MovieChat Forums > The World at War (1973) Discussion > Comprehensive documentaries that are not...

Comprehensive documentaries that are not THE WORLD AT WAR ?

posted 8 years ago by akunohana
6 replies | jump to latest

Hiya

First off, let me state that i do love The World At War and am merely looking for more of the same, since i have watched that, regarding the Second World War specifically. If i recall - The World At War had to cram as much as it could into 26 episodes, including ones dedicated to interviews about specific events/people, therefore having to choose the very most significant events to cover and dropping other events that, whilst being important in their own right, had to concede to a TV schedule at that time.

The longer the better. Box-sets that are umpteen hours in length etc...

Please may I ask If anyone can recommend something similar ( WWII specifically ) that, without the restraints of TV scheduling rivalries and budgets, delves into as many events as possible ? Maybe even YouTube channels that are dedicated to the subject ?

Thanks in advance if you can help :)

[–] dannieboy20906 8 years ago

I don't think anything else stands up to "The World at War." It is a Thames production, so the British slant is understandably strong. If it had been done by an American organization and leaned as heavily toward the Americans the British would have done their own anyway.

To get similar depth and breadth you will need to watch multiple documentaries about specific battles or subjects within WW2. I suggest that you go to Amazon.com and browse their video documentaries under history, military and war, World War II.

The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.

[–] akunohana 8 years ago

I am thinking that your suggestion is the way to go, rather than me trying to find one big lumped-in picture of the war, but find docus on specific battles or events and do it that way. They're likely to have much more detail allocated to them after all.

Yes, thank you for the suggestion, i'll seek some out.

[–] peacecreep 8 years ago

I highly recommend the 9 1/2 hour documentary Shoah by Claude Lanzmann. It deals, in detail, with the death camps, mostly through interviews with the Jewish Sonderkommando. The film uses no archival footage - the unfathomable is left up to the imagination. It is, without a doubt, the most haunting, disturbing and powerful film I have come across.

There are also 4 other documentaries that were made with footage Lanzmann shot during Shoah's 6 years of filming, all very much worth seeking out.

[–] Stleto 8 years ago

Depending on your preferences - the other great documentary series - Victory at Sea.

I also find that when viewing documentaries about anything - especially WWII - is when
watching two or more documentaries about the same battle - this allows for exposure to
multiple points of view.

[–] akunohana 8 years ago

Thank you everyone for your recommendations !

Despite it having been a very long time since you answered, i AM paying attention and looking at getting all of these. It's much appreciated, thank you :)

I was just thinking about something in the penultimate episode, where he historian Stephen Ambrose is interviewed. He talks about the winners/losers of the war and i thought he made some insightful comments about that. Do you think it still stands today regarding his points ?

[–] John-367 7 years ago

The World at War couldn't discuss Bletchley Park, Enigma, Lorenz etc because the subject was still secret. The Channel 4 mini-series "Station X" was the first major exploration of the subject on TV I recall and probably still the most comprehensive.

"The Nazis A Warning From History", a BBC miniseries, is also essential and goes into much more detail about the workings of the Nazi state than would be possible in a general series.