Krigets färger/World War II: The Lost Color Archives på TV4!

Hasse · Inlägg av **Hasse** » 3 juli 2002, 20:11

Onsdagen 2002-07-03 börjar TV4 reprisera denna dokumentär i tre delar.
Hämtade en flödig recension av DVD-utgåvan och lade in här:

Expectations & Reactions:

Have you ever wondered what World War II looked like in color? I am quite sure that you might be interested, unless you were actually there. These films are over 55 years old, with the oldest clocking in at 65! I had always wanted to see WWII in color. It's something that has been rarely seen. Most documentaries have shown World War II in black and white, leaving the color footage to Hollywood. British historian Adrian Wood started his quest to find color footage of World War II in 1982. These programs are the result of his findings. There is certain footage that I had never seen and was quite surprised to see some of the footage that was shot. This is a completely different look at Nazi Germany, The United States, Japan and numerous other locations where there were battles and celebrations.

I have to admit that I am stunned at the quality of some of this footage. Some is stellar and has been preserved for over 60 years. Considered long lost for over one half of a century, this footage is absolutely wonderful to see. There is a bonus fifteen minutes of footage that was considered not broadcast quality. This has been added to the second DVD in this three part series that originally aired on The History Channel.

Look & Listen:

A&E has delivered a fine transfer of WWII: The Lost Color Archives. The video has been procured from many countries national archives and some personal footage was used, as well. The video is very old (over 60 years on the first DVD) and the quality of the picture varies from good to poor. There are some scratches and some noticeable graininess and artifacting throughout the three programs. There are some still photos in spots where there were not motion picture cameras in certain segments. There are some shots that take place at night. It's hard to tell what is going on, until you see the fire blazing in the background. There are some shots of live action, where you can see the carnage that took place in various parts of the world. There are some good shots that were taken from boats and submarines, also known as U-boats You may find yourself feeling seasick when there is footage taken from boats in the Atlantic Ocean. You will find yourself in the middle of the battle as someone is shooting a camera and catching the action for posterity. There is footage of various propaganda taken from the United States, Germany, Russia and Japan. Most of the footage is narrated by someone most of the photography is given credit, a VERY nice touch.

The colors vary in spots. You can see the red and black of the Nazi flags in shots of Berlin from 1937 and they look remarkable for their age. Red is the predominant color in footage taken in these movies. Red is the most predominant color in the spectrum, so the faded pictures show the reds more than other colors. There are some shots of people who have been killed. There is some blood that is very realistic, and not a stylized blood that was seen in Civil War Battles. There are some good colors in other scenes. Footage that is taken at sea has a beautiful blue hue. The water is very blue, especially when there is a high sky without and clouds. The facial tones vary as well with the quality of the shots. Some of the faces have magnificent color while others have a bleached look to them. The orange of the fire in the bombings of London and Hamburg is breathtaking. What follows is some billowing smoke that makes some of the pictures indiscernible. Sometimes, you will see a brilliant sky (known as Hitler weather) and other times it is completely washed out in spots. The pictures of the ghettos in Germany and Poland resemble Jakob the Liar in spots. It's not as clear as the 1999 movie, but the picture colors are the same. You can see the yellow Star of David clearly during these segments.

The audio of the DVD's is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and sounds quite good. There are narrations from numerous people from many different walks of life. The narration is very clear and easy to understand. The ambient sound is very good and you will hear numerous sounds in the background. Whether it is a battle scene or a celebration, you can always detect a Heil Hitler in the German footage. The music is in the background in most spots. There are many different types of music that are heard, from Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey and his band to the sounds of war and military music. The music is much more upbeat during the first segment, changing to a more somber tone in the second and third installments. There is some celebratory music during the final chapters in the third program on the second DVD.

Since this DVD set is during World War II, there are gunshots that are heard in some of the footage. Some of this footage was shot as the battles took place. This footage of the battles was shot by news people and was never used. It had been considered lost for a long time. Now that it has been found, it sounds good. In the battle scenes, you will hear airplanes and gunshots. Whether they are in the foreground or the background, the sound is quite good. The guns are very realistic and you will find yourself immersed in the field of battle. For a mono mix, this is a very good sounding pair of DVD's.

