War and Remembrance - Volume 1 - Parts 1-7

War and Remembrance' is the sequel to the highly successful book and the miniseries `Winds of war', by the bestselling American author Herman Wouk. The 1988 adaptation of the book picks up the story where its predecessor has left it off. Made during the 5-year period on location in 10 countries, `War and Remembrance' thusly remains one of the biggest achievements in the history of television. This 6-disc set encompasses the first part of the series; about 13 and a half out of 30 hours of film.The basic plot continues with the aftermath after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Again we follow the American naval family Henry and their involvement in the various parts and phases of the war. The war story is roughly divided into two levels: Europe and the Pacific. The male part of the Henry family (the patriarch Victor Pug Henry and his sons Warren and Byron) are part of the great battles in the Pacific (Midway, Guadalcanal...), while the major focus has been put on the European stage and the tragedy of the holocaust, as seen and experienced through the eyes of Natalie (Byron's wife) and her uncle Aaron, who are both Jewish. This main plot has various personal subplots between the characters (the love between Pug and Pamela, the daughter of an old friend, for example) and just like in `Winds of war'; we see things from the perspective of the major historical characters (Hitler, Roosevelt, Churchill...). This part of the series ends in the ghetto Theresienstadt in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, where Natalie, Aaron and her small son, after escapades across the Europe, end up, with an uncertain future.The impeccable attention to period details make this DVDs a delight to watch. The casting for the most part also deserves praise. Robert Mitchum (Pug), Polly Bergen (his wife Rhoda) and Victoria Tennat (Pamela) reprise their role in best of ways. Despite the fact Mitchum was a bit too old at that time; he still has the power and charisma his character is made of. There are also some changes in the cast, some better than other. Jane Seymour replaced Ali McGraw as Natalie here and she gave more than a satisfying performance She is not as headstrong as McGraw was, but a more subtle incarnation of the character. Handsome-looking Hart Bochner replaced Jan-Michel Vincent as her husband Byron and he give a bit of an arrogant performance, without the boyish charm the character has in the book. John Houseman, who was too ill to reprise his role as professor Aaron Jastrow, was replaced by one of the greatest British actors of the last century, sir John Gielgud, who gave his usual outstanding and dignifying rendition.But the greatest disappointment, as some of the other reviewers noted here, comes from the character of Hitler. In `Winds of war' Hitler was played by the late German actor Günter Meisner, who played this role a few times during his career. Although a bit too old for the role, he managed to keep things under control, so despite the fact his Führer was stiffed and not altogether perfect, he gave a hint of the evil personage Hitler was. Here, however, the role is taken by the British actor Steven Berkoff and he did an awful job out of it. According to the interview on the extra disc, the director Dan Curtis wanted Hitler to be overplayed. The reasons remain unknown, although one can guess that he wanted to downgrade the character more by doing this. Berkoff's Hitler is a mixture of a buffoon and a yelling maniac. He portrays these sides in such an overacted manner that the result is anything but believable. This makes the Hitler scenes really uninteresting to watch and the way he behaves with his inner circle has no trustworthiness at all. Therefore it is hard to believe such a person could put a spell on the entire nation, let alone be listened by his generals, most of whom are shown here as the observers who put up with him. The role of Hitler is a hard and yet manageable task for an actor who can make a character, as shown by Bruno Ganz in the recent movie `Downfall'.It becomes obvious after watching the DVDs that the main task the authors put before them here was to show the holocaust in its most brutal and vivid form. And the way they do it remains unmatched in the TV history to this day. The story includes all the main points of `the final solution': the life in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp (this is the first TV crew that got the chance to shoot in the original camp); the extremely graphic and violent scene of gassing during Heinrich Himmler's visit there in 1942; `Aktion 1005', where the Nazis cover the tracks of mass killing by firing squads (so called 'Einsatzgruppen') by digging up the graves and burning the bodies and in the last episode of this part, Babi-Yar massacre, where the Kiev Jews were brought outside the town like cattle and shot by machineguns. All this is very disturbing to watch, so it is not suitable for small children. The most tragic scenes in this respect will, however follow, in the last part of the saga.Having said all this, one has to mention the obvious slip ups. The most noticeable concern is the narrow scope used in reference to the holocaust, i.e. by showing it to be solely and exclusively a Jewish matter. There is no doubt that the Jews suffered far worse than any other nation, but the subject matter cannot be understood without mentioning all the other groups that suffered under the Nazis. Here there is no reference whatsoever as to all the others that perished in Auschwitz and other places: Slavs, Jehovah's witnesses, Gypsies, homosexuals, etc. This is something that should not have been done in the series of such importance and scale. The book and the movie `Sophie's choice' (where, incidentally, the same actor played Rudolf Höß, the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp) recognizes this problem by showing a Polish woman caught in the tragedy that is holocaust. Another evident thing is the fact that the authors tend to be too biased: the subtle message is all Americans are totally honest and good in each step of the way, while all the Germans are bad and vicious. A bit more of objectivity would be more than welcome.Despite all this, the series remain more than plausible for anyone interested in World War II fiction. The bonus DVD includes two behind of scenes documentaries that show the way this epic was written, made and cast, through the interviews with the director/producer Dan Curtis, the author Herman Wouk and the cast. If you enjoyed `Winds of war' DVD set, be sure not to miss this.

