By Lee Pfeiffer
A&E Home Entertainment has released the entire landmark British documentary series from the 1970s The World at War as a Blu-ray set. The release contains all 26 hour-long episodes plus a vast quantity of bonus materials including outtake footage and "making of" programs. The entire set provides over 37 hours of material, though it's modestly packaged in a fairly standard DVD clamshell. The London Sunday Times once referred to the show as "Perhaps the finest historical series ever produced." Those words have not diminished with time, even in the era of Ken Burns documentaries. The program is a riveting look at all aspects of WWII from the Pacific campaign to Europe, beginning with Hitler's rise to power and the end of the Weimar Republic. It's truly amazing how the producers and writers manage to intertwine these vast historical happenings in riveting episodes that are self-contained. Each segment is brilliantly narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier and the footage containted therein continues to impress. The show is not tainted by propaganda, but provides a balanced look at how many good, or naive, people ended up supporting the most evil leaders in history - and brought about the destruction of their own nations in the process. It's a timeless lesson that all people should remain aware of.
The Blu-ray editions are impressively remastered and provide yet another reason for every person who cares about history to add this collection to their library- and more importantly, insist that young people are exposed to this magnificent achievement. In America, the Military Channel frequently shows some episodes from The World at War - but don't let that dissuade you from buying the set. Like most broadcasts of older shows, the series has been chopped and edited to the point that the opening credits are truncated (Olivier doesn't even have his name appear!) and the end credits have been eliminated entirely. Why should we expect a network called The Military Channel to put the needs of a masterful series like this above the desire to squeeze in more ads for household gadgets?
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