TV Documentary Review: 'The World at War'
In 1971, a young British television producer named Jeremy Isaacs and a team of writers, directors, editors, and other production staff began work on The World at War a 26-part documentary about World War II. Isaacs knew that the war is too vast and complicated a topic; not even 26 hours of television air time (including commercial breaks) is enough to cover every campaign, battle, or major personalities. After consulting with Noble Frankland, then the director of the Imperial War Museum, Isaacs decided to cover 15 decisive campaigns and battles, with the rest of the episodes devoted to such specific topics as the rise of Hitler in Germany, life in occupied Europe, day-to-day life inside the Third Reich, and the Holocaust. The emphasis of the series is not so much the history of the war but rather the human story , not only because simple dry facts and endless clips of censored war footage are mind-numbingly dull, but because television works best when presenting a dramat
