Sir Jeremy Isaacs highly deserves the numerous awards for documentaries he has earned: the Royal Television Society's Desmond Davis Award, l'Ordre National du Mérit, an Emmy, and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. His epic The World at War remains unsurpassed as the definitive visual history of World War II.

The Second World War was different from other wars in thousands of ways, one of which was the unparalleled scope of visual documents kept by the Axis and Allies of all their activities. As a result, this war is understood as much through written histories as it is through its powerful images. The Nazis were particularly thorough in documenting even the most abhorrent of the atrocities they were committing--in a surprising amount of color footage. The World at War was one of the first television documentaries that exploited these resources so completely, giving viewers an unbelievable visual guide to the greatest event in the 20th century. This is to say nothing of the excellent, comprehensible narrative. Some highlights:

• A New Germany 1933-39: early German and Nazi documentation of Hitler's rise to power through the impending attack on Poland
• Whirlwind: the early British losses in the blitz in the skies over Britain and in North Africa
• Stalingrad: the turning point of the war and Germany's first defeat
• Inside the Reich--Germany 1940-44: one of the most fascinating documentaries that exists on life inside Nazi Germany, from Lebensborn to the Hitler Youth
• Morning: prior to Saving Private Ryan, one of the only unromanticized views of the Normandy invasion
• Genocide: this film is one of the most widely shown introductions to the Holocaust
• Japan 1941-45: although The World at War is decidedly focused more on the European theater, this is an important look into wartime Japan and its expansion--early 20th-century history that lead to Japan's role in World War II is superficial
• The bomb: another widely shown documentary of the Manhattan Project, the Enola Gay, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki

Priceless collection!

This is a review of "The World at War", 30th anniversary collection (2004 edition). There is an older 2001 DVD version of this series floating around, but be sure to get the 2004 edition.

Going by individual episodes, I would disagree with others' opinions that BBC's "The World at War" is the best documentary on the second world war. You can find more detailed and insightful documentaries on specific campaigns. A VHS tape documentary on Monte Cassino (also available at Amazon) comes to mind. But I will say that as a complete collection, "The World at War" is the absolute best.

This collection brings you the atmosphere of the times the events took place. The theme music is haunting as ever. You will feel that these events happened just yesterday. More importantly, you get first hand perspectives with the interviews of the participants who survived the conflict.

The overall perspective is mostly a British one which, on the Allied side, focuses on the efforts of the British, American and Russians but glosses over the contributions of many of the Commonwealth allies, including the Australians, Canadians, Indians and New Zealanders (not to mention the Free French, Poles, Yugoslavs, Kenyans and other nationalities). But it's a pretty accurate perspective nonetheless.

If you are a WWII buff, this series is a "must have" for your DVD collection.

Best Documentary Of The Second World War By Far!

Many of the reviewers have mentioned that this is one of the best, if not THE BEST documentary treatment of World War II ever released. I would have to agree. Part of this reason is the fact that the interviews in this documentary are with many major and minor participants who generously granted interviews on this particular subject. Most of whom are no longer alive. The primary source material of these individuals: Generals, Ambassadors, Statesmen, and soldiers who participated in the events leading up to the war, during the war, and after the war give an insight to events that are lacking in many other documentaries of this horrific war.

I remember watching these films each and every sunday night; and the haunting music and footage stayed with me for a long, long time. This is without a doubt the most comprehensive documentary of the second world war around. This documentary is for now the definitive history of the war. There have been some very good documentaries that have been released in recent years which focus on individual battles, however, as far as the scope and vastness of the "World at War" nothing compares or comes close to this outstanding documentary. Highly recommended. [Stars: 5+]

This is right up there with Victory at Sea!!!

This is where you start a lifetime collection, add to it - or top it off.