Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43795 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-04-23
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 210 minutes

Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
DVD 9
English
Region 0
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Instant Scene Access
Hitlers Henchman Biographies

Synopsis
Only original colour footage is used, much of it buried for sixty years, as we witness scenes from the war taken from a German point of view.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic colour viewing of the Third Reich
This must be the best in colour footage for the Third Reich, it brings home how real the events were as watching the two part DVD in full colour makes it look like it was filmed yesterday. Anyone interested in WW2 history must get this, it is a must for all who love to look at Germany the way it was before the total destruction to many of its city's and landmarks.

"The Third Reich in Colour" - but a lot more besides
Anyone interested in the Second World War will find this DVD interesting and well worthwhile. The title, however, does not do the DVD justice for, while there is much footage of the the Third Reich and wartime life in Germany, there is also considerable footage from the UK, USA and the Pacific theatre.

The key to this title is "in Colour". The producers (Spiegel TV, 2001 for the UK's Channel 5) have clearly tried to make some sense of the chronology of WW2 but have been limited to what is available in colour footage. The two parts of this DVD won't help those unfamiliar with WW2 understand the chronology but, for those with some knowledge, the two parts might seem odd but certainly won't affect the value of seeing this colour film. The BFI website indicates that this TV documentary was made in three parts - for more detail of the contents see http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/680465?view=synopsis.

As well as showing footage of some familiar events, but in colour rather than black and white, the value of this DVD is the unfamiliar. Life went on, and early colour film buffs covered minor and ordinary events that rarely feature in the classic documentaries about the war. There are extracts from the work of famous film directors while in uniform, some of which was never screened owing to censors, and extracts from both German and Allied propaganda films. But, most of all, it is the work of private individuals, both civilians and military, that make this DVD unique. Some footage is just like a home movie and it helps to remind one that, even in total war, with all its horrors, life did indeed go on.

Robert Powell's narration is excellent, and film buffs and historians will be interested to know about the colour stock used when colour film was rare indeed and expensive. My only quibble is his misuse of English when he makes an all-too-common error and refers to "the HMS Ivanhoe" (it's never "the HMS", as it makes no sense!) and, also, he refers to this ship as a cruiser when, in fact, she was a British I class destroyer (built 1937 and lost on 1 September 1940).

Overall, this is an excellent DVD and a worthwhile addition to any library - it is certainly different.

Colour: the difference !
Best dvd of the Third Reich in colour...