Onward to Berlin

Introduction

Several UK cable channels appear to be obsessed with World War II and Hitler. On UKTV History (now rebranded "Yesterday") there always seems to be something related to these topics on - "The Last Hour in the Bunker", "Warnings from History", etc. etc.

Whilst it might appear that I'm mocking this state of affairs, I don't actually think it's a bad thing, as everyone should know all about that particular war, how it came about, what happened, and the enormous human sacrifice that it took to end it.



This 10 part Discovery Channel series, made in 2004 and presented by Al Murray (known to most as his character The Pub Landlord), focuses on the last period of the war, from D-Day, June 6, 1944 onwards, as the Allies attempt to push through France into Germany and defeat Hitler once and for all.

Video and Audio

A bit of an odd one here. A non-anamorphic 14:9 transfer (like you get when watching widescreen TV programmes on analogue TV). I thought this was a thing of the past on DVD transfers but it appears not.

I'm guessing it was shot in widescreen, with the old war footage cropped to fit in a widescreen frame. But with the transfer being 14:9, we're now losing even more from the archive footage! This is a bit annoying, but just grin and bear it, since the content is the important thing here rather than how it's presented on your screen.

The new material all looks fine, whilst most of black and white material looks old, scratchy and dirty and just like most footage of the war that you've probably ever seen.



We also get a DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which is a combination of modern stereo and scratchy and hissy mono from some of the archive footage. This all sounds fine.

Extra Features

Nothing more than a photo gallery. Was hoping for some additional footage, interviews or some kind of making of.

Conclusion

Whoever came up with the idea for this was on to a winner. There are a myriad of war documentaries out there. So they:-

a) concentrated on a specific period. Good idea - the over-arching documentary has already been done.

b) got an interesting person to front it. Al Murray has a high profile with various social groups due to his Pub Landlord character, which gives this DVD a little more appeal.

c) got someone with a degree in history to front it. Yes, that self-same Al Murray has a degree in history from Oxford, which helps him to sound authoritative and knowledgeable on the subject. It also makes him a good interviewer.

d) got interviews with people who were there and fought in the campaigns featured. And they even take some of them back to those places. It's important to hear from the people involved. And it's quite touching to see some of these people reunited with the Lancaster bombers that they flew in (or similar events).

e) split it into 22 minute episodes. Just the right amount of time to cover a subject. Not too long so you switch off, and ideal if you want to watch more than one.

f) made it "children friendly" without making it patronising. Perfect for school viewing.



This is an important and fascinating series. Whilst I'm reasonably good on my history (we studied this period at school and I've seen quite a few of those documentaries above), there was a lot in here that I didn't know, and I found myself watching several episodes in a row just wanting to know more.

There is much debate about education in schools at the moment (recent stories about dumbing down, changing the curriculum, removing history in favour of nonsense about blogs, Twitter, Facbook, etc.) The study of the second world war should be compulsory, and this DVD is an excellent choice for concentrating on the history of the final period of that war.

A few people I know will be getting bought a copy of this in the future...

Recommended as compulsory viewing for you and your children.