"War and Remembrance" (1988) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

13 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

The saga of the Henry family, begun in "The Winds of War" continues as America is attacked by Japan and enters World War II...

Plot Keywords:

German | General | Japan | Captain | Winston Churchill

Awards:

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 8 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Capt. Victor 'Pug' Henry / ... (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Jane Seymour	...	Natalie Henry (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Hart Bochner	...	Byron Henry (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Victoria Tennant	...	Pamela Tudsbury (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Polly Bergen	...	Rhoda Henry (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Sami Frey	...	Avram Rabinovitz (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
William Schallert	...	Harry Hopkins (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Jeremy Kemp	...	Brig. Gen. Armin Von Roon (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Steven Berkoff	...	Adolf Hitler (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Robert Hardy	...	Winston Churchill (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Topol	...	Berel Jastrow (11 episodes, 1988-1989)
Ralph Bellamy	...	President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (11 episodes, 1988-1989)
John Gielgud	...	Aaron Jastrow (11 episodes, 1988-1989)
William Woodson	...	Narrator (11 episodes, 1988-1989)
David Dukes	...	Leslie Slote (9 episodes, 1988-1989)
E.G. Marshall	...	Dwight D. Eisenhower (9 episodes, 1988-1989)
Sharon Stone	...	Janice Henry (8 episodes, 1988-1989)
Barry Bostwick	...	'Lady' Aster (8 episodes, 1988-1989)
Ian McShane	...	Philip Rule (8 episodes, 1988-1989)
John Rhys-Davies	...	Sammy Mutterperl (7 episodes, 1988)
Bill Wallis	...	Werner Beck (7 episodes, 1988)
Joachim Hansen	...	Lt. Gen. Alfred Jodl (7 episodes, 1988-1989)
John Malcolm	...	Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (7 episodes, 1988-1989)
Michael Wolf	...	Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering (6 episodes, 1988-1989)
Robert Morley	...	Alistair Tudsbury (5 episodes, 1988)
Mike Connors	...	Col. Harrison 'Hack' Peters (5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Christian Ebel	...	Rattenhuber (5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Ian Jentle	...	Josef Goebbels (5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Barry Morse	...	Col. Gen. Franz Halder (5 episodes, 1988-1989)

Runtime:

1620 min (12 parts)

Country:

USA

Language:

French | German | Hebrew | Japanese | Russian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland

Company:

ABC Circle Films

Trivia:

Steven Berkoff, who played Adolf Hitler, is Jewish.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: While Byron and Pug are standing on the deck of the USS Iowa, the 50-star Navy Jack is seen over Byron's right shoulder instead of the 48-star flag that should have been flying.

Quotes:

Adolf Hitler: [Hitler and his generals are under Berlin in the bunker, April 22, 1945] WHAT IS GOING ON? We have been trying to reach the Steiner army since yesterday! My patience is not limitless!
Lt. Gen. Alfred Jodl: The telephone lines, Mein Fuhrer; they keep breaking down.
Adolf Hitler: If I do not hear from Steiner within 15 minutes, somebody will be shot!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Doogie Howser, M.D.: Blood and Remembrance (#1.8)" (1989)

Unforgettable

Without doubt the most stunning work of filmmaking I have ever seen, "War and Remembrance" is a massive experience to watch that will haunt you always. This last great mini-series dramatizes the ENTIRE Second World War, and does so at times with a raw honesty unseen before or since on network TV.

Shot on location around the world, the soap opera stories are always intriguing as we follow the various members of the Henrys, an American Naval family as they encounter every major event of the war.

The heart, though, is the central plot of Jane Seymour, in a heartbreaking career-best performance as an American Jew trapped in Europe, and John Gielgud, mesmerizing as her uncle. As they are slowly, inexorably pulled into the Holocaust we follow them, step by agonizing step, to the final horrors of Auschwitz, filmed entirely on location.

The movie is aided by a brilliant, unforgettable score by Bob Cobert, especially the main theme which seems to encapsulate every single emotion of the thirty hours into its two minutes.

It may be a bit of a commitment to watch this, but it is worth it. "War and Remembrance" is as close to time travel as is possible, and makes that dark period of history come powerfully alive.