The World at War

The World at War must rank as one of the best television documentaries ever produced. Thames Television devoted three years (1971-74) to making the series, which is perhaps the most expensive documentary of all time—the entire series cost £900,000 (equivalent to roughly $16,000,000 in 2019 US dollars). But it was conceived as a collection of separate stories, and not a comprehensive account of the conflict. In these stories, although the emphasis is on military developments, civilian life is not neglected; and attention is given to the situations of ordinary persons (soldiers and civilians) as well as the decisions of their leaders. The 23-hour main series includes the following episodes:Germany—3 episodes: (1933-39), (1940-44), (1945); Britain—2 episodes: (1939-40), (1940-44); France—1 episode (1940); Russia—3 episodes: (1941) (1942-43: Sralingrad), (1941-43); Japan—2 episodes: (1931-42), (1941-45); U.S.—1 episode (1939-42); North Africa—1 episode (1940-43); Battle of the Atlantic—1 episode (1939-44); Air War Against Germany—1 episode (1939-44); Italy—1 episode (1942-44); Burma—1 episode (1942-44); Normandy—1 episode (1944); Occupied Holland—1 episode (1940-44); Liberating Europe—1 episode (1944-45: Western Europe, Warsaw Uprising, Battle of the Bulge); War in the Pacific—1 episode (1942-45); Atomic Bomb—1 episode (1945); Genocide—1 episode (1941-45).The series includes 11 hours of bonus material that employs portions of film and interviews that are omitted from the main series. The bonus series includes: Making the Series (2 episodes); Genocide, 1941-45 (2 episodes); Germany, 1933-1945 (2 episodes); Retrospectives (2 episodes); Hitler’s Death (1945); 20-minute commentaries by Traudl Junge and Stephen Ambrose. There are also excerpts from various interviews, assorted still photographs, capsule biographies of major dramatis personae, and a brief textual account of how The World at War was produced.There is a certain lack of balance in the series. For example, there are five episodes dealing with Germany. The producers chose to deal with the resistance movement in Holland (perhaps because English-speaking interviewees were relatively easy to find, or because Holland’s experience was suggestive of what might have happened in Britain if it were occupied by the Germans). But the program neglects the more important resistance movement in Yugoslavia, and there is nothing about the wartime clash between Nationalist and Communist forces in China.Most of the film used in The World at War (which was collected from government and private collections around the world) was originally intended for newsreels. Most of it is black and white, although there is some color photography. The producers edited the film to fit the allotted time slots, and dubbed in appropriate sounds (explosions, gun fire, etc., since most of the film was silent), narrative (most by Laurence Olivier, but some by Eric Porter), commentary by participants, and music (some written by Carl Davis, but also some wartime music from Britain, France, the U.S., Germany, the Soviet Union, and Japan). The producers sought to minimize the narrative, preferring to let the pictures and the interviews tell the story.The producers were able to interview a wide assortment of persons. Among the British interviewees are J. R. Colville (Churchill’s secretary), Anthony Eden (who held various posts in wartime Britain), Arthur Harris (head of RAF Bomber Command), various RAF pilots, Army and Navy officers, and Louis Mountbatten. American interviewees include Vannevar Bush, Mark Clark, James Doolittle, J. Lawton Collins, John Kenneth Galbraith, Averell Harriman, Curtis LeMay, Bill Mauldin, John McCloy, Jimmie Stewart, Kate Summersby (Eisenhower’s British driver/personal secretary), and ordinary soldiers and civilians. Many Germans were interviewed for this series, among them Paul Schmidt (Hitler’s interpreter), Albert Speer (German production minister), Karl Dönitz (Commander of U-boats, then of German navy, and final leader of Third Reich), Wehrmacht officers Walter Warlimont and Siegfried Weshphal, Adolf Galland (fighter pilot and later Luftwaffe fighter commander) and other fighter pilots, Otto Kretschmer (U-boat captain) and other U-boat captains, Karl Wolff (Himmler’s adjutant), German civilians and resistance leaders, including Evald von Kleist-Schmenzin and Emmi Bonhoeffer (sister-in-law of theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer). Japan is represented by Marquis Kido (the Emperor’s chief advisor), Tomohiko Ushiba (the Prime Minister’s private secretary), Toshikazu Kase (Foreign Minister Matsuoka’s private secretary), and various army and navy officers and civilians. Soviet interviewees include several high-ranking Soviet generals, a partisan, a housewife and a factory worker. The series also assembled commentary from Polish and Dutch civilians.The series obtained commentary on Pearl Harbor from Minoru Genda (who planned the attack), Mitsuo Fuchida (who led it), Masatake Okumiya (a participating pilot), George Elliott (radar operator whose warning of approaching aircraft was disregarded), and various U.S. sailors and journalists. For details about Hitler’s death, the producers drew on interviews with Traudl Junge (Hitler’s private secretary), Heinz Linge (Hitler’s valet), Faust Shkaransky (who led the Soviet autopsy of Hitler’s body), Yelena Reveshkaya (Soviet interpreter), Keith Simpson (British forensic surgeon), and Hugh Trevor-Roper (author of the British study of Hitler’s final hours)All of these interviews shed important light on the subject. On the other hand, it should be noted that among those interviewed there are, I believe, only two Frenchmen, one Italian, and no one from Scandinavia, or Asia (apart from Japan).The World at War is also available in Blu-ray, but, given the low quality of much of the original film, it is questionable whether it can significantly improve the on-screen appearance; and the Blu-ray version apparently cropped out part of the images.Due to obvious time constraints, the television documentary, even with the addition of the bonus episodes, could not make use of all the research and interviews conducted for the series. The companion volume, The World at War, by Mark Arnold-Forster (1973) covers the same ground, but in much greater detail. Similarly, additional material from the interviews is presented in The World at War: The Landmark Oral History, edited by Richard Holmes (2007).

