*** World War II Documentaries ***

[Ironclad]

I saw it when it first came out and took the view then that its eastern front coverage was totally insufficient. If only 4 episodes (or less than 4) were devoted to the decisive theatre of the war that just demonstrates the point. In fairness it was well made, with a genuine attempt to address available sources.

There are still some good documentary makers around and in recent years there was a good (if too short - only 4 episodes - so abbreviated coverage after Stalingrad) series on the Russo-German war. However there is a fair amount of dross when it comes to documenting past (and current) military matters. My pet hates are the use of actors reconstructions or scenes from current life in TV factual programmes about the past.

[Jevhaddah_Slitherine]

I personly look at the World at War as .. How can I put it.... A big quilted blanket. It covers a little bit of everything and is very informative in its own right giving a good idea of the flow of the entire conflict.

If I want to gain more indepth knowledge about a particular episode of the war, then I would study a tome, DvD etc that specialised in that particular topic.

For instance, I would watch the World at War episodes that covered the Eastern Front, then I would look for books and Dvd's that specialised in that area and covered it in greater depth.

It would be impossible to make a World at War series that covered in sufficient depth and detail everything that occured in WW2.

Just my tuppence worth


Jev

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin
BTW, you're welcome for we Yanks keeping the rump of the British Empire alive during the WWII years. [8|]

KG

Normally I'm on your side with a fair few arguments on these boards, but you are out of order there, my friend.

You weren't the only "...keep the rump of the British Empire alive" during WWII. There were plenty of British that died for the cause also.

And as Neilster said...he didn't disparage the actual input by the Americans during either war, or indeed any other conflict. What he did allude to was the fact that alot of US documentaries are biased.

If you fail to distinguish between media propaganda effort and real life effort, then that's your lookout...not anyone elses.

Ok, my admiration for the Aussies, who were part of the empire, is well known, but I crossed the line with that careless remark. In the context of recent events, it was in extremely bad taste. I sincerely apologize. [:o]

[Warfare1]

ORIGINAL: Adam Parker

ORIGINAL: Warfare1

Ken Burns is doing a 15 hour series on WWII that will be aired on PBS in September 2007.

It looks like this one will be a limited focus on the "American Experience" using the home-stories of some scattered towns as litmus in an effort to put the likes of Studs Terkel and Ambrose's "Citizen Soldiers" on screen.

One can sense an intent to recreate the spirit of the WW2 "Over There", with the need to educate the US public for further sacrifice in Iraq/The Stans.

Alternately he may go the opposite route, seeing his outrage at the waste of life and focus on death in the Civil War, by reinforcing the lesson that the US WW2 experience had a definable end goal, whereas the "War on Terror" seemingly has none ie: how much should the sacrifice endure?

That will be interesting to see.

Ken Burns' quality is usually top notch. However, it is probably as you suspect: He will focus on a few combatants during WWII. Hopefully, he will also present the larger war in context.

It seems that a person may have get a few separate documentaries to provide a complete picture of WWII.

[JudgeDredd]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin
BTW, you're welcome for we Yanks keeping the rump of the British Empire alive during the WWII years. [8|]

KG

Normally I'm on your side with a fair few arguments on these boards, but you are out of order there, my friend.

You weren't the only "...keep the rump of the British Empire alive" during WWII. There were plenty of British that died for the cause also.

And as Neilster said...he didn't disparage the actual input by the Americans during either war, or indeed any other conflict. What he did allude to was the fact that alot of US documentaries are biased.

If you fail to distinguish between media propaganda effort and real life effort, then that's your lookout...not anyone elses.

Ok, my admiration for the Aussies, who were part of the empire, is well known, but I crossed the line with that careless remark. In the context of recent events, it was in extremely bad taste. I sincerely apologize. [:o]

Accepted graciously.

Everyone who's anyone knows the sacrafices the US made in personel and anyone who doesn't isn't anyone.

One can only hope that those kind of sacrafices and on such a scale will not be needed in the future.

Amen to peace.

