Rating: NR
Length: 472 minutes

Standard 1.78:1 B&W/Some Color

ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 2.0

English

This set is separated into eight one-hour documentaries covering the different facets of Germany's participation in World War II:

• The Fall of France
• The Battle of Britain
• The U-Boat War
• The Desert War
• Stalingrad
• The War in Italy
• Normandy to the Rhine
• Stalingrad to Berlin

These are not propaganda documentaries like many that were shot during the war from all sides (Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" series comes to mind). These are straight forward documentaries consisting of nothing more than facts (great if you're not interested in history and are having problems sleeping at night). All of this footage was shot by the Germans during the action; most of it I can not recall ever seeing before and, according to my wife, I watch/own way too many WWII documentaries already. Included with the dvds is a 72 page book of photos and artwork that the Germans used in their propaganda magazines (I hope this starts a trend of combining books with dvds). No matter how the war was going or if the soldiers in the pictures were barely old enough to hold a rifle, the pictures always showed the Germans in a positive and brave light. And since this set is broken into sections you can watch what you want without trying to sit through all eight hours at once.

Each disc consists of two documentaries that you have to select individually to watch; no "Play All" option. A petty complaint yes, but a valid one nonetheless. And this is obviously not a selection that will "entertain" you.

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This is one of those sets where a person knows immediately whether or not they would be interested in watching. Anyone remotely interested in World War II should take the time and watch this. History teachers should consider adding this to their course material; maybe more students in the United States would realize that we didn't fight the Russians in the Second World War. It's one of the better WWII documentaries available but some might find it a little pricey with a list price just under $60. If your're a WWII junkie like me, you'll definitely want to add this to your collection.

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