The "action cam" is almost a deal breaker for me. It is a contrived perspective as we saw in episode one. I get it that the goal of the producers is to present this story in a format that the millennials can embrace.
The splendid use of the countless hours of documented accounts from the veterans of the great war is most effective.
A similar type of programming is being aired in the USA. The "History Channel" (which stopped airing programs about history many years ago) is airing a show on their sub-channel "History Channel II" called "The World Wars". The technical effects are well done, but this presentation of both wars steps in the poo when they use actors to depict the leaders of the allies and tripartite fascist powers. Nothing is more disconcerting for me than to see an actor with too much makeup and a cigarette holder do an imitation of FDR. (Hell, even the late, great Robin Williams tried to pull of Eisenhower and failed miserably in the movie "The Butler".)
As time grows longer, the depiction of the events of the wars apparently require more dramatic reenactment and less black & white newsreels to attract an audience. For example:
- The first television serial to replay the story of the US Navy and WWII in the states was "Victory at Sea". This was 26 episode series/30 minutes per of actual war footage edited to a script narrated by the "humble winners" i.e. the USA. It was magnificently scored by Richard Rogers and played by the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The music was stirring and must have had great emotional effects on the veterans who watched the show as it aired on Sunday afternoons at 2:30 PM. Television was so new that they tried to attract an American audience by airing the show following the Sunday services. The home television of 1952 shrunk the video to a perspective about the size of a periscope and the NBC orchestra came blaring out of one tin can speaker. Too much content for the limited technology of the carrier if you will.
- "The World at War" (1973) is the quintessential documentary of WWII. Sir Lawrence Olivier narrates a video depiction of the war (with a British bias) that lasts around 36 hours. The story is not only covered completely, but the interviews of several people who made/observed critical choices in the execution of the war makes this one of the greatest documentaries of all time. It is a monster @ 32 hours of edited content, but a masterful monster. The western world watched this over and over for 25 years when the reruns finally wore themselves out.
- Drama, with keen attention to historical detail becomes the preferred method for relaying the stories of the second World War. In the last decade of the 20th century, we have let the "Great War" slip away. However, one last rally was made to embrace WWII as the "Greatest generation" could share their stories with their grandchildren. The baby boomers sucked every bit of it in as they always have embraced WWII. Spielberg became the ring leader as we were given "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), The Band of Brothers (2001), and pulling up the rear, The Pacific (2010). {Note: The only historical character portrayed in Saving Private Ryan was General George C. Marshall. Marshall was a man of few words and was portrayed adeptly in this film. In this scene, one of the characters is played by the now infamous Brian Cranston of "Breaking Bad"}
- "Our World War" adds is more drama and technical wizardry to attract another generation who are born as far away from these events as my generation was from the Spanish-American War or the Boar Wars.
A magnificent British movie character once said with the help of Walt Disney, "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down". Bottoms up!
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