Hitler A Profile

There are two notable strengths about this documentary about Hitler, as compared to others. First, it has very good access with its interviews, talking to many people who are not commonly seen elsewhere. Secondly, it similarly has very good access to original footage. The problem with this is that much of the original footage is in fact propaganda footage, and this series, while reversing the evil message, does not give one as much historical information as would be desirable for so long a program. Basically these shows are making a great point of showing you that Hitler is bad. Perhaps this is very useful for less informed people in Germany, but for well informed people outside of Germany the effect is repetitive, long winded, and while true enough, propagandistic. It is reasonable, as a historic matter, to mention Hitler's repetitive schedule for example, and it is reasonable to surmise that this reveals something about the character of the evil dictator. Nonetheless, it seems somewhat ridiculous to use horror movie *shock/reveal* music scoring when one is describing a breakfast of toast etc., no matter how often someone eats it. This series has a paradoxical combination of drawn-out footage that would be interesting to someone out of Germany only if they are very interested in the subject, but a message and information density that is aimed at someone with little knowledge of the subject. The combination will not appeal to everyone, and many history buffs will want to explore other documentaries on the subject first.