Over the past couple of months I've been watching a rather long series of dramatic DVDs based on a couple of novels and originally released as a couple of miniseries in the early '80s. To wit, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.

These combined 18 DVDs follow one particular family through pre-World War II days to the end of the conflict. They do a pretty good job of interweaving historical footage into many of the episodes and cover quite a bit of the Holocaust, showing a fair amount of historical graphic footage from that context. I enjoyed following the characters, although the acting wasn't that great in some places. It's something that you can play on the TV or a small computer window while doing something else and not worry about missing much if your attention gets diverted because the pacing isn't exactly a mile a minute.

On a related note, I've also been watching The War between those series disks. This is Ken Burns' latest release, originally broadcast on PBS. As usual, the quality does not lack, and he incorporates much previously unseen WW II footage from the National Archives, much of it in color. Overall the series leaves me kind of melancholy as he follows various people from four specific cities in the U.S., many of whom meet their fate on foreign shores.