![]() the review site with a difference since 1999 |
||||||
04/20/2018 | ||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Jennifer Esposito Is Your Newest NCIS Agent in Season 1... Critics Are Split on Ghostbusters Reboot ... 'Respect is key': The Game, Snoop Dogg lead march to LA... Kristen Stewart's Sheer Dress At 'Equals' Premiere -- S... "A Slow Slipping Away"-- Kris Kristofferson's Long-Undi... Fox News' Roger Ailes Sued for Sexual Harassment by Ous... Garrison Keillor Retires from 'Prairie Home Companion' ... Jennifer Aniston is Pregnant: Star Steps Out in Loose D... Hiddleswift Is One Big Song Promotion -- A Theory... Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley files for ...
|
Share:
A&E Home Video presents "Only five thousand of the ninety-one thousand German soldiers who went into captivity ever saw their homeland again. The others died of disease and starvation in Soviet prison camps, victims of Hitler's refusal to face reality. Such was the legacy of Hitler's blunder at Stalingrad, a blunder that turned the tide on the Eastern Front."
DVD ReviewA&E Home Video and The History Channel produced Great Blunders of WWII in 1998, a documentary series originally aired under the less-sensationalistic title Military Blunders. The series uses authentic World War II footage to illustrate tales of strategic errors and technological failures by both the Allied and Axis forces which contributed to the ultimate outcome of the greatest War to date. The DVD includes 12 episodes (8 "standard" episodes plus 4 "bonus" episodes):The German Blunder at Dunkirk Hitler's Declaration of War on the US The Pilot Who Bombed London Hitler's Flying Blunders Battle of the Bulge Bridge Too Far Japan's Mistakes at Midway The Failure of the Kamikaze Death at Stalingrad Operation Sea Lion Bomb Plot to Kill Hitler The Scattering of Convoy PQ17 Great Blunders of WWII is nicely put together in the History Channel tradition, backed by solid research and presented with entertaining, well-written narration. The archival footage is fascinating; while it rarely corresponds directly to the events unfolding in each episode, it's sufficiently impressive that related footage exists at all. Shots of plane crashes, paratroopers by the hundreds and Japanese troops-in-training are included here, and while the narration is occasionally accompanied by generic clips of Hitler or Churchill, the visuals (especially some rare color footage) impart great energy and immediacy to the program. There's a bit of cross-episode repetition (for example, the failures of Goehring's Luftwaffe are central to two episodes) and more attention is paid to German military errors than those of the Japanese, but the content is always focused and interesting. Certain limitations of the programs' television format are apparent; commercial break fadeouts are sometimes awkwardly timed, and the endings of several episodes seem compressed and abrupt. One suspects that a more relaxed format might have allowed for better integration and pacing in a few cases, but this is a minor issue; footage of dead and damaged soldiers is quite graphic, so content restrictions do not appear to have been a problem. The tone of each program is serious, despite some episode retitlings ("Blunders of the Luftwaffe" has been renamed "Hitler's Flying Blunders" on the DVD packaging and menus)—while some of the events described have their humorous aspects, this isn't a "blooper" compilation by any means. It's an instructive, educational and occasionally frightening look at World War II, providing detailed looks at specific events which might have changed the course of world history had they turned out differently. Rating for Style: A- Rating for Substance: A- Image Transfer
Image Transfer Review: Great Blunders of WWII is presented in its original made-for-television 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. The bulk of the material consists of archival footage of widely varying quality, from scratchy, damaged, grainy black-and-white silent "home movie" material to fairly clean color footage; the only newly-produced visual elements are illustrative maps and credits. The DVD is drawn from broadcast-quality videotape and looks acceptable given the source, relatively clean and solid despite frequent softness and some scan-line flicker here and there. Thankfully, the program's producers took the time to ensure low-frame-rate silent footage was transferred at the proper speed, and it's nice to see so much valuable historical material preserved in one place. It's a shame that higher-resolution film-scan transfers of some of the better-quality footage weren't made; as it is, the DVD image is not great, but it's certainly watchable. Image Transfer Grade: C- Audio Transfer
Audio Transfer Review: A&E presents Great Blunders of WWII with a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track, largely centered with subtle left/right/surround envelopment in the musical score (intentional or otherwise). It's standard TV documentary sound, with all narration and sound effects centered and almost no bass at all, but the audio is perfectly serviceable and cleanly mastered for DVD. Audio Transfer Grade: B- Disc ExtrasStatic menuScene Access with 32 cues and remote access Packaging: Amaray 2 Discs 1-Sided disc(s) Layers: dual Extra Extras:
Extras Grade: D Final CommentsAnyone with an interest in the real story of World War II will find A&E's Great Blunders of WWII fascinating viewing. Well-researched history is brought to life with incredible film footage shot during the War, and you're likely to learn a few things not mentioned in most history books. A&E's 2-disc set is cleanly mastered considering the material's made-for-TV nature, and it's a fine value with 12 episodes of the popular History Channel series. Recommended. |
|
Become a Reviewer | Search | Review Vault | Reviewers Readers | Webmasters | Privacy | Contact |
||||
|