The World at War

It's been a quarter-century since this series made its debut, and I wanted to briefly comment on Carl Davis' towering soundtrack score. The theme and opening titles are unexpected and make a terrific impact upon the viewer, coming as they do after a low-keyed prologue narrated by Laurence Olivier. With their work, and with the superb scripts (and their author(s) have not received the accreditation due), I can't imagine how the telling could ever be improved upon in any subsequent productions. No, I think this will remain the definitive World War II anthology. Highly recommended - though a cautionary is called for throughout the Holocaust sequences. (There was much trepidation at its debut over televising that episode.)