Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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108 of 110 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a gem, December 16, 2002
In this compilation of amateur color movies from within the Third Reich, we are presented with a unique perspective from ground level. In addition to scenes from battlefields, we see folk events of the pre-war years, and Germans at play and leisure. Even an important event such as a military demonstration in Berlin for the benefit of Mussolini is seen as you or I would have glimpsed it, from the third or fourth row, thus adding to the sense of reality....It is a time-honored cliche to say that the Germans of those years loved to march, and here is the proof: In one absolute dark gem of a scene (I think it is at a ceremony of a civilian "rifle club"), we see a group of 50-ish men in a line trying to do a goose-step -
The narration consists mostly of giving us the identities of the amateur filmmakers at each event and some general historical commentary. My only objection is that it too often falls into self-congratulatory exclamations of the uniqueness of the color films, how they were discovered only a couple years ago, etc. These are remarks that I would have preferred to read in booklet notes (of which there are none)...I'd rather have the narrator talk entirely about the contents of the documentary, rather than the documentary itself. But since this sole objection is not worth so much as half a star in relation to the scope of the work, I have no problem in giving it five stars.
One last note: although no mention is made in the credits to the background music, it is fascinating, and an important element. The melodies sound like popular music of the day, Nazi martial music, and some minor-mode themes of haunting beauty. Some of these motifs are repeated in a way that unifies the work without being overdone and annoying (as I found to be the case, for example, in Ken Burns' pitiless over-repetition of "Ashokan Farewell" [the violin solo] in his Civil War documentary).
THIS is an eye-opening and engrossing work.
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137 of 144 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good quality, new material, July 13, 2003
This DVD contains some interesting and new color material from the Nazi era. Initially I was skeptical in purchasing this, and assumed it would just trot out the same old Eva Braun home movies we've seen a million times. But wait... there is actually new film here, some of it recently discovered and airing here for the first time. Much of it was taken by soldiers at the front. There is some especially interesting footage taken during Barbarossa in the Russian campaign. There are also segments taken on the Western front in the 1940 campaign which have only recently been unearthed. Seeing these things in color makes everything appear more immediate and contemporary.A small weakness is that there is not much actual color footage included of Hitler, Goebbels, Goering or the other Nazi henchman. They spend an inordinate time on a 1939 exhibition at Munich's Haus der Deutschen Kunst, where Hitler and the gang arrives and sits on a dais, watching a Wagernian-motive parade. There's also some nice scenes of a Bueckeburg farm fesitival in 1936, with Hitler walking up a hill with a limping Goebbels at his side. This has been seen before, however, most notably in the British production from 1972, "The World at War." Another weakness is the narration, which doesn't provide much actual information and doesn't tell the viewer what year the footage was made. I recommend this film which will intrigue most people interested in WWII or the Third Reich.
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46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great quality and just presentation, November 14, 2002
By A Customer
The quality of some of the color archive footage included in this DVD is amzaing, and much of it I've not seen elsewhere. I own several documentaries of WWII in color, and this is among the best I have. I was a little put-off at first by the title and the cover artwork, thinking perhaps that this would be a glorification of the Nazi regime. Even the price is a little steep, but its worth it for the high quality. Actually this DVD gives a fair presentation of various sides in the world conflict, including some amazing color footage of Canadians, Americans, French, Brits, etc. This DVD is also among the best WWII documentaries at conveying the social context of the time. Lots of parades, people on vacation, photograped in the time leading up to the war. Scenes from the ghettos and images of racial/religious injustice and resent, made all very real by the color and crisp photography. Hard to watch at times. Color footage of the German drive into the USSR as well. This DVD also tackles something seldom addressed: the strange interim period between the invasions of Poland and France. Overall, this DVD really crowns my collection of WWII color films, think it would do the same for others.
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