A monumental documentary featuring Hollywood legend Tom Hanks is finally coming to living rooms.
The History Channel's WORLD WAR II: Tom Hanks on War, premiering tonight (26th) at 9 p.m., is a documentary series that vividly reexamines World War II from a modern perspective. Tom Hanks, a leading Hollywood actor and director, not only produced but also hosted and provided the narration, drawing global interest even before the launch.
Planned as a 20-episode series, it will meet viewers for 10 weeks starting today, and in the first week it will take the bold step of airing episodes 1 through 3 in a consecutive three-hour block, promising an overwhelming sense of time flying by.
This documentary restores wartime news footage and various historical materials from World War II into high-quality color images using cutting-edge restoration technology. Combined with Tom Hanks's dense narration, it delivers an immersion and thrill more cinematic than film.
In the opening of episode 1, "The beginning of the war: Hitler's invasion of Poland," Tom Hanks delivers the weighty messages "more than 65 million people lost their lives" and "everyone fought their own war."
Episodes 1–3 airing today lift the veil on the outbreak and horrors of what was perhaps the most brutal war in human history.
Episode 1 (Hitler's invasion of Poland) contains Hitler's fanatical speeches after becoming German führer in 1939 and scenes of merciless air raids. In particular, the terrifying siren of the Stuka dive bomber and bombings targeting civilians convey the horror of war vividly. A shocking behind-the-scenes moment is also revealed in which, upon seeing the ruins, Hitler spat out "this is the true meaning of war."
Episode 2 (the fall of France and the Dunkirk evacuation) depicts the pandemonium of 8 million people fleeing after Paris fell to the Nazi blitzkrieg, and the tragedy of the 58-day British aerial bombardment known as the Blitz. Especially in the documentary's highlight, the "Dunkirk evacuation," the moving procession of civilian vessels that crossed the channel to rescue Allied troops facing annihilation leaves a deep impression.
Episode 3 (Operation Barbarossa) closely examines the start of the German-Soviet war, the largest land campaign in human history driven by Hitler's ambitions in 1941, which caused the worst loss of life.
It is expected that viewers will be able to confront the vast whirlpool of history and the realities of war through the gaze of a master.
[Photo] WORLD WAR II: Tom Hanks on War
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