Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial. (BBC series)

Cott Tiger · Post by **Cott Tiger** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:19 am

BBC Two has been screening a new series about the Nuremberg war crime trials. The first episode was on Speer and the second one screened this week was on Goering. The third episode next week is about the trial of Hess.

The program is overseen and contributed to by Prof. Richard Overy and takes the format of real footage and interviews mixed in with actors reconstructing events.

I don’t posses a weath of information regarding the Nuremberg trials so I was eagerly looking forward to this series. Although it is professionally put together I was, as is often the case with mainstream productions, a little disappointed with the level of detail.

I found the series adequate for a general overview of the trials of the men in question but lacking in real depth of detail. I suppose there is only so much that can be packed into 50 minutes and it has to be relevant to the mainstream audience.

Anybody else see it? Any thoughts?

cpa95 · Post by **cpa95** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:37 am

Cott Tiger wrote:I don’t posses a weath of information regarding the Nuremberg trials so I was eagerly looking forward to this series. Although it is professionally put together I was, as is often the case with mainstream productions, a little disappointed with the level of detail.

Hi,

Nürnberg daybyday,
see: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/v2menu.htm

Thomas

Cott Tiger · Post by **Cott Tiger** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:00 am

Thanks for the link cpa95.

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:24 am

Unfortunately, the BBC three years ago was given instruction by the government - during yet another argument over the TV licence fee - to make its historrical and scientific programmes more "accessible" to the general publiic....and thankfully do away with home improvement and gardening shows ark ark!

Which has had THREE major effects:-

1/ sidetracked Alan Titchmarsh from gardening into the Natural History of Britain series LOL (there IS a god.....)

2/sadly "dumbed down" excellent programmes like BBC2's Horizon series

3/"dumbed down" the BBC's history output; so they retaliated with more "docudramas" but they have to have a populist element to them. Like the ambitious - but [email protected] - "Dunkirk" series.

I notice its been 18 months now since a new series of the excellent "Timewatch" documnetaries on BBC2.....

Michael N. Ryan · Post by **Michael N. Ryan** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:19 am

I don't think I have seen the Nurenberg series here in the US yet.

I remember seeing some of the Dunkirk series, some months ago.. It was put on late, here in the US. If I remember it right, Sean Bean of Sharpe narated it. His naration was good. Costuming was good. the rest was rather basic.

I really don't think it was that bad. Not great but not that bad.

If I had my way, it would have been done like the old YOU WERE THERE series from back in seventies where it was run as if Modern newsmen were covering the events as they happen.

Could you imagine Lord Gort or von Rundstedt giving interviews like Generals today? Or what it would be like if news people were on sight giving live feed?

Apparently nobody is thinking of doing things like that.

Anyway, if they're putting out more historical programming, I say wonderful. I also recall seeing a bit on Operation Sealion which wasn't that bad either though using SS reenactors to portray the landing is a bit strange since they were second wave.

All I can say is, More Please.

Truth is, I enjoy history and would like to see a lot more. But I would like to see more than documenteries and newsies. Docudramas would be nice. like Islands at War.

TV programming here is for the most part quite pathetic. Very unimaginative. Really quite boring. Often 'Message' oriented.

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:30 am

The Dunkirk series of three programmes is frequently "damned with faint praise" IF you have a chance to watch it again - you'll notice that with the use of VERY tight camera angles, ALL you're getting is basically an acted narrative; there's no attempt whatsoever at sets, wide angles, decent distance shots. Which is a pity because the whole Dunkirk story deserves to be redone on a decent scale, its as ripe for an SPR-type treatmnt as any event of the war, maybe more so. Compare the series with, for instance the old John Mills and Bernard Lee cinema version of the early 60s which is still VERY watchable, and manages in black and white to do a LOT more in two hours than the series did in three. In fact nowadays its my favourite war film, very rarely comes round on TV any more, and was never available on DVD, strangely.

Tom Houlihan · Post by **Tom Houlihan** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:32 am

I'm telling you, Lads, we need to do it ourselves! As soon as one of us hits the big Lottery, we can start putting films together that will do the job proper like!

All we have to do is screen it for this lot here. If they buy off on it, we'll know it's done right! O carse, we'll have to buy our own cable channel to show it!

Waddya think? FHC - Forum History Channel? WW2C - World War 2 Channel?

Hey, if Feldgrau owns a channel, can we get the Forum Heroes to run as a Saturday morning cartoon??? As Phylo would say, "ark, ark!"

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:46 am

Saturday morning cartoon???

Now THAT would work.....just imagaine the Commissar's favourite Puma being replaced with Scoobydo's Mysterymobile! Severe ARK ARK!

Rolf Steiner · Post by **Rolf Steiner** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:11 pm

serviceable, but had the feeling there were large gaps in the narrative. The Spike Jones song tickled me tho (goering episode).

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:49 pm

Rolf, HUGE gaps,which is sad. Given the numbers involved, a few heads in each shot just didn't hack it for me. Especially the supposed Dunkirk sequences.

Shadow · Post by **Shadow** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:54 pm

Tom wrote:Hey, if Feldgrau owns a channel, can we get the Forum Heroes to run as a Saturday morning cartoon??? As Phylo would say, "ark, ark!"

Severe ARK ARK!

Cott Tiger · Post by **Cott Tiger** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 1:47 am

phylo_roadking wrote: I notice its been 18 months now since a new series of the excellent "Timewatch" documnetaries on BBC2.....

Phylo,

I'd forgotten how good the Timewatch series was.

I watched a fascinating episode last night called Love Story (on UKTV History - Freeview). It was about the love affair between two Berlin women during the war. One was a celebrated "nazi" mother bringing up four boys while her husband was away fighting, and the other was a young Jewish woman living underground fighing for survival. The story of how these two remarkable women came togther, fell in love and then were tragically torn apart was a fascinating piece of jresearch and documentary making.

When the BBC really put their mind to something they can do it very, very well.

Rolf Steiner · Post by **Rolf Steiner** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:54 am

I think that Dunkirk film is on UK tv this week... thurs afternoon possibly... will check

Andy H · Post by **Andy H** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:36 am

A few years ago Timewatch changed its title music to its present more bland format. The previous title music was a ticking clock with a haunting yet powerful overlay of a women singing in a operatic or Russian orthadox tone(s).

Anyone know more about this version, name or title it was lifted from?

Regards

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:58 am

Been trying to find that ever since....

Feldgrau.net

Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial. (BBC series)

Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial. (BBC series)

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