Netflix has recently added a new WW2 documentary to its catalogue. Britain and the Blitz is an “immersive” documentary feature film with “vividly restored” archive footage detailing the experiences of civilians in Britain during the Blitz. Viewers are promised multiple emotional first-hand accounts from those who lived through the devastating period of history.
The documentary’s synopsis reads: “This immersive documentary brings history to life through vividly restored archival footage and firsthand accounts of WWII Britain during the Blitz.”
But those who’ve already watched it have complained about the use of artificial intelligence throughout the documentary.
One scathing review awarded the documentary one star purely because of its use of AI.
Another reviewer said: “I could not get past the AI generated scenes… I can’t tell for sure if they were but the “romantic scenes” felt very off and fabricated… took me out of it. Much rather have some real (footage). The premise is good and I liked the angle the director took.”
However, not all responses have been quite so damning.
Critics have praised the documentary stating: “What makes Ella Wright’s film so fresh and powerful lies in how images are married to sound effects and snatches of speech.”
Another gave a mixed review, writing: “Although it lacks a thematic polestar, Britain and the Blitz is nevertheless a refreshing account of familiar historical events.”
Film and TV review site, Decider criticised the documentary’s use of audio recordings stating: “The film is opaque about its audio sourcing – the vast majority of the narration is first-person, but whether it’s from archival or recent interviews, or by voice actors (one assumes this is the case with readings from the diaries of Wyndham, who died in 2007).”
But a fan on Letterboxd awarded the war documentary four stars, saying: “Netflix finally does good – an excellent documentary about the Blitz of Britain from September 1940 to May 1941.”
The documentary makers, 72Films said: “All the scenes were created using archive footage, the voices in the film were either archive recordings or voiced by actors (as flagged on disclaimer), the colorization of the archive footage all done by hand.”