Customer Reviews

War and Remembrance: The Complete Epic Mini-Series

5 star:		(119)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Herman Wouk's "The Winds of War"-"War and Remembrance" miniseries ranks as one of the greatest miniseries ever. "War and Remembrance, The Final Chapter" is about 11 1/2 hours of viewing, and concludes the story with the conclusion of the war. I rate the whole miniseries a solid 5 stars, but after a fair amount of agonizing, I dropped "The Final Chapter" down to a four.

Several reasons. First of all, the fellow who plays Hitler in War and Remembrance (Steven Berkoff) does not do a good job. He is a caricature of the evil, formidable Fuhrer. Gunter Meisner, in "The Winds of War" is a far better portrayal of Hitler, and fully captures the malevolent genius of the man. This is true of several other characters. The chap who plays the Kommandant of the Theresienstadt concentration camp plays the role of being literally a beast in human form. The evils of the Nazi genocidal crimes are better shown, I think, when the evildoers perpetuating these crimes are shown to be human beings knowingly committing evil--not animals who could scarcely know better. By contrast, Gunther Halmer, who plays Rudolph Hoess, does succeed in this--this is an intelligent man who has decided, consciously, to carry out inhuman policies. To me that is far scarier than the notion that the SS-Nazis were simply animals. Well, that's my opinion.

"The Final Chapter" could have used more battle action. There was plenty of opportunity for this, what with this period covering the Normandy invasion, Patton's dash across Europe, the American victory over Japan, etc., but such is not the case here. Lovers of this series (myself included) probably do not mind this too much, but I felt that the first chapter of "War and Remembrance" with its incomparable, superb depiction of the Battle of Midway, constituted better entertainment. This is, after all, a series about World War Two.

Some of the graphic scenes of concentration camp genocide are not for children. Parents will want to exercise judgment if youngsters are present during viewing.

These criticisms aside, "The Final Chapter" is quite an achievement, if for no other reason it satisfactorily wraps up the whole series reasonably smartly. This miniseries will be an enduring classic.

I think these movies and books are a great way to learn about WWII because the blending of historical figures/events and fictional characters makes it real and holds your interest. You get more of a feel for what people experienced and had to deal with. I think all three volumes ("Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance") were excellent. I bought "Winds of War" and received both volumes of "War and Remembrance" as gifts from my husband and mom. I've read both books twice, and the movies followed the books very well. I think this was because the author of the books, Herman Wouk, wrote the screenplays. I also highly recommend both books.
I think the casting was great. I think Jane Seymour and Ali MacGraw were both good as Natalie (my favorite character in the story). Ali portrayed the spitfire part of Natalie's personality better; but, Seymour brought a depth, compassion and softness to the character that Natalie did possess. I think Natalie should have escaped when she could've, but then the story wouldn't have been as powerful and moving as it was. I believe Wouk had a point to make in writing the story that way. It stressed devotion to a loved one in trouble, and the unwillingness to believe the unthinkable could happen. Both of these were prevalent among the Jewish community in WWII. I think Mitchum & Bergen were great--wonderful chemistry and playing off one another. I think Sir John Gielgud was a better choice for the part of Aaron Jastrow than John Houseman. I liked both Jan Michael-Vincent and Hart Bochner as Briny. I think the part of Hitler in both movies could have been cast better. David Dukes as Slote, Topol as Berel Jastrow and Sami Frey as Rabinovitz were choice--couldn't have been cast better. Eddie Albert as Assistant Secretary of State Breckinridge Long was good. Long was an embarrassment to the U.S. during that time--a person who should have never held that position. (Enough of my political opinion!) Ralph Bellamy as Roosevelt was also great. Robert Hardy as Churchill was good. Bill Wallis as Beck was spooky--he played the part so well.
I've used the movies as a way to teach my children about WWII and the lessons we can learn from it. I am a WWII buff, and have read many factual books on the subject and seen many documentaries. The works by Herman Wouk and Bodie Thoene (also excellent) are the only historical fiction books I've read on the subject. My main interest is the history of the Holocaust, Hitler and the war in Europe. I believe there are many lessons we as individuals and the U.S. as a nation can learn from WWII. History always repeats itself. I also highly recommend the book and movie "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom which chronicles the story of the ten Boom family in WWII Holland as they hid Jews in their home. They were a strong Christian family who were eventually arrested and two of them were sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. I hope this review is helpful and happy reading and enjoy the movie!

