The History Of World War II DVD

A History of World War II is exactly that: a three-hour documentary series presenting the story of the Second World War through excellent archive footage and authoritative narration. Introduced by Robert Hardy, this is the backbone of the Chronicles of War DVD series, giving an overview of the entire war and providing a foundation for more specialised titles such as "The Six Theatres of WWII" and "The Battle of Britain". Inevitably there is some overlap with material from other titles, and while there isn't the detail of Granada's monumental The World at War, this... is a most creditable, concise presentation. "Europe in Flames" sets the scene from 1918 to the end of the Blitz, with "War on all Fronts" covers the German invasion of Russia to conflict in the Far East and the Allied invasion of Europe. The final film, "The Road to Victory" documents the fall of Berlin and the atomic bombing of Japan, bringing the war to an end in the summer of 1945. It is a history which cannot be recounted too many times, the sober presentation and powerful imagery bearing witness to the best and worst of humanity. On the DVD: The 4:3 ratio picture makes an excellent job of presenting original archive material of variable quality. The menu system, however, is counter-intuitive and makes it look as if there is less on the discs than there really is. There is only one extra, but it is of very high quality; a complete 15-minute British newsreel film from the 1940s about the need to rebuild Germany in the aftermath of the conflict. --Gary S. Dalkin [show more]

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