Britain and the Blitz

It's a lovely piece of work, well presented, well curated, very well displayed. Extremely fitting for VE Day.

But it is a piece of propaganda and that cannot be denied.

Women put at the forefront with no recognition that their contribution was soon to be dismissed.

There's nothing in there that gives true merit to all the people who fought and needlessly died in that war.

Little England, plucky little isle. No. Overseer of a vast Commonwealth at the time. 'Common' 'Wealth'. We know where the wealth came from and to the very few 'common' folk it went to, and let's be clear, none of them were common. And they kept that wealth on the backs of lives.

One thing I did learn though was that the tubes were originally blocked off. I never knew that. I always thought that was the safe place, but obviously not. Why save poor people when you can use it for paintings?

Churchill, man of the people. With his good food, great wine, fabulous cigars, and priorities. Blitz spirit.

God save us all In these dangerous times. Which is probably the exact same sentiment then, because no one else really had their backs.

The movie seems to have been edited by throwing film clips up in the air and allowed to fall to the floor where they were randomly picked up and spliced together. It is all arbitrary with very little detail given on how it all fits together. It is as if the makers of the film never researched the actual Blitz. The only worthy thing of praise was the colorization. A good job was done on that.

It's not enough to show a series of film clips without sufficient narration on how it all fits together. The viewer is left to fill in the blanks with conjecture often times without knowledge of what how everything took place. A documentary should inform, not confuse.

"Britain and the Blitz" unfortunately falters in its execution. A significant drawback is the pervasive use of artificial intelligence in the visuals, which often creates an uncanny and ultimately soul-less viewing experience. The storytelling also feels disjointed for the majority of the series, jumping between events without the anchoring presence of traditional sit-down interviews. It's not until the very end that we see individuals being interviewed, a missed opportunity to weave those crucial human perspectives throughout and create a stronger connection. While the colorized historical footage offers a visually interesting element, it's not enough to overcome the distracting AI and the scattered narrative. Ultimately, "Britain and the Blitz" presents an interesting subject but falls short in its delivery, making it a less impactful watch.

Britain an the Blitz (BatB) is not your "ordinary" war documentary - it does not focus on; strategic decisions, frontline fighting action or the ongoings in the minds of people on the battlefield. Rather it focuses on the social and fatiguing aspects of life during wartime. It does so pretty well.

BatB covers, as the title implies, the period of the most severe bombing of Britain during the Second World War - from the 7th of September 1940 to the 11th of May 1941.

We are let into the world of some those affected by the relentless bombing of indiscriminate targets. Civilians as well as military, women as well as men, children as well as adults. The whole documentary is in colour which arguably adds to the sense of "being there".

BatB offers no insights into the rationale of "this type of warfare" - it does however offer a few compassionate glimpses into the world of those affected. In so doing it offers a different kind of insight into the effects of war and tells a story that, arguably, should be told more often.

It is a shame that so many unkind and untruthful posts are allowed to try and distort the truth. This is the first Netflix documentary about the British and WW2 that isn't altered by the "message" and I am genuine in my sincere thanks.

Ella Wright you should receive every appreciation. Watching this I thought often of Raymond Briggs "Ethel and Earnest" because this documentary is so faithful to everything my parents and grandparents experienced. Despite what revisionist cruelty might say these were good people standing up and fighting alone against real tyranny.

My grandparents and my two uncles lived through this. My dad played in the craters and collected shrapnel. My family lost lives, had lives ruined. But they never ever regretted fighting tyranny. This documentary honours them and tells their story truthfully.

I wish those posting reviews with their unkindness would have watched the thing before posting. Thank you again Netflix.