World War II - Volumes 1-5

Starring:World War II
Studio: Madacy Records
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Good Stuff
Great Documentary Value but ...............
Not very good
Too simplistic
Ok transfer- not restored but definately worthwhile

World War II - Volumes 1-5
Starring: World War II
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Customer Reviews:

Good Stuff.......2003-02-07

This film was quite an eye opener for me. When you consider these films were created during the war. In 1943 the war was still in doubt. This is US war propaganda. This gets a zero in the politically correct category (which I love). Some of the films are so so. But there are a few that make you say "Holy Cow!!" One of them in particular shows how Hitler stonewalled the "League of Nations" about his plans of aggression, until it was dissolved. Does this remind you of a current issue? This is a period view of that time, so it has a certain "sharpness" in its case against the Axis powers.
I will say that the quality is not the best, I will also say that I consider my money well spent.

Great Documentary Value but ......................2000-08-18

The people who have produced these DVD's have done an extremely BAD job. Some of the documentaries are cut before their end, the advertised reels in the extras are less than a minute long and the scene index cannot be described. Just awful.

Stalin is presented as a good president fighting for the Democratic Values against the BAD Hitler. Weren't they both made of the same material?

Not very good.......2000-05-05

After reviewing the World at War Series I found that World War II Volumes 1-5 pale in comparison. The series tends to be a remake of old war propaganda news reels. The historical value tends more towards film making in the 1940's than to history during the second world war.The facts are shrouded in bias and there is no view point from the other side (i.e the axis powers). I was greatly dissapointed with this series and will sell these disks as soon as a buyer becomes available.

Too simplistic.......2000-05-01

I awaited this series with anticipation and got it a few days ago. Tomorrow I will sell them in to a "used store".

Why? Well, it simply a documentary in the style of war propaganda (and from what I now understand, large portions of it really is). In that respect, you can say it has some value, but I expected a documentary with some accuracy.

"The world consists of 25% land and 75% water. If you could rule as much land as possible, you'd rule the world. This was Hitlers theory!"

If you think that analysis with that depth is what you seek in a documentary, this is the set for you.

And I found also plain incorrect statements at many places.

A mistake to buy.

Ok transfer- not restored but definately worthwhile.......2000-03-05

These are directed by Frank Capra and include the seven "Why We Fight" films. They are excellent for a number of reasons,, but since they are famous you can read commentaries elsewhere about their value. This review is about this set's particular transfer to DVD.

The contents are:

Volume 1: "Prelude to War" 53 min., "The Nazi Strike", 43 min..

Volume 2: "Divide and Conquer" 57 min., "The Battle of Britain", 53 min..

Volume 3: "The Battle of Russia" 84 min., "The Battle of China", 64 min..

Volume 4: "War comes to America" 66 min., "D-Day the Normandy Invasion, 51 min.

Volume 5: "The World at War" 44 min. "Appointment in Tokyo" 55 min.

I am new to DVDs, and do not have a lot of experience in assessing relative quality. I will comment factually on what I have seen. This may well be a conversion from video because when I looked closely, I could see little lines that look like scan lines on a TV. This is satisfactory for viewing, but it has not been restored. The spots and scratches are what you would expect from historical newreels, but it is not a distraction. The biggest damage I saw was on volume 3, at the concluding statements of "The Battle of Russia" where the recording ends abruptly cutting the narrator off in mid sentence.

The added features aren't huge like you'd find on a heavily annotated Hitchcock Vertigo DVD, but what is there is interesting- especially some of the propaganda posters. Each of the 5 disks have:

6 single page biographies of some WWII personalities related to the particular volume.

2 propaganda posters

5 trivia questions (I liked them but there were too few!)

Brief exmples of Newsreels (less than a minute on one disk)

There are no subtitles available on this, nor alternate languages.

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