The War and Remebrance/Winds of War video productions are a high water mark of the docu-drama of WWII. The thing that impressed me most regarding these episodes was the director's skill at imparting the sense of drama, despair, the feeling that must have pervaded peoples minds that were in the war. I cannot find the words to describe the the sense of historical impact I felt this production delivered.

I found the prequel "Winds Of War" in a video club mailing, "Part 1" at an area video store (after a humongous phone search), but I didn't track this part down until I got a cheaply-printed flyer from a mail-order joint with a 1-800 customer service number. Now, years later, they're all right here, only a mouse click or two apart. And they say computers are only a way for Big Brother to keep an eye on us! Those who ducked the saga when it showed on TV, as well as those who can't stand miniseries, also blew the chance to see what Robert Mitchum really was capable of as an actor. Nothing, zilch, zero else he's done comes up to this! Mitchum's other work shows him to be a competent if somewhat generic macho actor, but it's as if Herman Wouk mentally pictured him when he thought Pug Henry up. There are problems, to be sure. Like Polly Bergen's "Rhoda" not being quite the airhead you see in the book. Two different "Natalies" (Ali McGraw died, replaced by "Dr. Quinn's" Jane Seymour). Two different Aaron Jastrows (John Houseman died, John Gielgud took over). Two Byron Henrys (I guess Jan Michael Vincent just tired of the role but Hart Bochner is a bit too dreamboat-ish). But Ralph Bellamy is a brilliant FDR! David Dukes does Leslie Slote as insecure as the book portrays him. Victoria Tennant is delightfully feminine as new love Pamela Tudsbury. If you have the bread, do like I did. Buy all three, view them in order. Unlike me, though, it won't take you for freakin' ever to track the whole thing down!

This 6-disc set concludes the turbulent story of `War and remembrance' miniseries, based on the successful book by Herman Wouk, whose predecessor, `Winds of war', was shot five year prior to this, in 1983. Made during a 5-year period on location in 10 countries, `War and Remembrance' thusly remains one of the biggest achievements in the history of television. The story comes to an end with this 11 and half hours of footage, covering the period from November 1943 to summer 1945.

The main plot of this last part mostly concerns the final stages of the holocaust. Again, we see it through the characters of Natalie (Jane Seymour), an American Jewess, and her uncle Aaron (John Gielgud), who after many escapades across Europe ended up in Theresienstadt, a Nazi ghetto in occupied Czechoslovakia in summer 1943. The so called `paradise ghetto' turns out to be a monstrous hoax: an overcrowded place filled with sickly and dying Jewish people, many of whom were sent to Auschwitz on the regular train transports. The Theresienstadt scenes (shot in my native Croatia) show some of the most brutal holocaust-related moments: a very disturbing scene where Aaron is beaten in front of Adolf Eichmann (Milton Johns), one of the highest ranking Nazis responsible for the implementation of `the final solution' and the one where Natalie's small son is almost tore in two in front of her. We also get to see the famous Red Cross visit to Theresienstadt in June 1944. The Nazis allowed this visit and tried to deceive the visitors, by implementing `the great beautification': the false stores and cafes; furnished houses and hospitals, putting some of the residents on display, etc. However, all this pales in comparison to the episode where Natalie and her uncle are put on the last train from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz, in October 1944. What follows is one of the most gruesome and most vivid depictions: a long and for some fatal trip to Auschwitz; the arrival and the selection (who goes to the camp and who to the gas chamber); the procession of the able bodied prisoners (that is, Natalie) and the very end of her uncle (undressing and dying in the gas chamber). These exterior scenes were shot on location on the exact spots in the actual Auschwitz-Birkeanau camp (first time to be done so) and are deeply moving and disturbing and because of that are not suitable for the small children. This remains the most detailed TV account of the holocaust until today.

