# The World at War (1973)

> A landmark 1970s documentary series chronicling World War II from its roots in the 1920s through its aftermath, narrated by Laurence Olivier.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/712

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 26
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: documentary, history, war
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: Laurence Olivier
- TMDB rating: 9.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071075/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: dense
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: solemn, authoritative, harrowing, measured, sober

## What critics say

Widely regarded as a landmark documentary that captures the full scope of the Second World War with authority, powerful testimony and lasting influence on the form.

## Synopsis

The World at War (1973-1974) is a British documentary series created for ITV1 that traces the Second World War from its roots in the 1920s through to its aftermath and the lives it reshaped. Narrated by Laurence Olivier, the single season of twenty-six hour-long episodes is built from archive footage and interviews with soldiers, civilians, and officials who lived through the conflict. Rather than a single protagonist, the engine is the sweep of history itself: each episode takes on a theatre, a campaign, or a home front and follows how decisions made in capitals filtered down to ordinary people. The approach is sober and authoritative, with grave expository narration that lets testimony carry the emotional weight. Its scale is that of a full historical survey, moving across Europe, the Pacific, and the wartime home fronts. The tone is solemn, measured, and often harrowing, with unflinching footage of combat and atrocity. Viewers searching for a comprehensive wwii documentary, a historical series built on veterans' testimony, or a rigorous war history with classic narration will find it resonant. Fans of Ken Burns: The War and The Great War will recognize its tradition of archival storytelling. The series remains a benchmark of the form, valued for its breadth and its refusal to simplify the war.

## Shows like The World at War

- [World War II: From the Frontlines (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/150708)
- [The War (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/29234)
- [Greatest Events of World War II in Colour (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/77695)
- [Apocalypse: The Second World War (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/30535)
- [Victory at Sea (1952)](https://ember.film/tv/12944)
- [Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution (2005)](https://ember.film/tv/6853)
- [Five Came Back (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/61653)
- [WWII in Color: Road to Victory (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/116700)
- [World War II in Colour (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/38530)
- [World War II: When Lions Roared (1994)](https://ember.film/tv/43327)

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