Nazi Secrets Revealed (NOVA/WGBH Box Set)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Episodes: B+

 

 

WGBH Boston Video’s new DVD box set Nazi Secrets Revealed collects five of their best shows in a terrific, three-DVD slendercase collection.  Though I had seen these before on PBS, we had only covered two of them on DVD.  Links to those are provided below for those interested.  All run an hour, except fort the first, running twice as long:

 

Decoding Nazi Secrets (letterboxed 1.66 X 1) is the strongest of the five telling the story of how a the British (in the second most important project next to Manhattan) ran a top secret project to break the Nazi’s seemingly unbreakable Enigma coding machine.  This led to Colossus, the world’s first-ever computer and helped win the war.

 

The Great Escape (letterboxed 1.78 X 1) is the true story that inspired the classic film and exposes the myths, facts and some remarkable points even the film could not fit in.  It is very well done, stuffs much in its short time and is a must see for those who love the tale.  To read about the original film, go to this link:

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1148/Great+Escape+-+Special+Edition

 

 

Hitler’s Lost Sub

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2527/Hitler's+Lost+Sub+(Nova)

 

Hitler’s Sunken Secret

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3203/Hitler's+Sunken+Secret+(Nova)

 

Nazi Prison Escape (letterboxed 1.78 X 1) focuses on Colditz Castle in a lesser-known tale about Allied prisoner escape that could make a great film of its own.  Even wilder, soldiers from the time and researches return decades later to look back in a tale we deserve to know much more about.

 

 

Except for Decoding, all the letterboxed images are 1.78 X 1 and all have just about the same picture quality, which extends to the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and DVD-ROM printable materials for three of the titles: The Great Escape, Hitler’s Lost Sub and Hitler’s Sunken Secret.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo