D-Day: Normandy 1944 is a perfectly serviceable overview of the incredible event that changed the tide of the war for the allies. However, there are far better documentaries out there covering the subject more in-depth.
D-Day: Normandy 1944
(2014)
Genre(s): Documentary
Shout Factory | NR – 43 min. – $29.93 | May 5, 2020
Date Published: 05/29/2020 | Author: The Movieman
|
|
|||||||||||
Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
Note: The screen captures were taken from the Blu-ray disc and do not represent the 4K Ultra HD transfer.
THE MOVIE — 2.75/5 |
|
Synopsis: June 6, 1944: The largest Allied operation of World War II began in Normandy, France. Yet few know in detail exactly why and how, from the end of 1943 through August 1944, this region became the most important location in the world. Blending multiple cinematographic techniques, D-Day: Normandy 1944 brought this monumental event to the world’s largest screens for the first time. Quick Hit Review: I have a fascination with World War II and belief there can’t be enough documentaries on the subject, as there were multiple theatres that, if lost, could have turned the tides the other way. So with this release of D-Day: Normandy 1944, I was quite looking forward to it. While it’s not at all bad, it’s also rather basic, kind of an overview of Normandy using CGI, a few recreations and archive photos, but not all that in-depth, more of a primer or, if anyone remembers these, Cliff’s Notes. I assume since this was made for IMAX theaters, this might have been more impressive in that venue because at home, it’s not all that remarkable. There are plenty of other documentaries on Normandy, hell Steven Spielberg’s recreation in Saving Private Ryan puts you in the thick of it, that would be worthy of watching over this, but with a short running time, it’s at least fine for a short sit through. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
|
This 4K/BD combo pack comes housed in a standard black HD case and a slip cover. Interviews: Producer/Director Pascal Vuong (6:41), Narrator Tom Brokaw (2:25), Historical Advisor Peter Herrly (3:53) Behind the Scenes: Normandy (4:07), Sand Animation (2:30), Music (5:47) Promo (3:39) and Trailer (1:37) Normandy Today (23:14) takes a look at what the city looks like now (at least in 2014). The D-Day Museum (4:38) – Footage of the museum in New Orleans. |
4K VIDEO – 4.5/5, BD VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Shout Factory releases D-Day onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray where it’s presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers, respectively. Given a good portion of this documentary are 3D and CGI renderings, it looks good on both formats. Colors are pretty decent as well and there were no noticeable instances of aliasing. |
AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| While this just comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, this was actually a pretty heavy in the bass department and the narration from Brokaw has a nice evenness to it without sounding too boisterous. Otherwise, for the subject matter and format, it just an all around good lossless track. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
|
D-Day: Normandy 1944 is a perfectly serviceable overview of the incredible event that changed the tide of the war for the allies. However, there are far better documentaries out there covering the subject more in-depth and I suspect the selling point was the drone footage on IMAX screens that doesn’t quite translate at home, although it does look great. |