MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

TV series
Poster for The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century

The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century

1996 · 1 season

A sober, immersive history that makes the scale of suffering feel personal and immediate.

Created by
Jay Winter, Blaine Baggett
Genres
Documentary
Starring
Salome Jens, René Auberjonois, Helena Bonham Carter
Tagline
Documentary series telling the history of the Great War, in which nine million people perished.
Overview
The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century is a 1996 documentary series that aired on PBS. It chronicles World War I over eight episodes. It was narrated by Dame Judi Dench in the UK and Salome Jens in the United States. The series won two Primetime Emmy Awards: one for Jeremy Irons for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, the other for Outstanding Informational Series. In 1997, it was given a Peabody Award.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century

You have no lists yet. Name one, and this title goes into it.

All your lists

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Created by
Jay Winter, Blaine Baggett
Genres
Documentary
Starring
Salome Jens, René Auberjonois, Helena Bonham Carter
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • war
  • death
  • grief
  • power
  • survival
Places
  • military
  • countryside
  • sea
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • documentary
  • true story
  • serialised
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language none
  • Violence strong
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror4
Humour1
Realism10
Romance1
Tension5
Darkness8
Complexity7
Emotional weight8

More like this

Titles like The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century

TV series

Apocalypse: World War I

2014

A sobering, immersive plunge into the past through vivid colorized footage, conveying the scale and human cost of war with quiet gravity.

Bleak, melancholic · about war and death · documentary

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
Apocalypse: World War IHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

The Great War

1964

A solemn, archive-driven immersion into the First World War, paced like a slow historical march and weighted with loss.

Bleak, melancholic · about war and death · documentary

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
The Great WarHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

The World at War

1973–1974

A sober, sweeping immersion into the war's enormity, heavy with testimony and archival weight, demanding but deeply human.

Bleak, earnest · about war and death · documentary

Via
  • bleak
  • earnest
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
The World at WarHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

They Shall Not Grow Old

2018

Restored century-old footage and veterans' voices pull you into the mud and dread of the trenches, immersive and quietly devastating.

Bleak, melancholic · about war and death · documentary

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
99 min
Details
They Shall Not Grow OldHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

The Vietnam War

2017

A solemn, absorbing historical epic that immerses you in a distant war through many voices, leaving a heavy, lingering sense of loss.

Bleak, melancholic · about war and death · documentary

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Seasons
1
Details
The Vietnam WarHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

World War II in Colour

2009

Sober archival footage in vivid colour makes history feel immediate and heavy, instructive rather than thrilling.

About war and death · documentary

Via
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
World War II in ColourHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

The Civil War

1990

A solemn, sweeping immersion in history, heavy with loss and elegy, unfolding slowly through voices and photographs.

Melancholic, earnest · about war and death · documentary

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
The Civil WarHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

Greatest Events of World War II in Colour

2019

A sober, illuminating march through history with vivid archival footage that makes the scale and horror of war feel immediate and personal.

Bleak, earnest · about war and death · documentary

Via
  • bleak
  • earnest
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
Greatest Events of World War II in ColourHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

The First World War

2003

A sober, thorough chronicle that makes an overwhelming war feel comprehensible and human, carried by diaries and archival footage.

Bleak, melancholic · about war and death · documentary

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
The First World WarHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

The Crown

2016–2023

A stately, emotionally precise chronicle of duty and family, watching power quietly shape and constrain private lives over decades.

Melancholic, earnest · about power

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • power
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
6
Details
The CrownHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

World War II with Tom Hanks

2026

A sober, sweeping history lesson that moves deliberately through catastrophe, mixing archival footage with grave narration to leave you informed and unsettled.

About war and death · documentary

Via
  • war
  • death
  • documentary
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
World War II with Tom HanksHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

Vietnam: The War That Changed America

2025

A solemn, immersive journey through firsthand memories and archival footage, heavy with grief and reflection.

Bleak, melancholic · about war and grief · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • war
  • grief
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
Vietnam: The War That Changed AmericaHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
documentary
Created by
Jay Winter, Blaine Baggett
Written by
Carl Byker, Blaine Baggett, Jay Winter
Starring
Salome Jens, René Auberjonois, Helena Bonham Carter, Leslie Caron, Ralph Fiennes, Malcolm McDowell, Jürgen Prochnow, Natasha Richardson
Length
1 seasons, 8 episodes
Network
PBS
Country
United Kingdom, United States of America
Languages
English

TMDBIMDbWikipediaWikidata