The Winds of War (TV miniseries)
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''The Winds of War'' is a 1983
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, directed and produced by
Dan Curtis Dan Curtis (born Daniel Mayer Cherkoss; August 12, 1927 – March 27, 2006) was an American director, writer, and producer of television and film, known among fans of horror films for his afternoon TV series ''Dark Shadows'' (1966–1971) and ...
, that follows the 1971 book of the same name written by
Herman Wouk Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author best known for historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. His other major works include ''The Winds of War'' and ' ...
. Just as in the book, in addition to the lives of the Henry and Jastrow families, much time in the miniseries is devoted to the major global events of the early years of World War II. Adolf Hitler and the German General Staff, with the fictitious general Armin von Roon as a major character, is a prominent subplot of the miniseries. ''The Winds of War'' also includes segments of documentary footage, narrated by William Woodson, to explain major events and important characters. It was followed by a sequel, '' War and Remembrance,'' in 1988, also based on a novel written by Wouk and also directed and produced by Curtis. With 140 million viewers of part or all of ''Winds of War'', it was the most-watched miniseries at that time.


Plot

The film follows the plot of Wouk's novel closely, depicting events from March 1939 until the entry of the United States into World War II in December 1941. It tells the story of Victor "Pug" Henry, and his family, and their relationships with a mixture of real people and fictional characters. Henry is a
Naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
Officer and friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.


