WWII in HD

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.