History Shows World War II Like Never Before

World War II is likely thought of by the average person literally in “black and white” terms, and not just because of the reasons for the conflict. Most of the images and film we’ve seen from that period are in black and white, and over time that has given the events and people portrayed in them a sense of not being real, as if they existed in some other world — or that it all took place so long ago that it has no bearing on us. The lack of color, to our modern and sometimes jaded eye, may also keep even the most horrific scenes from the war at arm’s length from a true comprehension of them. We know we are just looking at something from the dusty annals of history.

But plenty of color footage was shot during World War II, and recently, History launched an exhaustive, worldwide search for it. The network’s new series, WWII in HD, culls the results of the over 3,000 hours of film found in that search, and it is amazing. The film is used to put into further context the war, which is seen through the eyes of 12 Americans who were actually there (some of the survivors themselves offer reflections, while their younger, wartime selves are voiced by notable actors).

“[The footage] really came from a variety of sources,” says David McKillop, senior vice president of development and programming with History. “National archives, military museums and archives, collectors, even home movies from actual vets. There’s no one place we relied on more than the rest. … Since much of the footage was hard to find, or not logged, it’s hard to say [how much has never been seen before.] We’d estimate maybe 50 percent hasn’t been seen. Also, a large portion of footage may have been seen at one time, a long time ago, but only by very few.”

Seeing World War II in color almost feels anachronistic, and it takes some getting used to. And because the film has been converted to HD, it becomes all the more arresting and immediate, even though the footage is almost 70 years old.

“Over time, some of the film was deteriorating” says McKillop. “It would sometimes break in the machines when the producers looked at it. Sometimes it was taped together. So the producers had to splice it in many cases. It’s not a complicated process, but time-consuming. All this needed to be done before it could be digitized and transferred to HD.

“One thing that’s striking,” McKillop continues, “is how clear 16 mm footage from this era already is. The [restoration] process essentially involved transferring it to HD, sometimes frame by frame. So the result is something even crisper than the original. … The clarity all depends on the original film, but there are many moments in this doc where you feel like what you were seeing was just shot yesterday. It really is closer than anything we’ve done to actually experiencing the war.”

These enhancements are proving to be of good use to historians looking for further insights into the war. “High-definition digital video makes it possible to identify things such as revelations relating to weapons, uniforms, equipment and aircraft markings,” says McKillop. “For example, through the new clarity of the images, we were able to identify certain weapons at certain points in time that were thought to be no longer in use. Also, the clearer definition makes it possible to identify things like aircraft markings and even the faces of individuals.”

One of the famous individuals from that time turns up in a particular film clip that happens to be among McKillop’s favorite from the series. “There’s footage of FDR watching amphibious exercises in California,” he says, “and there’s this look of awe on his face, but maybe also pride, as if to say, we’ve come a long way. You see his little dog in the shot.”

Thanks to the crispness of the film, sometimes the footage can even seem not real, as if from a staged Hollywood war film, since we are so accustomed to viewing this conflict through often low-quality, colorless newsreels. But it is real — deadly real in many cases. Scenes of Hitler, his rallies, and a Nazi lynching of several Yugoslav civilians look like they could have been filmed yesterday, giving such horrors a new dimension and immediacy that may be called for in this time when words like “Hitler” and “Nazi” are thrown around with casual abandon. Scenes of wounded soldiers and frightened civilians also take on a new intensity in the restored footage that may not have been there in black and white. It can be hard to watch, as it should be.

“It’s important to us to show [how] the war was,” McKillop says, “as people really lived it. So we aren’t going to shy away from the brutality. … These moments make us understand more what this war was really like. … It is never about just seeing the act play out, but understanding the tragedy behind it.”

According to McKillop, WWII in HD “[covers] historical events in a totally new and fresh way. The one that comes to mind is slowly finding out about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Very much like we all experienced 9/11. One news report at a time. Information being [disseminated] throughout the day. I don’t think this has ever been done before.”

All of the footage from every theater of the war, and even that chronicling day-to-day life on the home front, really offers a visceral experience, and a new way of seeing and thinking about the war.

WWII in HD, narrated by Gary Sinise, airs Nov. 15-19 on History (HD).

1 Trackback / Pingback

  1. Pearl Harbor 71st anniversary TV programming

Comments are closed.