War and Remembrance (1988– )

The saga of the Henry family, begun in "The Winds of War" continues as America is attacked by Japan and enters World War II. For Victor Henry, an upwardly mobile naval career sets him in ... See full summary »

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Jane Seymour, Hart Bochner

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 8 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Robert Mitchum	...	Capt. Victor 'Pug' Henry (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Jane Seymour	...	Natalie Henry (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Hart Bochner	...	Byron Henry (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Victoria Tennant	...	Pamela Tudsbury (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Polly Bergen	...	Rhoda Henry (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Sami Frey	...	Avram Rabinovitz (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
William Schallert	...	Harry Hopkins (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Jeremy Kemp	...	Brig. Gen. Armin Von Roon (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Steven Berkoff	...	Adolf Hitler (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Robert Hardy	...	Winston Churchill (12 episodes, 1988-1989)
Topol	...	Berel Jastrow (11 episodes, 1988-1989)
Ralph Bellamy	...	President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (11 episodes, 1988-1989)
John Gielgud	...	Aaron Jastrow (11 episodes, 1988-1989)
William Woodson	...	Narrator (11 episodes, 1988-1989)
David Dukes	...	Leslie Slote (9 episodes, 1988-1989)
E.G. Marshall	...	Dwight D. Eisenhower (9 episodes, 1988-1989)
Sharon Stone	...	Janice Henry (8 episodes, 1988-1989)
Barry Bostwick	...	'Lady' Aster (8 episodes, 1988-1989)
Ian McShane	...	Philip Rule (8 episodes, 1988-1989)
John Rhys-Davies	...	Sammy Mutterperl (7 episodes, 1988)
Bill Wallis	...	Werner Beck (7 episodes, 1988)
Joachim Hansen	...	Lt. Gen. Alfred Jodl (7 episodes, 1988-1989)
John Malcolm	...	Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (7 episodes, 1988-1989)
Michael Wolf	...	Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering (6 episodes, 1988-1989)
Robert Morley	...	Alistair Tudsbury (5 episodes, 1988)
Leslie Hope	...	Madeline Henry (5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Barry Morse	...	Col. Gen. Franz Halder (5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Mike Connors	...	Col. Harrison 'Hack' Peters (5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Christian Ebel	...	Rattenhuber (5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Ian Jentle	...	Josef Goebbels (5 episodes, 1988-1989)

Storyline

The saga of the Henry family, begun in "The Winds of War" continues as America is attacked by Japan and enters World War II. For Victor Henry, an upwardly mobile naval career sets him in command of a cruiser with sights on selection for the Admiralty. At the same time, however, Victor must struggle with a failing marriage as well as a love affair with the daughter of a prominent British radio news reporter. Victor's son Byron has equal success as a submarine officer, eventually selected to command his own ship, yet all the while must deal with the separation of his wife and son who are held in German custody as enemy alien Jews. Through other such characters as Professor Aaron Jastrow, Naval Pilot Warren Henry, and the noble German General Armin von Roon, "War and Remembrance" unfolds into an all encompassing and fascinating story of the Second World War.

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Plot Keywords:

german | japan | general | female nudity | imperial japan | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

French German Hebrew Japanese Russian English

Release Date:

13 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

A sas felszáll

Filming Locations:

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dan Curtis Productions, ABC Circle Films, Jadran Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

1,620 min 1,620 min (12 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pat Hingle served in the Navy, in the Pacific Theater, which means he served under the command of Admiral Halsey, who he plays in the film.

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Goofs

Torpedoes are fired at 3-4 second intervals, then shown running side by side in the water.

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Quotes

Adolf Hitler: [Hitler and his generals are under Berlin in the bunker, April 22, 1945] WHAT IS GOING ON? We have been trying to reach the Steiner army since yesterday! My patience is not limitless!
Lt. Gen. Alfred Jodl: The telephone lines, Mein Fuhrer; they keep breaking down.
Adolf Hitler: If I do not hear from Steiner within 15 minutes, somebody will be shot!

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Connections

Referenced in Doogie Howser, M.D.: Blood and Remembrance (1989)

User Reviews

Absolutely Stunning Masterwork, But Not Without Flaws

*Very minor spoilers*

This unsurpassed mega-series along with it's prequel "The Winds of War" is beyond stunning, it is shattering. This is a compelling, mesmerizing, heartbreaking yet inspiring epic which towers above all other depictions of World War Two and the Holocaust. In fact this body of work, taken in total is in a category all its own: there is simply nothing to compare it to and nothing remotely like it. Rarely has a work of art affected me so profoundly. It asks, and even answers, some of the biggest questions: what is evil? how can one live a meaningful life in the face of such senseless, brutish evil? What is a full life? How should one live? How should one die? As above, this is in a category all of it's own: while it has flaws they cannot take away from the overall impact of the story. However it is simply flabbergasting at times how the story can shift from casting an intense, even hypnotic spell in its unflinching, devastating depictions of the Holocaust to showing long, boring, drawn out scenes straight out of a daytime soap opera (albeit with superior actors). I must admit I fast forwarded through most of the scenes featuring the vapid, hysterical, and generally loathsome Rhoda Henry (Polly Bergen). Also the amount of drinking and smoking without anyone (except President Roosevelt) suffering any ill effects was odd, given the otherwise brutal realism. At one point a Russian General drinks an entire fifth of vodka in about 15 seconds. Several hours later he is neither tipsy nor showing any ill effects (or indeed effects of any kind) whatsoever. The amount of drinking in this film is simply astounding, but may be historically accurate, I don't know. One thing that absolutely takes away from the overall greatness of the film is it's one-dimensional depiction of anyone non-white. Any Blacks or Asians (even the Japanese Generals) are utter flat cartoons and this is troubling especially in the context of an otherwise powerful anti-racist message. Perhaps if this had been made today such an error would not have been made.

One other odd aspect of this series, which people find jarring to various degrees is that different actors fill major roles in the first and second series. While both sets of actors who play Natalie and Aaron Jastrow are excellent and soon seem natural, I found the switch from Jan-Michael Vincent to Hart Bochner as Byron Henry totally distracting from beginning to end. Mr. Bochner, while talented, simply could not fill the inspired, natural reading of the role by Jan-Michael Vincent. I also found the switch in actors playing Adolph Hitler distracting, but to a much lesser degree. In The Winds of War, Gunter Meisner gave a chilling and serious reading of the evil genius, but in War and Remembrance, I found Steven Berkoff's over-the-top, even clownish, reading of the Fuher to be unfortunate. An excellent companion piece to this would be Downfall (Der Utergang), the film about Hitler's last days in the bunker featuring an astonishing and courageous performance by the Swiss actor Bruno Ganz as Hitler. Robert Mitchum, despite being older than the character the role originally called for, was simply perfect as Captain (Later Admiral) "Pug" Henry: I was not overly familiar with him and am pleased to have found a new favorite! One other minor quibble was that some of the Nazis had ridiculous Colonel-Klinkish accents while others spoke like Oxford-educated Americans, depending on how "evil" they were. This was silly, but easy to overlook given the overall greatness of the piece.

I am a student of history and the historical accuracy in this piece is far beyond anything I have ever seen in a work of fiction. There is a time commitment in watching this: over 30 hours, all told, but it is more than worth it. In fact, I plan to revisit this monumental, tour-de-force, this unbelievably touching, yet oddly uneven masterwork more than once. Rent it. See it. Love it.

Warning: this is not for the innocent. Unless you are ready to let your children start to let go of childhood and begin to ask very deep, very troubling, and very adult questions don't let them watch it. This is absolutely guaranteed to give younger children nightmares, and very likely to seriously traumatize them.