War and Remembrance: The Complete Epic Mini-Series
by Tommy Groszman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: and Sharon Stone, Jane Seymour, Robert MitchumDirector: Tommy Groszman
Brand: MPI HOME VIDEO
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1500 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-10-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
Product features:
- Filmed on location in ten countries, this extraordinary production is the largest and most ambitious undertaking in television and motion picture history. Featuring an all-star cast and spectacular reenactments of the Allied invasions at Normandy and the Philippines, Herman Wouk sic novel is brought to life in an award-winning mini-series that vividly recreates one of history s most unforgettable
Movie Reviews of War and Remembrance: The Complete Epic Mini-Series
Movie Review: An Epic
Summary: 5 Stars
To those who stumble upon War and Remembrance, watching this series is somewhat difficult if you haven't seen Winds of War, the first part of the story. It too is available on DVD and I highly recommend getting it. Otherwise there are just enough in-jokes and previous references that you'll get confused. So if you go on, I'll assume that you've either seen or read Winds of War and will know what I'm talking about.
War and Remembrance is essentially a history lesson that's told dramatically. The lesson, of course, is about the second part of World War II, the part that the United States was most actively involved in. That's the strength of the series, how well it deals with the history, and of showing the viewpoints of American, Russian, and German officers, and American, British, and German politicians. You saw all the sides in this, and the lesson was much the better for it. Were the points a bit obvious at times? Of course, but when you spend the kind of money they did on the series, you want to reach the broadest possible audience.
How does it compare with the book? Quite well really, the mini-series was long enough that relatively little was left out or compressed. There were little scenes here and there, but nothing major was on the cutting room floor. Does it help to have read the book first? That depends on if WWII history is your thing. If it's not, then reading the book is a great primer, long though the book is. But if you're contemplating a 25 hour mini-series, something tells me that length is not an issue for you.
The casting is always the key to any mini-series or long-form series (like Lost), and here it's a mixed bag. Dan Curtis, writer/director/producer/bossman cast Winds of War's characters almost uniformly too old for their parts, and while some of them are back for this one, some were either let go or chose not to come back. Those who are back include Robert Mitchum as Pug Henry, Polly Bergen as Rhoda Henry, Victoria Tennant as Pam Tudsbury, David Dukes as Leslie Slote, and Ralph Bellamy as Franklin Roosevelt. Bellamy to me is FDR, I can't read about him in history books without picturing Ralph's face. Likewise Polly Bergen was PERFECT as Rhoda, the then semi-retired actress just nailed it in every scene. Dukes was a great Leslie, the actor was taken from us far too early. And Mitchhum? Way too old for the part even in Winds of War, and the five year break in between did him no favors either (something he pointedly brought up to Curtis in between, telling him to hurry up with the W&R script). His romance with the much younger Tennant was a bit off putting as well, solid though she was. But Mitchum had a gravitas and depth that was badly needed for the role, and for that I can't bring myself to criticize him. His acting was certainly top notch, as always.
The newcomers? Jane Seymour replaces Ali MacGraw as Natalie Jastrow Henry, and while the acting is better, it's the age that really matters. MacGraw was 15 years older than the part and it really showed, though the character is the most frustrating of the books/series, behaving stupidly at almost every turn. Hart Bochner replaces Jan-Michael Vincent as Byron Henry, and the age is better, but Bochner isn't the Byron of the books, and is such a long way off that it's like they wrote the character to fit the actor, rather than hire an actor to fit a character. Vincent was a mess by this point, but I would have liked to have seen his take on things. John Gielgud replaces John Houseman (who was very sick when production began, and would soon pass away), and he fit Aaron Jastrow a little better for the Paradise Ghetto parts. I just couldn't see Houseman more or less becoming a rabbi, talented an actor though he was. Most of the minor parts were re-cast, including an amusing switch by where Barry Morse, who played the German banker Wolf Stoller in WoW, played German General Halder here. All in all the acting was an improvement, for the most part.
The extras? Well they're not bad, considering. They have a series of retrospective docs, with interviews with most of the surviving actors (Mitchum, Dukes, and Gielgud are among the actors who had passed on by this point), and a lot of Dan Curtis (who too has died since). Curtis does not lack for confidence, as the interviews will show, and it's totally necessary when you're shepherding a pair of nine figure mini-series to the screen, when $100 million meant a lot more in a budget than it does now. They cover as much as can be covered really, and take the place of an almost impossible to do commentary track, much as I would have liked to have listened to one. The video and audio quality are about what you would expect from a 20 year old series, and since I doubt they'll go the Blu-Ray route with either series, this is the best we're going to get.
The price? Awesome, for how much you get. I'd been waiting for the makers of the series to get reasonable with their pricing (they topped out at over $140 at one point), and now it's a great deal, especially for how long the mini-series is.
The myth is that W&R killed off the long form mini-series, as the ratings were only so-so for how much money was spent. Instead, I think that the genre has transferred to regular serielized TV dramas like Lost and Heroes. One long story, told over many hours, with a large cast. Not much difference really, if you think about it.
Four stars.
Summary of War and Remembrance: The Complete Epic Mini-Series
Studio: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 10/28/2008 Run time: 1500 minutes Rating: NrThe second half of this massive miniseries covers events from the last two years of World War II with members of our fictitious family--the Henrys--scattered throughout the world. Pariah "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum) visits Russia and England as an advisor--and proposes to his much-younger lover, Pamela (Victoria Tennant)--before retuning to the Pacific theater to join his son Byron (Hart Bochner), a submariner, in battling the Japanese. Meanwhile, Byron's wife, Natalie (Jane Seymour), and her uncle (John Gielgud) continue their harrowing plight, starting in the "Paradise Ghetto" and leading to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
This half--11.5 hours--aired on ABC in May 1989, six months after the first half. Unfortunately there is no kinetic battle sequence like the first half's Midway clash to absorb the viewer. Director Dan Curtis relies more on newsreel footage (and the sometimes heavy-handedness of narrator William Woodson) to cover large events. To compensate, the filmmakers give inordinate screen time to the conspiracy to kill Hitler (Steven Berkoff) by his inner circle. Like in Herman Wouk's novel, Hitler's decision to eliminate the Jews is the backbone of the entire series and the film's steely reenactments of these events--an amazing achievement for network television--is quite harrowing. Authenticity (filming at Auschwitz) plus ace performances (Seymour has been rarely better, Gielgud is outstanding) combine for a powerful statement, although the whole production is sometimes weighed down by the soap-opera elements of the Henrys' lives. The original Winds of War miniseries had a higher caliber cast, which is missed here. However, a few actors shine in their atypical performances, including Barry Bostwick (who tied with Gielgud for the Golden Globe) as a flamboyant submariner and David Dukes as a desk side attaché who reaches new depths in the war. Although admired and very watchable, the series did not impact the industry as much as its predecessor or sweep the award circuit as other miniseries (Roots, Holocaust, etc.) did, although it did take home the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries.
The 7-DVD set contains an informative booklet, a CD soundtrack, and a disc of extras. Dan Curtis makes comments over 70 select minutes of the series (shown out of context), hitting the highlights of filming, a nice way of letting the filmmaker talk without searching for the commentary throughout the various discs. There's a new 30-minute feature combining new and old footage on the making of this massive production, and a 15-minute featurette on composer Bob Cobert. --Doug Thomas
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