Kolberg: The Restored 1945 Epic Directed by Veit Harlan (2019 Release Issue) (DVD)

I was looking for this video for some time.I had heard that Goebbels had put together quite a rouser of a patriotic film years ago, but nobody had a decent copy. Now that copy exists.Technically, the film is well acted and well filmed and directed. It is certainly a cast of thousands. The battle scenes are great.It is also quite a propaganda piece and reminds me of "Triumph of the Will". Some scenes are so obviously propaganda that you almost want to laugh.The liner notes are very brief, too brief I think. I suggest looking up this film on Wikipedia for more background.

I am a big Napoleonic Wars history buff so I ordered this video to see what the Nazi representations of that time were like. I got far more than I expected. The whole movie focuses around the town of Kolberg which during Napoleon's smashing of Prussia in 1806 was one of the only Prussian strongholds to last the entire war. The film is not as far fetched as one would think (especially when comparing it to movies like "Fury") most of the characters are based on real people. There are however numerous signs of subliminal messages entered into the German audience at the time that WWII enthusiasts will pick up on immediately. Some examples:1. Myth -The German populace (of 1813) marching singing patriotic German tunes to rise against their French oppressors. Gneisenau then tells King Frederick Wilhelm III to put every German under arms to defeat the French. Reason- Russians are invading and quick in 1944 so the Nazis want the Germans to unite to fight back. The real story in 1813 was that the Prussians were forced to conscript most of their recruits and many wanted to be rid of the French and were not pro-German per se.2. Gneisenau in the film is portrayed as a young man in his 20s trying to fight the invaders. In reality he was in his mid 40s although he was adamant about repulsing the French.3. Napoleon's troops abandon the siege thanks to the heroism of the German people. In reality peace was signed and the siege was called off.4. During the siege of 1806 in the movie no mention is made of the Russian army. In reality it was the Russians that prevented Kolburg from falling since Napoleon and his best troops and commanders were battling them in Poland.5. All the "bad" guys in the movie are portrayed as capitalistic, "enlightened" and "new age." ie not very Nazi...Thankfully many of these points are made in the commentary which was overwhelmingly accurate. On top of all that the movie was pretty entertaining.

I won't sit here in the 21st-century and criticize the movie making techniques used in "Kolberg".Nevertheless, the movie has numerous flaws, most of which are related to continuity, flow of action, and abrupt, amateurish cuts from one scene to another. In that respect, American movies were far superior by the early 1940's.No, my chief criticism is more "mechanical" in nature, and it's aimed right at the DVD itself -- YOU CAN'T TURN THE DAMNED SUBTITLES OFF! How maddening! This is the only movie I've ever seen which has subtitles that cannot be deactivated! You MUST view this movie, made with spoken German, with English subtitles activated, whether you want them or not. This is very distracting to me because I do speak and understand German. Why would anyone do that?I tried to turn off the subtitles on both a standard DVD player, and on a very recently-manufactured Blu-ray player. Nothing worked.So, I give the movie four stars for being a "best-in-kind" for the sort of movie that it is -- and it's very well appointed, with lavish costumes, authentic sets, realistic period battle scenes, and massive displays of huge crowds, etc. The acting isn't bad, although as it almost always is in 'propaganda pieces', it is often strident and a bit unnatural. If you are a student or enthusiast of Third Reich film, this movie is absolutely essential!

Joseph Goebbels was expert with propaganda manifestations of the German master-race that defied realities. The movie "Kolberg" indeed was Goebbels's most defiant portrayal by using the historical parallel of resistance of an East Prussian town's population against Napoleon in 1807 = total war against the Allies in 1945. Just as the French artillery bombarded Kolberg into ruin and flames in 1807, so also it evoked the devastation of Allied bombing raids in Germany during the 1940s. The retreat of the German Wehrmacht from Russia meant the Nazi regime was entering its last days. In the movie Kolberg, all the citizens and soldiers were presented marching in the streets prepared to fight the French, that elicited memories of the last days in Berlin where even the HItler Jugend (Hitler Youth) were mobilized to fight among the Wehrmacht and Gobbels's citizen Army. Some of the special features were very enlightening about Gobbels's 1943 Total War Speech Newsreel that was shown with the release of Kolberg in the midst of the chaos during early 1945 to be shown in a few of Germany's movie houses still in tact. The movie, Kolberg, and the special features included provided tremendous insights to the last days of Berlin and the end of the Third Reich Nazism. Worthy of more than just a 5-gold Star rating.

I was extremely pleased with this release of 'Kolberg.' I feel that anyone studying Nazi propaganda would benefit from it. Not only does it include a quality copy of the film, it includes a newsreel of Joseph Goebbels that provides further connections with the film and insight into the use of propaganda. It also includes a slideshow with even more information on details in the film. Though I would call myself an amateur researcher in this area, I believe this was an excellent addition to my resources. It provided me with answers to specific questions that I had and offered further research avenues, possibilities.