Main cast

* Robert Mitchum as Victor Henry ("Pug") * Ali MacGraw as Natalie Jastrow * Jan-Michael Vincent as Byron Henry ("Briny") *
John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director ...
as Aaron Jastrow * Polly Bergen as Rhoda Henry * Lisa Eilbacher as Madeline Henry * David Dukes as Leslie Slote *
Topol Topol may refer to: Missiles * RT-2PM Topol, a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile in service from 1985 * RT-2PM2 Topol-M, a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile in service from 1997 People * Topol (surname) * Chaim Topol, Israeli a ...
as Berel Jastrow *
Ben Murphy Benjamin Edward Murphy (born Benjamin Edward Castleberry Jr., March 6, 1942) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kid Curry in the ABC television series ''Alias Smith and Jones''. Early life Murphy was born in Jonesboro, Ar ...
as Warren Henry * Deborah Winters as Janice Lacouture Henry * Peter Graves as Palmer Kirby ("Fred") *
Jeremy Kemp Edmund Jeremy James Walker (3 February 1935 – 19 July 2019), known professionally as Jeremy Kemp, was an English actor. He was known for his significant roles in the miniseries ''The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance'', the film ''The ...
as Brig. Gen. Armin von Roon * Ralph Bellamy as President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
* Victoria Tennant as Pamela Tudsbury *
Günter Meisner Günter Meisner (18 April 1926 – 5 December 1994) was a German film and television character actor. He is remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler and for his role as Arthur Slugworth in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...
as Adolf Hitler * Howard Lang as
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
* Michael Logan as Alistair Tudsbury * Barry Morse as Wolf Stoller * Wolfgang Preiss as Field Marshal
Walter von Brauchitsch Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch (4 October 1881 – 18 October 1948) was a German field marshal and the Commander-in-Chief (''Oberbefehlshaber'') of the German Army during World War II. Born into an aristocratic military famil ...
*
Reinhard Kolldehoff Reinhard Kolldehoff (29 April 1914 – 18 November 1995) was a German film actor. He appeared in 140 films between 1941 and 1988. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The Gasman'' (1941) - Polizeibeamter (uncr ...
as Hermann Göring *
Anton Diffring Anton Diffring (born Alfred Pollack, 20 October 1916 – 19 May 1989) was a German-born character actor who had an extensive career in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1980s, latterly appearing in international films. He appeared in ove ...
as
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...
*
Werner Kreindl Werner Kreindl (October 20, 1927 – June 6, 1992) was an Austrian television actor. He appeared in around 75 TV programmes between 1966 and his death in 1992. He was probably best known for his appearances in ''SOKO 5113'' from 1978 to 1992. ...
as Col Gen
Franz Halder Franz Halder (30 June 1884 – 2 April 1972) was a German general and the chief of staff of the Oberkommando des Heeres, Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942. During World War II, he directed the planning and i ...
*
Enzo G. Castellari Enzo Girolami Castellari (born 29 July 1938) is an Italian director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Early life Castellari was born in Rome into a family of filmmakers. His father was a boxer turned film maker Marino Girolami. His uncle ...
as
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
* Sky Du Mont as
Count Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law, Benito Mussolini, from 1936 until 19 ...
*
Edmund Purdom Edmund Anthony Cutlar Purdom (19 December 19241 January 2009) was an English actor, voice artist, and director. He worked first on stage in Britain, performing various works by Shakespeare, then in America on Broadway and in Hollywood, and event ...
as Luigi Gianelli * Lawrence Pressman as Bunky Thurston * Scott Brady as Captain Red Tully *
Leo Gordon Leo Vincent Gordon (December 2, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American character actor and screenwriter. During more than 40 years in film and television he was most frequently cast as a supporting actor playing brutish bad guys but oc ...
as General 'Train' Anderson * John Dehner as Admiral Ernest King * Andrew Duggan as Admiral
Husband Kimmel Husband Edward Kimmel (February 26, 1882 – May 14, 1968) was a United States Navy four-star admiral who was the commander in chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was removed fro ...
* Charles Lane as Admiral
William Standley William Harrison Standley (18 December 1872 – 25 October 1963) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1933 to 1937. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1941 until ...
*
Logan Ramsey Logan Carlisle Ramsey Jr. (March 21, 1921 – June 26, 2000) was an American character actor of television and film for nearly 50 years. Early life Ramsey was born in Long Beach, California, the son of Harriet Lillian (née Kilmartin) and Capt ...
as Congressman Lacouture * Patrick Allen as Air Marshal
Dowding Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally c ...
* Allan Cuthbertson as Major General Tillet * Ferdy Mayne as Ludwig Rosenthal * Barbara Steele as Frau Stoller * William Berger as Phil Briggs * Joseph Hacker as Lt Carter 'Lady' Astor *
Ben Piazza Ben Piazza (July 30, 1933 – September 7, 1991) was an American actor. Life and career Piazza made his film debut in Sidney J. Furie's Canadian film ''A Dangerous Age'' (1959) followed by his Hollywood debut in '' The Hanging Tree'' (1959). T ...
as Aloysius Whitman * Peter Brocco as Natalie's Father


Production


Development

Author
Herman Wouk Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author best known for historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. His other major works include ''The Winds of War'' and ' ...
was exceedingly pessimistic about a film adaptation of his beloved and scrupulously researched novel, because he had been extremely unhappy with earlier film adaptations of his novels '' Marjorie Morningstar'', '' The Caine Mutiny'' and ''
Youngblood Hawke ''Youngblood Hawke'' is a 1962 novel by American writer Herman Wouk about the rise and fall of a talented young writer of hardscrabble Kentucky origin who briefly becomes the toast of literary New York City. The plot was suggested by the life o ...
''. He was convinced by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and the
ABC television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...
network that a miniseries would allow the full breadth of his epic story to be brought to life onscreen. Wouk required unusual control over the production in his contract, including considerable influence on the production and veto power over what products could be advertised during the miniseries and how many,
commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
would be allowed. Wouk also has a cameo as the
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of Siena. '' I, Claudius'' screenwriter
Jack Pulman Jack Pulman (11 July 1925 – 20 May 1979) was an award-winning British television screenwriter, most famous for the critically acclaimed 1976 BBC television series, ''I, Claudius'', based on the novels ''I, Claudius'' and ''Claudius the God'' ...
was originally hired to adapt the novel. He and Wouk worked for months preparing an outline. After Pulman died suddenly in 1979, Wouk himself wrote the teleplay for the series.


