The World at War (30th Anniversary Edition)

The Second World War was different from other wars in thousands of ways, one of which was the unparalleled scope of visual documents kept by the Axis and Allies of all their activities. As a result, this war is understood as much through written histories as it is through its powerful images. The Nazis were particularly thorough in documenting even the most abhorrent of the atrocities they were committing--in a surprising amount of color footage. The World at War was one of the first television documentaries that exploited these resources so completely, giving viewers an unbelievable visual guide to the greatest event in the 20th century. This is to say nothing of the excellent, comprehensible narrative. Some highlights:

• A New Germany 1933-39: early German and Nazi documentation of Hitler's rise to power through the impending attack on Poland
• Whirlwind: the early British losses in the blitz in the skies over Britain and in North Africa
• Stalingrad: the turning point of the war and Germany's first defeat
• Inside the Reich--Germany 1940-44: one of the most fascinating documentaries that exists on life inside Nazi Germany, from Lebensborn to the Hitler Youth
• Morning: prior to Saving Private Ryan, one of the only unromanticized views of the Normandy invasion
• Genocide: this film is one of the most widely shown introductions to the Holocaust
• Japan 1941-45: although The World at War is decidedly focused more on the European theater, this is an important look into wartime Japan and its expansion--early 20th-century history that lead to Japan's role in World War II is superficial
• The bomb: another widely shown documentary of the Manhattan Project, the Enola Gay, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki

The World at War will remain the definitive visual history of World War II, analogous to Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. No serious historian should be missing The World at War in a collection, and no student should leave school without having seen at least some of its salient episodes. Rarely is film so essential. --Erik J. Macki

Please note, "The World At War" was produced between 1971 and 1974, which means the interviews with veterans and other war survivors were filmed close to thirty years after the conclusion of World War II.

I watched much of this series when it was first telecasted in the 1970s, and continued to view reruns of programs over the last 25+ years. I had thought that I had seen every episode two or three times, but after finishing the complete DVD collection, I'm pretty sure I completely missed some programs and saw only bits-and-pieces of others.

What a tremendous production. Beautiful reproduced on DVD, with excellent color and superb graphics (maps).

I especially appreciated the opening special, "The Making of..." with producer Jeremy Isaacs, as well as Isaacs' brief introductions to each of the 26 programs. I only wish he had prepared similar introductions to the supplementary material on Discs 4 and 5, but you can't have everything.

"The World At War" is hundred times better than the typical fare found on A&E, The History Channel, and even PBS. That's not to say that quality productions are not being made today, but Jeremy Isaacs' production is just plain better than most things regularly scheduled documentaries on cable and broadcast television.

Special mention must be made of the music by Carl Davis and the writers, who are too numerous to mention. Everyone familiar with this series knows the contribution of Sir Laurence Olivier, definitely the finest documentary narration I've ever heard.

As an American, I particularly appreciate the British perspective, which offers a different view of the breath, scope and horror of the war. The series really puts the current War on Terrorism in perspective.

The supplementary material begins with an extended interview/commentary by Traudl Junge who served as Hitler's secretary. She's a fascinating person, speaking calmly and thoughtfully about her former employer, especially the events leading up to his suicide.

There is an equally interesting interview with historian Stephen Ambrose, filmed in the early 1970s. While looking 25+ years younger, Ambrose sounds almost the same as he does today during his numerous C-Span and PBS appearances.

The most fascinating of the eight hours of supplementary material are the programs dealing with the Death of Adolf Hitler and the extended two part examination of the Final Solution.

Thank you, Amazon, for making this wonderful documentary so accessible.

For those of you contemplating this major expediture, you won't regret purchasing this landmark visual/aural history of World War II.

And remember, this DVD collection will be available for your children and grandchildren.


Excellent Series   January 1, 2002
J P Falcon (Fords, New Jersey United States)
149 out of 154 found this review helpful

When investing in any DVD, especially a boxed set, you might ponder the question, "How often will I watch this?" Let me say that your purchase of The World at War will offer you endless viewing opportunities! Besides the 26 original episodes, all of the extra features that were produced afterwards are included in the set. There is so much information generated in over 30 hours of material that you will discover something new with each repeated viewing. Each episode will hold your attention from first to last, and they are efficiently indexed so you can easily review a map or replay a speech. Along side the emotional impact of the pictorial images, you have Carl Davis' moving score, a judicious use of period music, personal accounts from all the major powers, and Sir Laurance's strong narration, making this the most comprehensive documentary on the subject. Now if we can only have World War I, narrated by Robert Ryan, available, we would have the documentary bookends to the two most devastating wars in the 20th century.


2001 and 2004 editions compared   September 24, 2004
Rudolf Schmid (Kensington, CA)
102 out of 112 found this review helpful

As best as I can determine (I only have the 2001 edition), these are the differences between the two editions (2001, 2004) of World at War. Basically, disc 11 of the 2004 30th anniversary edition has the new material. It would be nice if disc 11 were separately available so owners of the 2001 edition could update their set a lower cost.
***** OLD (2001) VERSUS NEW (2004):
HBO VIDEO, released 20 Nov. 2001 VS A&E HOME VIDEO, released 24 Aug. 2004
5 discs (2-sided) VS 11 discs
graphics: red, splashy, each case different VS black-gray, dull, each case the same
box thickness ca. 3" (5 DVD cardboard cases) VS ca. 4" (11 thin DVD plastic cases)
remastered: apparently not for 2004 edition, but material rearranged, with new material on disc 11
"Play all" option absent VS present
episodes with 10-33 chapters VS 6-12 chapters, especially 6
***** CONTENTS OLD VERSUS NEW:
1) old disc 1A = new disc 1
Note: "Making of the series" first item VS last item.
(2) old discs 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A = new discs 2-7
Note: Items 1 and 2 = original 26 episodes plus "Making"
(3) old discs 4B, 5A = new discs 9, 8
Note: The new sequence is more logical.
(4) old disc 5B = new disc 10
Note: Items 3 and 4 = original bonus material (6 episodes, two double).
(5) Each of the 10 discs of 2001 version repeat these items:
(a) 17 biographies = on new disc 11
(b) a brief history = ditto
(c) photo gallery = ditto
(d) weblinks = not on new?
(e) WW2 timeline = ditto
(6) new episodes on 2004 version (on disc 11):
(a) Making the series--a 30th anniversary feature length retrospective TT122:29
(b) Experiences of War--unseen interviews from the film archives of the Imperial War Museum TT58:25