[Warfare1]

I taped a bunch of documentaries onto VHS tapes over the years, and would love to get them on dvd, but alas they are either not available, or out of stock.

My fear is that the way history is being shoved onto the back burner by mainstream TV, many these may not be available at all.

Has anyone seen the documentary called "TANKS!"? It was a multi-episode doc about different German tanks in WWII. I thought it was quite well done.

I also enjoyed the documentary called "The Russian German War".
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... shistoryA/

But I would love to get my hands on the Battlefield dvds. I consider these some of the very best docs I have seen. I have the Leyte Gulf one taped on VHS which I have watched again and again. Gotta love that naval action [;)]

Which kinda brings me to another question:

Are there any WWII documentaries about the whole Pacific War?

I just find watching mainstream TV to be a wasteland. Even current History Television seems to be veering away from the number of docs and movies it shows, to showing CSI Miami of all things [8|]

[KG Erwin]

There really isn't, to my knowledge, a single series that encompasses the entire Pacific Theater. To do so would be a huge undertaking. I have another doc called "Hell in the Pacific", which is very good, and a DVD which I've seen called "Victory in the Pacific".

They all have to be taken together, and allow the individual to draw his or her own conclusions.

Now, taking this a step further (and fully deserving of a separate thread), there's the single-volume books that provide an overview of the Pacific War. I have some opinions on that (naturally), but I won't get into it here.

[Warfare1]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

There really isn't, to my knowledge, a single series that encompasses the entire Pacific Theater. To do so would be a huge undertaking. I have another doc called "Hell in the Pacific", which is very good, and a DVD which I've seen called "Victory in the Pacific".

They all have to be taken together, and allow the individual to draw his or her own conclusions.

Now, taking this a step further (and fully deserving of a separate thread), there's the single-volume books that provide an overview of the Pacific War. I have some opinions on that (naturally), but I won't get into it here.

I did some searching and I did find "Crusade in the Pacific" which includes 20 half-hour episodes of the whole war in the Pacific. I never heard of it, yet it is still available [:)]

Anyone heard of it or seen it?

Reviews for it go:

from GOOD:
http://tinyurl.com/yvox2g

to AVERAGE:
http://tinyurl.com/yqsh7r

I really don't want to get stuck with something I'll never want to watch again.

For now, I'll probably go for the 26 episode World at War.

Now if only I could get something on the Pacific War.

I have plenty of books on the Pacific - even though I want more - heh. Books on carrier operations look like my next purchase...

It's an eternal quest... does it ever end? [X(]

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: Warfare1

..It's an eternal quest... does it ever end? [X(]

No it doesn't. Once the passion grabs hold of you, your thirst for more never seems to be satisfied. That's the curse of a researcher.

There's more -- once you can start pointing out factual errors in a given documentary or book, you know you're hooked.

[Adam Parker]

ORIGINAL: Warfare1

I taped a bunch of documentaries onto VHS tapes over the years, and would love to get them on dvd, but alas they are either not available, or out of stock.

My fear is that the way history is being shoved onto the back burner by mainstream TV, many these may not be available at all.

Has anyone seen the documentary called "TANKS!"? It was a multi-episode doc about different German tanks in WWII. I thought it was quite well done.

I've got "Tanks" and it's definitely available on DVD as a 3 disc set.

The thing with specialised documentaries like the one on Russia is that very often they only run for 50 minutes and they show King Tigers storming in Barbarossa or Shermans at Dunkirk. I HATE that [:D]

I bought a combined DVD/Video player/recorder last year and it's a breeze to copy tape to disc with one button. A worthy investment if you need a second DVD machine and very cheap now too without hard drive.

[Warfare1]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

ORIGINAL: Warfare1

..It's an eternal quest... does it ever end? [X(]

No it doesn't. Once the passion grabs hold of you, your thirst for more never seems to be satisfied. That's the curse of a researcher.

There's more -- once you can start pointing out factual errors in a given documentary or book, you know you're hooked.

