"The War" - from a WWII history buff
Though not the end-all of WWII documentaries, this is a great look at the events of WWII . It is unique in that the series deals with homefront issues 40% of the time; issues like rationing, women in the workplace, grieving/waiting families, etc. Such studies, as indepth as The War goes, are rare, and in this case is well integrated into the overall presentation.
Concerning the war footage, it is all quite good - some I had not seen before, some I had. Many major land battles are covered (though not much on Wake Island), many of the major air, and probably the largest sea battles, though the latter could have been expanded upon, especially Leyte Gulf and Guadalcanal. Pre-Pearl Harbor events are limited in their scope and detail if present at all.
In terms of following any particular battle, the series is good but understand that, like a real time event, the telling of it is punctuated with peripheral issues - homefront ones like I mentioned, or an aside in which an individual family is followed through some drama in their own personal lives. That makes following a battle a bit drawn out, but does force you to "experience" the event - piece of news here, piece there - as was suffered in real life.
The music, by Winston Marsalis, is good but it's inserted TOO often in my opinion. Ever notice in Lord of the Rings that the music, while excellent, is almost ceaseless - virtually NO non-scored scenes?! Well, it's less so with The War, but you'll be able to hum the main theme sooner than you'd otherwise prefer.
Overall the movie has the effect of conveying the loss and tragedy of war better than any other WWII documentary I've seen. It conveys the concentration camp horrors adequately, but less so the horror Japan inflicted on China. And while it doesn't go into great depth of the Nazi views on Judaism, Christianity, non-Aryans, etc... (as the foundations were laid pre-Pearl Harbor), it is fairly Right/Left balanced politically speaking - if you're worried about that. Ken Burn's America is neither atrocious nor perfect. He waves the flag about the right amount (though I would have waved it a little more).
I'm on my second watching of it. Worth having.Read full review
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