Extras & Highlights:

The biggest extra that comes with WWII: The Lost Color Archives is a fifteen minute set of footage that was deemed unusable for this set of programs. The footage during these parts is rather grainy, scratchy and some has the color almost bleached due to the age of the film. Maybe it is the nitrate that was used in the original film that was unfit for broadcast. This portion of the program has music in the background. In some cases, it is a good thing they were not used. Also included on these discs are a thirty second commercial for The History Channel that plays when you insert the DVD.

Storyline & Syllabus:

WWII: The Lost Color Archives is a compilation of three hours of programming originally shown on The History Channel. Without commercials, it is closer to 137 minutes long, opposed to the 195 minutes that you would see if there were commercials inserted. The three programs do their best to stay in chronological order, as they take you through the horrors of World War II. The first DVD has two programs, New World Order and Total War. The second DVD has Triumph and Despair and the fifteen minutes of bonus footage.

New World Order

Germany 1937
Castellon, Spain
Britain, 1937
Bavaria, Germany, 1936
United States of America, 1939
Germany, 1939
Soviet Union, 1939
Bavaria, Germany, 1939
Britain, September, 1939
Britain, 1940
France, 1940
Bavaria, Germany, 1941
6th of June, 1941
Pearl Harbor, December, 1941
Total War

Pearl Harbor
Atlantic Ocean
Working Women
Battle of the Atlantic
German Occupied Soviet Union
German Occupied Yugoslavia
German Occupied Poland
Stalingrad
Britain
Hamburg, 1943
Southern Germany
Pacific Ocean
Triumph and Despair

Southern England, 1944
Normandy, D-Day +1
Normandy, July 1944
South of France, 1944
Paris, August, 1944
Germany, 1944
Berlin
Germany 1945
Buchenwald, April 1945
Dachau
Berlin, May 1945
London, 8 May 1945
Okinawa, April 1945
Hiroshima and Nakasaki, August 1945
New York, 15 August 1945
Cast & Crew:

Former war correspondent Roger Mudd hosts WWII: The Lost Color Archives. Edward Herrmann narrates the three programs. The programs were produced by Carlton Television Ltd. and Champion Television for The History Channel (A&E television networks). The Executive Producers are Alastair Waddington and Martin Smith. The Producers are Alastair Laurence and Lucy Carter. Chris Elliot wrote the original music. These are taken from the television program History Alive.

Conclusions & Afterthoughts:

The three hours of programming are a very informative look with color footage shot during the World War II. These episodes are taken from the original broadcasts on The History Channel. I was enlightened with some of the footage, and didn't know that most of it existed. I do caution viewers about the carnage in certain scenes, especially the Concentration Camps of Dachau in Poland. Some of this particular footage is quite gruesome; especially the footage of the prison camps, but it can be classified under the horrors of war. Hopefully, the United States will not be in a situation where they uproot Japanese-Americans and relocate them to prison camps. On a personal note, being part Jewish, a small cheer went up as Germany was being destroyed in 1944 and 1945. The first two episodes lead up to the conclusion, where the United States reigns supreme during the third episode.

If you are a World War II history buff or a military enthusiast in general, you will enjoy WWII: The Lost Color Archives. These programs are for the young and old, alike. History knows no age limit, and The History Channel is a leader in the business of documentaries. WWII: The Lost Color Archives are informative programs and I highly endorse these. I think that the content makes up for it, especially the deleted fifteen minutes of footage that has been added. You may want to give these two DVD's a rental to see what really happened, IN COLOR. The outcome is the same, of course. The United States wins and Germany loses. Hitler dies and the United States bombs Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To see the footage of the mushroom clouds in color is worth the price of a rental. With DVD becoming prevalent as a teaching tool in the schools, I envision these programs being shown in classrooms. WWII: The Lost Color Archives has a low M.S.R.P. and is highly worth the money spent.

Jonteman · Inlägg av **Jonteman** » 5 juli 2002, 00:02

Såg den allt, mest fränt var att se LSAH som var livvakter vid Hitlers parader. Dom såg riktigt hårda ut, och med SS på kragarna

Someone · Inlägg av **Someone** » 5 juli 2002, 11:33

Jonteman skrev:Såg den allt, mest fränt var att se LSAH som var livvakter vid Hitlers parader. Dom såg riktigt hårda ut, och med SS på kragarna

Bara att se rörliga bilder i färg från WW2 var riktigt fränt!

Martin Tunström · Inlägg av **Martin Tunström** » 5 juli 2002, 12:30

Jag kan upplysa er att filmsekvenserna var på dom årliga kulturdagarna som hölls i München! En av byggnaderna som hade romerska koloner var "Huset för tysk konst"!

