'Apocalypse '45' brings last days of World War II into your home

Only those who fought in World War II really know what it was like.

Over the decades since the war ended with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945, movie dramatizations and documentaries using heavily edited, rapid cut newsreel footage have skewed America’s perception of the war.

But starting Friday, the Carnegie Science Center is doing a pandemic-inspired virtual launch via its Rangos at Home offerings of a new documentary called “Apocalypse ’45.”

The timing of the release coincides with the 75^th anniversary of the war’s end.

It will be available through Thursday, Aug. 27 before debuting Labor Day weekend on the Discovery Channel.

The film uses rare, restored color film footage harvested from the National Archives. It includes the voices of 24 World War II veterans who lived through these events to reveal a gripping narrative of the last months of the War in the Pacific.

The closer American armed forces got to the Japanese homeland, the more desperate Japan’s defense became. As this was happening, filmmakers embedded on the front lines recorded every aspect of combat.

Directed by Erik Nelson, “Apocalypse ‘45” documents events from the flag raising at Iwo Jima in February of 1945, to the vicious kamikaze attacks and ground combat at Okinawa in April, to the first test of the atomic bomb in the remote deserts of New Mexico on July 16.

In addition, there is dramatic footage of the air war over Japan in the summer of 1945, and the still-burning ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, filmed by a U.S. Army medical crew in the midst of the devastation to both the city and its residents.

Nelson said his intent is to present the war in all of its horror with as little mediation as possible.

“It’s pretty much raw history, war unplugged. I’m trying to consciously construct a time machine to bring you back to the Pacific Theater of combat in 1945,” Nelson said. “It makes demands on the viewer in so far as it’s a harrowing ride that doesn’t let you off the hook.

”It doesn’t step back and give you context. It’s what was happening as filmed by the men who were in the middle of it with the men who were fighting remembering what it was like to be there.”

Nelson combed through 700 reels of footage from the final months of the war in the Pacific, much of which had never been screened. And none of it had been digitally restored until Nelson got his hands on it.

“We were able to digitally remove all of the blemishes and dust and dirt that had accumulated and we were able to color correct it,” said Nelson.

“There is no colorization at all in this film,” he said. “The colors you see are the colors that are on the film, but the faded footage has been brought back to life. Essentially, we took a bottle of ‘digital Windex’ and scrubbed the footage so that you can see through the window into the past.”

Nicole Chynoweth, marketing and public relations director, said the Carnegie Science Center showed Nelson’s restoration of William Wyler’s “The Memphis Bell” last year as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival and received a very positive response from viewers.

“Our moviegoers have long shown an interest in historic documentaries, especially those related to World War II,” Chynoweth said. ”We’re thrilled to show another powerful documentary in the 75^th anniversary year of the end of World War II, and we hope viewers come away with a deeper understanding of this chapter in history.

“Apocalypse ‘45” is $12 to rent online.

More info: https://carnegiesciencecenter.org/rangos-giant-cinema/apocalypse-45/