The Winds of War 

The trials of the Henry and Jastrow families in the early years of World War II.

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Jan-Michael Vincent

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Robert Mitchum	...	Victor 'Pug' Henry 7 episodes, 1983
Ali MacGraw	...	Natalie Jastrow 7 episodes, 1983
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Byron Henry 7 episodes, 1983
John Houseman	...	Aaron Jastrow 7 episodes, 1983
Polly Bergen	...	Rhoda Henry 7 episodes, 1983
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Madeline Henry 7 episodes, 1983
David Dukes	...	Leslie Slote 7 episodes, 1983
Topol	...	Berel Jastrow 7 episodes, 1983
Ben Murphy	...	Warren Henry 7 episodes, 1983
Peter Graves	...	Palmer 'Fred' Kirby 7 episodes, 1983
Jeremy Kemp	...	Brigadier General Armin von Roon 7 episodes, 1983
Ralph Bellamy	...	President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 7 episodes, 1983
Victoria Tennant	...	Pamela Tudsbury 7 episodes, 1983
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch 7 episodes, 1983
William Woodson	...	Narrator 7 episodes, 1983
Günter Meisner	...	Adolf Hitler 6 episodes, 1983
Reinhard Kolldehoff	...	Hermann Goering 6 episodes, 1983
Werner Kreindl	...	Colonel General Franz Halder 6 episodes, 1983
Rainer Penkert	...	Grand Admiral Erich Raeder 6 episodes, 1983
Alexander Kerst	...	Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel 6 episodes, 1983
Joachim Hansen	...	Field Marshal Alfred Jodl 6 episodes, 1983
Dragomir Stanojevic		5 episodes, 1983
Howard Lang	...	Winston Churchill 4 episodes, 1983
Anton Diffring	...	Joachim von Ribbentrop 4 episodes, 1983
Timothy Stack	...	Yeoman Ryan 4 episodes, 1983
Barry Morse	...	Wolf Stoller 3 episodes, 1983
Michael Logan	...	Alistair Tudsbury 3 episodes, 1983
John Carter	...	Colonel William Forrest 3 episodes, 1983
Tom McFadden	...	Hugh Cleveland 3 episodes, 1983
Roy Poole	...	Harry Hopkins 3 episodes, 1983
Deborah Winters	...	Janice Lacouture Henry 3 episodes, 1983
Joseph Hacker	...	Lt. Carter 'Lady' Aster 3 episodes, 1983
Allan Cuthbertson	...	Major General Tillet 2 episodes, 1983
Scott Brady	...	Captain Red Tully 2 episodes, 1983
Edmund Purdom	...	Luigi Gianelli 2 episodes, 1983
Lawrence Pressman	...	Bunky Thurston 2 episodes, 1983
Lin McCarthy	...	Blinker Vance 2 episodes, 1983
Enzo G. Castellari	...	Benito Mussolini 2 episodes, 1983
Edmund Pegge	...	Air Commodore Burne-Wilke 2 episodes, 1983
Leo Gordon	...	General 'Train' Anderson 2 episodes, 1983
Elizabeth Hoffman	...	Eleanor Roosevelt 2 episodes, 1983
Michael McGuire	...	Fred Fearing 2 episodes, 1983
Ferdy Mayne	...	Ludwig Rosenthal 2 episodes, 1983
Sky du Mont	...	Count Ciano 2 episodes, 1983
Judith Atwell	...	Sally Forrest 2 episodes, 1983
James Ray	...	Chargé Reese Claremont 2 episodes, 1983
Stelio Candelli	...	Scarfaced Gestapo / ... 2 episodes, 1983
Karl-Otto Alberty	...	White-Haired Gestapo / ... 2 episodes, 1983
Dick Armstrong	...	Franz the Butler 2 episodes, 1983
Eloise Hardt	...	Mrs. Lacouture 2 episodes, 1983
Felix Nelson	...	F.D.R. Valet 2 episodes, 1983
Henryk Rajfer	...	Groom at Wedding / ... 2 episodes, 1983

Storyline

In the late 1930s, world politics begin to head in a dangerous direction. In Europe, Germany expands and rearms and proceeds to annex several border countries into the Reich. Meanwhile, Italy attempts to establish a Facist Colonial Empire under Mussolini while the Empire of Japan stands ready for a major war with China. Enter the Henry family, headed by career naval officer Victor "Pug" Henry. "Winds of War" thus follows the exploits of Pug and his children, all of which are set against the backdrop of world events leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | italy | germany | epic | 1940s | 

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Taglines:

The first theatrical motion picture made for television

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Italian Polish Portuguese Russian Hebrew

Release Date:

6 February 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Herman Wouk's The Winds of War

Filming Locations:

Podolje Mansion, Samobor, Croatia

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jadran Film,Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

720 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the book 'Movies Made For Television' by Alvin H. Marill, this production was filmed in over 400 filming locations over thirteen months. The book also states that this mini-series was originally intended to run for twelve hours instead of sixteen.

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Goofs

As Pug and Pam go to see the bombing of London, the shadow of a boom mic is visible in the corner of the room. [Part 4, Scene 9, time index 1:09:22.

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Quotes

Wolf Stoller: There are certain conversations that have to be forgotten. And in Germany we have a phrase for such delicate matters. We say, "under four eyes."
Victor 'Pug' Henry: I believe I've heard that phrase.
Wolf Stoller: What transpires next is under four eyes. You and Armin had a conversation about this lend-lease bill. Did he make sense to you? You prefer not to say, eh? Of course. You are a diplomat.
Victor 'Pug' Henry: I'm a gunnery expert, misplaced in diplomacy, and hoping to get the hell out of it.
Wolf Stoller: A man of honor wants to serve on the field.
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in Family Guy: Road to Germany (2008)

User Reviews

A great mini-series - despite Ali MacGraw

I've just revisited this mini-series on DVD for the first time since I saw it when it was first screened on TV back in 1983, so my memory of it had been very vague and I'd forgotten pretty much all of it.

I'd also forgotten just how singularly dreadful Ali MacGraw is in this.

I've not read the book, but I have the impression that the character of Natalie Jastrow is supposed to be strong-willed, spirited, feisty and sexy. If that's the case then MacGraw failed on all counts.

Instead of being strong-willed, spirited and feisty, MacGraw's Natalie comes across as spoilt, petulant and generally obnoxious - constantly complaining, throwing hissy-fits and looking down her nose at people (both literally and metaphorically). And when she's trying to be all coquettish for the benefit of Sloate and Byron, her performance is about as sexy as a bad case of athlete's foot.

All in all a horrible piece of miscasting by the producers, and I'm not in the least bit surprised that she wasn't rehired for the sequel "War And Remembrance" (in which Jane Seymour's Natalie was a quantum leap improvement over MacGraw's portrayal). At least Old Bleary Eyes himself, Robert Mitchum, brings gravitas, presence and start quality to his role, even though he looks all of his (at the time of filming) 66 years and was really about 15 years too old and several trouser sizes too large for the character he was playing.

Looking beyond the presence of Ali MacGraw though, this classic mini-series is a great way to while away a week's worth of evenings in front of the TV, and the way in which historical events and characters are interwoven with the more personal story lines of the main fictional characters is very nicely done.

The sequel is even better (and longer), and I'm looking forward to starting on that soon.