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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.

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.

I own the entire DVD collection for both "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance." As a university professor, it is required viewing for my 20th century world history class. All elements of this production are astounding: casting, acting, writing, historical accuracy, filming, locations, not to mention the haunting music.

Many of my students have told me that seeing this series changed their view and motivation of the importance of historical knowledge and the passing of it from generation to generation. They have even formed outside discussion groups because the allotted class time is never enough to accommodate the forum required for voicing and digesting their thoughts and feelings brought on by the film. This is a film for the ages.

As a college instructor of modern problems and history- I am appalled by the total lack of knowledge today's students ( and fellow instructors ) have regarding the issues surrounding WWII. Moreover- many of these same persons have no ability ( or desire ) to make the connection of those years( 1933-1945 ) as to how the world is now formulated. Director Dan Curtis has exhibited both the will and ability to take both Herman Wouk's novel and incorporate it so successfully into this massive, and titanic film. I believe, that both WoW and W & R, along with "Saving Private Ryan " should be required film watching for all graduating high schoolers. Admittedly many of the films realistic and gritty scenes are difficult to watch- but unfortunately reality is often a cruel place. Both WoW and W&R give an honest lesson on the eventual triumph of the forces of good over evil which the world faced in the middle of the 20th century. The side stories of the characters involved and their individual romances and escapades only solidify the historical significance of the film. My favorite scenes involved the accurate depiction of the battle of Midway. Midway probably saved several years of hard Pacific fighting and thousands of lives as a result of the American victory. Grade A+ performances for Robert Mitchum and Jane Seymore. Steven Berkoff was masterful as Hitler and Jeremy Kemp continued his credible role as the sympathetic and loyal General Armin von Roon. Barry Morse also deserves credit for being able to switch roles from the slimy Wolf Stoller in WoW to a wise but challenging General Halder in W& R ( One goof- Halder was not executed in the aftermath of the July 22, 1944 attempt on Hitler as depicted in the film- he survived the war ). Both the Winds of War and War and Remembrance are films that must be seen!

I doubt anyone could afford to produce this miniseries today. I saw it when it first aired and I watched it again this month on DVD and it is amazing how well it holds up. The only possible improvement would be to the special effects in the naval battle scenes because of how far we've come in 20 years with CGI graphics; but that's it! This is a masterpiece and I include the "Winds of War" in that category. The attention to detail of the period, the vehicles, costumes, locations, and interiors just take your breath away.

The cast was superb and right down the line. I can't think of a weak link among them. I did see a comment here about Robert Mitchum being a "lazy" actor in this role as "Pug" Henry but I think he played it just right. He was first and foremost a dedicated military man, not a Lothario. For an interesting contrast to his on-screen relationship with Polly Bergen as his wife Rhoda Henry, you should see the chilling dynamics between the two in 1962's "Cape Fear". By any measure Mitchum was a great actor.

Although other actors in this miniseries have more on-screen time than does Mitchum, Mitchum is clearly the anchor. And, although the performances throughout the entire cast were stellar, I have to mention that John Gielgud's Aaron Jastrow was absolutely brilliant. John Houseman, who played Jastrow in "Winds of War" was magnificent in his own right but John Gielgud made Jastrow his own in a way that I doubt even Houseman could match.

There are very few guarantees in life but "War and Remembrance" is worth every viewing minute. Just be sure to watch the "Winds of War" first.

.....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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I really enjoyed this maxi series. It's too long to be a mini! This and the final portion are a whole lotta video..they total 14 DVDs. The initial smash series, Winds of War, was several more DVDs. So all in all, this was a long series! As I said, I enjoyed the entire "package". However, with 5 years between the first and the second series, much happened and the result was a number of actor/actress changes that make the second series confusing after seeing the first. Major characters, such as Natalie Jastrow-Henry, played by Ali McGraw in the first, Jane Seymour in the second. Aaron Jastrow, John Houseman, Sir John Gielgud. There are some others as well. Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen reprise their superb performances as Capt. and Mrs. Pug Henry. Overall, despite the change in personnel, the acting remains great throughout the entire series. It's just kinda confusing having two different Natalies, two Aarons, two Byrons, two Janices, etc. I'm rambling, sorry. This series is long, but doesn't PLAY long. It moves along nicely and has enough plot twists to keep the viewers interest. I like this whole thing well enough to have paid to own it from start to finish. At least rent this a couple of DVDs at a time. It's worth your time!