Funny thing is that I have loved history even when I was a young sprite. I devoured books from my school library. Before the advent of computer games and CGI movies I was reading about Napoleon, Caesar, The Civil War, etc for days on end....

Then I found wargames. The thought that I could now game battles that I had always read about, was a dream come true.

I remember picking up the board game "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". I skipped school and spent the whole day in the local library reading the rule book. My imagination was on fire...

Then came computer wargames. I was in heaven.

Funny thing is that I thought I was relatively alone in this little hobby of mine. No one else I knew cared to talk about history, let alone thought about playing wargames.

Then came the internet. And my discovery that there are all these lovers of history and wargames the world over. Truly a "Unified Field Theory" of history and wargame enthusiasts.

Frankly, I could talk about history and wargames all day. I never tire of it.

[Adam Parker]

PS: Re the Pacific, don't get "Victory at Sea". It's a 6 disc set covering the Atlantic too but it was great for the 1950's and a perfect example of filling time by showing the same video over and over. And over [:(]

[Warfare1]

ORIGINAL: Adam Parker

PS: Re the Pacific, don't get "Victory at Sea". It's a 6 disc set covering the Atlantic too but it was great for the 1950's and a perfect example of filling time by showing the same video over and over. And over [:(]

I had heard a lot of good things about "Victory at Sea".

Then a PBS station started playing a few episodes. I thought "great" I'll tape the sucker.

I started to watch the first episode, and I thought "huh?" I kept watching. It didn't grab me at all. It seemed very dull.

I stopped taping it and never watched it again.

Maybe I'm missing something others see in it?

I know tastes can differ, and I can be very forgiving when it comes to history, but even my patience wore thin with this one....

[KG Erwin]

The best thing about "Victory At Sea" is the stirring music. Other than that, it's pretty dated.

[Skeleton]

Mr. Parker is dead on in everything he stated about "A World At War" I picked the boxed set up about a year and a half ago and could watch it every night (which the wife would never allow) and never tire of it. Among the best ever made. Fascinating seeing some of the actual participants among the interviews. I did not find it biased in the slightest.

[KG Erwin]

Now, as for a decent overview, I can recommend "The Battle History of the US Marines", another History Channel documentary. If you want a good background on how the USMC evolved, this is the one to see. Lots of commentary by USMC vet and premier historian Col Joseph H. Alexander and many others.

As a general commentary, the United States Marine Corps has been outstanding in offering quality material about themselves, and for good reason. Since its inception, the USMC has had to repeatedly fight to maintain its existence, so the PR campaign is understandable.

[General Quarters]

My prediction about the Ken Burns film is that he will focus a lot on the "social context": the home front, changing role of women, war propaganda, mobilization of masses behind the war effort in various countries, refuges, etc., etc.

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: General Quarters

My prediction about the Ken Burns film is that he will focus a lot on the "social context": the home front, changing role of women, war propaganda, mobilization of masses behind the war effort in various countries, refuges, etc., etc.

Seems appropriate, as the vast majority of the world's population were trying to live their everyday lives as opposed to the small percentage facing each other on the battlefields.

[Warfare1]

ORIGINAL: Marcus the leper

Mr. Parker is dead on in everything he stated about "A World At War" I picked the boxed set up about a year and a half ago and could watch it every night (which the wife would never allow) and never tire of it. Among the best ever made. Fascinating seeing some of the actual participants among the interviews. I did not find it biased in the slightest.

I think I'm "sold" on this one. [:)]

[Warfare1]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

Now, as for a decent overview, I can recommend "The Battle History of the US Marines", another History Channel documentary. If you want a good background on how the USMC evolved, this is the one to see. Lots of commentary by USMC vet and premier historian Col Joseph H. Alexander and many others.

As a general commentary, the United States Marine Corps has been outstanding in offering quality material about themselves, and for good reason. Since its inception, the USMC has had to repeatedly fight to maintain its existence, so the PR campaign is understandable.

Sounds like something right up my alley.

Although, I can't seem to find it available anywhere, and there's almost no info about it.