WWII in HD (2009) User Reviews

I do not see this as Propaganda at all!

[wanglese · 10/10 · 11 November 2010]

Watched this. 12 peoples accounts of what they saw and experienced.

Not propaganda. There were 2 sides to this conflict. The evidence is all around for anyone who isn't a product of Post WW2 post modernist education.

Japan was an absolute agressor, from WAY before 1941 (The Japanese behaviour in China is WELL documented). The Nazis were also known for the horrors they inflicted.

Some people started the wars. Thank god the allies ended it so that idiots from Latvia can post nonsense without living in fear of their being rounded up.

War is terrible. Sometimes people have to fight them because to not do so contributes to the pitiless oppression of those who want to oppress.

This documentary is excellent, real, and gets a 10 out of 10 from me,because it's an account from people who were actually involved, and saw it with their own eyes.

Superb

[Calaboss · 10/10 · 19 November 2009]

This was a superb History Channel documentary following the stories of 12 Americans, eleven men and one woman, through both theaters of World War Two. All ten one hour parts were very compelling.

When the first part started I was worried when I saw the credits listed that Rob Lowe, LL Cool J, etc. were going to be in it. I was afraid this was going to be a movie and not a documentary as advertised. I was quickly relieved to find out they were just lending their voices to the words of those that were there. Some of those featured are no longer with us, and needed a voice loan. Others are still with us and their own words flowed seamlessly from older to younger.

From Pearl Harbor to V-E and V-J days, and all the horrors of war in between, this documentary covered it all with first person accounts that were aided by a great deal of recently discovered color footage taken during the war. I can't give you any spoilers here. It's history, and everyone knows the basic tale, but the personal experiences of those that lived it are always dramatic, wrenching stories.

As is mentioned at the end of the conclusive part 10, over 16 million Americans served in WW II and only about 10 percent of them are alive today. The more of these individual stories that get recorded, the happier I'll be, because we shouldn't forget. There are no more stories coming from WW I vets, and not many of them were put to film. Let's grab the WW II stories while we still can.

Not to be missed.

War is a horribly fascinating thing, and this program enforces that idea.

[donowitz · 8/10 · 24 November 2010]

WWII in HD is (in my opinion) one of the best series History has produced in the last few years. In it's storytelling style it is cohesive, which is surprising because most project such as this, with multiply narratives, skip around. However, WWII in HD flows smoothly, its transitions between characters and resolutions to every episode is clean cut without being dismissive.

It is unrelenting in its pace without loosing the core of the story or demeaning them. At times, it is horrifying (the opening episode to the series, Darkness Falls, comes to mind) and at other times, it is triumphant and then the next second, heartbreaking. The vast views of the war (from a combat nurse to infantry to war correspondents) to the amount of theaters included (North Africa to Europe, a mention of Mediterranean and to the Pacific) WWII in HD sets itself apart incredibly well.

Unlike a previous review said, this documentary wasn't meant to be an in depth view at the theaters of war, but rather an examination of what the characters experienced. If you want a general overview that rehashes the same Brass-oriented view of the war, then by all means, go watch World War II in Color. This program was about the people, what it was like for someone on the front lines - whether that meant caring for the wounded, or carrying a weapon - instead of hearing the same rehashed story from a General's view. The narration of each character is very distinct, all incredibly memorable and each bring something to the program. I'd definitely recommend this program to anyone and everyone.

I give an 8/10 just because I wish they had included more of the Mediterranean and the China-Burma-India theater.

A Real Eye-Opener On The War In The Pacific

[ccthemovieman-1 · 29 November 2009]

The first thing many viewers tend to do, myself included, is compare this to the 2007 World War II series by Ken Burns. I won't rate the two except to say they are both exceptional works of film. The main difference is the amount of color and gruesome scenes in "WWII In HD" and the amount of time devoted to the home front in "Ken Burns' The War." Other than that, both offer a very emotional ride. The amount of amazing stories that come out of World War II seem limitless.

