World War 2: The Complete History

I believe the previous reviewer who gave it a low rating has only seen the American version of this, Which i agree; is different. However if you watch the British version of this it has a completely different narrator and tone and is a very effective documentary.

I would consider myself an amateur historian and I have watched/owned several documentaries in my time, such as World at War etc but in my opinion 'World War 2 the complete history' is much under appreciated by many WW2 buffs.

I have seen both versions of this documentary, one with an American narrator and the other with a British narrator; i agree with the other review that the American narrator was rather drab and plain and also the tone of the documentary was disappointing; However in the edition shown in the UK which for whatever reason is different to the American version with a different narrator; It can be seen on discovery civilization, yesterday channel etc It is significantly better; The music incorporated into the documentary is rather mysterious and enlightening as well as some of the quotes and issues discussed in the documentary itself; It isn't the usual 'placcid' documentary about ww2 it actually raises ethical questions and also puts a historical spin on it when comparing to the present day etc; Its honestly brilliant and it really makes you think in depth and at times it can even be quite philosophical.

This series is a very good look at World War II for one major reason, 100% of the footage (excluding the Sun Tzu quotes and some maps) is from WW2. Except for a few rare parts the footage acts as a montage of WW2 while a narrator talks about the events and it works well. The footage has many themes, from the leaders of the time, views of cities before and after attacks, naval fleets, formations of planes, tanks rolling by and soldiers marching; the viewer is able to get a good look at the culture of the times as well as the military machines used.

The narrator has a very good voice, clear and easily understood. The script he reads is also good and has a neutral leaning, so its less about the good guys vs the bad guys and more a story of the Axis vs Allies.

What I didn't like about it was sometimes the length of time each piece of footage has can be small, and so you have time just enough to take in the scene before it is replaced by a new one. This is a minor complaint and the only one I have.

If you want to watch a quality documentary on WW2 then I highly recommend this.

There can be no denying that WW2 was a war that shaped the latter half of the 20th century.

Through stills, archival footage, and informative narration - This 30-hour documentary (in 13 episodes) offers the viewer an in-depth perspective on the highs and the lows of the Second World War.

Good footage, generally well constructed and organised. HOWEVER, the dialogue/narrative is drab, it is annoying and doesn't engage the viewer. The voice (I've seen the US version), is robotic and boring. Finally, the music is poorly balanced in terms of the volume, quite often the viewer finds him/herself trying to listen to the narrative which competes with the music and the actual soundtrack.

No documentary series will probably ever come close to the immortal "World at War", however, this one was well planned and organised, probably ideal for anybody studying the war, just very poorly delivered

Timeline approach was interesting and fairly accurate but the constant repetition of archived footage, some of which was out of context and the banal synthesizer music ruined the whole experience.

Add to this the odd sounding digital narration and the mispronunctiation of names, such as Roooosevelt aaargh!!! Left me feeling that it could be remastered into a much better documentary.

4/10. Try harder.