The World at War

The World at War (tv series), 1973-1974. An in-depth account of the events and sociology of World War II.

Directed by Hugh Raggett (3 episodes), John Pett (3), David Elstein (2), Ted Childs (2), Martin Smith (2), Michael Darlow (2), ? (12). Written by Peter Batty (6 episodes), Neal Ascherson (3), Laurence Thompson (2), Jerome Kuehl (2), David Wheeler (2), John Williams (2), Charles Bloomberg (2), J.P.W. Mallalieu (1), Charles Douglas Home (1), Angus Calder (1), Stuart Hood (1), Courtney Browne (1), David Elstein (1) & Jeremy Isaacs (1). Starring Laurence Olivier.

Concept: 1/4 (Bad). I suppose it was a better concept back in the 70s, when there weren't entire networks devoted to World War II documentaries.
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 3/4 (Good). The show's not at all about individuals, but it's told by them and they end up coming through.
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, 2/4). It's more like sitting in on a history class for a semester than like watching a TV show. It's often interesting, and often hard to watch (it doesn't hold anything back). You probably couldn't do any better with a 26-hour war documentary. (Note to self: don't watch any more 26-hour war documentaries.)
Objective Rating (Average): 2.2/4 (Okay)