WWII/Nazi history docs on blu

[RockyIII]

As of late, I have been on a hunt for any documentaries related to WWII and particularly Nazi Germany and Hitler. I watched some stuff on Netflix and I was mind-blown by how maginifcent some of the old film looked. Some of it looked so crisp it could have been filmed in the 70s!
I was wondering if there is anything worth getting on bluray. I am a history buff, and specifically when it comes to WWI and WWII.
Any advise?

[BaronVH]

The most comprehensive is The World at War narrated by Lawrence Olivier with interviews by many of the actual witnesses. The one drawback is that it is not OAR, but some have pointed out that with this documentary is isn't a big deal since it is the words that matter. I am a huge stickler on OAR, and I have to reluctantly agree with that assessment. I really think it is essential viewing for anyone serious in WWII history.

[Aunt Peg]

It's from the UK, but Region Free:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/German-Conc...factual+survey

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by BaronVH

The most comprehensive is The World at War narrated by Lawrence Olivier with interviews by many of the actual witnesses. The one drawback is that it is not OAR, but some have pointed out that with this documentary is isn't a big deal since it is the words that matter. I am a huge stickler on OAR, and I have to reluctantly agree with that assessment. I really think it is essential viewing for anyone serious in WWII history.

It has been re-released in OAR in the UK. Easy choice because the U.S. cropped release is OOP and much more expensive.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-W...lu-ray/161094/

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by Aunt Peg

It's from the UK, but Region Free:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/German-Conc...factual+survey

I have a multi-region player so I am not concerned with region locked titles.
I am basically looking for authentic footage, possibly restored, and looking like it could have been filmed yesterday.
I saw some footage in colors of the Berghof that blew my mind how crisp and clear it looked (on Netflix). That left me wanting for more.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by Armchair NZ

Criterion's release of Night and Fog?



it's a short 1955 doco about the concentration camps. A lot of it is archival footage from during the war. With voiceover narration. PQ is mostly excellent.

might not be something you'll want to watch more than once, though.

I'll take a look. I'm more in it for picture restoration values, not for the historical facts themselves. Granted it's very fascinating history but I was just stunned to see old footage looking like it was shot only 15 years ago

[BaronVH]

Originally Posted by bruceames

It has been re-released in OAR in the UK. Easy choice because the U.S. cropped release is OOP and much more expensive.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-W...lu-ray/161094/

Had no idea. Will look into getting this. Thanks.

[Deputy Doug]

The History Channel's WWII in HD is a pretty good one for color footage. Good stories told, too.

[jtsjc1]

Have you seen Ken Burns The War doc? Excellent. The World At War as mentioned also excellent. I enjoyed the series Secrets Of World War II.

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by Armchair NZ

I don't own it and haven't seen it (yet), but Ken Burns' seven-part The War series is also supposed to be waaay up there as far as WWII documentaries go. Although I think it's almost entirely from a US perspective. And without having seen it I can't comment on what the picture restoration is like for the archival footage

I like Ken Burn's docs for the photographs more than anything. They have a lot more detail than any recorded video and on Blu-ray they look stunning. I often pause pics with a lot panorama and detail because there is so much to take in.

[stepeanut]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

I have a multi-region player so I am not concerned with region locked titles.
I am basically looking for authentic footage, possibly restored, and looking like it could have been filmed yesterday.
I saw some footage in colors of the Berghof that blew my mind how crisp and clear it looked (on Netflix). That left me wanting for more.

The Berghof footage was shot by Eva Braun, and it is all available — over five hours of it — on a three-DVD set. Search eBay for “Eva Braun home movies”. I don’t know that anyone has bothered to transfer this stuff to BD yet.

Here’s a breakdown of what it contains:

http://www.thirdreichruins.com/eva_movies.htm

Alternatively, if you are looking specifically for colour footage, there is The Third Reich in Colour, a two-part documentary produced for U.K. television in 2001. The DVD is OOP, but easy to find cheap on both Amazon and eBay.

[RockyIII]

The Berghof footage I've seen was mind blowing. You can almost sense what it would be like to be there. All the details in the building, furniture, clothing, even how clear the sunlight appears, it all defies time! Left my Oled TV want more!

[Andrew354]

A few more ideas for you...



There's also a couple of recent TV series that are well worth checking out -
Nazi Mega Weapons (National Geographic) and Hitler's Circle Of Evil (History)

Although not HD (sadly) - from one History buff to another, these are all excellent documentaries available on DVD that I would recommend...

[Show spoiler]

[RockyIII]

I never thought that footage that old could look so 'current'. Thank you guys for all the suggestions.
By the way, a little trivia but I just found out that Hugo Boss was the official manufacturer of SS uniforms. Here in the US, Hugo Boss clothing is available everywhere and highly marketed! Crazy!

[stepeanut]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

By the way, a little trivia but I just found out that Hugo Boss was the official manufacturer of SS uniforms. Here in the US, Hugo Boss clothing is available everywhere and highly marketed! Crazy!

This is a well-known example of a private business benefiting from their role in the Nazi period. It is by no means the only one. Some people have short memories.

It may not be your thing, exactly, but in his 1969 film Porcile (Pigsty), Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini draws a parallel between the Third Reich and the post-war German economic miracle.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by stepeanut

This is a well-known example of a private business benefiting from their role in the Nazi period. It is by no means the only one. Some people have short memories.

It may not be your thing, exactly, but in his 1969 film Porcile (Pigsty), Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini draws a parallel between the Third Reich and the post-war German economic miracle.

Are you saying that a business that was involved with the Nazi regime would benefit today from having such a background?
"Hugo Boss, providing great quality clothes to SS troops, and now to YOU!"

[stepeanut]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

Are you saying that a business that was involved with the Nazi regime would benefit today from having such a background?
"Hugo Boss, providing great quality clothes to SS troops, and now to YOU!"

Today, no. But many businesses flourished under the Nazi regime — whose economic policy was built on sand — and then used that position of strength to consolidate their standing during the Wirtschaftswunder of the 1950s and 1960s. This isn’t a controversial opinion, it is established fact, albeit one that is brushed under the carpet in Germany.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by stepeanut

Today, no. But many businesses flourished under the Nazi regime — whose economic policy was built on sand — and then used that position of strength to consolidate their standing during the Wirtschaftswunder of the 1950s and 1960s. This isn’t a controversial opinion, it is established fact, albeit one that is brushed under the carpet in Germany.

Now that I am older I find myself looking back to that with new-found curiosity. I am hungry for more peculiar information on those times and those people of the third reich, not just basic facts.
Also I always wonder how much we really know when we are told the story always from the UK and US point of view.

[stepeanut]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

Now that I am older I find myself looking back to that with new-found curiosity. I am hungry for more peculiar information on those times and those people of the third reich, not just basic facts.
Also I always wonder how much we really know when we are told the story always from the UK and US point of view.

Time to look further afield by the sound of it. There is literally a ton of material available on the social and economic aspects of Germany in the 1930s, most of it written, but documentaries like The Nazis: A Warning from History also touch on it.

Have you seen Claude Lanzmann’s documentary Shoah?

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by stepeanut

Time to look further afield by the sound of it. There is literally a ton of material available on the social and economic aspects of Germany in the 1930s, most of it written, but documentaries like The Nazis: A Warning from History also touch on it.

Have you seen Claude Lanzmann’s documentary Shoah?

No I have not.
To me a turning point-as a videophile and not as a historian-was to see the restored footage, espeacially the Berghof's footage. It was like watching a footage shot not very many years ago, and that made me realize that these were people with real lives, not merely some villain with no emotions, as oftentimes depicted in our history books.