World War II in Colour
In this dreaded lockdown, I casually browsed through Netflix, bumped across this historic documentary on World War II, and jumped in excitement. I have always been curious about this world-shaking phenomenon and how the war came about to be inclusive of ALL continents of the world. At the behest of one single individual? Can anything else in the history of the world be more unfathomable yet natural? Because since time immemorial it has been the greed for power of a single man that has led to all the wars we know. Is this account of World war II worth a watch, Let’s find out!
This 13-episode series is a detailed description of many wars fought in Europe and all the way in South East Asia. Each episode is a story, marvelously told. Did you know that ‘Winston Churchill’ was appointed the PM of England on the same day Hitler decided to launch an attack on France and England? It was a strike designed to blow the enemy on all fronts of land, air, and the sea. This type of attack started to be known as ‘Blitzkrieg’. This is covered in episode 2 which also covers the tale of ‘Dunkirk’. A pleasant day in a war where even the French civil ships helped British allies across the English Channel as France lost her honor to the German troops. “I will not speak to that man”, said Winston Churchill when the air attacks over Britain caused her knees to almost collapse but Britain had a Prime Minister who would not give up. It did prove to be the right thing to do in the end. Watch this series to see the live footage of men like him, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and many more in action in the moments when history was being written.
Watch this series to understand how the rise of Technology in the early 20th Century defined the course of the greatest war in history. How the continuous development of the latest aircraft, tanks, and even submarines would put Germany back in the battle. Watch the intelligence service of Britain decipher the codes of Enigma (also, shown in the 2014 movie imitation game) save the day for the country. How the massacre of the holocaust (not for faint-hearted) and the dirty relationship between Power and Politics has always caused the doom of humanity.
The interesting part about this series is that the original black & white footage has been colored by advanced coloring techniques. While you can occasionally spot the clearly artificial coloring, most of the time it is unobtrusive and hardly noticeable. Watching these scenes in color adds an aspect of realism to them, compared to the same scenes in black & white.
Some stories like that of Japan’s invasion did not resonate with me much. But I do recommend Episode 9 a nail-biting narration of ‘D-day’, the beginning of an End. If you are someone who likes action, this is the real deal. The chronicles of WWII are the ones that no one should miss. So, my verdict, drop everything and watch this spell-bounding tale of real events today!
Disclaimer: The above review solely illustrates the views of the writer.