Das dritte Reich - in Farbe(The third Reich - in color) is a fantastic documentary. It documents life in Hitler`s Germany in the period between 1933 and 1945 and the war. It is really scary to see Hitler, his officers, the bodies in the concentrationcamps etc. in color, which makes the Hitler`s regime look frighteningly realistic. Watching the mass-rituals of the Nazis again in color is an experience which you`ll never forget. Being a German production, Das dritte Reich in Farbe manages to be very realistic and authentic. Definetely worth a look.
5 Reviews
More than just colour footage of the Third Reich
lestermay2 February 2008
This is an excellent film but the title is a little misleading, as there is also plenty of colour footage from the UK, USA and the Pacific theatre.
The chronology of the Second World War is sometimes tricky to follow, because the producers were limited to colour film footage. But, that aside, there is much to gain from this film. Not only are there extracts from footage taken by famous film directors while in uniform, there are extracts from propaganda films of both sides and of film that never made it to the screen, having not met with the approval of the censor.
Well known aspects of the Second World War are here in colour and that certainly adds some immediacy for viewers today. For me, however, it is the footage that one never, or rarely, sees that makes this film so valuable a contribution to one's understanding of the war. Life went on, of course, and it's the private 'home movies' taken by civilians and military alike that are so memorable. It is so easy to forget, when watching some of the classic footage of the fighting of the Second World War, that ordinary life did go on. Propaganda some of it may have been, but it's no less valuable.
Robert Powell's English narrative is wrong when he describes HMS Ivanhoe as a cruiser - she was an I class destroyer (lost 1 September 1940).
Overall, this is an excellent addition to the wealth of material already available and it helps to understand the human story of the years 1939 to 1945.
The chronology of the Second World War is sometimes tricky to follow, because the producers were limited to colour film footage. But, that aside, there is much to gain from this film. Not only are there extracts from footage taken by famous film directors while in uniform, there are extracts from propaganda films of both sides and of film that never made it to the screen, having not met with the approval of the censor.
Well known aspects of the Second World War are here in colour and that certainly adds some immediacy for viewers today. For me, however, it is the footage that one never, or rarely, sees that makes this film so valuable a contribution to one's understanding of the war. Life went on, of course, and it's the private 'home movies' taken by civilians and military alike that are so memorable. It is so easy to forget, when watching some of the classic footage of the fighting of the Second World War, that ordinary life did go on. Propaganda some of it may have been, but it's no less valuable.
Robert Powell's English narrative is wrong when he describes HMS Ivanhoe as a cruiser - she was an I class destroyer (lost 1 September 1940).
Overall, this is an excellent addition to the wealth of material already available and it helps to understand the human story of the years 1939 to 1945.
Chilling, as you might expect
rvm-214 March 2002
The quality of the footage is superb, and the effect stops one cold because you sometimes think this could be happening right now. The vividness of the imagery makes you could step into the picture. That makes the individuals shown - including average Germans, gypsy children, Jews in the concentration camps, blood spattered corpses, and Hitler himself - seem disturbingly real. This narrowing of time between then and now brings the viewer back to the central mystery as revealed by Nazi Germany, which seems to deepen the more one learns about it: What combination of characteristics in human beings could allow this insanity to have happened?
This is a simple film, and the narration is suitably understated as we witness a panorama of life and death in Nazi Germany, but the effect of the two hours of high quality footage makes one think long and soberly about what we human beings are capable of.
This is a simple film, and the narration is suitably understated as we witness a panorama of life and death in Nazi Germany, but the effect of the two hours of high quality footage makes one think long and soberly about what we human beings are capable of.
Third Reich in Color
Horst_In_Translation23 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Das Dritte Reich - In Farbe" is a German 105-minute documentary from almost 15 years ago and the title already says what this is about. It is all kinds of color video recordings from the days of the 3rd Reich. This includes Hitler himself, his closest advisers, but also every day life in Germany and war footage. A couple years ago, I watched a documentary series about World War II in color, and this one we have here also covers the 6 years before that, i.e. the first half of the Nazi regime. The heart and soul here is obviously the visual side and the rare addition of color adds very much to the material. I would not say that the contents in here are boring or uninteresting, but it is all overshadowed by the color. So it is a bit style over substance, but still, there are interesting sequences, such as the Goebbels children shown together in harmony, completely unaware of their tragic fates at this point and a couple more interesting scenes. All in all, this documentary by Michael Kloft adds nothing really new in terms of the historic context, but it is still a convincing watch and I recommend it to everybody with an interest in 20th century politics. Thumbs up.
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