6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
This History Channel special uses an all-seeing CGI eye that offers a satellite view of WWII, allowing the viewer to experience it in a way that places key events and tipping points in a global perspective.
Narrator: Corey JohnsonWar | 100% |
History | 62% |
Documentary | 51% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
You have to give History at least a little credit while at the same time understanding their predicament: there are only so many epochal events scattered throughout the annals of time, and after this long on the air, History has done about all of them. Twice. (And that’s being charitable.) The cable channel has a tendency to visit and revisit its favorite subjects, whether that be the destruction of the Earth by marauding asteroids, a frequent focal point in The Universe , or just the plain old destruction of the Earth courtesy of any of the innumerable specials about Nostradamus which the network has aired over the years. (Are you sensing a pattern here?) In terms of 20th century history, there’s probably no greater story than World War II, and it’s only to be expected that History would deal with this subject repeatedly, trying any number of gambits to parlay what is basically the same old information in some supposedly new light. But did we really need WWII From Space? What exactly is the point, especially since this one off piece doesn’t even abide by its titular rules and ventures not just Earthward, but underwater at some points, for crying out loud. While there’s nothing wrong with the information being imparted here, it smacks of desperation, like a weary junior high history teacher dressing up like some great leader and doing performance art in order to keep his (or her) students interested. Were the licensing fees of The World at War that formidable?
WWII in Space is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and The History Channel with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While this special is presented in a progressive format (not always the case with History Blu- rays), which is a plus, there's a rather startling lack of other elements that may disappoint choosy videophiles. This is a strangely desaturated special, even in the contemporary interview segments, which rarely pop with robust color. These talking head segments do present generally very commendable fine object detail, especially since the bulk of these sequences are shot in close-up. The rest of this largely animated special is kind of a hit or miss affair. Some of the rotoscoped historical stills look fantastic, while some of the maps with all their "electronic" bells and whistles are really rather surprisingly soft looking, lacking definition and further marred by those very bells and whistles which serve mostly to distract and don't even always provide much salient information.
WWII From Space features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 which from a technical standpoint is probably the single most appealing thing about this release, even if it suffers from the fact that a lot of this special is either narrated or features talking heads, two elements which expectedly do not engage the surround channels. The surrounds do come into play when some of the battles are depicted, and these sequences offer good discrete channelization of foley effects. As with several History outings, there's rather aggressive low end here, both with actual LFE and also an abundance of other low end effects. Narration is always well prioritized and mixed well in front of the effects. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is very wide.
The only so-called "supplements" here are trailers for other Lionsgate releases, which I never include as part of the official score for bonus material.
This Reader's Digest recounting of World War II may serve as a sort of video Cliff's Notes for those without the wherewithal to make it through longer, more in depth pieces, but that still doesn't account for the just downright (or should that be upright) silly decision to try to frame all of the material from high in the sky, a decision that seems even sillier when the special doesn't even attempt to stay up in the sky. I've long taken History to task for its emphasis on apocalyptic material, and in that regard, at least WWII From Space doesn't over dramatize events with intimations of extinction, but this special still falls prey to another annoying History tendency, namely the network's inclination to visit and revisit the same old material with some ridiculous gimmick or point of view appended to it to try to make it "hip and happening". A thoughtful account of World War II deserves more than a mere gimmick.
(Still not reliable for this title)
World War II in HD
2009
1973
2018
2010
2014
Deluxe Edition
1952-1953
2017
2011
2010
1990
2007
2014
2011
75th Anniversary Edition
2014
2014
1969
2018
1977
150th Anniversary Edition
2012
1955