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Starring

Samuel West, Timothy Dalton, Samuel West, Bill Paterson, Richard Holmes, Ian Holm, Sean Bean (narrators-presenters), John Erickson, Stephen Walsh (historical consultants), Simon Russell Beale, Clive Brunt, Phil Cornwell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lt Jimmy Langley, Ricci Harnett, Nicholas Jones, Michael Legge, James Loye, Kevin McNally, Roland Manookian, Alex Noodle, Adrian Rawlins, Rick Warden, Ben Abell, Nicholas Asbury, Richard Attlee, Alex Avery, David Lyon, Tracey Moore, Graham McTavish, Mark McKerracher, Albert Welling, Tim Bentinck, Robert Cambrinus, Andrew Havill, Matthew Bose, Daniel Cerqueira, Meritxell Lavanchy, Doug Rao, Lucy Chalkley, Alan Westaway, Nickolas Grace, Weodzimierz Matuszak, Don McCorkindale, Linda Ellerbee, Gert Heidenreich, Linda Hunt, Horst-Günter Marx, Klaus Mikoleit, Grazyna Blecka-Kolska, Klaus Michal Zejdler

Format

Boxset, Colour, PAL

Main soundtrack

English or Greek (selectable), Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles

OFF or Greek (selectable)

-

Region

Aspect ratio

16:9 (Part 2), 4:3 (Part 1, Part 3, Part 4)

Number of discs

12

Classification

BBFC

Studio

2 Entertain Video

DVD release date

25 Apr 2005 in the UK

Run time

1851 minutes (30 hours 51 mins)

EAN

-

The Nazis: A Warning from History (2 discs)

Perhaps the most solid and interesting documentary ever produced. This exploration of Nazi history attains a scholarly approach that is neither inflammatory nor preachy, helping viewers to see how the Nazis came to power and how the atrocities came to be committed. It was not all about one big, bad wolf who scared everyone into blind obedience.

Unlike Michael Moore's humor, flash-and-propaganda documentaries, this one not only interviews the victims as well as perpetrators without comment but also presents photographs and historical, archival documents and footage to illustrate the cool narration of facts. Amazingly, it manages to avoid commentary while presenting and interviewing those involved, including Nazis who were remorseful as well as those who were not, without ridicule. It is quite astonishing to hear how cold-blooded people were, right from their own mouths. Many knew what they were doing and some even made their own decisions about their cruelty and testified right on camera. Several still have no remorse about it.

As in quality scholarly historical scholarship, everyone stands on their own, leaving the audience members with the complete picture, facts, angles, voices, footage and photos to think for themselves. Remarkable collection and tight, professional filmmaking (choices, interviews and editing) - unbelievably thorough in research and excellent in presentation. An exemplary must-see for any history buff or documentary maker or anyone wondering about the Nazis.

Source: IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0207907/usercomments

The Road to War (1 disc)

Were leaders in Britain and France so scarred by the carnage of World War I that they failed to stand up to Hitler as he began his march through Europe, thus providing the spark that would become World War II? Was Czechoslovakia abandoned by Britain and France, sacrificed in the face of Hitler's aggression? In The Road to War, acclaimed historians Richard Overy and Andrew Wheatcroft cogently piece together a globe fractured by war to show how conditions such as the lack of sophisticated intelligence-gathering techniques, limited communication, and events in the USSR and the Far East all conspired to forge a world of shifting alliances, and difficult decisions.

Source: DocuWiki http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=The_Road_To_War

Dunkirk

"A miracle of deliverance" was what Churchill called the evacuation from Dunkirk, and as narrator Tim Dalton informs us, the quarter of a million British troops snatched from Nazi claws in June 1940 were to be the core of the British Army throughout the war.

Churchill reminded his countrymen "not to assign to Dunkirk the attributes of victory," but still - it proved to be event that would bolster England for the war in general and the Battle of Britain - only a month away - in particular. The British pluck in the face of an enemy that had by then defeated all of Europe helped bring in the Americans without which the war would undoubtedly be lost.

We cannot be reminded often enough what might have happened, and what nearly did happen in 1940. As the film shows with admirable accuracy, Churchill was pretty much alone in his decision not to give in to appeasement policy and make bargains with the Germans, for which determination his fellow politicians, Chamberlain and his ilk, awarded him with the moniker 'warmonger'.

We don't seem to have many Churchills these days, among the heaps of Chamberlains that persist in telling us that 'war is not the answer.' Sometimes it helps to have the question repeated. As in this film. Back in 1940, the question was how to respond to German imperialism, Nazi atrocities and disregard for Geneva Conventions. It was a defense of the British values that Churchill so eloquently voiced.

Source: IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400391/usercomments

War of the Century

In 1941, Nazi Germany, seemingly near invincible in its military might despite its failure to break the UK in the Battle of Britain, makes one of its most disastrous military moves. Despite the danger of a two front war and the existence of a non-aggression pact, Hitler orders the full scale invasion of the Soviet Union. This series explores the reasons for this undertaking, its vicious nature on both sides and the general series of events of the bloodiest theater of the war that would ultimately turn the tide in the fight against the Third Reich.