The most striking thing about this series (1) was all the color photography; (2) were all the gruesome scenes of mutilated, dead bodies and men clinging to life; (3) the emphasis on the Pacific Theater. I really appreciated the latter because this all the intense and brutal battles on those Pacific islands have never gotten "the play" the European Theater has received via movies, TV shows and documentaries. Far more people know all about Hilter and his Nazi regime than they do about exactly what went on in places like Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and other islands. The carnage and what happened in those places was unbelievable to me. This program did an amazing job of education us on that key element of World War II.

I received a PM from a man who worked on this project and he detailed some of the problems they had in bringing this to us, the public. I thank him, though, and all who worked on it for a memorable TV series, to say the least! Great stuff. I was very sorry to send it end, which is the highest compliment I can give it.

"WWII in HD", also known as "WWII - Lost Films"

[Tomfrost · 10/10 · 27 November 2010]

The Series starts with an astonishing shot of New York Grand Central Station passing from 2009 to 1939. It also shows magnificent shots of the most famous WWII campaigns like the Attack on Pearl Harbor, D-Day, War at the Pacific. Really great shots. I think the main title maybe miss the point, but it is the second one is accurate. We do not really have high-definition quality of WWII footage, but the best I have ever seen. I think it is impossible to improve the quality of this kind of material to real HD, because of its source material, which of poorly quality itself. For me the creators of this series restored footage on WWII at a really high level. I think the color is its what this series makes successful. This type of documentary is a new look of WWII, because of color footage and lost and unseen films. Comparing to another good documentary "World at War" I prefer "WWII in HD" because of its original new style of showing WWII. The first one shows more details of the campaigns but the second one is the essence of the war. Series shows War simultaneously through interesting real-life stories and historical lessons with convincing, brutal footage supported by color. The stories are convincing and intensified by really interesting testimonies of the war veterans. From this series I found out lots of interesting things about Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was the longest serving American President. I did not know this figure almost at all. I think he passed to history by becoming the greatest American president of all time. I highly recommend this series. It is a memorable and haunting series about WWII, so I gave it maximum rating.

A word on "HD"

[mattmccleary · 9/10 · 24 February 2010]

I think people are generally misunderstanding that just because the film footage is not as clear or detailed as recent films that this is not "high definition". It is a high definition transfer of the footage we have of the war.

This is just about as good as we are going to get this footage. A good complaint would be that this footage would generally be properly displayed in a 1.33:1 format, but people are unfairly complaining of the video quality of the film footage.

The work they did here is generally fantastic, even if it is not in the correct aspect ratio.

Compelling

[pepgooner · 8/10 · 28 May 2022]

Gripping viewing.

The further away from WW2 we get, the closer it seems, to me.

This series pulls no punches and presents war in all its horrible details, and it's all the more compelling for it.

Emotionally draining, but somehow hard to turn away from.

High recommendation.

The last episode makes the whole series worth it

[Saul-Magal · 10/10 · 25 January 2021]

The last episode is absolutely superb and inspiring. I cried like a child.

Must-Watch

[gpoltack-12458 · 9/10 · 19 February 2023]

This is one of the most compelling, well researched and personalized accounts of multiple people who were involved in the war effort in WWII. It brings to life many never seen before images. This accomplishes 2 things: it brings old footage into the new century but also provides an unfiltered, grim glimpse of the horrors of war.

You follow several people in their journeys through the major theaters of the war. Sometimes you wonder why their stories are important. Then you realize how very easy it was to become a casualty of war, which makes it all the more heroic, terrifying and mind boggling that they were able to survive the most brutal and unforgiving elements of war.

This is as good as it gets for any viewer, casual or otherwise.

Great presentation of WW2

[ahsmith-04953 · 8/10 · 19 February 2022]

The series was good. Great narration from the narrator but some of the shots of film were reused here and there, maybe due to not enough footage. They don't go into great detail in the combat strategies of each battle especially the naval combat. A good overview of the war and awesome retelling of soldiers stories along with their interviews.

