While the series title ("Secrets of World War II") is a bit melodramatic, the educational content of this documentary more than compensates for the hype. Each episode focuses on a key topic of the war from D-Day to Stalingrad to Germany's "secret weapons" (the V-1 and V-2 rockets, etc.). The topic is presented thoroughly and with painstaking accuracy. During the program the narrator poses (again, with melodrama) several poignant rhetorical questions, such as "Did Stalin use secret reserve army divisions to stop the Wehrmacht from taking Stalingrad?" And in regard to the heroic rescue at Dunkirk, "Did Hitler purposely order his Panzer divisions to stop their advance, allowing the British and French armies to escape, because he didn't want to go to war with Britain?" The casual viewer might find this material to be a little heavy, but the student of history, especially of WW II, will enjoy every minute.
2 Reviews
An Impressive Series.
rmax30482311 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I've only seen a few episodes but if the rest of them even approach in quality the ones I've viewed, then it's a fine set of documentaries indeed.
The context is sketched in at just enough length to emphasize the importance of the subject being dealt with. There are virtually no talking heads -- no experts or witnesses -- only Robert Powell's keenly written narration, which seldom stumbles into cliché. Obvious errors of grammar of fact happen so rarely that when they do, they draw attention to themselves, but in a way that's not offensive. "Rommel's Afrika Korps retreated remorselessly before the Allied advance." The newsreel footage is appropriate and usually taken directly from the material under discussion, as far as I could tell, although I doubt that Ira Hayes, one of the heroes of Iwo Jima, who is captured saluting on film ever served in North Africa.
I can't recommend this highly enough. Even the title is apt -- "Secrets" -- because the series deals with little-known facts. I only worried that the series might give us only one allied victory after another. The enemy must have had some secrets that worked too. How about something like: "Secrets of World War II: The Landings at Dieppe"?
Post script: I've now seen most of the episodes and I'm still surprised, or MORE than surprised, at how candid and honest the series is.
The context is sketched in at just enough length to emphasize the importance of the subject being dealt with. There are virtually no talking heads -- no experts or witnesses -- only Robert Powell's keenly written narration, which seldom stumbles into cliché. Obvious errors of grammar of fact happen so rarely that when they do, they draw attention to themselves, but in a way that's not offensive. "Rommel's Afrika Korps retreated remorselessly before the Allied advance." The newsreel footage is appropriate and usually taken directly from the material under discussion, as far as I could tell, although I doubt that Ira Hayes, one of the heroes of Iwo Jima, who is captured saluting on film ever served in North Africa.
I can't recommend this highly enough. Even the title is apt -- "Secrets" -- because the series deals with little-known facts. I only worried that the series might give us only one allied victory after another. The enemy must have had some secrets that worked too. How about something like: "Secrets of World War II: The Landings at Dieppe"?
Post script: I've now seen most of the episodes and I'm still surprised, or MORE than surprised, at how candid and honest the series is.
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