, clear color looking so real that you may think it was only shot recently. Another film is perhaps the most horrifying, footage, which defies detailed description as it shows the day that an SS Troop rounded up the unfortunate Male population of a rural town and executed them by both hanging and rifle. This footage is so shocking that you will never forget how terrifying this war is (you may find this footage distressing, I found it disturbing). The clear color burns the images into your mind. It is all here; Pearl Harbour/Battle Of The Atlantic/ Stalingrad/Pacific/D-DAY/ Berlin/Buchenwald/Dachau/Hiroshima/ Nagasaki/Paris Liberated/Germany 1938-9/London/The Spanish Civil War. A quiet, respectful commentary by actor John Thaw is augmented by Diary readings from the people who saw the events. This restrained approach is all that is needed as the footage speaks for itself. At the end of the war, we close on footage of Times Square by day as New Yorkers celebrate V.J. day. You will feel as if the footage is so real as to be a fake, but it isn't and all the more moving because of that. Here are ordinary people, just like you and I, trapped on color film and shown a half century later. The images live on. If you want just one DVD about WW2, buy this and never forget what you will experience.
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87 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WWII - The Lost Color Archives, September 28, 2000
This is an excellent DVD with spectacular color footage and excellent commentary about World War II. The historical value of this program is excellent as the facts and historical aspects are presented in a clear and concise manner. This documentary also has the human aspect well covered as most of the footage is accompanied by voiced-over commentary that is taken from actual letters written by soldiers and civilians during the war. The color footage of the home fronts in Great Britain, Russia, Germany and the USA is vivid and superior in quality considering it's 56 - 64 years old. The battle scenes favor the Eastern front and the Pacific with only a few scenes taken from the Western front. There is some footage from the Battle of Normandy but unfortunately no footage from the war in the desert, Operation Market Garden or the Battle of the Bulge. However, there are some incredible scenes taken from occupied Europe/Russia and the liberation of two death camps which are eerie to view in color. This two DVD set is very impressive and well worth it. The bonus footage of Hitler, B-17 bomber crews and the war in the Pacific is absolutely mesmorizing. I would highly recommend this DVD for any WWII historian's collection or for those who want to learn more about the war.
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91 of 94 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eerie, hypnotic, gut-wrenching, November 1, 2000
This is an astonishing set of videos. First there is the jaw-dropping, almost hallucinogenic experiance of seeing WWII events in technicolor. It reminds one of how much black-and-white film aestheticizes and abstracts events. Admittedly our eyes don't see in technicolor either, but the color makes you feel far more psychologically "there" so to speak. The second thing is the amazing quality of most of this footage. It hardly seems to have aged at all in 55-60 years! When you consider that film from the 1960's sometimes looks atrociously degraded and washed out, the almost pristine look of this footage is remarkable to say the least. It must have been stored well and never projected. (Of course, the producers could choose the best-looking bits from what was reputedly hundreds of hours of rediscovered film.) Watching this film is a tremendously emotional experiance, sometimes frightening, sometimes grueling, sometimes stomach-turning. The voice-over narration makes heavy use of contemporary letters and diaries of soldiers and civilians, and is often touching. The cumulative impact of all this----the island fighting, Nazi rallies, shipyard workers, civilians hanged by Nazis, radiation victims, Pearl Harbor wreckage, air war footage, death camps, and on and on----is almost overwhelming. Like having your nose shoved into the sheer mess and folly of mass war. Now that I hear that the UK version of this documentary was narrated by the redoubtable John Thaw I'd love to see THAT version, but otherwise I unreservedly recommend this to anyone and everyone. Too many people think of documentaries as boring but this demonstrates how mesmerizing they can be. For anyone too young to have first-hand memories of it (which is most of the population now) this makes WWII far more visceral than you ever thought possible.
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