I am a WWII buff (and history in general as well). This series (hardly a "mini") covers both the European and Pacific theaters of WWII thru the eyes of the Victor Henry family. Not only is it a very interesting story about the lives of these specific people, but also tells a lot about WWII and it inhumanity. So, on both accounts it is excellent, and depicts most of the WWII major events, although not all equally.

Back in those days, there was no CGI, so what you see is either real life, or models. Obviously, the war scenes are a combination of both, but very well done so you believe you are actually there in the battles, on the ships, or in the planes.

While this series (War & Remembrance) is 6 DVD's (30 hours), I was striving for more when it was all done. I watched it when it was aired in 1988/1989, so it was not new for me from the DVD set. Nonetheless, I was still captivated, and will gladly watch it again. The sound is also updated and very good (DD 5.1).

I would recommend this to anyone who cares to look into WWII and its horrors. It gets a bit graphic with the Jewish persecution and extermination, but doesn't touch on the horrors commented by the Japanese in the Pacific. So, if this sort of realism offends, either skip over those parts or don't watch it. But remember, the name of the book (and hence, of the series) was so designed and selected such that we as a human race never forget all the terrible things that happened and that caused so much world pain and destruction.

Jane Seymour, John Gigliold, and Robert Mitchum are all excellent and make you believe they were these people. I don't know why Jane & John weren't used in the original series (The Winds of War) since they were so marvelous and believable and held true to their characters throughout. The very end is heart wrenching, so have your Kleenex ready!

I was not at all happy with the replacement of Ali McGraw with Jane Seymour; Jan Michael Vincent with Hart Bochner and some of the other changes. Thank God they left Robert Mitchum alone despite his age. I really missed John Houseman in his role as Aaron Jastrow and while I consider the late Sir John Gielgud to have been a superb actor, I kept looking for Houseman. Unfortunately his health prevented his reprisal of that role. I have nothing personal against Ms. Seymour but I much preferred Ms. McGraw in the role of Natalie. I also preferred Mr. Vincent over Mr. Bochner as I believe he portrayed Byron much more convincingly. I gave War and Remembrance a seven (7) rating as opposed to the ten (10) for Winds of War. Why? Precisely because of the change in actors. While I could understand the change from Houseman to Geilgud, I think there were too many changes. I am thankful they left Jeremy Kemp in the role of Gen. Von Roon however I was more impressed with Gunter Meisner's portrayal of Adolf Hitler in Winds of War over Steven Berkoff's portrayal in War and Remembrance. Ralph Bellamy did a masterful job as FDR. As to the critics of historical accuracy, the author was not presenting his work as a non-fiction textbook; but rather a novel set against the background of events leading up to and including World War II. And yes, there were some changes from the novel to the screen, but again, this is a great work of fiction that remarkably included real life events!!!

Unlike "Winds of War" (a mostly historically accurate take with well developed characters and story line), W&R starts with some promising episodes, but soon descends into interminable, grotesque scene after scene - nearly unwatchable by the last several episodes. War is hell, certainly, but to be successful - particularly over 12 episodes - a drama must have some relief. W&R has none.

Dan Curtis, the producer of this epic, must have been obsessed. His vision of the war years 1936 through 1945 as depicted in this and the companion work "The Winds of War" is unquestionably the best view of the impact of war on simple human beings as could ever be imagined in fiction and on film.

Based on a novel by Herman Wouk, with a screenplay written by him, the events of the pre war and war years are played out through the eyes of the family of Victor Henry a fictional middle aged naval commander and close confidant of President Roosevelt who is, at various times, posted in Berlin, Moscow, Pearl Harbor and ultimately made captain of a cruiser in the pacific. Captain Henry and his family are witness to the rise of Hitler and Mussolini in Europe, the conduct of Hitler's "Final Solution", the Russian front, and the war in the pacific. The graphic detail of this production will literally bring tears to your eyes. It is hard to watch at times as you become so very intimate with the characters.

Robert Mitchum turns in a fabulous performance as Victory Henry the no nonsense patriarch of the family. Polly Bergen plays his flibbertigibbet wife Rhoda to perfection. The rest of the cast is all really remarkable but my favorite was G.D. Spradlin who portrayed Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance , fleet commander during the Battle of Midway, above and beyond understanding.