Winds of War was quite a feat to accomplish and War & Remembrance is as well. The downside is length but given the depth and breadth of the book that is understandable. Many have already commented ont he change of actors. I personally found Ali McGraw miscast but an excellent actress in Winds and Seymour excellent as Natalie in this. John Gielgud is marvelous as Aaron Jastrow. Jan Michael Vincent was good as Byron but personal problems (drinking and other things) made him impossible to use again.Parts 1-7 take us from Dec 1941-1943. The Henry marriage is strained, Warren dies at the Battle of Midway, and Natalie & Aaron are trapped in Europe. This part of the series does show the war events well on both sides. Hitler and the top generals did not agree on the war plan. Brautisch did resign (some say fired) due to his ill health and Halder was fired for disagreeing with Hitler. The inaccuracy is that Brautisch was connected to the conspiracy to remove Hitler (he was not but Halder was).The series does not flinch from showing the horror of the Holocaust. The events of Babi Yar and the attempts to recover the dead and destroy the remains are true to history. The scenes are gripping, realistic, and not for those squeamish about seeing how brutal and degrading the Nazi's were to Jews.Milton Johns conveys the quiet methodical evil of Eichman (there is an error in the series, he is identified as Colonel Eichman when his highest rank was Lt.Colonel). And escaping Jews faced numerous challenges about where to go. The routes were few and full of trials (and treachery). Getting into Spain and then Portugal was not easy at all (they turned Jews away at the borders routinely even if they had transit papers).The death of Warren and the Battle of Midway are handled well for the most part. Where it is less accurate and more fiction is the conflict between Captain Miles Browing and Admiral Spruance (who knew from intercepts the strength of the Japanese fleet) which did not happen. In fact, Spruance praised Halsey's staff but Browing was irritating to everyone (he had that kind of personality)as historians have noted.This part ends with Natalie and her uncle arriving at Theresenstadt, the so called model ghetto. The deception the Nazi's played to get Jews to willingly go there is well depicted and many did arrive thinking they had nice apartments awaiting them. And in fact it was just a jumped up transit camp for Jews on the way to Auschwitz and death.Overall you will enjoy this part of War & Remembrance but sometimes the jump from the scenes of horror to other parts of the story are not done well. Herman Wouk, unlike Winds, did not have total control over the script and it shows at times.

I watched the whole series of this when it was on in the 80's and loved it even though I was quite young at the time and watched them all again on video in the 90's! Ive always had an interest in the second world war and if you do too, you will love this entire series. Ive just purchased all the DVD's and cant wait to watch it all again. The series is excellently done and so true to life, reflecting the real cruelty of war, in particular the gas chamber and mass shooting scenes are so very moving. If you want my advice, watch the series and you wont be dissappointed.

It is the old nostalgy, within the individual, and within the past history of the world.It is excellent for the new generations of to watch.

wanted this for ages.

Classic US TV.

great