The World At War, 40th anniversary

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest TV documentary series of all time - The World At War.

The epic 26-episode British documentary series chronicalling the events of WWII was originally shown on ITV in Britain from 31st October 1973 to 8th May 1974, just 29 years after the war ended, when it was in the living memory of far more people than now.



The World At War cost £900,000 to make, making it, at the time, the most expensive TV series ever made.

It was produced by Jeremy Isaacs, narrated by the late, great Laurence Olivier and includes a score composed by Carl Davis.

Since production was completed, The World at War has attracted acclaim and is now regarded as a landmark in British television history. Following the time of its completion, and as the Second World War remained fresh in many people's minds, the producer Jeremy Isaacs was considered ahead of his time in resurrecting studies of military history. The series focused on, among other things, portrayal of the devastating human experiences of the conflict; how life and death throughout the war years affected soldiers, sailors and airmen, civilians, concentration camp inmates and the tragic victims of tyranny.

Now, to mark its 40th birthday, the acclaimed series has now been remastered and re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray.



So look out for it in a store near you and buy it.

However, the first link below is the whole of episode 1 of the World At War for you to watch: A New Germany: 1933-1939.

The second link is a documentary about the restoration of The World At War.

The World At War, Episode 1: The World at War Ep 1-A New Germany: 1933-1939 - Video Dailymotion


Restoring The World at War - YouTube
 
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Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,427
1,668
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The producers of World at War were prescient in realizing that the story had to be told by those who had lived it. Such a series could not be produced today.


Yeah. When those who lived through, and remember, the horrors of 1939-1945 have all passed and can therefore no longer tell us all about that time, documentaries like The World At War will still be around to tell future generations all about it.

I watched the BBC gameshow Eggheads a couple of nights ago and there was an elderly lady contestant on it who had survived imprisonment in Auschwitz.