If you're into accurate historical drama, and can deal with reality, go to your library and check this out. If you haven't seen it, you should. If you don't you will miss a genuine historical document.

After reading the book The Winds of War and watching the first mini series in 1983, I waited for War and Remembrance to premier in 1989. I own the tape sets and re-watch them every one in a while! Herman Wouk's novel was GREAT and Dan Curtis was outstanding in both mini series. The ABC television network should re-run both mini series for sweeps week. I bet it would be a hit 2nd time around in the 21st century!

This movie is quite simply one of the best I have ever witnessed. The historical events portrayed in this film are extremely accurate and provide the viewer with a window to the past without actually being there. But just like any other movie, it is also very entertaining and keeps you in your seat from beginning to end. I have seen all the other war movies, and along with "The Winds Of War", "War And Remembrance" is a very good history lesson and by far the best movie depicting World War Two you will ever see.

I loved the Herman Wouk novels THE WINDS OF WAR and WAR AND REMEMBRANCE. They are brilliant books and are among the finest fictionalized accounts of war available (i.e., the places and events are real but the characters are fictionalized amalgams of real people). Each book is about 700-800 pages long and it was wonderful to see them brought to the small screen instead of the theaters. That's because some magnificent person at the TV networks decided that the books MUST be made into 2 separate mini-series mega-events. And, even more impressive is that the movies are so true to the books and fascinating. I loved how the series bounced back and forth to the different characters and locations. In this followup series, the movie bounces from the sub war of the Pacific to diplomatic meetings throughout the world (particularly in the USSR) to the horrors of the concentration camps. It really was a major work of love that probably will never be repeated again. Brilliant and wonderful throughout--my highest possible rating. The only MINOR problem you will find is that the actors playing several key characters changed between the two series. Also, do NOT watch this until you first watch THE WINDS OF WAR to set the context for this miniseries.

War and Rememberence is a definite masterpiece of a saga ever to be shown on television. Since after it was aired there has not been a mini-series in production. It had reached its high water mark. The secret to this min-series success was that it incorporated the fictional characters of Henry family for the "Winds of War" novel and aka television "prequel" with real history; real events; real facts. How it impacted the Henry family, and showed us why we should care about them now than the first series. It had showed us about events of World War II, an all the horrors of a world at war. Why we, no matter when you were born, should never forget. It had showed us background of historical facts not taught in school or openly lectured by mainstream historians. I am very much surprised that the History Channel or A&E has not showed this on their stations already.

I looked forward to watching sequel to 'Winds of War'. I must admit that it was not as good as 'Winds of War' The scenes are well done but the viewer seems to be just getting a narrative of all the major events in World War II including the Holocaust.

Whereas 'Winds of War' arouses deep feelings and emotions but this one doesn't. Maybe I expected too much.

On the positive side, Jane Seymour is much better then Ali McGraw in every aspect. So is the guy who played Hitler.

In conclusion, these two series (Winds of War and War and Remembrance) should be very good for history students and scholars

It is long, but it is a true epic saga of the most momentous conflict in human history, The length allows time for the multiple story lines of the various characters in all their complexity, to unfold. The story of WW2, in all its courage, profundity, terror and tragedy could never really be told any other way. TV, of course, does have its limitations as a tool for teaching history, but with a production like this, it comes close to transcending them. The acting, particularly by Mitchum, Seymour and, most especially Gielgud, is consistently excellent. By my own measure this may even be the most profound role of Gielgud's long and illustrious career. Anyone interested in quality historical drama - or simply in the human tragedy of WW2 - should put this production on their "must see" list.

Casting Mitchum was the worst possible choice the producers could have made. In each scene in which Mitchum appears, your eyes immediately notifier your brain that something is very wrong here, RM was 25 years too old to play the part. And with Mitchum and his sunken, hound dog face, age could not be erased through makeup or some other miracle the make up people dreamed up. Mitchum was regarded as "the worst pain in the ass, we have ever worked with" by many of his co-stars, his directors and producers. You might say that he paid the producers back double for handing him the role. I didn't find Polly Bergen convincing, her talent runs quite shallow when playing a character through such a long period of time and in so many changes. With so many 1 hour segments (44 minutes w/o ads) you have to be pretty disciplined to devote the time to see each in order. There is some review of the previous segment but not enough to catch you up if you missed one. It's very worth seeing, but be prepared to shake your head at Mitchum's miscasting.

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.