Most episodes of "Secrets of the Dead" that I have seen involve forensics--by archaeologists and pathologists to help up have an understanding about history--how people lived, why they died and often re-interpreting events. However, in a few rare cases, there are no dead--no autopsies, no excavating of ruins or graves...nothing. To me, these episodes are disappointing in most cases--since there are no secrets and no dead. However, "D-Day" is an unusual episode in that it is jam-packed full of very fascinating information, computer re-creations and interviews. And, although I've seen quite a few other documentaries about this event, never have I learned as much as I did from this one.
The primary thrust of the film is how the Allied overcame the many difficulties with an invasion. You learn how they made some secret landings to test the soil (to see if the weight of the tanks could be supported), how they made gliders that performed WAY above expectations, how they made tanks float, how they cleared the mines and how they were able to stop reinforcements coming to the beaches to stop the invasion. I loved that the film was so technical and dealt with the pragmatic aspects of the invasion. I also loved how you learned about how effective each invention turned out to be--some were complete wastes of effort and others were amazingly effective.
A few of the highlights included seeing the old war vet driving a landing craft and explaining how it was used, another acting out his actions in the sand on the beach, some interesting stories (such as the guy whose entire unit was lost), interviews with Germans manning the defenses and reactions in the vets. Well worth seeing.
The primary thrust of the film is how the Allied overcame the many difficulties with an invasion. You learn how they made some secret landings to test the soil (to see if the weight of the tanks could be supported), how they made gliders that performed WAY above expectations, how they made tanks float, how they cleared the mines and how they were able to stop reinforcements coming to the beaches to stop the invasion. I loved that the film was so technical and dealt with the pragmatic aspects of the invasion. I also loved how you learned about how effective each invention turned out to be--some were complete wastes of effort and others were amazingly effective.
A few of the highlights included seeing the old war vet driving a landing craft and explaining how it was used, another acting out his actions in the sand on the beach, some interesting stories (such as the guy whose entire unit was lost), interviews with Germans manning the defenses and reactions in the vets. Well worth seeing.