Source: IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433478/plotsummary

The Battle of the Atlantic

Winston Churchill gave the first public expression to the phrase "Battle of the Atlantic": "Battles might be won or lost, but our power to fight, to keep ourselves alive, rested on the outcome of the struggle for control of the Atlantic." This excellent three-part documentary tells the story of the Battle of the Atlantic which lasted for the duration of World War II, from 1939-1945.

It begins with "The Grey Wolves", the story of Hitler's submarines, the U-boats, and their threat to starve Britain into submission. With the leadership of Admiral Karl Donitz, and his 'wolf packs', they nearly succeeded. Huge numbers of merchant ships were sunk between 1939 and 1942.

The second part, "Keeping Secrets", describes the capture of an Enigma machine - the true story, not that of the feature film "U571" - and the invention of radar.

Lastly, "The Hunted" describes how the tide turned and the tactics of Captain "Johnny" Walker, in HMS Starling, and Admiral Sir Max Horton ashore in Liverpool, together with RAF Coastal Command, and comparable allied services, prevailed to win the Battle of the Atlantic.

Both the Allies and the Germans had a common enemy, of course - the Atlantic Ocean - and the graphic archive footage leaves the viewer in no doubt about the Cruel Sea. Churchill is seen meeting Jolly Jack and US Navy sailors and Hitler meets some of the top U-boat commanders.

As ever, best of all, are the stories told by the men, and women, themselves - the eye-witness accounts of the U-boat commanders, the Royal Navy hunters, the merchant seamen, airmen and code-breakers. This is truly a sea story and the tale of the under-stated heroism that underpinned the Allied victory in Europe. The cost was the loss of more than 30,000 merchant seamen, over 4,700 British flagged merchant ships and many allied surface warships and men. Over 85% of U-boat crews would lose their lives.

Source: IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492508/

Horror in the East

While most documentaries about Imperial Japan focus on Pearl Harbor and the war that followed, this solid BBC production covers Japanese activities in Asia in the 1930s. Without sensationalizing or demonizing, it shows how the Japanese notion of racial superiority and the military's inhumane training of its own soldiers made it easier to brutalize civilians following the 1937 invasion of China. After indiscriminate bombing of Chinese cities by Japan's air force, the empire's army invaded and began committing atrocities to rival Nazi crimes in Europe. Thousands of women were gang raped and living men were used for bayonet practice.

Source: IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309685/

Battlefields

Battlefields of the Second World War is what every Richard Holmes fan has been waiting for. In this fascinating and brilliantly articulated study of the Second World War, he clarifies the complexities of four of its campaigns: El Alamein, Monte Cassino, Operation Market Garden (of which Arnhem formed a crucial part) and the RAF's bomber offensive against Germany. The film originates in his firm conviction that the sacrifices made by British services personal are not properly understood. It uses eyewitness accounts to illuminate the horror, confusion and sheer enormity of war, and puts this in the context of the conflict's broader strategy. As the twentieth century, so deeply marked by war, slips away, this is the time to recognize the price so many of its men and women paid for freedom.

Source: DocuWiki http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Battlefields

D-Day 6.6.44

D-Day, the greatest and famous military invasion during the World War II, is still a great story to tell. There's so many movies, documentary, literature made to honor the men and women who sacrificed their life in the name of freedom. D-Day tells the epic story of the preparation and execution of the Allied invasion of Normandy. It tells the story of the defense of the Western Front by the forces of the German Empire and of the complex and deadly secret war fought by the men and women of France and mainland Europe. D-Day brings to life the dramatic and astounding tales of courage and sacrifice, joy and despair, love and betrayal.

D-Day 6.6.44 is brilliantly produced by Richard Dale (The Human Body, Walking with Cavemen, Teachers) and narrated by Ian Holmes. This semi documentary movie tries to dramatise the preparations and the execution itself. There are stories told by a few old men/women who actually lived as a real actor on the D-Day.

Source: IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412617/usercomments

D-Day to Berlin (1 disc)

The collective military operations from D-Day to the final assault on Germany represent one of the greatest military offensives ever. D-Day to Berlin follows the Allies' remarkable progress from the beaches of Normandy to their ultimate victory just eleven months later. The celebration of Europe's liberation from the Nazis was tempered only by the chill of Stalin's new domination, truly making this the campaign that shaped the future of Europe. Using a testimony-driven format, this three-part series uses accounts of British, American and German soldiers, as well as archive footage, to bring the savage battlefields to life once more.

Source: DocuWiki http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=D-Day_to_Berlin

Auschwitz: The Nazis & 'The Final Solution' (2 discs)

An in-depth visual and verbal account of one of the most notorious episodes of World War 2. Using location shots and combining CGI, for a 3-D realism, this is a documentary, through a timeline, showing its conception, ideals, horrors and liberation of the Death Camp that is Auschwitz and its role in "The Final Solution". Using reconstructions of key events by actors playing major Nazi hierarchical roles and real interviews from parties of all sides; ex-prisoners, old Schutzstaffel (SS) members and witnesses. Using archive footage conjoined with reflective, contemporary imagery it is a vivid and thorough historical telling of the atrocities of a political ideology that gave nothing but fear and death.

Source: IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446610/plotsummary