Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34927 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-09-01
• Rating: Exempt
• Number of discs: 5
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Colour, PAL
• Original language: English, French, German, Japanese
• Number of discs: 10
• Running time: 999 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
When this epic series was first broadcast in 1973 it redefined the gold standard for television documentary; it remains the benchmark by which all factual programming must judge itself. Originally shown as 26 one-hour programmes, The World at War set out to tell the story of the Second World War through the testimony of key participants. The result is a unique and unrepeatable event, since many of the eyewitnesses captured on film did not have long left to live. Each hour-long programme is carefully structured to focus on a key theme or campaign, from the rise of Nazi Germany to Hitler's downfall and the onset of the Cold War. There are no academic "talking heads" here to spell out an official version of history; the narration, delivered with wonderful gravitas by Sir Laurence Olivier, is kept to a minimum. The show's great coup was to allow the participants to speak for themselves. Painstaking research in the archives of the Imperial War Museum also unearthed a vast quantity of newsreel footage, including on occasion the cameraman's original raw rushes which present an unvarnished and never-before-seen picture of important events. Carl Davis' portentous main title theme and score underlines the grand scale of the enterprise. The original 26 episodes were supplemented three years later by six special programmes (narrated by Eric Porter), bringing the total running-time to a truly epic 32 hours.

Now digitally remastered The World at War looks even more of an impressive achievement on DVD. Each disc set comes with a detailed menu that places the individual programmes along a chronological timeline. Better yet, chapter access is laid out to allow you to select key speeches or maps or newsreel footage. The World at War was a landmark television event; its DVD incarnation underlines its importance as an historical document. --Mark Walker

Video Description
Contains all 5 DVD volumes - 10 Discs
Over 32 hours of digitally re-mastered footage
Packed with extras, including the hour special "The Making of..."

Synopsis
Now you can own the most complete account of WWII. This 26-part series takes you from the stirrings of war to the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan. 20 million Russians, 2 and a half million Germans, 480,000 British and 300,000 Americans lost their lives in the epic struggle. Narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier and Eric Porter.