Der Pazifikkrieg in Farbe

From the frequent basic errors (eg Wildcats referred to as Hellcats, misreporting of the battle of the Coral Sea, bizarre backwards sequencing of the battle of Midway, largely ignoring the contribution of the US army and other country's services, and gaps in the narrative throughout - yes some of the latter can be attributed to the lack of accompany colour footage but the narrative should still have a sound basis in documented history) to the overwhelming Macarthur-worship, I found it almost impossible to watch a full episode without a break. I eventually resorted to muting the narration and admiring the excellent colour camera work. Two stars for the footage, none for the narration.

I just saw this for the first time a few weeks ago on Smithsonian and I was mesmerized by the color cinematography in this series. I have read the other comments and they are not wrong. This is not a 'documentary' to learn about the Pacific War (of course, most viewers do not need to learn about the war from TV, I hope. And most probably know more than the producers of this series.)

It is true that the series is riddled with historical errors. But I see similar mistakes on the news often enough. (Anything with tracks and armor is a tank?) Also, some video clearly does not match up with the event being discussed. Maybe most noticeable is that the film dictates the episodes. Major events like Midway and Guadalcanal get short shrift, mainly because there is a lack of color footage. However battles like Tarawa get oversized coverage precisely because there is ample color film. The air war is mostly ignored for the same reason, until the B-29 when they apparently carried a lot of color cameras.

But that is the point here. This is not WWII in Color, with its colorized history. This is an attempt by the Smithsonian, which is more archive even than museum, to present rare footage that has mostly never been seen. Pre-war home movies of the US and the Pacific Islands. Raw battle footage, often from the aftermath of an event. This is what makes this such an effective series. If you watch a lot of documentaries, you already know the story. What this series does is give you a lot of new visuals that help bring those events to life. The narration may not be robust, but the film is maybe as close as future generations will ever get to feeling what it was like.

As a European, my knowledge of the Pacific War was quite limited. In school, I learned extensively about the Nazis, but I received little information about the Pacific War. After watching numerous documentaries about the war in Europe, I came across this series. It significantly enriched my understanding of the United States and the Pacific Theater, opening my eyes to a part of history I had previously overlooked.

I became deeply fascinated by this segment of World War II. While watching the documentary, I found myself completely engrossed; not a single moment left me uninterested. This experience sparked a desire within me to learn more about the U. S. perspective in world war II.

I highly recommend this series to the general public worldwide! It is an excellent resource for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of this critical part of history. This documentary deserves the highest rating for effectively conveying its important message and providing insights that are often missing from traditional narratives in Europe (and possibly beyond?). It truly broadens one's perspective on World War II.

The footage is high in quality and comes accross as special or rare. I never saw most scenes before and i've seen quite a lot. The series has the feel and taste of an highlevel production so you are taking in some important history in comfort. I also think facts (and footage) has way more rawness and less cencorship than for example the other known ww2 color series. Which I definately appreciate. If you are into ww2 a must watch, def.

They might try to make the Documentary actually be more accurate by not referring to the Units invading as being all Marines! The US Army stormed these same Islands, and far out numbered the Marines. As well, there was no AirForce then, It was the US Army Air Corps. Try not to rewrite History please!