I am one of those people that repetitively watch the a given program. I have a fascination with the emotions shown by such films as December 7th by John Ford and others like Crusade in the Pacific, Airpower and the 20th Century. If I had to select one that best captures the raw emotions and intensity of the Second World War it would be the 26 episode Victory At Sea. The question:
What is your favorite documentary on World War II?
Thanks
DJ
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Best Documentary on World War II
210cav
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 06:18 PM UTC
Halfyank
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 06:41 PM UTC
Victory at Sea, hands down. I think I've seen most of the major documentaries and VAS still holds my attention time and time again. Partly it's the narration, and a very large part the music, but really it's the whole package. It also isn't just for "floaty" guys. Ships, planes, tanks, infantry, it's got them all.
james_mcdougall_85
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 03:36 AM UTC
The World at War in my opinion is the best documentary series about WW2. The whole series is very powerful and the last episode (26. Remember) really sums up the whole conflict.
It also has an impressive list of eyewitnesses including James Stewart, Lord Mountbatten, Albert Speer and Karl Dönitz to name a few.
Regards
Jamie
It also has an impressive list of eyewitnesses including James Stewart, Lord Mountbatten, Albert Speer and Karl Dönitz to name a few.
Regards
Jamie
210cav
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 04:35 AM UTC
Quoted Text
The World at War in my opinion is the best documentary series about WW2. The whole series is very powerful and the last episode (26. Remember) really sums up the whole conflict.
It also has an impressive list of eyewitnesses including James Stewart, Lord Mountbatten, Albert Speer and Karl Dönitz to name a few.
Regards
Jamie
Nice call. That is certainly an impressive series. I especially recall the episodes dealing with the occupation of Holland and the terrible ones relating the plight of "undesireable" people to concentration camps. Horrible, but enlightening regarding man's inhumanity to man. Makes me wonder if we have a devil when man are so evil.
DJ
hogarth
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 07:23 AM UTC
I have 2 favorites. I loved the World at War from the time I was a kid. To me, when I think of WW2 today, those are the images I see.
My other favorite was the Battlefield series, which were 2 hours each and somewhat dry, but they appeared on PBS here in the USA right around the time I returned to the hobby of modeling, so to me they go hand in hand. And why aren't these episodes available on DVD?!
Rob
My other favorite was the Battlefield series, which were 2 hours each and somewhat dry, but they appeared on PBS here in the USA right around the time I returned to the hobby of modeling, so to me they go hand in hand. And why aren't these episodes available on DVD?!
Rob
hellbent11
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 01:31 PM UTC
Victory at Sea. I think about that footage when I think of "WWII" 
210cav
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 04:18 PM UTC
Bob- was the Battlefield series narrated by Jim Bishop? I do not believe I have ever seen one. Do you know if they are still played on PBS?
thanks
DJ
thanks
DJ
Drader
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 05:13 PM UTC
I remember The World at War from when it was first run, it doesn't quite hold up so well today as it preceded the revelations about the existence of ULTRA.
I do like some of the lightly disguised wartime propaganda films which feature real people in dramatised events (so they just about scrape in as documentaries). One I have on VHS is Coastal Command which has real RAF men flying real Sunderlands, Catalinas, Hudsons and Beaufighters. As non-professionals the acting is pretty terrible, but everything else is authentic. Helps that I like Sunderland flying boats too.
Oh yes, and the score is by Vaughan-Williams as well.
David
I do like some of the lightly disguised wartime propaganda films which feature real people in dramatised events (so they just about scrape in as documentaries). One I have on VHS is Coastal Command which has real RAF men flying real Sunderlands, Catalinas, Hudsons and Beaufighters. As non-professionals the acting is pretty terrible, but everything else is authentic. Helps that I like Sunderland flying boats too.
Oh yes, and the score is by Vaughan-Williams as well.
David
210cav
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 07:28 PM UTC
Quoted Text
I remember The World at War from when it was first run, it doesn't quite hold up so well today as it preceded the revelations about the existence of ULTRA.
I do like some of the lightly disguised wartime propaganda films which feature real people in dramatised events (so they just about scrape in as documentaries). One I have on VHS is Coastal Command which has real RAF men flying real Sunderlands, Catalinas, Hudsons and Beaufighters. As non-professionals the acting is pretty terrible, but everything else is authentic. Helps that I like Sunderland flying boats too.
