World War II in Colour
2009
Original language: English
- documentary
- war & politics
The story
World War II In Colour is a 13-episode television documentary miniseries recounting the events of World War II narrated by Robert Powell. The show covers the Western Front, Eastern Front, and the Pacific War. It is on syndication in America on the Military Channel. This series is in full color, combining both original and colorized footage.
What it’s like
Archival footage in a documentary register: sepia-warm newsreel stock, grainy and scratched, now carried into full colour, so faces, uniforms and smoke come up with a slightly plasticky, over-saturated sheen that sits awkwardly against the original black-and-white frames. Expect the rhythm of a television history series, with long stretches of wartime imagery held over a narrator's measured, authoritative voice, a sparse orchestral or ambient score that swells at battles and recedes into quiet, and a steady march through campaigns across Europe, the Eastern Front and the Pacific. The mood is sober and expository, closer to a classroom than a cinema, and it suits a weekday afternoon, background viewing while working, or a patient evening with a cup of tea. Its intensity is real but not graphic: wartime violence, bombed cities, dead soldiers and concentration-camp material appear as archival imagery, presented with restraint rather than gore or dramatised cruelty. It is for viewers who want a broad, chronological overview of the war and are curious about how old footage looks when coloured.
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