Good info bad editing

[edluczak · 6/10 · 5 September 2020]

Gary Sinese is great at narrating this series. The footage is excellent but fir some reason they jump back and forth from Europe to Asia theaters of war. That in itself is not bad but they cut when least expected and it takes a monitor so sometimes to realize your on another story. Just poor editing on this series. Excellent material but again the editing hurts it

Very U.S. centric

[wisemanmatthew · 1/10 · 22 April 2022]

Just kind of browses over the war chronology and skips to the American part of the war which is a letdown. It's absolute garbage just for that reason alone and so I stopped watching into the first ten minutes.

Riveting Viewing

[brianberwyn · 22 November 2009]

Having seen the 1970's World At War series plus many other WWII old color documentaries I was not expecting much new in WWII in HD. Much to my surprise I found the entire series absolutely compelling and I watched it all in one day recorded off the TV. It is so much more than just restored old color movie clips (that are very far from HD quality). The story-telling around a number of real-life American war veterans, including recent interviews with them, brings the five year history of the US role in WWII into fresh focus today. The role of Allied military forces is barely covered, however, furthering the misconception that the US alone won the war. Although the story jumps between war theaters around the world the brilliant editing shocks the senses with scene after scene of the horrifying cruelty inflicted on soldiers and civilians throughout the world. Graphic footage of blasted bodies and wounded children is very hard to watch but the end result is the most effective anti-war film I have ever seen. The fanatical resistance of the Japanese military plus their diabolical cruelty caused tens of thousands of US soldiers to die in epic battles on small Pacific islands. Now I understand better why Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs rather than risk up to a million more US soldier deaths in an invasion of the Japanese mainland (I just wish he had given civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few hours to evacuate beforehand). The combination of actual color footage plus unique editing makes this series a must-see even if it takes nearly eight hours to watch. Very highly recommended.

The personal accounts are outstanding, the rest...

[grendelkhan · 6/10 · 26 August 2013]

The hook of this documentary series is the footage in color and hi-def. In that, it succeeds. As an account of the war, with its complexity, it fails miserably. As a collection of first hand recollections, it has some very moving moments. In all, it's a bit of a mixed bag.

The series is only looking at the American aspects of the war, with the Pacific getting the stronger treatment. This is in part due to the greater amount of color footage shot in the Pacific theater. Some of it has been seen before, as far back as the 1970s, in The World at War. The series also adds dramatic presentations of personal accounts, ala Ken Burns' work. However, it does this when it has the real subjects in interviews and their conversations, however halting and unpolished they may be, are far more powerful than those delivered by actors. The use of an actor narration, where the subject has passed on, makes sense; but, not when the subject is still alive and captured on film.

The Good:

Some of the footage has been rarely seen, or not seen at all by younger audiences. It doesn't shy away from showing the horror of the carnage, which is something that people need to remember in an era where war is presented like a video game, rather than death and destruction. A common theme amongst the veterans is that they witnessed terrible things and hope that the world can learn from its mistakes and settle things peacefully, so that no one has to suffer like that again.

Some of the stories are heartbreaking, especially Rocky Blunt, who thought he was untouched by Army conditioning to kill, until it came down to his life or a German soldier. There is no Hollywood gloss as he tells, agonizingly, how he slit a German soldier's throat to keep him from giving away Blunt's position. It is obvious that he is haunted by that act to this day. Army Nurse June Wandry's account (via a dramatized narration) about treating the survivors of concentration camps brings tears to your eyes.

The series also features some minority voices, via a member of the 442 Regimental Combat Team (the Nissei unit) and a pilot of the Tuskeege Airmen. These men had to endure prejudice as well as the horrors of war.