I had remembered seeing some of the episodes when it was first on US TV. When I ordered the series, the British seller nicely emailed me to confirm that I had a DVD player that was 'sll-region'. I have one(thanks Amazon!). I have watched the series now and am highly impressed with it. Several of the 'making of' episodes are key to understanding the series. I would caution that there are many scenes that would be difficult to watch for viewers that are squeemish or emotionally connected to the incidents of the war. It shows WWII at its worst as well as the general history. The interviews of many of the principal figures are sometimes the most striking especially since the series was made in the 1970s so many of them were still alive to be interviewed. Stark, gritty, emotional would be words to describe this excellent production.

[Following is an incremental review spanning my audience experience of 'The World At War' series over 29 years. The first part is my assessment in 2002 of the series content based on having seen the original and several rerun television releases, and on owning the year 2000 PT Video PAL release, comparable with the first US NTSC release. The final stage is my comment on 30 March 2012 about the Blu-ray release - angled more on the technical aspects of that release.]The vast body of documentary-making about the Second World War has nothing to compare with Jeremy Isaacs' "The World At War", made for Britain's Thames Television in 1973-74. The term miniseries is inadequate for this giant of quality and quantity. It stands so far above everything remotely similar as to be in a class of its own. With some 32 hours of viewing culled from millions of feet of wartime US, Russian, British, German and Japanese newsreel and propaganda film, and unique postwar interviews, this is a MEGAseries. Sustained high quality shines through, although almost 40 years have elapsed since it was made--and more than 67 years since the archival footage was shot. The DVD release is a gem which everyone interested in the genre will want to own. It is no exaggeration to describe this series as a milestone of civilisation.The many postwar interviews gathered for this series with wartime Allied and Axis political leaders, generals, resistance leaders, diplomats, and ordinary and not-so-ordinary soldiers and citizens, are astonishing in their range, candour and insight. It is impossible here to do justice to these interviewees. Mountbatten, LeMay, Prince Bernhard, Durrell, Westphal, Manteuffel, Guingand, Galland, Warlimont, Fuchida, Genda, Galbraith, and Samuelson are just some of the famous names.Albert Speer, who was Hitler's architect and later his Armaments Minister, talks frankly and contritely about the coverup of the "Final Solution" and his close relations with Hitler. Statesmen Averell Harriman (US), Anthony Eden (UK), and Koichi Kido (Japan), among others, recall diplomatic and political byplay and insiders' views ranging from Churchill to the Emperor of Japan. The top WWII Japanese air ace to survive the war, Saburo Sakai, recalls the youthful patriotic fervour of his fellow fliers and the impact of Japan's reversal of fortunes. Marshal of the (British) Air Force Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris explains his strategy for bombing Germany as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command. General Curtis LeMay recalls his experiences leading mass formations of the US Eighth Air Force on daylight bombing raids over Europe. US, Russian, Japanese, Dutch and British warriors and housewives recall dealing out and receiving the horrors of war. Hitler's youngest secretary, Gertrude "Trudl" Junge, talks of the bizarre underground life in the Fuhrerbunker. Eisenhower's driver, Kay Summersby, recalls her former boss's skills and frustrations in coordinating multinational Allied command. The last prominent survivor of the 1944 Stauffenberg plot against Hitler, Ewald Heinrich von Kleist, recalls his days as a young Wehrmacht lieutenant and gives insights into why the German anti-Nazi movement was small and why it failed. Admiral Karl Dönitz and U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer recall the battle of the Atlantic. General Sir Brian Horrocks, the inspirational British commander who led XXX Corps in the drive on Arnhem (played by Edward Fox in  A Bridge Too Far [Blu-ray ]) talks of Operation Market Garden, the rivalry between Montgomery and Patton, and the burdens of military command. The overlay of archival footage of the actual parachute and glider drops in Market Garden make the corresponding scenes in the movie, "A Bridge Too Far", look like home movie sequences. Linking it all is a matter-of-fact commentary which soars above chauvinism and prejudice. It is read in deadpan style by the distinguished British actor Laurence Olivier--among his finest work.The globe-changing civilisation-shaking upheaval of the Second World War continues to fascinate an immense worldwide readership and viewing audience. If you, too, want to better understand how so much decent, intelligent and cultivated humanity descended into and in some cases survived that madness, view the grim and gripping "The World At War" series, and prepare to be amazed.Update in November 2011: Good to see that this landmark documentary series remains available in DVD. I think it is time for the copyright owners to consider some digital restoration and a Blu-ray release. [Exactly what I later learnt they were already doing.]Update 30 March 2012: I recently bought the Blu-ray release of 'The World At War' published under the History Channel label by A&E Networks, and available here on Amazon. It has been extensively restored for this release by Fremantle Media. Don't expect video transfer of WWII black and white combat footage, or even 1970s color video and 16mm transfers, ever to look like current full HD, but the restoration is excellent and a significant advance on the earlier DVD release. It has removed many artefacts visible in the DVDs and improved overall resolution, often by going back to original material. Even the archival wartime footage looks vastly better. Aspect ratio has been converted from 4:3 to 16:9. An interesting "making of" about the restoration (including new contributions from original series producer Sir Jeremy Isaacs), added to the extra features, explains how the restorers agonized over the issue of clipping some of the image in the aspect ratio change and how they minimised apparent image loss. Surprisingly the aspect ratio change is least noticeable in the archival footage. It is most noticeable in the full-face interviews to camera which were shot specially for the series in 4:3. The restorers chose to chop foreheads and leave chins when full-face 4:3 framing was very tight, as it often was for the early days of small screen TV. I'm still viewing the new disks, but I have seen enough - comparing the same random segments on DVD and Blu-ray viewed on a 65-inch HD plasma TV - to highly recommend the Blu-ray release. Anyone with a Region A Blu-ray player (note this release is region encoded) should now prefer this release to the earlier DVD version. Another nice feature of the Blu-ray release is total reworking of the disk navigation: the annoying and often confusing time-line episode navigation of the old DVD release is gone. The content is as amazing as ever for its insight and quality, and I see no reason to alter my earlier praise for content above. This is a jewel of a documentary series to own, explore and appreciate, and the Blu-ray is currently the best form in which to see it.

