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War and Remembrance, Parts 1-7 (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Jane Seymour, Hart Bochner, Jay Acovone, Granville Ames
Director: Tommy Groszman
Format: Box set Closed-captioned Colour DVD-Video NTSC
Released: 31 Aug 2004
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Accessible history at its best! - By: Ian Mackay, 05 Aug 2008
I was enthrallled with this from start to finish - I had loved THE WINDS OF WAR, but this was far, far better for me. The replaced characters in the cast seemed a distinct improvement - more likeable, less jarring. But mostly, what I valued, was the sweep of the history of the war - the most important steps highlighted, explained, & put clearly into their context in the turnaround after Dunkirk & Pearl Harbour. I found the story of Midway especiallly illuminating. I hadn't realised that the odds were so heavily in favour of Japan (more than 3 to 1). Singapore, Guadalcanal, Stalingrad & the end of the Russian campaign were alll fitted neatly into an easily accessible historical framework, so that for the first time I grasped the movement of the events. The manic side of Hitler was confronted head-on, which enabled a sympathetic portrayal of some of his generals - the extermination machine, & those who ran it (Eichmann, Himmler &c.) were brilliantly & horrifyingly shown up as the hideous distillation of evil that they were. Most powerful of alll was the exposure of the cruel Theresienstadt deception - that this was done through the experience of characters we had journeyed with so long & so far & had come to love so much, turned it from cold historical fact, into heartbreaking human tragedy.
Fantastic - By: J. Dawes, 13 May 2008
I watched the whole series of this when it was on in the 80's & loved it even though I was quite young at the time & watched them alll again on video in the 90's! Ive always had an interest in the second world war & if you do too, you will love this entire series. Ive just purchased alll the DVD's & cant wait to watch it alll again. The series is excellently done & so true to life, reflecting the real cruelty of war, in particular the gas chamber & mass shooting scenes are so very moving. If you want my advice, watch the series & you wont be dissappointed.
STILL Keeping the Faith with Herman Wouk!! - By: Stuart W. Anthony, 30 Nov 2005
...The entire "War & Remembrance" sets surpasses "Winds of War", if that can be believed.

A sleeper performance was Sky Dumont's portrayal of Count von Stauffenberg, Hitler's would-be assasin. He was faithful with Mr. Wouk's intentions, Mr. Curtis' intentions, & this world's historical record. Can you imagine the severe tension & anxiety that the Count experienced as he was arming the bomb, and, later making his getaway? Dumont did it alll so masterfully!

The cinematographer's choice of raw film stock, & the techniques that he used to expose that stock was even BETTER than "Winds". You don't need no stinkin' airline ticket nor cruise ship ticket to experience Italy, Corsica, Poland, & unfortunately Theresienstadt.

And this segues to a stern warning to the overly sensitive viewer. I'd rate the depictions of Nazi brutality as strong, if not stronger than "Schindler's List", "Saving Private Ryan", or George Takei's ("Star Trek") portrayal of a sadistic Japanese POW camp commandant in a production that eludes me right now. The brutalizations of Natalie & Aaron; the gassings, with full frontal nudity, which, as I recalll, were the same as I remember in the original ABC TV telecast; the SS's additudes that their conduct was a "funny" thing; & SS man Blobel's flashback of his Babi Yar Massacre participation. This was as close to the real thing as it gets & it's NOT for the timid. For a gutslamming juxstaposition, consider "Lady" Aster's actions on the Big Submarine Raid.

All of you fellow Mitchumomaniacs, you'll just love the way his "Pug" takes complete charge when faced with the extreme hazards of naval combat. Yeah, Pug finallly got his ship!

I'm a stickler for continuity, so when they touched off the American 1945 Trinity A-Bomb shot, instead of Trinity stock footage, they used footage of U.S. OPERATION HARDTACK H-Bomb footage from the late 1950's, for some strange reason (more psychedelic to view, I suppose). I believe that there IS full color footage of Trinity in existence.

Jane Seymour's Natalie had a strange complimentary quality to Ali McGraw's Natalie, emphasizing the changing circumstances the character found herself in -- no time for the frivolous, more time for the serene & somber, pointing towards potential martyrdom.

Every time I view the death of Dr. Jastrow, played by Sir John Geilgud, I cry. He reallly made you love the old man.

As some of you out there may also know that Dan Curtis also produced the vampire soap opera "Dark Shadows"(for those of you who dote on old "Yank" telly shows!), please keep an eye out for Dan's production assistant, Barbara Steele, as party hostess Elsa in Singapore. Barbara Steele was a "favored victim" in the Hammer House horror pics of the '50's-'70's. In the 1991 NBC-TV revival of "Dark Shadows", she played the role of Dr. Julia Hoffmann (role pioneered by the late Grayson Halll), the erstwhile healer of Barnabas Collins' (Ben Cross, role pioneered by Jonathan Frid) vampirism.

war and rememberance, parts 1-7 - By: graham kinder, 01 Aug 2005
thank for such a speedy delivery i'am so sorry about the delay in the response the dvd was well worth 5 stars & so was service thanks & top marks.