The content of this DVD set was originally aired as a part of “The War Chronicles”, hosted and narrated by Patrick O'Neal, and the entire series was previously released as the 10-disc set “Ultimate Collections: World War II”. Now “The War In Europe And The Pacific” is being re-released separately.
 
The 4-disc set is not enough to cover the entire WWII, but it does offer more than overviews and timelines of what the countries involved (voluntarily and involuntarily) in the war did. The first two discs are about the war in Europe. As anticipated, it focuses on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. Hitler’s mistakes and the preparation for D-Day by Allied officers, prominently Eisenhower (then General of the Army) are quite fascinating to look at.
 
Since I have seen comparatively more movies and TV programs about battles between Nazi Germany and the Allies than those about the pacific war, naturally the other two-disc set taught me more. This segment starts with Japanese forces invading pacific islands such as Betio. The Empire of Japan made further advances into Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and other nations in the Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific region. I was preparing to see some gruesome and intensive scenes, but a tale of the Bataan Death March struck me.
 
The documentaries in this set are not just about combats, air wars and bombardments. “The War In The Pacific” disc features American troops not only experiencing brutal fights with Japanese forces, but also dealing with heat, monsoon, and diseases such as malaria.
 
I am by far not an expert on WWII history, thus, I have no idea if any of the footage has ever been seen anywhere else. The quality of the black and white presentation is often grainy, and you may find some footage extremely dark and rough. Nevertheless, it is adequate enough to tell us the horrors as well as the military technologies of the war. Some of the aerial images are unforgettable and will surely be lessons for present and future generations.
 
This set will certainly keep military history fans, who just want to know the main players and the major events of the war, occupied for hours on end. Nevertheless, regrettably, I would not call this set the “Ultimate” collection since some other facts, events (e.g. the Nanjing Massacre, the invasion of Manchuria) and roles of some other countries (e.g. Soviet Union, Italy, China) are either missing or only very briefly mentioned. Therefore, this may not be detailed enough for someone who already knows a lot about WWII. Also, if you already own their 10-disc set, there is no reason to purchase this. Moreover, since there are other similar DVD collections (Time-Life’s “The World at War”) already out there, I would assume that some material overlaps among the different collections.