Review of The World at War

There's no way I can do world at war justice by writing about how amazing it is. You simply need to experience it for yourself to see the incredible footage, intriguing interviews, unforgettable music and atmosphere, and Olivier's narrating (arguably the best part). Your eyes and ears are glued to the screen as events, both horrific and jovial, are recounted by him in a calm but authoritative voice. The solemn narrating combined with seeing the atrocities of the second world war unfold on the screen are nothing short of magical. World at war is often gruesome, macabre, and shockingly violent, but that doesn't mean it's bad. The show lets you draw your own conclusions about what you just saw. It is very uncommon, especially with regards to ww2 documentaries, to see the producers and writers take a completely unbiased look at what exactly took place, and world at war executed this flawlessly. The series was also made at a time when many of the officers and high ranking leaders of the war effort for various nations were still alive, which helps add more depth to the series and is greatly appreciated. The interviews with Hitler's personal secretary Traudl Junge, Admiral Doenitz of the german navy, and Arthur "Bomber" Harris of the royal air force were all riveting, and that's to say nothing of all the others made to speak in front of the cameras. It simply makes you care more about what's going on when there are different viewpoints. The series does a good job of providing comic relief in between the usual sections filled to the brim with the savage brutality we've come to associate world war 2 with. Only the very best pieces of television can make an audience sad, laugh, scared, worried, or excited within only 1 episode. The chilling opening music by Carl Davis along with Laurence Olivier's voice is what essentially sets the tone for what you're about to see, and the narration is without a doubt one of the best parts of the show. The interviews are fascinating, but when Laurence is talking, you want him to keep talking. When he's not, you can't wait till he comes back. World at War is also a rare series that does not have a single bad episode. They're all amazing in all respects. Each episode focuses on a different time period and place of world war 2, such as "On Our Way" which is all about the USA before and shortly after pearl harbor, or "Red Star" which is all about the horrors people had to live through in the Soviet Union as Hitler's war machine tore into it. Probably my favorite episode of the entire show is "Wolf Pack" since the entire thing is about german submarines. The episode begins with the calm, rolling waves of the ocean, and there is just silence for about 5 seconds. Laurence then says "The Atlantic. Britain's lifeline. Treacherous enough in peacetime. In war, black with menace." The bottom line is World at War is the premiere documentary on the second world war and there has never been another show like it, and there probably never will be.