It would seem that in the wake of Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, and numerous other high-minded liberal attempts to humanize the face of World War II (allowing us to feel bad while simultaneously acknowledge the grim necessity of war), there wouldn’t be a place for the raw, hardened sort of material that tends to only be produced when a war is in full swing, when hawk and dove alike are thrown together under the umbrella designation of ‘enemy combatant.’ Into this mix comes World War II 360, a set that includes the first seasons of both Patton 360 and Battle 360, originally broadcast on the History Channel. Stripping the war of all its political, ethical, and personal context, World War II 360 reduces vast campaigns to only their most practical terms, explaining in techno-fetishistic detail the movements, soldiers and weaponry that went into decisive battles of the war.
Though Patton 360 and Battle 360 are two separate series, their formats (as well as their intended audience) are virtually identical. Patton, naturally, follows famed (for his belligerence as well as his tactical brilliance) General George S. Patton in his campaigns across North Africa and Europe, while Battle follows the exploits of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the aircraft carrier to see more action than any other in the Pacific theater. In both series, digital animation is merged (sometimes seamlessly, sometimes otherwise) with documentary footage from the battles to create as complete a picture as is probably possible to create in the medium (really only a full-scale living diorama could hope to compete). With the benefit of an omnipresent narrator (who intones as if his only prior voiceover work was in sports announcing and film trailers), battles are not only described but plotted, showing where soldiers were (and frequently where they had just been and their level of training), what the terrain was like (with the benefit of animated maps showing the geographic terrain), and, most importantly, what they were fighting with (there are frequent ‘stat’ cutaways, which give the vital statistics of both weaponry and vehicle, in only one aspect of the show that feels borrowed from video games).
If any one word could describe the aesthetic of these shows, it’s ‘busy.’ Even when veterans speak directly to the camera, the background is filled with constant swirls of animated motion, as if the material couldn’t possibly be engaging on its own (to say nothing of the constant music, or the way that the different visual elements are integrated so quickly). The effect is simultaneously oppressive (viewers unaccustomed to the barrage presented by modern infotainment should probably stay away) and energizing, the program’s enthusiasm for the mechanics of industrialized warfare barely concealed by its obligatory reverence for the GI experience. It probably wouldn’t be fair to say that the show reduces the 20th century warfare to a serialized (but exceptionally complicated) game of paintball, with episode titles like “Vengeance at Midway” and “Crushing the Third Reich,” it’s safe to say that this isn’t for anyone looking to better understand what their grandparents might have gone through. Instead, this is a celebration of strategy and gamesmanship (but mostly of winning), played out on the largest (and safest, as this would all be harder to swallow in a more morally ambiguous setting) canvas that history could afford. Though material like this tends to be programmed for hawks on the right, the experience of watching it is curiously apolitical, as one gets the feeling that such a format could be applied to either side of any given conflict, so long as it was the side that won.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The Battle 360 discs contain additional scenes. The Patton 360 discs don't have any special features.
"World War II 360" is on sale October 26, 2010 and is not rated. Documentary, War. Directed by Sam Dolan, Tony Long. Written by Rob Beemer, Sam Dolan. Starring Alan Pietruszewski, Arthur Beaumont, Arthur Kroop, Bryan Stefancyk, Donald Gordon, Erik Thompson, Errol James Snyder, Garth R Hassell, HR McMaster, Jack Glass, James Barnhill, John Antal, Kevin Hymel, Martin K A Morgan, Matthew Tremblay, Richard Harte, Rick Atkinson, Roy E Blood, Walter Ehlers, Walter Keil.