Besides this, the story also wraps up the subplots concerning the fictional characters from the Henry family (the love between Pugh and Pamela, for example). The historical events are covered, albeit with less live footage and space (D day; the atom bomb, whose implications of use are strangely left untouched and the whole thing is only mentioned). Considerable space has been given to the July plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944. Sky Dumont (who had a cameo in `Winds of war' as the Italian foreign minister Ciano) is excellent in his portrayal as Count Stauffenberg, the tragic and dignified leader of this failed attempt.

Most of the cast continues their persuasive job (Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Jane Seymour, John Gielgud, Ralph Bellamy...). However, the same problem from the first DVD set is painfully obvious, that is, the character of Hitler. In `Winds of war' Hitler was played by the late German actor Günter Meisner, who played this role a few times during his career. Although a bit too old for the role, he managed to keep things under control, so despite the fact his Führer was stiffed and not altogether perfect, he gave a hint of the evil personage Hitler was. Here, however, the role is taken by the British actor Steven Berkoff and he did an awful job out of it. According to the interview on the extra disc, the director Dan Curtis wanted Hitler to be overplayed. The reasons remain unknown, although one can guess that he wanted to downgrade the character more by doing this. Berkoff's Hitler is a mixture of a buffoon and a yelling maniac. He portrays these sides in such an overacted manner that the result is anything but believable. This makes the Hitler scenes really uninteresting to watch and the way he behaves with his inner circle has no trustworthiness at all. Therefore it is hard to believe such a person could put a spell on the entire nation, let alone be listened by his generals, most of whom are shown here as the observers who put up with him. The role of Hitler is a hard and yet manageable task for an actor who can make a character, as shown by Bruno Ganz in the recent movie `Downfall'. The same difficulty is evident in case of Robert Stephens, who plays Karl Rahm, the SS commandant of Theresienstadt, in the manner of a cartoon villain.

In the same way, the same slip ups from the first disc set are also present here. The most noticeable concern is the narrow scope used in reference to the holocaust, i.e. by showing it to be solely and exclusively a Jewish matter. There is no doubt that the Jews suffered far worse than any other nation, but the subject matter cannot be understood without mentioning all the other groups that suffered under the Nazis. Here there is no reference whatsoever as to all the others that perished in Auschwitz and other places: Slavs, Jehovah's witnesses, Gypsies, homosexuals, etc. This is something that should not have been done in the series of such importance and scale. The book and the movie `Sophie's choice' (where, incidentally, the same actor played Rudolf Höß, the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp) recognize this problem by showing a Polish woman caught in the tragedy that is holocaust. Another evident thing is the fact that the authors tend to be too biased: the subtle message is all Americans are totally honest and good in each step of the way, while all the Germans are bad and vicious. Some of the scenes and lines are quite unnecessary. For example, the Germans on the train to Auschwitz are shown in the stereotypical form as a bunch of beer-gobbling goons. At the same time, the exhausted Natalie says in her boxcar: "I am an American and I will survive.", like one has something to do with the other. The same thing can be said about her line in the last episode, when she is describing a dead friend to her husband (who is a gentile himself), by saying: "His heart was in the right place for a gentile." A bit more of objectivity would be more than welcome.

One of the DVD-related problems is the fact that some of the spelling is incorrect, especially German names and phrases. Thusly Morrell became Müller and Roon is subtitled as Rohem. The German phrase `Zu Befehl', which means `As you ordered', is wrongly subtitled as `To be fair'.

Despite all this, the series remain more than plausible for anyone interested in World War II fiction. The bonus DVD includes another behind the scenes documentary with the cast and the crew (the difficulties of getting permission to shoot at Auschwitz, a homage to the actors and crew people who died since filming...); director Dan Curtis' comment of the selected important scenes and an interview with Bob Cobert, the composer who wrote the memorable score for the series.

If you enjoyed `Winds of war' DVD set, be sure not to miss this.

WAR AND REMEMBRANCE - THE FINAL CHAPTER is the conclusion of the trilogy that started with THE WINDS OF WAR and continues with WAR AND REMEMBRANCE VOLUME 1.

Unlike the first two parts of the story, the conclusion narrows in scope to focus much more on the lives of Natalie and Aaron, as well as Byron and Victor, leaving behind much of the epic saga of world war seen in the first two parts. Even the bombing of Hiroshima is only mentioned in passing, while the story focuses on Byron's search for his son.