Brought this as a present to get my own copy back. In my mind, everyone should watch this so the past can never be forgotten.

A great series. I own the original in DVD and thought that an upgrade to Blue-ray would be worth the cost. There is definitely an improvement in the quality of the presentation (although the original DVD looks good on my 4K tv.) But there is huge problem with this edition. The original aspect ratio was 4:3 but in this edition it has been formatted to 16:9. They did this by chopping off the top and bottom of the original. It gives a kind of zoom view which works in some situations but overall gives a very unsatisfying effect. Something just seems off to me.

Bought as present - good value

One of the definitive series about the Second World War. The series itself is excellent and full of interviews with the people who were there. I cannot recommend the series enough. The series is 5 stars.However with this version, while they have "restored" the picture, they have butchered it by changing the aspect ratio. It should 1.33, instead they have cropped the top and bottom to make it 1.78. All the interviews and film clips look odd. You really get the feeling you are missing stuff at the top and bottom of the screen. It is not unwatchable, but what a terrible way to treat the series.

Hitler's rise to power, The fall of France, The battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa, The Battle of Stalingrad, Japan's rise to power,The war in the Pacific, The kamikazes,The battle of the bulge, The Holocaust, The concentration camps, it's all here with lots and lots of original black & white and color footage. In addition, there are many interviews with important politicians and military leaders as well as ordinary German, British, Japanese and American citizens who lived through the war as well as concentration camp survivors. A documentary like this could never be made again, because all of the people who were interviewed have since died (the documentary was made in the early 70's). Over 60 million people died in WW2, so it is important to understand why WW2 started, why various decisions were made by military leaders and heads of state, why battles were won or lost and how this devastating war affected ordinary people all over the world. This documentary provides an in-depth, balanced picture of the war. Rather than just simplistically portraying the Axis as the "bad guys" and the Allies as the "good guys" this British documentary presents the point of view from both sides of the conflict. I found it very refreshing, informative, educational and yes, even entertaining.