The Bad:

The background of the war is glossed over badly and one never gets a sense of the other side as anything other than "the enemy." The Eastern Front is completely ignored, as if the suffering of the Russian people is of little consequence. Allied forces are rarely presented, as if the US was alone in the war, giving a rather distorted perspective. Some of the footage is repeated at different points, suggesting that images have been placed in sections to illustrate the narrative, not based on where and when they were actually shot. Finally, the series is over-narrated in sections, when images can tell the story.

In summary, if you want a comprehensive history of the war, with all of its complexity, then this isn't the series to provide that. The British series The World as War is the one you want. If you want to hear first hand accounts and see color footage, then this will suffice.

WWII for the A.D.D. Generation, not the Greatest Generation

[pultzat · 3/10 · 22 March 2010]

I guess to start with a positive, the color footage is quite interesting and fun to see...but I'd really like to see it for more than 1-1.5 sec's at a time. I noticed this the most while watching the documentary with some music on instead of the narrative - unfortunately this product is yet another victim of the "MTV" style of rapid-fire editing. If you want a good WWII documentary that might suck you in a bit, try the WORLD AT WAR, produced in 1973. It's in Black and White (so what), and is much more satisfying and includes a lot more detail into campaigns that happened outside of direct American influence. My three stars are a reflection of my disappointment with the documentary and to compensate for the almost ridiculous 9.7 stars (at the time of writing).

High Definition

[armadillo35 · 21 November 2009]

The series is absolutely compelling and moving. That said, it seems as if everything these days is 'high definition', including sunglasses. Perhaps we more have a situation of 1080p fuzzy-grainy footage than anything else. If the film had been restored more, I might not be sharing this quibble, but leaving blotched frames and long scratch marks is not so much 'verisimilitude' than it is plain old wet-gated film with minimal digital intervention. The title is true high definition, and whoever did it should get an award. Again, this series is absolutely must-see; nothing I have seen this year on television beats it. The lead sequence on each episode featuring the little shivering Asian boy and the tank emerging from smoke and mist must rank among the most stirring images anywhere.

Epic Battles of WW2

[KU_Jayhawks · 7/10 · 8 April 2022]

This series is sort of like an extended, American version of "They Shall Not Grow Old"; it's a first hand account of some of the major battles of WW2 as experienced by those who were there.

It's told in chronological order so it does give you a sense of how the war played out, but it doesn't give any kind of historical context about the war itself (what all the fighting was about). For that I would highly recommend "The World at War" series from 1973.

But if you're just looking for some epic war footage and some unbelievable stories from those involved, by all means watch this. It's very good. But also check out the far superior "They Shall Not Grow Old".

Misleading Title

[Snapscape · 4/10 · 25 November 2012]

I went into this expecting to see WWII but all I got was propaganda in the form of a boring dramatized presentation. Only covers the American aspect of WWII and completely ignores anything before Pearl Harbor and anything after which does not have American involvement.

There's some unseen footage but nothing worth paying for. They even narrated over the voices of the interviewed veterans using celebrity voices. The video quality is good considering the source material. Other than that, there's not much to say in terms of compliments.

If you're looking for a complete documentary that covers all aspects of the war, then 'The World at War' is by far the best and it was produced in '73. I also recommend 'WWII in Color' which is a simplified version but does contain information not documented in 'World at War'.

Absolutely Gripping

[CryptoGuy · 20 November 2009]

I cannot get enough of this series. I think it is the best done thus far. It is much better than Ken Burns's documentary, in my opinion.

The footage is unbelievable. The personal stories are heart wrenching. I love the way they go back and forth from the actual people, who are in their 80's now, and the actors voicing the story. Perfect. WWII In HD is well thought out and produced documentary. They could easily take this and turn into a dramatic mini-series. Hmmm, note to self...

