"The World at War" series on sale at Amazon

**sodajerk** · 07-09-2010, 05:07 AM

Thought I would mention Amazon has this great series on sale as their gold box "deal of the day" for $37.48. With free shipping that sounds pretty good.?

**13th Duke of Wymbourne** · 07-09-2010, 05:14 AM

Originally Posted by sodajerk

Thought I would mention Amazon has this great series on sale as their gold box "deal of the day" for $37.48. With free shipping that sounds pretty good.?

Excellent program, sounds like a bargin.

**Shave A Buck** · 07-09-2010, 06:11 AM

Good series, however it is from a British perspective. Not too much American history in my opinion

**Ceri** · 07-09-2010, 12:03 PM

I remember Dad sitting me down in front of the tv when the series orinally aired. I'd have been about five years old, but it mattered a great deal to him that I watch and understand that the war wasn't something in action films.

The theme music sends a shiver down my spine when I hear it now.

**Angus Young** · 07-09-2010, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by gman41098

Good series, however it is from a British perspective. Not too much American history in my opinion

I don't know how you can say it's from a British perspective. It covers all countries who fought without bias. Europe was at war for two years before America and Japan entered the conflict so obviously the early episodes reflect that.

**Ceri** · 07-09-2010, 12:41 PM

It was quite frank about some parts of Britain's war - challenging some of the wartime propaganda that had become accepted as historical truth. The Dunkirk evacuation isn't treated as the victory it was painted in 1940.

There a few things missing though as at the time they were still covered by the Official Secrets Act. I don't there's anything in the series about the codebreaking in Bletchley Park, and some of the wartime advantages breaking Enigma are put down to luck or the activities of turned German spies.
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**L. Martino** · 07-09-2010, 01:16 PM

Hiya,

That may be the same set I bought a few years ago for a twelve year old boy who loved WWll stuff. That boxed set had been upgraded not too long before that, and was getting great reviews.

Last week I bought him one called 'The History Channel Presents The Revolution', which I've seen. Man, I really didn't know what I was missing while paying no attention in history classes I hadda take.

This set is 600 minutes on 4 discs, and covers lots of how the US came about. There's a bunch of pretty darn interesting non fictional characters, and the story's a good one.

This nice item ran me just under $30, with shipping included. There's other Revolution type DVDs, and this is the one without any famous actors in the roles.

Martin

**fifolo** · 07-10-2010, 07:21 PM

I watched on TV when it was first run. The narration by Sir Laurence Olivier set a standard for historical narrative that has been been equal, or even approached. Substantial, but without any over dramatic flourishes or pauses.

Still the gold standard in historical documentaries; not an analytical work by any stretch, it captures that most elusive element of history: emotion.

Hiram

**Shave A Buck** · 07-11-2010, 09:27 AM

Maybe it is just me, but the series was made for Britain. It is only natural that it have a British undertone to it and that it focus more on their contributions. World War Two to the USA viewer is only a few key points in the war, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, The Bulge, and Iwo. After that most of the war is passed over, Italy is never mentioned, The Hurtgen Forest no one ever heard of, and no one will ever believe you when you tell them French and American soldiers fought and killed each other in North Africa.

Still a good series and I was happy to see it return to TV. I used to watch it as a 12 year old myself on channel 9 in the NYC area.