The World At War

Description: Documentary charting world war two. The series was produced by Jeremy Isaacs for Thames Television (UK). Commissioned ... more

The World At War ... in 1969, it took four years to produce, such was the depth of its research. It premiered on ITV in 1973 at a cost of £4 million, a record (at the time) for a British television programme. The series was narrated by Laurence Olivier and its score was composed by Carl Davis.

Newest Review: ... staggering losses don’t seem to be given the emphasis they perhaps deserve. All in all, The World At War ranges from the amusing to the grim to the depressing. I don’t think there’s been a better general history of the Second World War on television, and it’s nice to have one that doesn’t just focus on the leading Nazis as most of them seem to these days. It’s of its time – no one would try ... more

... and make a series this long these days, and ITV wouldn’t touch this kind of material with a bargepole unless they could stick a detective in it somewhere. But as a reminder of how good British TV used to be and as a great factual resource, I’d highly re...more

Read Reviews for The World At War

The World At War: War. What is it good for? (1376 words)
by - written on 10/07/07 (Very useful, 184 readings)
Rating:

I have way too much to do at the moment – I need a job and, as a matter of urgency, I need to find somewhere to live. I obviously ought to be either paralysed with stress about the situation, or busily working to resolve it. Instead, I decided to forget it all and watch a 26-part documentary series from the early 70s. I have no regrets, even though homelessness looms. If nothing else, The World at War certainly makes you count your blessings. It was first broadcast on ITV in late 1973. It’s been repeated a few times since then on terrestrial TV, but it’s too big and unwieldy to fit neatly into modern schedules. You can buy the whole lot on DVD, but that’ll set ... Read the complete review

War is Hell. (439 words)
by - written on 05/04/01 (Very useful, 55 readings)
Rating:

In recent years, there have been a torrent of first rate WWII documentaries, Finest Hour, Hitler's Henchmen, etc. But, for absolute unparalleled coverage of the events of the last world war, then "World at War" is the program to watch, showing on Sunday nights at 8.05 PM. Filmed in 1973, it has a strong, authoritative narration by Laurence Olivier, and very moving soundtrack composed by Carl Davis. It charts the major events and battles of WWII with such attention to detail, both in human and statistical terms. One important advantage of this program, is that as it was filmed nearly 30 years ago, it had the opportunity to interview many ... Read the complete review

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