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World at War: The Definitive History of the Second World War (5 Discs)

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World at War: The Definitive History of the Second World War (5 Discs)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)

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2 used from CDN$ 249.88

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

	84% buy The World At War 4.7 out of 5 stars (89) CDN$ 90.99
	6% buy The First World War: The Complete Series 4.0 out of 5 stars (4) CDN$ 35.99
	4% buy BBC History of World War II 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) CDN$ 131.49
	3% buy Restricted Films of World War II CDN$ 12.49

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Product Details

Format: NTSC
Language: English
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Studio: HBO
DVD Release Date: Nov 20 2001

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)

ASIN: B00005NOOH
Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #20,871 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)
Popular in these categories:
#25 in DVD > Documentary > Series & Studios > HBO
#28 in DVD > Television Central > HBO > More HBO Titles > HBO Documentary

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Product Description

Amazon.com Essential Video

Sir Jeremy Isaacs highly deserves the numerous awards for documentaries he has earned: the Royal Television Society's Desmond Davis Award, l'Ordre National du Mérit, an Emmy, and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. His epic The World at War remains unsurpassed as the definitive visual history of World War II.

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

Video Details

The award-winning series narrated by Laurence Olivier. A powerful and devastating historical chronicle of war, composed of penetrating interviews with world leaders, statesmen and the military, along with the experiences of the ordinary men and women of a

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Customer Reviews

89 Reviews

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (89 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Remember", Jun 5 2004

By	K. Gittins (CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent, extensive, British-made documentary about events leading up to, and including, World War II. With 26 episodes, there is quite a bit of material covered. Excellent narration by Laurence Olivier, and a memorable score.

If you are a war buff, particularly WW2, this is the set to have. Can't say enough good things about it.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Finest WWII Documentary Ever Produced, Sep 15 2001

By	Frank "the man" (Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

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.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best World War 2 Documentary of All Time, Jun 3 2004

By	Aaron Donnelly "commrade21" (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This is by far the best world war 2 documentary i have ever seen. Running in at over 26hours with an additional 8hours of bounus features on the dvd, The World at War is one of the best documents of all time telling the story of this crucial time in world history. I highly recommend this set to anyone interested in world war 2 and history.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars World War II with footage and commentary from all sides involved.
The series is astonishing in its depth, presented chronologically with archival footage of battles and interviews with high ranking military and government officials who were... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mazin

5.0 out of 5 stars The World at War
I bought it for my husband for his birthday and he loved it so much it only took him under a week to watch everything.

Published 3 months ago by Lorie J. Chevrette

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Documentary
Despite its decidedly British slant, The World At War is a classic in the genre of documentary war films. Read more

Published 4 months ago by G. Eric Jarvis