“The Pacific, 1944. On this vast stage, America is about to confront Japan in one of the most extraordinary naval conflicts the world has ever seen.”
This is a narration from the history documentary “World War II in Color: Road to Victory,” describing the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Unlike any other prior historical documentaries, it has distinctive features that give life to the seemingly surreal and old historical records.
Many commonly consider history as a boring subject as there is a lack of relevance of historical events to their everyday lives. It is also regarded to be complicated and inconvenient due to the simplistic way students had to memorize it for school tests. However, “World War II in Color: Road to Victory” might just change their perception. Add color and mesmerizing storytelling sequences of renowned world history experts to the old black- and-white films and it will be harder not to like history.
Directed by Mathew Barrett, the ten-episode series follows along the major events of World War II from the Dunkirk evacuation to the battle in Okinawa. It is made up of actual footage documented by renowned camera directors such as John Ford and William Wyler that accurately depict the war, sometimes in gruesome details.
One of the prime reasons World War II in Color: Road to Victory is a must- watch, the documentary consists of historical war footage that has been vividly colorized. Previously, historical documents were presented in black- and-white tones due to the limit oftechnology. Though that color tone might have been usual back then, it is not common or preferred in the modern era where many expect vivid colors and scene transitions while watching videos. As a result, historical document clips were deemed tawdry and boring, receiving less attention over time.
Word War II in Color gives a solution by applying colorization techniques to the footages. Historical figures including Winston Churchill, prime minister of the United Kingdom, are shown giving speeches to the public with expressive skin tones and the British troops are witnessed traveling across the vast blue ocean during the Dunkirk evacuation. The tainted dirt and evident fear on the allied bombers’ face during the Battel of the Philippine Sea were emphasized which shows their nearly hopeless situation and lets the audience grief with them. As such, every movement of the participants in war is transmitted through the screen with incredibly specific details, giving the audience a near first-hand experience of life back in time.
Another reason why the series is recommended is its story-telling plot that will immerse you into the show.
Every historical event is a part of a bigger story. To enjoy it, it is necessary to see history in how you would see a forest. Similarly, like combining the trees in a forest, connecting the dots inside an event is crucial for a broader vision and understanding of history. While it is difficult to see the timelineand the cause and effect relationship in history textbooks, “World War II in Color” creates a visual forest through the commentary of narrators and historical experts.
On the first episode of the series about the Dunkirk evacuation, John Levine who is the author of “Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture” and Saul David who is a professor of military history share their respective insight on the evacuation. Levine describes the story of civilian heroes who brought their own sailing boats to Dunkirk while Saul explains military tactical points such as how the mole along the coast had been used as a boarding platform for large ships. The differing views of the same historical event allow an easy yet intriguing analysis of history.
To conclude, the documentary is an ingenious and original piece of content that is recommended to beginners or haters of history. It will teach you that with a slight touch of color, history can indeed become interesting.