Jonteman · Inlägg av **Jonteman** » 18 juli 2002, 10:29

Igår gick sista avsnittet och när dom filmade från KZ-lägren med färg så mådde jag ännu sämre...

Bumse · Inlägg av **Bumse** » 18 juli 2002, 10:43

Jonteman skrev:Igår gick sista avsnittet och när dom filmade från KZ-lägren med färg så mådde jag ännu sämre...

Exakt samma känsla som jag fick. Allt kändes så mycket verkligare. Visst har man tyckt att det varit fasansfullt när man läst om eländet och även sett en del svartvitt material i form av bilder eller film.

Men just färgbilderna gav det hela en mer påtaglig närvarokänsla, det var hemskt att se.

Vad som också berörde mig starkare i färg var alla sönderbombade städer. Mest på grund av bristen på färg. Trots att det var färgbilder var allt grått, inga träd, inga parker, inga vackra fasader, ingenting. Allt kändes så meningslöst.

Sist blev jag nästan lite rädd för mig själv. Varför upplever man inte samma känslor när bilderna är svart/vita med en löjlig journalfilmsröst i bakgrunden?

/Bjön P. Bertilsson

B Hellqvist · Inlägg av **B Hellqvist** » 18 juli 2002, 11:35

Bumse skrev:Sist blev jag nästan lite rädd för mig själv. Varför upplever man inte samma känslor när bilderna är svart/vita med en löjlig journalfilmsröst i bakgrunden?

/Bjön P. Bertilsson

Intressant fråga. Det svart/vita fungerar kanske som en sorts filter, och gör att bilderna verkar äldre än vad de är. När man så får se det i färg, nästan som om det var på nyheterna, rasar en av de ridåer som separerar oss från vår historia - just den där känslan att det ser "verkligare" ut. I går regerade jag och en kompis på samma sätt när vi såg bilderna på amerikanska soldater i strid på Stilla havsöar: "Det ser ju ut som om bilderna är från Vietnam!"

En annan sak som separerar oss från händelserna är berättarperspektivet: med seriens använding av personliga vittnesmål, blir allt mer lättfattligt. I stället för "så lät fältmarskalken den XXX:e armékåren rycka fram", där allt bara blir abstrakta begrepp, så gör det personliga perspektivet att man kan tänka in sig själv i den enskilda soldatens situation. Vi blir påminda om att krig faktiskt är något där människor dör.

Finnrocker · Inlägg av **Finnrocker** » 18 juli 2002, 11:47

Hej,

Bara en sån sak som att inte blod syns rött i svartvitt gör att folk inte reagerar lika starkt på svartvitt film som färg.

Att komma ihåg oxå är att krigsjournalfilmande till stor del gjorts och görs i propagandasyfte och visar inte upp sanningen med blod och rädsla etc (vad gäller di egna framförallt).

/Markus

Bumse · Inlägg av **Bumse** » 18 juli 2002, 11:58

B Hellqvist skrev:I stället för "så lät fältmarskalken den XXX:e armékåren rycka fram", där allt bara blir abstrakta begrepp, så gör det personliga perspektivet att man kan tänka in sig själv i den enskilda soldatens situation. Vi blir påminda om att krig faktiskt är något där människor dör.

Så sant, det är kanske därför folk i allmänhet berörs mer av en stackars liten flicka med en ögonsjukdom som kommer att göra henne blind om hon blir hemskickad till jugoslavien än att ett tåg har spårat ur i indien och 400 människor har fått sätta livet till. Flickan får helsidesuppslag samt att en massa människor tar hennes parti. Indierna däremot uppmärksammans inte mer än i en liten notis på 12 rader längst ned på nyhetssidorna. Hade repotaget från indien istället handlat om en liten pojke som förlorat hela sin familj i tågolyckan och nu kommer på ett barnhem och sy fotbollar under viderliga förhållanden, då hade förmodligen sympatierna varit starkare och människor hade blivit mer berörda. Fullt naturligt beteende, men kanske inte logiskt.

Beträffande dokumentären igår så tycker jag det var bra att dom mot slutet också gav en bild av tyskarnas syn på kriget. Också dom tyckte det var meningslöst och var lättade över att det tog slut. Men även rädslan för ryssarna, våldtäckterna och självmorden i Berlin. Överhuvudtaget en dokumentär i mänsikligt perspektiv, från båda sidor.

/Björn P. Bertilsson