What are they? The Rise of the Nazi Party, 10 hour-long episodes on three discs from Athena, and Hitler and the Nazis, five hour-long episodes on one disc from Cinedigm
When? Tuesday for Rise, now for Hitler
How much? $59.99 for Rise, $29.93 for Hitler
Wow. That's a lot of Nazis. There was a time, before they spent all their time on aliens and people who drive big trucks over ice, when the History Channel was referred to as "the Hitler channel." These two documentary series could quench the need for those who miss the days when the schedule was 80 percent World War II.
Rise of the Nazi Party is somewhat misnamed, as it goes beyond their rise into their years in power and the aftermath. Using a narrator, extensive re-enactments, historian interviews and newsreel and modern footage, the series tells the story of how the Nazi Party was formed and how it seized and held power. It explores the international political and financial forces that helped move things along and, most importantly, how the Nazis managed to manipulate the public and the world at large through savvy planning and public relations campaigns.
Hitler and the Nazis covers a lot of the same ground: how and why Hitler was able to get control of Germany and what happened afterward. This one also uses re-enactments, but instead of a chorus of historians, it interviews eyewitnesses. Most are regular citizens, but there are a few recognizable names like Leni Riefenstahl.
How are they? Rise is the better of the two. Hitler and the Nazis blasts through the history like a German blitzkrieg, moving so quickly that context and understanding are frequently sacrificed. Some of the interviewees are dubbed or heavily accented and difficult to understand, and there are no subtitles to help out.
There's also a lack of focus. While the series starts out about Hitler and the party and their influence on Germany, it eventually becomes a standard war documentary, then spends several minutes on the creation and history of Israel, forgetting the German people and their leaders almost entirely. The final episode is an old documentary from the 1940s or '50s about Germany and the war that's interesting in a time capsule kind of way, but not necessarily enlightening.
It also has a few inaccuracies and obvious mistakes, for instance, translating "Deutsch" as "Dutch" instead of "German."
Rise is far more focused. It takes its time and keeps its focus on Nazi manipulations and how, after the war, the allies set about repairing the damage.
As a result, it does a much better job of explaining the hows and whys, while at the same time not letting anyone off the hook. Not even the Americans, whose post-war rule-bending regarding former Nazis gets a good bit of time.
It's not perfect. The frequent and repetitive, sped-up clips of modern Germany grow tiresome, and there's a tendency to over-dramatize, but it's fairly solid on the whole.
Are there extras? Nein.
New this week: DCI Banks, Season 1; Death in Paradise, Season 1; House of Cards, Season 2; Red Shoe Diaries, Season 1; Wilfred, Season 3.
Next week: Bewitched, Seasons 3-4; the Bridge, Season 1; I Spy, Complete Series; The Larry Sanders Show, Seasons 1-2; Mama's Family, Season 4; My Favorite Martian, Season 1; NYPD Blue, Season 5; Orphan Black, Season 2; The Partridge Family, Seasons 1-2; Party of Five, Season 1; Unforgettable, Season 2; Witches of East End, Season 1.
Style on 06/15/2014