Apocalypse: The Second World War

A six-part French documentary about the Second World War composed exclusively of actual footage of the war as filmed by war correspondents, soldiers, resistance fighters and private citizens. The series is shown in color, with the black and white footage being fully colorized, save for some original color footage. The only exception to the treatment are most Holocaust scenes, which are presented in the original black and white.

Apocalypse: The Second World War (2009) is a French national-television documentary miniseries created by Isabelle Clarke, Daniel Costelle, Jean-Louis Guillaud and Henri de Turenne for France 2. Narrated by Mathieu Kassovitz, it is a six-part, roughly fifty-three-minute chronicle built entirely from genuine wartime footage shot by correspondents, soldiers, resistance fighters and ordinary citizens. Its engine is the sweep of the conflict itself: each episode moves through campaigns, battlefronts and home fronts, letting the images carry the momentum of events as they unfolded. Recognizable figures appear only in archive form, including Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, de Gaulle, Eisenhower, Rommel, Himmler and Göring, so the leaders are seen as they were seen in their own time. Most of the footage has been fully colorized, which gives the scenes an unsettling immediacy, while the Holocaust sequences remain in original black and white, a deliberate choice that marks their gravity. The tone is sober, weighty and elegiac rather than sensational. Fans of The World at War and They Shall Not Grow Old will find resonance in its archival immersion and its restrained, witness-driven approach to the twentieth century's most devastating conflict.

Viewers broadly acclaim the series as a powerful, rigorous and affecting compilation of archival footage that gives a vivid account of the Second World War.

• The World at Warshared documentary treatment of world war ii with archival footage and narration
• They Shall Not Grow Oldshared colorized archival footage and large-scale war chronicle format
• The Night of the Generalsshared epic chronicle of 20th century conflict through archive material

Created by

Isabelle Clarke, Daniel Costelle, Jean-Louis Guillaud, Henri de Turenne

Release Date

2009-09-08

Episode runtime

53 min

Rating

9.0 / 10 (158)

What is Apocalypse: The Second World War about?

A six-part French documentary that retells the Second World War entirely through colorized archival footage shot by those who lived it.

What is Apocalypse: The Second World War like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Apocalypse: The Second World War as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is Apocalypse: The Second World War violent?

Yes. Ember rates the violence in Apocalypse: The Second World War as graphic.

What did critics think of Apocalypse: The Second World War?

Viewers broadly acclaim the series as a powerful, rigorous and affecting compilation of archival footage that gives a vivid account of the Second World War.

Which shows are like Apocalypse: The Second World War?

Shows with a similar feel include The World at War, They Shall Not Grow Old, and The Night of the Generals.

How long is Apocalypse: The Second World War?

Apocalypse: The Second World War: 1 season, 6 episodes.

Is Apocalypse: The Second World War still running?

No, Apocalypse: The Second World War has ended.