The World at War (1973) 8 x Blu-Ray Original Aspect Ratio Version Restored
on November 16th, 2016 at 15:06
The late 1960s to early 1970s may have been the perfectly propitious time period to undertake a mammoth documentary recounting the history of World War II. Enough time had passed that a certain level of objectivity had crept into historical analysis, however slowly at first, but the events were still recent enough that many participants (and victims) of the epochal conflict were still around to reminisce about it. Producer Jeremy Isaacs had been impressed by The Great War, a previous British extravaganza devoted to World War I, and he ultimately became Executive Producer of The World at War, Thames Television's brilliant 26 part exegesis of the causes, conflicts and personal stories of the 20th century's most defining few years. So daunting was this task that it actually took several years of research, compilation, and interviewing before the final product was finally ready for broadcast in 1973. Narrated by Laurence Olivier, and containing an iconic theme by Carl Davis (eerily redolent of Prokofiev's wartime Symphony No. 5), The World at War quickly became the authoritative effort on the conflict. Filled to the brim with haunting first person stories by both combatants and civilians, and with an interesting, not always strictly chronological, take on the epic battle, the series had both a grand scope and an intimate emphasis that made it unforgettable to several generations of viewers.
A brand-new High Definition restoration, this is The World at War as it is meant to be seen – in its original fullscreen format with the maximum picture area from the original film materials now visible onscreen.
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