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Season 1 – The World at War

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – The World at War Oct 1973 Documentary History War Play Trailer Watchlist
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A documentary series gives a historical account of the events of World War II.

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The World at War — Season 1

Critics Reviews

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Geordie Gray The Australian 02/24/2024
If you’re looking for your next big commitment series and want something nutritious, it really doesn’t get better than this. Go to Full Review Mick LaSalle San Francisco Chronicle 02/06/2019
4/4
The narrative is clear, the choices of images haunting. This is not easy viewing. This is a detailed, committed and impassioned document. Go to Full Review Jessica Grabert CinemaBlend 02/06/2019
5/5
This is the picture that is painstakingly painted, pieced together from newspaper headings and foggy memories... and if that isn't an achievement for a documentary, I would be hard pressed to explain what achievement is. Go to Full Review Max Hastings Daily Mail (UK) 02/06/2019
Probably the most remarkable TV documentary series ever made. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jim M 06/05/2024 This is the definitive documentary of the second world war. It's narrative is excellently written and edited, the narration is (of course) perfect, the film footage is thoughtfully and powerfully used and the use of first-hand witnesses makes it spell-binding. Many documentaries have copied this approach, but none of matched it - or even come close. This is a must see series. See more Catherine S @csackley 01/01/2024 Unbelievable 1st hand accounts and real films. See more 12/05/2021 One of the greatest documentary series ever made. A triumph of research and a warning from the past. See more Chris M 07/25/2020 5 stars is not enough. Without doubt the greatest documentary ever made. And one of the best programs ever to appear on TV. See more Read all reviews
The World at War — Season 1

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Jeremy Isaacs

Creator

Laurence Olivier

Narrator

Rab Butler

Self

Albert Speer

Self

Lawrence Durrell

Self

Anthony Eden

Self

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Oct 31, 1973 New Germany Adolf Hitler wins support from millions of Germans as he offers new hope to a country recovering from depression. Details Episode 2 Aired Nov 7, 1973 Distant War Germany invades Eastern Europe, forcing unprepared Britain to face the possibility of war with approaching Nazis. Details Episode 3 Aired Nov 14, 1973 France Falls The Germans skirt the French's heavily fortified Maginot line and defeat them in six weeks with newer techniques and equipment. Details Episode 4 Aired Nov 21, 1973 Alone British morale plunges as 350,000 allied troops are barely rescued at Dunkirk and the RAF battles the Luftwaffe over London skies. Details Episode 5 Aired Nov 28, 1973 Barbarossa Germany turns against Russia, but fatal German delays hold the advance a few kilometers outside Moscow in the mud and cold. Details Episode 7 Aired Dec 12, 1973 On Our Way: USA FDR, determined to fight Germany as well as Japan, cannot sway Congress until Hitler declares war on the United States. Details Episode 8 Aired Dec 19, 1973 The Desert: North Africa Montgomery's Desert Rats defeat Rommel's Afrika Korps at El Alamein after fighting for nearly three years for 600 miles of desert. Details Episode 9 Aired Jan 2, 1974 Stalingrad The German army's defeat at Stalingrad, with 70,000 Germans killed and 100,000 captured, dispels the myth of German invincibility. Details Episode 10 Aired Jan 9, 1974 Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic U-boat attacks on U.S. supply ships nearly starve Britain despite convoys, escorts and underwater detection devices. Details Episode 11 Aired Jan 16, 1974 Red Star: The Soviet Union Germany attacks the Soviet Union in June 1941, unsuccessfully laying siege to Leningrad from September 1941 until January 1944. Details Episode 12 Aired Jan 23, 1974 Whirlwind: Bombing Germany Arthur "Bomber" Harris takes over Bomber Command with the demand for revenge sorties as a means to defeat Germany. Details Episode 13 Aired Jan 30, 1974 Tough Old Gut: Italy Churchill staunchly supports an Allied invasion of Italy, which he sees as the "soft underbelly" of Europe. Details Episode 14 Aired Feb 6, 1974 It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma The Japanese build a "superman" myth as they thrive in the nightmarish conditions of monsoons and jungles. Details Episode 15 Aired Feb 13, 1974 Home Fires: Britain The Luftwaffe changes the targets of its bombing raids to outlying cities after its defeat in the Battle of Britain. Details Episode 16 Aired Feb 20, 1974 Inside the Reich: Germany Germany's people do not feel the effects of World War II at home until the German army begins to lose key battles. Details Episode 17 Aired Feb 27, 1974 Morning Americans, Britons and Canadians attack on five Normandy beaches in history's largest amphibious invasion, on D-Day -- June 6, 1944. Details Episode 18 Aired Mar 13, 1974 Occupation: Holland The neutral Netherlands live under increasingly harsh Nazi rule for four years, dividing citizens' loyalties. Details Episode 19 Aired Mar 20, 1974 Pincers Paris is liberated in 1944, but as Russians and Allies advance on Germany, Allied commanders cannot agree on an attack plan. Details Episode 20 Aired Mar 27, 1974 Genocide The Nazis kill 6 million Jews in specially created death camps in their determination to create a purified Aryan race. Details Episode 21 Aired Apr 3, 1974 Nemesis: Germany The RAF and the USAF attack night and day; Goering and Himmler betray Hitler, who marries Eva Braun and commits suicide. Details Episode 22 Aired Apr 10, 1974 Japan Early victories led the Japanese to believe they would be victorious against the West, but severe supply shortages and increased Allied victories dimmed this hope. Details Episode 23 Aired Apr 17, 1974 Pacific Gen. MacArthur sweeps upward from the Solomons and New Guinea, as rival Adm. Nimitz begins an offensive in the Gilberts. Details Episode 24 Aired Apr 24, 1974 The Bomb A B-29 drops the first uranium bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. Four days later, a second bomb hits Nagasaki. Details Episode 25 Aired May 1, 1974 Reckoning At Yalta, the four armies of occupation agree to supervise Germany's recovery and divide the country into different zones. Details Episode 26 Aired May 8, 1974 Remember Survivors relate memories of World War II and remember the millions of combatants and civilians killed. Details

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The World at War — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
David Elstein
Creator
Jeremy Isaacs
Screenwriter
Peter Batty, Laurence Thompson, Jerome Kuehl
Network
BBC
Rating
TV-G
Genre
Documentary, History, War
Original Language
British English
Release Date
Oct 31, 1973