donowitz WWII in HD is (in my opinion) one of the best series History has produced in the last few years. In it's storytelling style it is cohesive, which is surprising because most project such as this, with multiply narratives, skip around. However, WWII in HD flows smoothly, its transitions between characters and resolutions to every episode is clean cut without being dismissive. It is unrelenting in its pace without loosing the core of the story or demeaning them. At times, it is horrifying (the opening episode to the series, Darkness Falls, comes to mind) and at other times, it is triumphant and then the next second, heartbreaking. The vast views of the war (from a combat nurse to infantry to war correspondents) to the amount of theaters included (North Africa to Europe, a mention of Mediterranean and to the Pacific) WWII in HD sets itself apart incredibly well.Unlike a previous review said, this documentary wasn't meant to be an in depth view at the theaters of war, but rather an examination of what the characters experienced. If you want a general overview that rehashes the same Brass-oriented view of the war, then by all means, go watch World War II in Color. This program was about the people, what it was like for someone on the front lines - whether that meant caring for the wounded, or carrying a weapon - instead of hearing the same rehashed story from a General's view. The narration of each character is very distinct, all incredibly memorable and each bring something to the program. I'd definitely recommend this program to anyone and everyone.I give an 8/10 just because I wish they had included more of the Mediterranean and the China-Burma-India theater.

pultzat I guess to start with a positive, the color footage is quite interesting and fun to see...but I'd really like to see it for more than 1-1.5 sec's at a time. I noticed this the most while watching the documentary with some music on instead of the narrative - unfortunately this product is yet another victim of the "MTV" style of rapid-fire editing. If you want a good WWII documentary that might suck you in a bit, try the WORLD AT WAR, produced in 1973. It's in Black and White (so what), and is much more satisfying and includes a lot more detail into campaigns that happened outside of direct American influence. My three stars are a reflection of my disappointment with the documentary and to compensate for the almost ridiculous 9.7 stars (at the time of writing).

Brian Bagnall (brianberwyn) Having seen the 1970's World At War series plus many other WWII old color documentaries I was not expecting much new in WWII in HD. Much to my surprise I found the entire series absolutely compelling and I watched it all in one day recorded off the TV. It is so much more than just restored old color movie clips (that are very far from HD quality). The story-telling around a number of real-life American war veterans, including recent interviews with them, brings the five year history of the US role in WWII into fresh focus today. The role of Allied military forces is barely covered, however, furthering the misconception that the US alone won the war. Although the story jumps between war theaters around the world the brilliant editing shocks the senses with scene after scene of the horrifying cruelty inflicted on soldiers and civilians throughout the world. Graphic footage of blasted bodies and wounded children is very hard to watch but the end result is the most effective anti-war film I have ever seen. The fanatical resistance of the Japanese military plus their diabolical cruelty caused tens of thousands of US soldiers to die in epic battles on small Pacific islands. Now I understand better why Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs rather than risk up to a million more US soldier deaths in an invasion of the Japanese mainland (I just wish he had given civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few hours to evacuate beforehand). The combination of actual color footage plus unique editing makes this series a must-see even if it takes nearly eight hours to watch. Very highly recommended.

RoundTripTicket But there's a lot I have. I was hoping for some new color B17 footage, but what they have is nearly all recycled from "Memphis Belle" (the original, not the Hollywood).Some of the footage is clearly black & white that's been rather crudely colorized, but most of it is real color.Although the footage is "restored", I don't see how that was done. A lot of the film is scratched and that is all left in. (Scratches and other defects can be removed by filling in the damage with what's on previous and subsequent adjacent frames.) Overall, though, it is great to see the stuff in color and in HD.It's too bad, though, that nearly all the WW2 documentaries are from the American/British point of view. I'd like to see some from the Japanese, German, Soviet and Italian viewpoints.