Oh yes, and the score is by Vaughan-Williams as well.
David
David-- can you comment on "Target For Tonight"? I have it and think it contains real flyers, but I never could find a decent analysis of it.
thanks
DJ
Drader
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 08:07 PM UTC
Quoted Text
David-- can you comment on "Target For Tonight"? I have it and think it contains real flyers, but I never could find a decent analysis of it.
thanks
DJ
DJ - Another film from the same school, I picked up this link from the Wikipedia page on the film (which is a little bare), giving the further career of the officer who played F-Freddie's pilot and footnote on the film too.
http://www.chrishobbs.com/pickardcharles.htm
David
210cav
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 09:16 PM UTC
David-- very interesting film and the website you providfed certainly enhances my appreciation of the film. The Operation Jericho they cite is another truly amazing story of training and execution. I saw the film they shot during the mission on a 20 Century clip. Amazing they performed so well under those circumstances.
Thanks again
DJ
Thanks again
DJ
hogarth
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Posted: Thursday, May 03, 2007 - 07:45 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Bob- was the Battlefield series narrated by Jim Bishop? I do not believe I have ever seen one. Do you know if they are still played on PBS?
thanks
DJ
I'm not sure who narrated, but they had a bunch of different episodes, 2 hours each, that were very detailed. Episodes I remember were:
Battle of Berlin
Battle of the Rhine
Normandy
Stalingrad
Battle of Russia
Midway
Battle of Britain
And then there was one or two that dealt with Italy/North Africa. I can't remember if they were 2 separate episodes. I think there were. There also might have been one on Leyte Gulf, but I'm not sure.
And there may have been others I just don't remember.
Rob
210cav
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Posted: Thursday, May 03, 2007 - 09:48 PM UTC
Rob-- thanks. I will continue to monitor PBS to see if they come on again.
DJ
DJ
hogarth
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Posted: Thursday, May 03, 2007 - 10:04 PM UTC
They first aired, as I recall, in 1995, in the summertime. At least that's when I first remember them. I remember I was 23 and suffering from the chicken pox of all things when I was watching the one on Midway.
They had a couple of "seasons" of this series, as I recall. I believe the first group included Midway, Stalingrad, Normandy, and maybe one other one, Berlin maybe. Then they came out with more, I think with a different narrator.
My brother said he saw later ones that were shorter, maybe 1 hour instead of 2, and featured non-ww2 battles. But I'm not sure about those.
I'm pretty sure they have not aired in many years, and also that they are NOT available on DVD. When they are, I plan to grab some up. I think I have most on tape from the TV.
In a lot of ways, they were organized like an Osprey campaign book, in that they'd do a "prelude to the battle", then an "opposing forces and commander", then the "eve of battle", then the battle with an occasional pause to look at tactics, then the conclusion, and then "after the battle". They were very well done.
Rob
They had a couple of "seasons" of this series, as I recall. I believe the first group included Midway, Stalingrad, Normandy, and maybe one other one, Berlin maybe. Then they came out with more, I think with a different narrator.
My brother said he saw later ones that were shorter, maybe 1 hour instead of 2, and featured non-ww2 battles. But I'm not sure about those.
I'm pretty sure they have not aired in many years, and also that they are NOT available on DVD. When they are, I plan to grab some up. I think I have most on tape from the TV.
In a lot of ways, they were organized like an Osprey campaign book, in that they'd do a "prelude to the battle", then an "opposing forces and commander", then the "eve of battle", then the battle with an occasional pause to look at tactics, then the conclusion, and then "after the battle". They were very well done.
Rob
210cav
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Posted: Friday, May 04, 2007 - 12:21 AM UTC
Rob-- now that you go into depth on the program, I seem to recall the one on Stalingrad. Very well done graphics. I am the type person who has to have a map in front of me in order to appreciate who is going where on a battlefield. Old habit.
DJ
DJ
Brigandine
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Posted: Saturday, May 05, 2007 - 07:18 AM UTC
One series from the BBC I can remember is 'The Secret War' ; this was one of the first programmes to delve into the backroom battles between Britain and Germany. Still worth watching. (Doesn't seem to be available on DVD)
210cav
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Posted: Saturday, May 05, 2007 - 07:38 AM UTC
Jeff-- that is a new one on me. Recall any of the specific episodes?
