"The World at War" (1973) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

1976 (Denmark)

Genre:

Documentary | War

Plot:

A series of accurate documentaries about World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Japan | Germany | White Rose Plot | Mass Killing

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier

...

Himself - Narrator (26 episodes, 1973-1974)

Runtime:

52 min (26 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | French | Japanese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-15

Company:

Imperial War Museum

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Screenwipe: (#3.1)" (2007)

The Ultimate World War Two Documentary Series

Although too young to remember the first showing of the series (being just a baby) I later caught repeats of it on television in the late 80's, just when I was getting interested in the war and all of its aspects. It was my grandfather who first showed me the series and also gave me my first interests, relating tales of his time in the Royal Navy at Malta and later in the Pacific. Since then I have devoured many books and seen many television series about the World War Two era, with mixed opinions. The British television stations are generally very good at producing these, as The World At War can easily attest, with many gems made by both the BBC and independent companies. I strongly recommend such titles as "The Nazis - A warning From History", "Blitz" and the BBC series about Dunkirk. "Britain At War In Colour", with its companion series "Japan", "Germany" and "America" are of a very high standard. The World At War is by far the best and, despite its age, never fails to deliver. There will always be new revelations about the war that will keep cropping up that obviously aren't included in the series and of course World War Two took place over such a large canvas that to produce a series with EVERY detail would take more time and money then any other, even if such an undertaking was even possible. What I feel I must say to those who decry that it does not include everything is that The World At War can't physically do that as a series but it sure as heck can prompt you to do further research - and make it enjoyable. That certainly worked for me: I now have a very comprehensive library of books, videos, DVDs and tapes and CDs. Recommend to anyone with even a passing interest. The series was so well made that they'd find it hard not to agree that it is quality programming and highly informative.