War and Remembrance

I actually saw this film not that long ago on History Channel, after seeing the entire Winds of War on network TV when I was down with a back injury years ago. Networks no longer make these sweeping miniseries. In one way, it's good, because so much of the time is spent on inconsequential scenes just to fill time. On the other hand, it's a shame. This particular miniseries brought the horrors of what the Jews suffered in World War II right into your living room, and it was pretty harrowing. Watching it on History Channel was an education, as historians discussed the movie during the break. They agreed that War and Remembrance was incredibly accurate in its depiction of the war.

Of course, having John Gielgud in the cast didn't hurt! He was absolutely marvelous. I can only say that the entire story arc concerning Gielgud and his family was remarkable. The scene where Natalie eats the apple brought to the cattle cars by the Christians was incredible, as was the entire cattle car saga. The concentration camp scenes, the depiction of the commandant and his family, the entire cover-up aided and abetted by the Red Cross, Natalie's will to survive and be reunited with her son -- they are etched in my heart and will stay there forever.

I heartily recommend this miniseries. Look for it on History Channel to get the commentary. This was superior work by Dan Curtis.

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.

.....of War" But as reasons, they cited production values centering on shooting locations, authentic sets, care in staging shots, and other technical aspects of production. No one said the very obvious: "Remembrance" is better than "Winds" because of the higher caliber of acting. Jane Seymour's nuanced portrayal of Natalie was certainly better than Ali McGraw's one-dimensional haughty, petulant and flibbertigibbet Natalie. Gielgud was more professorial and a really convincing intellectual Jew compared to Houseman. His delivery of that sermon on the biblical Job as a "stinking Jew" (an epithet Jews were required by the SS to use in introducing themselves in the concentration camps) was very moving. The noble but conflicted Byron characterization by Hart Bochner is certainly not the shallow hot in the pants Byron portrayed by Jan Michael Vincent. For some reason, I also preferred the Warren Henry of Michael Woods over that of Ben Murphy who wasn't bad at all but Woods had the charisma or the "glow about him" that Pamela Tudsbury (Victoria Tennant) described. Polly Bergen's acting or maybe her role as Rhoda much improved in "Remembrance" because in "Winds" she was just this overly excited and artificially cheerful navy housewife bowled over by the seeming glamor of Nazi Germany. Now in "Remembrance" she displays a fuller range of acting descending into regret and downright pathos as she realized that she flirted away her marriage and family. I realize I may not be being fair in blaming the actors named. For all we know, Herman Wouk's screen writing skills improved in the five-year interim between "Winds" and "Remembrance." Similarly, Curtis' directorial savvy may have also improved. And that brings me to the matter of comparison between the book and the screenplay. The film generally succeeds in bringing to the TV audience the gist of the story (stories actually) in "Remembrance," but actually it is not a faithful rendition of the book's narrative. Certain contrivances were used to bring key characters to interact with each other to get the audience into the flow of the epic. For example, in the film Pug and Armin von Roon were personally acquainted or even friends in a sort of way. But in the book they never met as far as I can recall. Admiral Henry was writing a memoir or a postwar analysis of the battles and the conduct of the war and was using a book written by Von Roon as a reference which he was refuting on several points. I was somewhat sympathetic to the Von Roon character in the book but still he was presented as somewhat of an opportunist who supported Hitler as long as he was winning the war and turned against him only when Germany was losing. In the film, however, Von Roon (excellently played by Jeremy Kemp) was shown to be an early critic of Hitler and hinted at as one of the plotters of the failed assassination of the Fuhrer.

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The broadcast of "War and Remembrance", based on Herman Wouk's novel, was a television event. Although recapturing the excitement of watching the miniseries can cost you around $180, it is well worth it. From its beautiful opening and closing score to its unforgettable images and people, "War and Remembrance" is like no other. Because it was an epic miniseries, which cost around $110 million to make, the television powers that be were able to film at various locations around the world and bring vastly different (yet interconnected) stories of the war to the small screen. In that sense, it is like several miniseries rolled into one.

"War and Remembrance" revolves around the lives of two families, the Henrys and the Jastrows. The connection between them is provided through the marriage of Byron Henry and Natalie Jastrow. The Henrys are a naval family: Victor "Pug" Henry serves both as a diplomat and as the commander of a destroyer at various times in the series, Byron Henry serves on a submarine in the Pacific, Warren Henry is a naval pilot married to the daughter of a Senator. Byron's wife, Natalie Jastrow is an American Jew in Europe trying to escape the Nazis along with her uncle, Aaron Jastrow, and her son with Byron, Louis Henry. Aaron Jastrow's cousin is a Jewish Polish soldier trying to survive Auschwitz. Those are just some of the characters whose stories captivate the audience. There are also the experiences of their spouses, lovers, and the relatives of their spouses and lovers.

The audience is also given a glimpse into the thinking of the Nazi leadership, with Steven Berkoff providing a chilling and brilliant portrayal of Adolf Hitler. Here was a look at the Holocaust and the events and decisions leading up to it that was unprecedented at the time that the series debuted in 1988.

It is unfortunate that I have not found many libraries that carry copies of this miniseries on either VHS or DVD, forcing many people to either buy it or miss out on experiencing it. I, for one, have chosen to buy it, and I do not regret it for a day. I also recommend reading the book.

Only Dan Curtis with his genius for horror could portray the holocaust for the horror that it actually was. Watching this series can give one nightmares, and they can be more frightening because this all actually happened. Never before or since have I seen such gruesome details about what went on in places like Auschwitz and Thereisenstadt.

I loved the documentary style in which they told this story. The only thing I didn't like about this series was that the bombing of Hiroshima seemed to be glossed over in the end. It was like an "Oh, by the way..." thing. A brief comment about the war being over, and on to look for the kid. Such an important moment in the movie--and history--deserved more attention than it got. But I guess at that point, they were in a hurry to finish the thing because it was eighteen hours long as it stood. Except for the hurried ending, it was a great series.