Anglophobia?   April 29, 2005
D. Merz (Pittsburgh, PA USA)
98 out of 150 found this review helpful

I purchased this DVD set because I wanted to see a good WWII documentary and this one was so highly rated. It is a good documentary, maybe a great one. But it has a troubling Anglo bias that ends up being a severe character flaw.

Am I being phobic here, or is America's role in the European war severly under-represented in this film? Examples abound: We become intinmately familiar with British generals Montgomery, Alexander and Horrocks. Montgomery is shown in many situations including a long-ish speech excerpt before a civilian group. Horrocks (British 30 Corps commander) is given lengthy screen time to explain how Eisenhower missed a golden opportunity to end the European war in 1944 by not putting all the Allies' weight behind Monty in the North.

Meanwhile, only 4 American generals are mentioned in the whole European war part of this series: Eisenhower, who gets the bare minimum of screen time for a supreme commander, Bradley is in one scene for one second, Clark's failure in Italy is covered in copius detail, and Stilwell is shown as head of Allied forces in Burma. Notice any names missing? How the heck do you talk about the European war and not even use the word "Patton"? I dunno, but this film manages to do that. So Patton doesn't even get mentioned, but we are treated to several long interviews with Lord Avon (who the heck is that you may ask--I have no idea--I never heard of him either). Anyway, whoever he was, Lord Avon gets more screen time than all the US generals put together.

Sour grapes, you say. This guy is an Anglophobe. He is too sensitive and too proud of his American heritage. Well, check me on this: If you were making a documentary about WWII, would you give the predominately British war in Burma the same amount of screen time as the ENTIRE war with Japan? No? Well, that is the "balance" assumed by World at War. The skimpy coverage of the Japanese war does not even mention Guadalcanal and covers only one of the huge Pacific naval actions--the Marianas Turkey Shoot.

Another whole reel is devoted to the U-boats and the British "Battle of the Atlantic". Never mind that the US submarine war in the Pacific, that sent nearly all Japanese ships, freighters and warships alike, to the bottom, was probably the single most successful application of naval power ever. That brilliant naval victory is not even mentioned.

The only "Home Front" covered on the Home Front episode is England!

The reel about the atomic bomb focuses on diplomacy, never even mentions the incredible scientific triumph that was the Manhattan project, and perversely squeezes in the implication that it was Truman's failed diplomacy with Russia that lost Poland to the Soviets! Paul Tibbets is made to seem like a mass murderer, dropping the bomb in the face of overwhelming evidence that Japan wanted to surrender. The footage of Tibbetts is deliberately drawn out to make it appear that he felt casual and matter-of-fact about dropping the first nuclear weapon. The Japanese diplomat Kase is shown saying that the atomic bomb was "unnecessary". Well, he's right about that--the whole doggone Pacific war was unnecessary starting with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

The funny thing about the anglo bias of this film, is that the Russians and their war are well covered. Stalin and his generals get big screen time. This is as it should be, given the overwhelming Russian role in the European war. So why is the USA's role almost deliberately downplayed? At one point, Sir Lawrence narrates to the effect that Churchill wanted one big British victory "before the Americans came to dominate the war effort". I guess my point is that American domination of the western allied war effort did eventually come. But you'd never know it from watching this film.


The Finest WWII Documentary Ever Produced   September 15, 2001
Dan Violini (Calgary, Alberta Canada)
64 out of 65 found this review helpful

For History buffs and those who have a keen, deeply felt interest in World War II beyond just the military events, the World at War, produced by Thames Television (1981) and released earlier on VHS by Thorn/EMI, is a 26 episode documentary set apart from all other documentaries about WWII. No other, with the exception of Walter Cronkite's CBS series, comes close to an unbiased, analytical perspective of a War that cost perhaps 50 million lives and took an emotional and philosophical toll we are still trying to comprehend today.

Narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier and covering all aspects of the war, this definitive series is used by many colleges and universities as a source for History and Documentary Film courses. There is an incredible depth of archive footage used; skilfully woven with interviews of major figures in the War from Britain, US, Canada, Europe and Japan. Many major eye-witness leaders and ordinary people who were still alive in 1981 contributed sometimes surprising, sometimes incredible, and sometimes haunting interviews. Yet, for all its skilful editing and historical sophistication, it is clearly presented and emotionally compelling. In my opinion, it is, along with Kenneth Clark's "Civilisation", the best ever produced British documentary.

What makes this a stellar and overpowering account of the War is Olivier's narration. Never blustery, patriotic, or theatrical, Sir Laurence delivers pointed, thoughtful analysis with his incredible command of English and oration. Music for the series was composed by Carl Davis and even the opening credits set an unforgettable tone in a haunting image of a child in a photograph, dissolving in flames. This series is for those trying to make sense of a 6 year period when the world went mad. Five Stars PLUS.