This interesting, if not overly analytical, documentary traces the wartime history of the orchestra and is graced by the presence of several elderly men, including Hans Baastian, who was concertmaster during the war, lending their personal stories to the more general history being presented. As in a lot of these wartime reminscences by Germans caught up in Hitler's madness, there's more than a little disingenuousness as they attempt to make excuses for staying with the orchestra, and even for giving (not very convincing) "real" reasons that Jews left the group. There's an interesting intercut early in this piece when one child of an orchestra member states that a Jewish cellist left because he could make a better solo career for himself in New York, immediately followed by the cellist's own child stating unequivocally that his father could have just as easily made his home base in Berlin and pursued his solo career from there, had it not been for the mounting anti-Semitism.

The film has an abundance of some really fascinating archival footage of the Philharmonic playing, including a large, state-sponsored birthday party for Hitler in 1942, and various "Strength Through Joy" concerts given by the Nazis throughout the war. Some of the most arresting footage of the piece, though, comes toward the end when archival color footage of the devastation of post-war Berlin is shown, accompanied by the mournful strains of the Philharmonic playing Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.

If The Reichorchester tends to present only the surface history, without a profound insight into the story beneath the surface, this particular niche of German war history is interesting enough that it will probably fascinate most classical music and history fans. The Berlin Philharmonic was literally the only arts organization to continue performing in Germany through the final death gasps of Hitler's reign, and though its reputation may bear a few scars from its painful association as "Hitler's orchestra," its enduring contribution to musical culture is well represented in the many performances featured here.

The DVD

Video:
The enhanced 1.78:1 image is nothing spectacular, especially considering the bulk of the piece is archival black and white imagery, but it's also nothing horrible.

Sound:
Though the soundtrack is ostensibly stereo, the bulk of the archival footage is of course in mono. That said, everything sounds surprisingly spry for its age. The spoken soundtrack is German, but there are subtitle options in a host of languages.

Extras:
A Nazi propaganda piece (excerpted in the main documentary itself) of Furtwangler leading the orchestra in the Prelude from Richard Strauss' "Die Meistersinger" at a concert given for factory workers, is presented in full. Unfortunately there are no subtitles for the German narration.

Final Thoughts:
This piece would have benefited from a more in-depth inquiry into the attitudes of orchestra members who witnessed so many gifted Jewish musicians leaving their ranks in the early 30s. To claim (as one elderly participant does) that musicians are "like children, politically" might be expedient in terms of having to come up with explanations (or rationalizations), but it makes for some shallow analysis. However, all told, the history of the Philharmonic during wartime is not just about anti-Semitism, and those additional aspects are well-covered, featuring some great archival footage. Recommended for all classical music and history buffs.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet