Television

The color of peril

By Dwight Garner
New York Times
02-19-2003

Our collective memories of World War II may exist almost entirely in black and white, but as a new documentary on PBS, The Perilous Fight: America’s World War II in Color, makes plain, the war was the first to be recorded extensively on color film; a good deal of that film has only recently been recovered. “The Perilous Fight” is not the best World War II documentary ever made. It may not even be the best “color” documentary produced about the war. But it does present the most comprehensive collection to date of color film related to America’s involvement in World War II, and many of the scenes are stunning. But the smaller, more subtle moments stick with you. The color scenes of young men, frequently taken from home movies, underline the essential reality that they were very young men being sent into battle. “The Perilous Fight” is far from just a homely assortment of B-roll filler, however, as viewers who saw parts 1 and 2 last week can attest. Tonight’s part 3, “Wrath” (D-Day and V-E Day), features film of the seizure, a few days before D-Day, of a German U-boat that carried Enigma code machines. There are also scenes of bombing raids over Germany and of the liberation of Buchenwald. Part 4, “Triumph” (The Pacific, 1943-45), imparts a strong sense of the viciousness of the fighting there. Throughout “The Perilous Fight,” Martin Sheen’s narration is the glue that links together snippets from letters, journals and reports from war correspondents like Ernie Pyle and Martha Gellhorn. The role of black journalists is also emphasized — “The Perilous Fight” may be among the most politically and socially inclusive full-scale World War II documentaries yet produced. Close and repeated attention is paid not only to the black experience during the war — there is a color training film of the black Tuskegee airmen — but also to the experiences of women, Allied Jewish soldiers and the Japanese in America. Official Perilous Fight site: www.pbs.org ‘Twilight Zone’ visits its past Zap2it.com 02-19-2003 Tonight’s installment of UPN’s revival of The Twilight Zone premieres two episodes inspired by stories from the show’s past, which were both written by original show host and creator Rod Serling. First up is “It’s Still a Good Life,” which is not a remake of the original. It’s a sequel — a generation later, says executive producer Ira Steven Behr, “partly because I knew Bill, and I know his daughter. I know his daughter is a very wonderful little actress, and I thought, ‘Boy, what are the chances of that same red hair, same face? There’s a sequel right there in front of my eyes.’” And who is “Bill,” you might ask? That would be Bill Mumy, 49, whom some viewers might remember as little Billy Mumy, formerly the kid in Lost in Space and — more important — the kid in the original Twilight Zone segment. In that story, his name was Anthony Fremont, a mind-reading child. In “It’s Still a Good Life,” Anthony is now a grown man with a daughter, 6-year-old Audrey (Liliana Mumy), who is starting to develop the same powers as he had. The original “It’s a Good Life” episode of The Twilight Zone airs at 10:30 p.m. on Sci Fi Channel. Official Twillight Zone site: www.upn.com