The World at War (1973)
Thames Television

Description

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.

Collected reviews and ratings

10 DVD Town | James Plath

If there's a better or more powerful visual account of World War II, I'm not aware of it. It's one of the premier actual-footage documentaries on the war, and the only one to attempt to chronicle the war in detail from start to finish.
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10 DVD Verdict | Neal Solon

The film gives the viewer a chance to see and hear authentic first-hand stories of a war that ended sixty years ago. The result is interesting, enlightening, and, in the case of the episodes about the Holocaust, gut wrenching. The World at War offers so much unique material, even thirty years after its first airing, that it deserves all of the praise that has been heaped upon it.
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9.0 DVD Talk | Holly E. Ordway

If you want to truly understand World War II – the reasons for it, the people involved, the events themselves, and the consequences of those events – then The World at War is an essential part of your documentary collection. This series is incredibly detailed, highly interesting, and extremely informative.
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