Need suggestions for WWI and WWII documentary DVDs

[The Avon Lady]

I'm looking into The First World War (http://www.amazon.com/First-World-War-Complete/dp/B0009S2K9C/ref=pd_bxgy_d_img_b/105-2219151-5625247?ie=UTF8&qid=1182684642&sr=1-1) and The World at War (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002F6AH0/sr/ref=pd_cp_d_1/105-2219151-5625247?ie=UTF8&qid=1182684642&sr=1-1&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_r=00MAWEBX1J5KVXEDS7TC&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=252362301&pf_rd_i=B0009S2K9C).

Are there any better?

[Oberon]

The Second World War in colour (http://www.amazon.com/Second-World-War-Colour-Region/dp/B00004CZW4/ref=sr_1_1/103-3421786-5214255?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1182685214&sr=1-1)is quite good, as is the First World war in colour...but that doesn't seem to have made it to DVD yet :cry: Colour adds a new dimension to it all. The World at War is a classic AL, and well put together, I remember seeing bits of it when I was about five or six, my Dad used to watch it...Olivier narrates it well.

AH! There it is:

WW1 in color (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007N4AW4/sr/ref=pd_cp_d_2/103-3421786-5214255?ie=UTF8&qid=1182684642&sr=1-1&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_r=0F3GRT775N2F6Y64NPVG&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=252362301&pf_rd_i=B0009S2K9C)(Couldn't find it because I put in 'colour' instead of 'color' :damn: )

Hope they're helpful.

[Jimbuna]

Your choice is impeccable :yep: I have both sets....they are second to none :rock:

[Letum]

Avoid the documentary called "World War II" . It covers 8 DVDs and is hours long, however it was made shortly after the war and is very naive and biased. You might even call it post-war propaganda.

Your two choices are excellent!

[The Avon Lady]

Thanks everyone. I've ordered The First World War and The World at War.

I, too, recall seeing The World At War on TV way back when, though I wasn't too interested at the time. But I must have seen enough of it because I can still hum the series' melodramatic tune.

[Chock]

Good choices, (got both of those myself too) but as with everything, the more sources you sample, the better your understanding ends up being. New information is always coming to light even this far beyond the original events.

If you can find it, you might want to check out this series too, which is inexpensive but uses lots of great original footage. I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up several from that series very cheap from a local store (notably the one linked to, and another DVD in the same series on the Eastern Front battles):

http://www.boulevard-entertainment.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=5521

When it comes to WW1 and WW2, a good example of the value of studying things from several sources would be the Berlin Wall coming down and more open information being available in the West on Russian actions in WW2. The World at War TV series was made well before this happened and it suffers in some places because of this and the prevailing Cold War sensibilities of the time. So I'd grab a few books on the subjects too if I were you, including some written at the time - they too will suffer in that they will be tainted by nationalistic views and a limited perspective (and possibly the none-too-delicate-hand of the censor) - nevertheless, the language and ethics expressed in books that are contemporary with the period you study offer quite a lot of insight into the mindset of people at the time, even if some of the facts might be not exactly spot on. WW1 biographies are almost always a fascinating read for this kind of thing, and there is a great diversity of them too. Check out French WW1 pilot Charles Nungesser's opinion of Mata Hari for a good example of myth-busting, for example.

With regard to more modern takes on things, The Battle of Britain is a good example of this. The BoB is one of my favourite subjects and one which I've done a lot of research into, which is why I bought a video a few years ago titled 'The Battle of Britain - The Truth', the video case for which is showered with official RAF logos and museum approvals, yet it still trots out incorrect cliches and half-truths as well as 'information' that is just plain wrong, much of which has prevailed since the conflict was first documented. So even 'official' sources aren't always to be believed. Oddly enough, I just picked up a book the other day on that very subject (The Most Dangerous Enemy - A History of the Battle of Britain, by Stephen Bungay - ISBN 1-85410-801-8) which dispells a lot of this and is well recommended if anyone is interested in a thoroughly well researched and very balanced look at this battle. Especially since the decision to fight the BoB rather than sue for peace (as Hitler and many UK politicians wanted) was one of the pivotal moments leading to the defeat of Nazi Germany.

