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THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF WORLD WAR TWO (Eagle Media) *** ½
Here is a look at what has been referred to as ‘The Great War’ over three DVD’s. This isn’t a theatrical production it’s the real deal, and while the footage is in black and white, the violence and carnage is no less chilling.

At 168 minutes this is a Cliff Notes version of WW-II. PBS TV stations used to run stuff like this every weekend when I was a teenager, but it can be hard to find these days outside of The History Channel. A package like this should be in every history class.

This British production utilizes newsreel footage to put you in the heart of the battlefield. To watch Hitler seduce the masses under his twisted, hellish spell is frightening. Ancient history you say? This sort of thing doesn’t happen anymore? The African continent would beg to differ, and George W. Bush- don’t get me started on that vicious hillbilly.

It took me a week to get through this. It felt like being in high school again which was not all that unpleasant. Even though the grainy, black & white footage is over 60 years old, and I’m no pussy, by the end I was quite disturbed and had trouble sleeping.

Disc one goes from the essential beginnings of the war to Mussolini joining forces with Hitler; disc two from the war on the Russian front to the Asian theatre, and disc three takes us from the battle of Britain to victory in Japan.. More specific highlights overall are Dunkirk, the assault on Pearl Harbor, the D-Day landings and the fall of Berlin. An unexpected bonus in this set is a CD with a dozen of Churchill’s speeches- something that faux Texan in the White House should listen to.

Not everybody enjoys history, and it’s likely you’ve seen some of this footage before, but that doesn’t make “The Complete History of World War Two” any less compelling, or fascinating. I very much recommend it.