8.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.9 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
A multi-volumed documentary mini-series, "The World at War" covers the entire history of World War II from the causes of the 1920s to the aftermath of the Cold War in the 1950s. Emphasis is also placed on several inside story episodes, where events are covered which occurred inside Germany and Japan such as resistance to Hitler, life in general under a dictatorial regime, and particular emphasis is focused on the Jewish Holocaust.
Starring: Anthony Eden (I), Albert Speer, Louis Mountbatten, Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, J.B. PriestleyWar | 100% |
History | 95% |
Documentary | 57% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Nine-disc set (9 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
The late 1960s to early 1970s may have been the perfectly propitious time period to undertake a mammoth documentary recounting the history of World War II. Enough time had passed that a certain level of objectivity had crept into historical analysis, however slowly at first, but the events were still recent enough that many participants (and victims) of the epochal conflict were still around to reminisce about it. Producer Jeremy Isaacs had been impressed by The Great War, a previous British extravaganza devoted to World War I, and he ultimately became Executive Producer of The World at War, Thames Television’s brilliant 26 part exegesis of the causes, conflicts and personal stories of the 20th century’s most defining few years. So daunting was this task that it actually took several years of research, compilation, and interviewing before the final product was finally ready for broadcast in 1973. Narrated by Laurence Olivier, and containing an iconic theme by Carl Davis (eerily redolent of Prokofiev’s wartime Symphony No. 5), The World at War quickly became the authoritative effort on the conflict. Filled to the brim with haunting first person stories by both combatants and civilians, and with an interesting, not always strictly chronological, take on the epic battle, the series had both a grand scope and an intimate emphasis that made it unforgettable to several generations of viewers who saw it either on its original broadcast run in England, or as it was disseminated across the globe in the ensuing years. The World at War has also had a long history on home video, but as befits such an impressive, and historic on its own terms, release, this new Blu-ray ups the ante rather considerably about what a media company is willing to do to both upgrade a release for high definition as well as to make the product salable in larger, broadcast licensing, terms.
If you are one of the people who are inconsolable about Fremantle's decision to reframe this release in 16:9, you should probably stop reading now, as
nothing I can say will change your mind about the worthiness of this release. As I mention in some detail above, I feel your pain, I really do. I have
always argued for original aspect ratios on home video releases, especially when a lot of early days panning and scanning was so clumsily handled.
But for those of you who are keeping an open mind, let's move on. The World at War is simply a marvel, a benchstone, of restoration,
delivered via an AVC codec in 1080p and, yes. 1.78:1. Let's get the framing issues out of the way first. Would it have been better to have had this
series in 1.33:1? Probably. But business being what it is, and Fremantle's need to recoup their very substantial restoration costs by relicensing this
series for broadcast made the 16:9 decision inevitable. What is striking about this reframing is how carefully it was done, at least for the most part.
As the restoration featurette shows quite clearly, this was not an automated situation where the original 1.33:1 image was simply blown up to
become 1.78:1. Actual people, not machines, supervised this process, often frame by frame, making sure the salient information was kept in
the image. For about 95% of the time, this effort is largely commendable. Unfortunately, the contemporary interview segments do look
rather silly, with up to one quarter of any given individual's forehead and/or chin lopped off the image. In perhaps a less important issue, the opening
Thames TV logo now cuts the top of the spire off of St. Paul's Cathedral. But otherwise, the framing has been handled spectacularly
smartly.
Now on to the image itself. This restoration is quite simply a revelation, especially for those of us who grew up with the series or have owned it in its
previous home video incarnations. Again, this is state of the art restoration, using in fact a new software that is not even commercially available yet.
The World at War was its maiden voyage, so to speak, and the results are simply stunning. The increase in sharpness and detail is often
breathtaking, and the painstaking removal of millions of scratches, blemishes and surface dirt reveals a whole new wealth of fine detail. Has DNR
been applied? Yes, but not in the way it typically is. Grain structure is still largely intact, especially in the smaller millimeter formats. And in fact
where too much restoration would have harmed the integrity of the image, as in some of the color film of Hitler at Berchtesgaden, next to
nothing has been done.
This was obviously a labor of love for Fremantle and the associated high-tech wizards who helped with the restoration and hi-def transfer. Fremantle
went back to its archives, often to 35mm negatives, to source from the best available elements used for this transfer, and it shows in virtually every
frame. The older black and white footage now bristles with brilliant contrast and excellently inky black levels, and the color footage has been timed by
telecine experts who have often worked wonders, especially with the older Technicolor segments. All of this said, there are noticeable differences in
various source elements. The 35mm footage looks substantially better than the 16mm, as is to be expected, and even some of the 35mm (as well as
the 16mm) sports some wear and tear that even digital restoration can't overcome.
People coming to this release without having seen The World at War in either its standard def broadcast version or any of the previous home
video releases may wonder what all the brouhaha, both pro and con, is about. We're dealing with an incredible amount of archival footage here, and
even a painstaking digital restoration can only go so far in bringing the image quality up to current day standards. But for those who have
seen this series in previous iterations, if you can get past the reframing issue, you are most likely going to be amazed at the upgrade in image quality
here.
The results aren't quite so mind (or ear) boggling as the video quality, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 repurposed track sounds surprisingly spry for its age, even if the surround channels aren't exactly constantly in motion. The immersive qualities of this multi-channel re-do are obviously most impressive in the battle footage, where the roar of plane engines clearly pans from side to side and bombs explode from front to rear. Dialogue and music remain pretty resolutely anchored in the front channels. Olivier's voice sounds just slightly chorused in the 5.1 mix, and some may prefer the lossless LPCM 2.0 mix for that reason. Davis' haunting score sounds magnificent, and the LFE of the new lossless tracks is very robust. Archival source material still sounds crackly, poppy and scratchy, with compressed frequencies and an overall boxy sound, but that somehow only seems to make it more "real" in a historical perspective. The main interview segments and Olivier's voiceover are clear as a bell and very well mixed into the overall soundfield.
All of the extras from the previously released DVD boxed set have been ported over, upgraded to HD and, yes, converted to 16:9. One new documentary on the restoration itself is included. The supplements are:
I came rather late in my parents' lives, and have in fact joked for many years that I was my parents' mid-life crisis. I therefore grew up with a father who had himself been part of the Greatest Generation and who was a pretty famous Army man (a Major General by the end of his career) in his own right. That made me perhaps more attuned to the history and impact of World War II than a lot of people my age, but as we get further and further away from the mid-20th century, there are even fewer people around with even a tangential relationship to World War II. That's why The World at War is such a timeless and important documentary. Never before had so many first hand accounts been memorialized, documenting the conflict from every side. Never before had such an exhaustive approach to the war been attempted, at least for television. This new Blu-ray is no doubt going to be one of the more controversial catalog releases of 2010 due to Fremantle's decision to reframe it for 16:9 screens. I typically am a stalwart believer that original aspect ratios should be honored, and I don't feel differently after having watched this new version. However, I'm not about to throw the baby out with the bath water, especially when it's completely obvious that this Blu-ray version has been accorded incredible care. A 1.33:1 version would have been preferable, yes, but this package, though pricey, is a significant upgrade from the SD-DVD version and I can confidently give it my highest recommendation.
2014
World War II in HD
2009
2010
2018
2007
2017
2012
2010
Under Sandet
2015
Deluxe Edition
1952-1953
1962
2017
1985
1969
1984
1970
2010
1977
70th Anniversary Special Edition
1995
Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter
2013