But bear this in mind too: A good friend of mine (now sadly deceased) who was an RAF Spitfire pilot in WW2 once lent me a few books on the subject, one of which was Len Deighton's book 'Fighter' (which many regard as a decent book on the subject), but my friend commented that it was worth a read as a general overview of the battle, but lots of it was 'complete and utter rubbish' and not anywhere even remotely near the truth. And that was straight from the horse's mouth!

Anyway, happy viewing of your DVDs, they'll certainly keep you occupied for some time!

:D Chock

[XabbaRus]

On uk tv history they run the World At War in rotation. Very good and excellent narration.

[Mush Martin]

The world at war I have and it has some wonderful interviews and
is an excellant documentary.

If you can take the Overblasting from the richard rogers soundtrack
Victory at sea is also great.

among the cheap collections Ive picked up is a great five disc set
called.
"The Complete History of WWII"

I Dont know anything about the producers
but here in canada its distributed by madacy entertainment.
Unlike the World at war its a broadbased full run chronology
of the war with accompanying footage. and very detailed.

also when I bought the collectors edition of private ryan
I got a great included film about combat cameramen at war.
really tremendous footage. also included was Price for peace
a good doc from Tom Hanks and Stephen Ambrose on the
pacific Islands campaign.

finally also from madacy is a very affordable Battlefront WW2 in colour
(it shows on the military channel regularly) its a bit hammy but good.
also much footage is manually coloured though some is genuine.
MM

[Ishmael]

Also look at the Victory At Sea series as well. Richard Rogers' impeccable score and Loenard Grave's narration are the true highlights with a lot of little seen combat footage. My favorite is always Graves saying, "And now..."

[Heibges]

Thanks everyone. I've ordered The First World War and The World at War.

I, too, recall seeing The World At War on TV way back when, though I wasn't too interested at the time. But I must have seen enough of it because I can still hum the series' melodramatic tune.

And you can't go wrong with Lawrence Olivier.:|\\

[The Avon Lady]

Thanks everyone. I've ordered The First World War and The World at War.

I, too, recall seeing The World At War on TV way back when, though I wasn't too interested at the time. But I must have seen enough of it because I can still hum the series' melodramatic tune.
And you can't go wrong with Lawrence Olivier.:|\\
Well, um......................................... he's dead. :smug:

[Heibges]

Thanks everyone. I've ordered The First World War and The World at War.

I, too, recall seeing The World At War on TV way back when, though I wasn't too interested at the time. But I must have seen enough of it because I can still hum the series' melodramatic tune.
And you can't go wrong with Lawrence Olivier.:|\\
Well, um......................................... he's dead. :smug:

I didn't say you were going to sleep with him. :oops:

[The Avon Lady]

Thanks everyone. I've ordered The First World War and The World at War.

I, too, recall seeing The World At War on TV way back when, though I wasn't too interested at the time. But I must have seen enough of it because I can still hum the series' melodramatic tune.
And you can't go wrong with Lawrence Olivier.:|\\
Well, um......................................... he's dead. :smug:
I didn't say you were going to sleep with him. :oops:
It's times like these I wish they'd hire a super prude like me for moderating. :shifty:

[Mush Martin]

My wife Has no interest in subsim.

[Jimbuna]

It's times like these I wish they'd hire a super prude like me for moderating.

:roll: .......................:hmm: .......................:lol:

[kiwi_2005]

I remeber the World at war, hell are they still around! i was like 7yrs old when i use to watch this program, i remeber clearly i and my old man watching it together and we would talk about the navy parts in the documentary - i saw my first uboat watching this program and i was instantly hooked. My old man liked battleships, well all ships above water, he didn't like the submarines. I thought he sucked:rotfl:

[horsa]

I always thought the BBC series "The Great War " was considered the classic for WW1. ( also from Amazon) - in many ways it prepared the way for "The World at War"