Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15991 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-11-01
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 165 minutes

Synopsis

The Second World War In Colour [1999] is a three-part documentary which reveals hours of previously unseen colour film of World War II. As almost all newsreel film was shot in black and white, this DVD offers a completely new portrait of the war. Dramatic colour footage from as early as 1933 shows home movies of Adolf Hitler and his cohorts, the devastation wrought by the Blitzkrieg, life on the home front, D-Day and the Allied invasion of France, British bombers defying German fighters, the horror of the Holocaust that troops met as they entered Germany, and the jubilation of the final Allied victory. With John Thaw's narration intercut with spoken accounts from the letters and diaries of those who fought, those who survived, and those the war claimed as victims, this documentary is an extraordinary remembrance of a monumental time in world history.

Customer Reviews

Brings the past back to life in vivid colour
As a history teacher it is wonderful to see the war brought back to colour, as many of us knew it had been. The pictures and films breath a fresh sense of place to the events of World War Two and the diary and letter extracts provide a fitting support for the images. The late great John Thaw's expert narration allows the images to speak for themselves. A definiate must have, for anyone with an interest of the period.

An almost essential historical document
This is a very well-designed view of WWII - the colour film is a pleasure to watch, and of course makes things seem just that bit more 'real' - we like to watch in colour, it's as simple as that. The spread of material is good - I would dearly have loved to see some colour film of Stalingrad, but considering the conditions there then, we are lucky to get even colour still photographs! I find John Thaw's voice slow and dragging rather than imposing, but that's only a minor criticism.

Excellent picture shame about the accompanying text
Although this features fantastic quality footage and is narrated by the late John Thaw. The text-voice-over accompanying the footage is basic and gives no detailed information on World War 2. I would only recommend this as a introduction to world war 2 and for more the more serious historian to save there pennies and buy the superior “World At War” boxset, which features most of the colour footage anyway.