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List Price: $129.98 | | Label: MPI HOME VIDEO
Salesrank: 1930
Released: October 28, 2008 |
| Our Price: $62.49 |
| Used Price: $79.87 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Available together for the first time.
Winner of Emmy, Director s Guild, and Golden Globe Awards!
Starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Seymour, and Sharon Stone.
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 s classic novel is brought to life in an award-winning mini-series that vividly recreates one of history s most unforgettable chapters. This deluxe boxed set contains the entire epic story of WAR AND REMEMBRANCE all fourteen parts, over 25 hours long on 13 discs!
Includes bonus audio CD of the War and Remembrance soundtrack music
Includes bonus interviews and commentary with actors and production personnel, War and Remembrance A Living History featurette, documentaries The Making of War and Remembrance and War and Remembrance Behind the Scenes , and The Music of War and Remembrance featurette.
Description of War and Remembrance: The Complete Epic Mini-Series:
The 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
War and Remembrance: The Complete Epic Mini-Series Reviews:
Very good 
2009-12-08 - Again, many hours of entertainment. This was very graphic. Sometimes it was difficult to watch what the Jews had to endure. I understand the purpose was to tell it like it really was....and Herman Wouk succeeded. Another keeper.
Excellent historical drama!
2009-11-15 - "War and Remembrance"(the complete epic) is powerful movie-making with a profound message for modern generations. Set amidst the loves and lives of the fictional Henry family, this story places you right in the middle of World War II and all of its brutality. There were significant casting changes from the original cast of "Winds of War", which take some getting used to - the abscence of Jan Michael Vincent and Ali McGraw in particular. However, the cast is ultimately overshadowed by the enormity of the historical events, especially the Holocaust, which Producer/Director Dan Curtis shows with unflinching realism. Using a mix of archival footage and very realistic dramatic scenes, he shows us the horror of the Holocaust juxtaposed with the seemingly normal day to day life of the German soldiers who were "just following orders". Everyone alive now, and particularly those under age 40, need to understand the magnitude of these events and why the WWII generation was indeed "The Greatest Generation". Today we are faced with a multitude of Holocaust deniers and people willing to use appeasement as a tool to deal with terrorists - it didn't work 40 years ago, and it won't work today. Watch this mini-series with your family so that you all can understand that these things can happen, are even happening now, when good people fail to speak up or take a stand against tyranny. "War and Remembrance" is a gut-wrenching history lesson that the World needs to listen to, wrapped up in an engrossing dramatic story. The holocaust scenes are graphic and disturbing, but considering much of the gratuitous nudity and violence that children are exposed to today, I think children(12+)especially need to see this to understand exactly why the Nazis had to be stopped at all costs. Be sure to watch "Winds of War" before you watch this one, or you will miss a lot.
Awesome Mini-serires for an incredible price
2009-10-24 - I have been waiting to purchase this series for awhile. I could not pass up the good price. The package arrived ahead of schedule and was in perfect condition.
excellent movies, 1/2 the price
2009-10-21 - historicaly accurate and very well done ,enjoyed them so very much. the type of series you can watch again and again. Thank you Amazon great prices and quick delivery!!
Best Miniseries ever
2009-10-18 - Having a great interest in WWII, as a young person I devoured every history book(fact or fiction) that I could find. I read both The Winds Of War and War and Rememberance when they were published, and was happy when both books were made into miniseries. The translation to television was done very well. If you had not read the books, you still got a very consise understanding of one of the most pivital times in recent history. The only thing that I didn't like much was the replacement of some of the cast from The Winds of War, but their replacements managed to stay mostly true to their predecessors. All said & done, it is a very powerful story, told in a very intimate way through the lives & fortunes of the central characters.
The DVD transfer was very good, video was OK,sound wasn't sometimes, but still clear & audible. I reccomend this to anyone who wants to "speedread" through WWII.