It also has a great soundtrack. I wonder if they will offer it in stores or online.It's just so moving. Well done. Now let's see one on Korea and Vietnam.

great archival footage

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 15 January 2016]

This is a History Channel TV series pulling together the colored footage made in WWII and personal accounts of the war from some Americans. It is ten hour-long TV episodes. Some of the rare footages have never been shown on TV. This is a very traditional telling of the war. The overview is nothing new or surprising. The personal accounts give some harrowing first person witness to the battles. It's also a source of some rather slow sections of non-combat recollections. The Gary Sinise narration is functional but I would have liked an older voice with more gravitas. The combat footage can be quite bloody and gruesome. The color film makes it shockingly new since most WWII footage has always been black and white. It's bringing the old war into a new light.

Would be great,....

[camaro16 · 3/10 · 2 April 2010]

...if only we took away politics. This is just another propaganda material, which justify some allied war crimes and demonize Germans and Japanese. It's understandable when you make such movies in war time, but it's not understandable when you make them 50 years after. In reality there is no bad or good people, there is no evil ones or holy ones, there are just people, some are worse, some are better. OK, if we put politics away, then there is left a bunch of good and not so good quality WWII war footage. It's very educational and impressive to watch. You can get sneak peak into real WWII world, not Hollywood-made one. Movie is made chronologically and starts with Guadalcanal operation, some intro is made before. Movie tells the story of American version of WWII - Pacific front, North Africa, Italy and France, so if you are more interested in eastern front and events before 7th December of 1941, this movie is not for you. I can't give this movie more than 3 stars because of massive propaganda. If you are easily influenced, don't watch it, otherwise get ready for some brainwashing and good luck!

Really liked it...

[giavonna0308 · 21 November 2009]

(This is only like my second or third time writing a comment on a film/series, sorry if it is confusing.) I did not expect much out of this series just because I have seen so much on World War II, but I gave it a chance and to my surprise it was very good. The information was basic knowledge but the film was good. I usually stick to books so there was a lot of film that I have never seen before. My mother, who does not know much about History watched this with me and did learn a lot but not so much to where the information was confusing to her. I think the best show out of the 10 episode series is "Glory and Guts." All in all this was a good series. I am going to buy it and add it to my collection.

Awesome Video but too much false propaganda!

[kanjeep · 5/10 · 23 February 2024]

It was so cool to see video I hadn't seen before, but I was very disappointed that Gary Sinese agreed to narrate this show with all of the obvious propaganda. As a Marine Corps vet and WWII historian, it's always sad to see them publish a story/movie without checking backgrounds and verifying information. It was pretty obvious that Mr Werner was making up most of what he was saying. Thankfully most of the other veterans gave better accounts. I watched it the second time with the sound off and it was much better. We're losing our greatest generation and it's important to make sure we save the truth about them. Semper Fi!

WW2 Began in 1939!

[mrjdarcher · 5/10 · 15 April 2021]

Ok just pointing out that the Americans were late to the war and rest of the world were officially at war from 1939 to 1945. Many Americans thought from 1939 against the Germans with the RAF and Polish Free Forces. The German regions this began before then with Holocaust. But this program does follow a Austrian Jew.

Great Britain successfully defeated the Germans in the battle of Britain, Had the Americans not got involved, it would have been a stalemate. Britain began to take back Africa, but the suicidal size of Japan was difficult for the British Empire and China to fight., The Germans lost the war against Britain. Britain only required USSR and America's help with Europe and Asia. It was a world war and everyone did their part, without the other nations it would have been a longer war.,

Lots of footage I haven't seen before

[RoundTripTicket · 17 November 2009]

But there's a lot I have. I was hoping for some new color B17 footage, but what they have is nearly all recycled from "Memphis Belle" (the original, not the Hollywood).

Some of the footage is clearly black & white that's been rather crudely colorized, but most of it is real color.

Although the footage is "restored", I don't see how that was done. A lot of the film is scratched and that is all left in. (Scratches and other defects can be removed by filling in the damage with what's on previous and subsequent adjacent frames.) Overall, though, it is great to see the stuff in color and in HD.

It's too bad, though, that nearly all the WW2 documentaries are from the American/British point of view. I'd like to see some from the Japanese, German, Soviet and Italian viewpoints.