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Category:    Home > Reviews > Documentary > History > WWII > Nazi > GermanyAssassination > Hitler’s Bodyguard (2008/Athena/Acorn Media DVD)

Hitler’s Bodyguard (2008/Athena/Acorn Media DVD)

 

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

 

 

As a major companion to Churchill’s Bodyguard, Hitler’s Bodyguard (2008) is a new mini-series that covers a quarter-century of the people and arrangements that kept Adolf Hitler alive and in power until his empire finally came crashing down.  You can read more about the Churchill volume at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4384/Churchill%E2%80%99s+Bodyguard+(D

 

 

This time, we get 13 hour-long episodes over four DVDs that cover the subject and then some.  It not only covers how this protection grew from a few people to layered patterns of soldiers, bodyguards and killers, but covers some of the less-discussed aspects of his rise to power, his personal affairs and even seems to uncover information not previously known or well known.  We also learn of how foreigners, communists and Jewish factions all tried to get rid of him early on, one of the least-told stories.  Usually, too many pieces on the subject just have him suddenly in power and it was never that simple.

 

This justifies its length, but my only reservation was otherwise fine narrator Robert Powell’s faux German accent, which does not work too well.  However, Powell and co-producers Philip Nugus and Jonathan Martin do a decent job covering the tale in chronological order in a thorough fashion and it is compelling without trying hard.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is a mix of vintage film footage, new video and passable digital graphics to communicate various concepts throughout.  There is some softness and staircasing here and there and the result is uneven as documentary programs usually are.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is consistent and is recorded well enough, though narration can sound too forwards at times.  Extras include Killing Hitler In The Movies list, stills and a 20-page companion booklet inside the case.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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