WWII in HD [Blu-ray] Reviews

THE FLICK
At look at World War II from the perspective of a dozen Americans caught in its grip, WW II in HD is a ten-episode series telling the story of military campaigns, loss, carnage and personal history with a view on the microcosm instead of the war as a whole. These men and women tell their stories through new interviews or via books they wrote before their passing. In all cases, Hollywood talent provides at least some of the voice over work, ranging from Justin Bartha and Steve Zahn to LL Cool J, Jason Ritter, Ron Livingston and Amy Smart. Gary Sinise narrates every episode. Before each 43- to 49-minute segment begins, Sinise reminds the audience of three things: (1) this is footage procured through a two-year search; (2) this is the first time it will be seen on television; and (3) it is not for the faint of heart. Indeed, this series is unlike any other commercially produced product about this war. Even the legendary Band of Brothers recreated events; none of them are as powerful as the raw video contained in the History series.

WW II in HD takes a decidedly different view of the war, opting to follow the American viewpoint almost exclusively instead of taking a wider, more historical view. That's not to say the installments skirt the major "signposts" in the conflict in favor of the small stories; the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt provides a grim ending to the ninth episode while Hitler's movements and the American internment of Japanese Americans is also brought to light. But by and large, this is about how the people on the ground saw the war, how they reacted to it and how they lived through it. Early on, it is mentioned that this so-called Greatest Generation had no idea what the stakes were in those days. They were unprepared, naive and joined the military out of patriotism and outrage, not fear. Are there decided advantages and disadvantages to this approach? Certainly. For one, it can come off as a propaganda film of sorts for the United States, discounting the contributions of other countries in the war effort.

There's also the lingering question about what else is going on around the world at this same time. What were the British and Russians up to while the war in the Pacific raged? What was the climate in Japan among the civilian population? What was the argument used by reporters on the president to release uncensored film footage of the war? What kind of response in the general public faced the government after Japanese American and German American citizens were put into internment camps? And there's more, but all these avenues of exploration are well outside the focus of this series. The relatively narrow-minded view put on display here ultimately helps the production to achieve its sole goal: document the way ordinary grunts saw their place in history.

When Gary Sinise mentions some of the footage is going to be painful to watch, he's providing a public service. Video of the aftermath of Pearl Harbor is etched into the minds of anyone who has seen it. Indeed, the public at large has been fed a steady diet of fictionalized, sanitized shots of concentration camps and the war in general. When the series uses this newly-discovered video, lines are instantly blurred in the war. As a camera captures the charred remains of Japanese soldiers who blew themselves up instead of being captured, the Allies and and the Axis seem so inconsequential, so minute, even with the passage of time. These are human beings, in the end, almost mindlessly attacking one another without seeing their opponents eyes. Plans drop bombs, artillery shells pummel dug in installations. But then, a bulldozer covers up a mass grave as the camera watches dirt fill in one resting place after another.

The enormity and expense of the war on all sides finally comes into stark light. And these are the very small handful of people captured on film. The countless servicemen who drowned in ocean engagements. The ones who fell out of the sky when their planes were hit. The ones who were mowed down by machine gun fire or succumbed to the elements and disease. Despite all of that, the greatest shock comes late in the series, as the Allies liberate concentration camps. If the viewer is taken aback by the images and descriptions of the camps, then to have experienced them is another matter entirely. One man mentions he isn't able to forget what he saw even if he tries. The mental picture of fingernails embedded in the walls, the limbs and bones and skulls lying around and the ash on the ground-presumably human remains-turns out to be the starkest reminder of humanity's cruelty.

WW II in HD isn't entirely gloom and doom. The narrative does take brief respites from the action by following a nurse, for example, when she takes an excursion away from the front lines. In a current interview, a survivor makes light of being gravely wounded, saying he still had things in life he wanted to do like make love to his wife. These isolated moments, coupled with images of men playing cards or engaging in other recreational activities, provides another dimension to their characters. This is perhaps the best argument against examining the war from all sides: the audience is allowed to know this small handful of people through their words-verbal and written-instead of as just a number in a larger sea of personalities.

Which isn't to say the episodes pay no mind to educated the viewer. Much the opposite, actually. Computer generated maps are used to highlight military movements and to give a sense of where events are happening in the world. Sinise also imparts his own bits of education: the first major land victory by the Allies in the Pacific Ocean occurred at Guadalcanal; less than 4% of the soldiers injured in the field died from their wounds or disease; and the Saipan suicides cost 1,000 or more innocent lives.

The crux of these episodes, though, is the people, not the cold hard facts of history. In the end, that's what makes this project as compelling as it is: the people. It is one thing to read a first hand account of a battle or feelings on a battleship before engaging the enemy. It's another entirely to put faces to names and the entirety of a human being behind both. The stories relayed are nothing short of extraordinary, from a nurse asking what to do when she can't cry anymore to the Austrian immigrant who wanted to fight Hitler but found himself, instead, in the Pacific Ocean.

THE LOOK
Presented in 16:9 format, WW II in HD is largely culled from 60-year-old footage. The filmmakers have not tried to remove all of the problems in the video and quite rightly so. Colors appear desaturated most of the time, with blurry faces or a distinct lack of detail overall. Black vertical lines in the video are present more often than not, but that is part of the point, isn't it? None of the episode sanitize war for the audience; the mastering process shouldn't do so, either. A small portion of the film is presented in black and white, which looks just as grainy and vintage as the color material. Recent interviews have no issues to speak of.

THE SOUND
To say the DTS HD 5.1 track is unbelievable would be an understatement. From the main menu through the final episode, sound effects boom through all the speakers, providing the audience with a marginal sense of how the war sounded to the men fighting it. Deep bass is plentiful in every regard, from mortar rounds blowing holes in the ground to the ominous soundtrack employed by the filmmakers. Dialogue, whether it be Sinise's narration, voice over actors or interviewees, is never obscured. Each speaker is used to dramatic effect with the only (very minor) issues resulting from the source material. Even if no subtitles are included-a DTS 2.0 mix is also on the disc-this has to be one of the most powerful and best sounding television sets out there.

THE STUFF
WW II in HD comes packed in a standard double Blu-ray case. No insert is included. The series of ten episodes is split evenly between the two discs, with the extras on the second. A "Play All" option is available, as are the individual episodes.

Six of the interviewees have their clips strung together to form the story of their service and lives in Character Profiles (14:56). The footage contained here is a mixture of interviews used in the main feature and deleted video. For example, one of the men, Rockie Blunt, Jr., says he was a devout Methodist, attending church every week. He left the church and religion because of what he saw in the service.

The other two extras are both touted as featurettes, though neither cracks 2 1/2 minutes in length. Finding the Footage (2:28) and Preserving the Footage (1:56) both feel like extended promos for the series as opposed to anything of substance, though the second tends to have a bit more behind-the-scenes info than the former. There were apparently issues with the film drying out and becoming extremely brittle, causing headaches for the producers. Additionally, the film was scanned using the Red Camera, allowing the final footage to be archived in 4k resolution, far greater than anything needed for television.