As was the case in Volume 1 of WAR AND REMEMBRANCE, the Holocaust is depicted with graphic reality, and can be quite painful to watch. However, this is one of things that makes WAR AND REMEMBRANCE so important -- current and future generations need to see this reality, to make sure this can never happen again.

Why the two parts of WAR AND REMEMBRANCE are packaged separately is a mystery to me; both parts must be seen in order to get the whole story. But the entire epic saga is well worth watching and re-watching, so I heartily endorse all parts of the story.

Now you have entered the Real Nightmare of Hitler's camps. You must finish the journey with the Henrys and the Jastows. The shocking and realistic portrait of these camps and the sea battles will keep you on the edge of your chair all the way.

I'm not a qualified movie critic but I wanted to concur with the other reviews. The quality of the casting/performances does run the gamut from lackluster to brilliant but, in my opinion, this actually enhances the experience. You don't view this movie, you experience it. It draws you into the uncertainty and the urgency of the period, the dispersal of military families, and the abject horror of war and the holocaust. You have to keep your distance from Schindler's list but you can imagine that you're a part of this great historical work. "Winds" and "War" are as good as any works to come out of Hollywood. Notice that most reviewers "love" it and have to relive it often. It's so real. This film becomes a part of you and you, a part of it.

It would be nice to update must of the old TV series to a DVD format, in order to have a chance to remember all greatest moments that you lived when you saw them for the first time.

...The entire "War and Remembrance" sets surpasses "Winds of War", if that can be believed.

A sleeper performance was Sky Dumont's portrayal of Count von Stauffenberg, Hitler's would-be assasin. He was faithful with Mr. Wouk's intentions, Mr. Curtis' intentions, and this world's historical record. Can you imagine the severe tension and anxiety that the Count experienced as he was arming the bomb, and, later making his getaway? Dumont did it all so masterfully!

The cinematographer's choice of raw film stock, and the techniques that he used to expose that stock was even BETTER than "Winds". You don't need no stinkin' airline ticket nor cruise ship ticket to experience Italy, Corsica, Poland, and unfortunately Theresienstadt.

And this segues to a stern warning to the overly sensitive viewer. I'd rate the depictions of Nazi brutality as strong, if not stronger than "Schindler's List", "Saving Private Ryan", or George Takei's ("Star Trek") portrayal of a sadistic Japanese POW camp commandant in a production that eludes me right now. The brutalizations of Natalie and Aaron; the gassings, with full frontal nudity, which, as I recall, were the same as I remember in the original ABC TV telecast; the SS's additudes that their conduct was a "funny" thing; and SS man Blobel's flashback of his Babi Yar Massacre participation. This was as close to the real thing as it gets and it's NOT for the timid. For a gutslamming juxstaposition, consider "Lady" Aster's actions on the Big Submarine Raid.

All of you fellow Mitchumomaniacs, you'll just love the way his "Pug" takes complete charge when faced with the extreme hazards of naval combat. Yeah, Pug finally got his ship!

I'm a stickler for continuity, so when they touched off the Trinity A-Bomb shot, instead of Trinity stock footage, they used footage of OPERATION HARDTACK H-Bomb footage from the late 1950's, for some strange reason (more psychedelic to view, I suppose). I believe that there IS full color footage of Trinity in existence.

Jane Seymour's Natalie had a strange complimentary quality to Ali McGraw's Natalie, emphasizing the changing circumstances the character found herself in -- no time for the frivolous, more time for the serene and somber, pointing towards potential martyrdom.

Every time I view the death of Dr. Jastrow, played by Sir John Geilgud, I cry. He really made you love the old man.

As some of you out there may also know that Dan Curtis also produced the vampire soap opera "Dark Shadows", please keep an eye out for Dan's production assistant, Barbara Steele, as party hostess Elsa in Singapore. Barbara Steele was a "favored victim" in the Hammer House horror pics of the '50's-'70's. In the 1991 NBC-TV revival of "Dark Shadows", she played the role of Dr. Julia Hoffmann (role pioneered by the late Grayson Hall), the erstwhile healer of Barnabas Collins' (Ben Cross, role pioneered by Jonathan Frid) vampirism.