DJ
DJ
Drader
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Posted: Monday, May 07, 2007 - 01:27 PM UTC
Quoted Text
One series from the BBC I can remember is 'The Secret War' ; this was one of the first programmes to delve into the backroom battles between Britain and Germany. Still worth watching. (Doesn't seem to be available on DVD)
Remember that one too, and it was made at a time when most of the people originally involved, like RV Jones, were still around.
David
210cav
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Posted: Monday, May 07, 2007 - 06:56 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Quoted TextOne series from the BBC I can remember is 'The Secret War' ; this was one of the first programmes to delve into the backroom battles between Britain and Germany. Still worth watching. (Doesn't seem to be available on DVD)
Remember that one too, and it was made at a time when most of the people originally involved, like RV Jones, were still around.
David
David-- I am reading the fascinating book by Robin Neillands "Dieppe." Are there any documentaries you can recall on this raid?
thanks
DJ
james_mcdougall_85
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Posted: Monday, May 07, 2007 - 11:51 PM UTC
I remember a good documentary that was on UKTV History. It was Timewatch: Through Hell for Hitler and was a personel account of a german soldier called Henry Metelmann.
It was made in 2003 so it is quite recent and it was pretty gripping stuff. It got 9/10 on the internet movie data base.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0723888/
It was based on the book with the same title by Henry Metelmann
Jamie
It was made in 2003 so it is quite recent and it was pretty gripping stuff. It got 9/10 on the internet movie data base.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0723888/
It was based on the book with the same title by Henry Metelmann
Jamie
210cav
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Posted: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 - 05:19 AM UTC
Quoted Text
I remember a good documentary that was on UKTV History. It was Timewatch: Through Hell for Hitler and was a personel account of a german soldier called Henry Metelmann.
It was made in 2003 so it is quite recent and it was pretty gripping stuff. It got 9/10 on the internet movie data base.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0723888/
It was based on the book with the same title by Henry Metelmann
Jamie
Jamie-- nice site. Thanks for passing along an interesting report.
DJ
james_mcdougall_85
Member Since: May 07, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 - 05:33 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Quoted TextI remember a good documentary that was on UKTV History. It was Timewatch: Through Hell for Hitler and was a personel account of a german soldier called Henry Metelmann.
It was made in 2003 so it is quite recent and it was pretty gripping stuff. It got 9/10 on the internet movie data base.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0723888/
It was based on the book with the same title by Henry Metelmann
Jamie
Jamie-- nice site. Thanks for passing along an interesting report.
DJ
My pleasure DJ
I've been watching this thread with some interest, gives me something to look at apart from looking at engineering books (final year exams
).Regards,
Jamie
Drader
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Posted: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 - 12:37 PM UTC
Quoted Text
David-- I am reading the fascinating book by Robin Neillands "Dieppe." Are there any documentaries you can recall on this raid?
thanks
DJ
DJ - coincidentally, I've read the book in the last couple of months and it gives a balanced picture of what is still an emotive topic. I also didn't realise that Neillands was a commando (though post-war). Somewhere in the unread stack I have his book on the fighting in the Rhineland.
As for Dieppe documentaries, I found a couple searching using Google, but I don't remember seeing them.
Metelmann first appeared on TV back in the mid-80s in the series Soldiers - I still have the episode on tanks on VHS. That's the one where David Fletcher actually drives the Tank Museum's WW1 Mark IV tank and also where George Forty (IIRC) has trouble getting the drum on a Lewis gun....
David
210cav
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Posted: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 - 04:20 PM UTC
David-- I searched for Dieppe documentaries and have not found any. Can you send me one of the websites?
thanks
DJ
thanks
DJ
Drader
Member Since: July 20, 2004
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Posted: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 - 04:50 PM UTC
Quoted Text
David-- I searched for Dieppe documentaries and have not found any. Can you send me one of the websites?
thanks
DJ
DJ - there's some interesting film clips and other things on CBC's site here
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-71-2359/conflict_war/dieppe/
I also found a mention of a BBC documentary shown on the 30th Anniversary here
http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/647902
A Canadian one
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0269155/
and a mini-series
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106720/
The 1962 documentary mentioned in the comments about the series may be the CBC one in the first link.
David
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