Until I run out of cool giftable stuff to tell you about or until we run out of days till Christmas, I’ll be sharing some neat-o things that your geeky pals might enjoy, or that you might want to give to yourself, if you’ve been especially good this year.
Students of history and World War II buffs will love this new blu-ray edition of the classic 1970s ITV documentary that looked back at the war in obsessive detail using tons of footage from the era as well as interviews with participants and high-ranking eyewitnesses: Albert Speer, Jimmy Stewart, Alger Hiss, Curtis LeMay, aides to Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Hitler, and many more. I’ve never seen this series, but the British Film Institute ranked in No. 19 in its 2000 list of the 100 greatest British Ttlevision programs ever, and it’s still considered the definitive TV documentary series on the war.
This set includes all 26 episodes plus making-of and restrospective documentaries, including a look at how the 1080p restoration and new 5.1 DTS-HD audio tracks were created.
If the whole series is as awesome as this little bit looks (and this clip isn’t even from the blu-ray), I’m gonna have to make time to watch it all:
You just have to be careful to whom you give this one, or be aware ahead of time if gifting yourself, that there’s a huge kerfuffle over the BD version.
(edit: I read about it in the Amazon.com comment section for the BD version.)
W@W purists are completely up in arms because the original aspect ratio was not preserved for the Blu-ray transfer. The BD version is cropped (to what extent is debatable, depending on who you talk to), and omg, are people maaaad.
Those people are touting the DVD version, which retains the original aspect ratio, over the BD version.
It would appear that calmer heads support the BD version, stating that the effect of the cropping is negligible; that the focus of the camera framing remains, and that the various benefits of the upgrade to BD (sound, video clarity) does this series grand justice.
I grew up watching this series, and it’s something I am planning on adding to my library one day, and I am leaning towards the BD version, though I would be interested in seeing a side-by-side comparison.