John Kettler Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Starting this past Sunday, History Channel debuted a 10-part program depicting the war through the eyes and words of twelve participants. Most of the footage is new, is in color and has never been shown before. Apparently, it was found during a worldwide archive search. I've started watching part 1, and it's very good. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooz Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I have been watching this series as well as another program on Smithsonian Channel (US TV)--Apocalypse. The quality of the colorized, digitally remastered in HD footage looks better (IMHO). It is really cool to see sharp detail--in color-- of footage that you have seen time and time again. The Apocalypse series has one scene of Junkers flying into Tunisia that is quite stunning. I also never realized that the French Zouaves had red hats. My HDTV TV has a "Full Pixel" setting which is the best picture I can get. Some stations (such as Smithsonian) broadcast in this mode while others (History Channel is one) do not. Now if only they would remaster the World at War series--woo hoo! I sure hope this is a trend. Maybe they can do the same for the old World War One stuff? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I expect there is a limited amount of improvement that can be done with WW I footage without spending the budget of a small country on the project. I imagine the film would be grainy and the images in many cases also pretty blurry. Still images might be usable though. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeatEtr Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I missed last nights episode but saw Sundays. It's not bad, but it's not like the footage is full HD or anything. And yes, all the footage is not never before seen. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I stopped after watching two episodes. There is a great disconnect between what the series says it is showing and what is actually being depicted. I've become really familiar with much of the WW2 color over the years and can see how they've patched together film from different battles (sometimes even different theaters) to attempt to depict some sort of "action flow." It is total BS. One segment showed German panzergrenadiers on the Eastern Front in SDKFZ 251's deploying and then flowed to US Infantry in the Bulge and next moved to German Artillery firing (Italy perhaps) and then to US Marine Rocket Launchers under Japanese fire on Okinawa, all supposed to make you think it is all the same battle. What hogwash! It is pretty shoddy and not worth the aggravation to me. This is not history, it is hucksterism. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilhammer Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 That is true of most of The History Channel - or the Hysterical Channel. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 That is true of most of The History Channel - or the Hysterical Channel. Sad but true. They have little to no respect for their viewers. Watching the HC in hopes of finding history is like going to a greasy spoon in hopes of a gourmet meal. And the producers of these shows might even be correct in their assessment that the bulk of their viewers neither know the difference nor care. Furthermore, if they did start to turn out a quality product that performed well at depicting the realities of war, it would only turn some of their current viewers off and raise the expectations of the rest, leaving the producers with the more difficult job of creating quality programs. In short, absent a producer and a team that have a personal motivation in producing quality work, it ain't gonna happen. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooz Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 I also get the "Miltary History Channel" which seems to consist of old History Channel shows (including Mail Call, Civil War Journal, Last Days of WWII) which were aired back when the History Channel was decent. I don't really care for Ice Road truckers or some similar programs. As of yet this channel is not available in HD. What I love best about MH is that it is commercial free! I wonder how much longer this will go on. Getting back to the main topic I watched tonight's show (Tuesday) and thought is was okay but the quality of the film is hard pressed to pass off as HD. I did like the old vet from the 9th Infantry and his story of his reunion with his wife. So, overall i still say that for those of you who get the Smithsonian Channel, the show "Apocalypse" is clearly better when it comes to eye candy. You should see the French tanks in color, some sporting their camo schemes. Here's hoping this trend of restoring old footage continues. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilhammer Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 They reran them last night. Saw some nice color film of SBD Zeroes... The TBF Hellcats looked nice... The Colorized Japanese Film, I guess, honored the Color footage, filmed originally in color - the disclaimer DID SAY it 'contains' this found original color footage. There was also this nice bit on US Naval Builds, showing off our shiny new Navy, including a British Cruiser... That was all in one Episode! Awesome! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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