The World at War
| The World at War | |
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| Created by | Jeremy Isaacs |
| Narrated by | Laurence Olivier |
| Opening theme | The World at War Theme |
| Composer(s) | Carl Davis |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Thames Television |
| Running time | 22 hours 32 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | October 31, 1973 – May 8, 1974 |
| Website | |
The World at War (1973–74) is a 26-episode British television documentary series chronicling the events of the Second World War. At the time of its completion in 1973, it was, at a cost of £900,000, the most expensive factual series ever made. It was produced by Jeremy Isaacs, narrated by Laurence Olivier and included music composed by Carl Davis. The book The World at War written by Mark Arnold-Forster to accompany the TV series was released in 1973.
The World at War attracted widespread acclaim and is now regarded as a landmark in British television history. The producer Jeremy Isaacs was considered ahead of his time in resurrecting studies of military history. Among many other aspects, the series focused on a portrayal of the experience of the conflict: of how life and death throughout the war years affected soldiers, sailors and airmen, civilians, concentration camp inmates and other victims of the war.
The World at War was commissioned by Thames Television in 1969. Such was the extent of its research, it took four years to produce at a cost of £900,000 (equivalent to £9,800,000 in 2015). At the time this was a record for a British television series. It was first shown in 1973 on ITV.
The series featured interviews with major members of the Allied and Axis campaigns, including eyewitness accounts from civilians, enlisted men, officers and politicians. Among these were Albert Speer, Karl Dönitz, Walter Warlimont, James Stewart, Bill Mauldin, W. Averell Harriman, Curtis LeMay, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, Alger Hiss, Toshikazu Kase, Mitsuo Fuchida, Minoru Genda, J. B. Priestley, Brian Horrocks, John J. McCloy, Lawrence Durrell, Sir Arthur Harris, Charles Sweeney, Paul Tibbets, Lord Avon, Traudl Junge, Mark Clark, Adolf Galland, Hasso von Manteuffel, Jock Colville and historian Stephen Ambrose.
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