Casting

The casting of Lee Strasberg as Aaron Jastrow was publicly announced in February 1981. Strasberg had to withdraw from the production before filming any scenes, due to ill health (he died in 1982). He was replaced by
John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director ...
. Houseman later had to withdraw from the sequel miniseries, '' War and Remembrance,'' due to his own ill health (he died in 1988). Houseman was replaced by John Gielgud.


Filming

Paramount produced the miniseries for $40 million ($ in dollars). ABC paid $32 million for the broadcast rights, then charged advertisers $175,000 for 30-second commercials and $350,000 for one-minute commercials. ABC expected simply to break even on the original broadcast and make any profits from later reruns and syndication. * The 962-page script contained 1,785 scenes and 285 speaking parts. * The production involved 4,000 camera setups and shot a million feet of exposed film. * The production had a 206-day shooting schedule and came in four days ahead of schedule. * The series was shot at 404 locations in Europe, California and Washington state over 14 months. * Principal photography began on December 1, 1980 aboard the
RMS Queen Mary RMS ''Queen Mary'' is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard-White Star Line and was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. ''Queen Mary'', along with , ...
in Long Beach, California and was completed (except for miniature photography) on December 8, 1981, on US Navy vessels at Port Hueneme, California, with filming of the recreation of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. * Principal locations were Zagreb, Opatija and
Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
in Yugoslavia;
Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...
and Munich in West Germany; Siena, Florence, Milan and Rome, Italy; London, UK; Vienna, Austria;
Naval Station Bremerton Naval Station Bremerton is a former station of the United States Navy that was merged with Naval Submarine Base Bangor into Naval Base Kitsap in 2004. Kitsap serves as host command for the Navy's fleet throughout the Pacific Northwest. It is home ...
in Bremerton, Washington and throughout the Los Angeles area and Southern California. Scenes were filmed onboard the USS Peleliu (LHA-5) and the USS Missouri (BB-63) the latter still in mothballs. * The opening scene sub-titled "Berlin" was actually filmed in and around the
Hofburg The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...
in Vienna. * The production made use of battle scenes from other films during the attack scene on Pearl Harbor and during the German attacks on the Soviet Union, including scenes for both battles from ''
Tora! Tora! Tora! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' ( ja, トラ・トラ・トラ!) is a 1970 epic film, epic war film that dramatizes the Empire of Japan, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard Fleischer, T ...
'' * The OpsRoom at RAF Uxbridge, from which the Battle of Britain fighter defenses were commanded, is only rarely made available to the public. Producer
Dan Curtis Dan Curtis (born Daniel Mayer Cherkoss; August 12, 1927 – March 27, 2006) was an American director, writer, and producer of television and film, known among fans of horror films for his afternoon TV series ''Dark Shadows'' (1966–1971) and ...
managed to get permission to film there. * Nazi concentration camp-survivor Branko Lustig was an
associate producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, dir ...
in the miniseries and also on '' Schindler's List''.


Post-production

* The music was composed by Robert "Bob" Cobert, a composer often associated with Curtis.


Episodes

The miniseries was shown by
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
in seven parts over seven evenings, between February 6 and February 13, 1983. It had a runtime of 18 hours including commercials, or 14 hours 40 minutes excluding commercials. Parts One, Two, Six and Seven ran for three hours including commercials, while parts Three, Four and Five ran for two hours including commercials. It attracted an average of 80 million viewers per night.


Reception

A premiere screening of the first episode was held in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center on Thursday, February 3, 1983, three nights before airing on ABC. The screening was attended by members of the cast including Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, John Houseman, Polly Bergen and Peter Graves. Producer/director Dan Curtis and writer and Washington resident Herman Wouk also attended, though Wouk refused all requests for interviews, saying "I'm a very private person." Also attending were Paramount owner
Charles Bluhdorn Charles George Bluhdorn (born Karl Georg Blühdorn; September 20, 1926 – February 19, 1983) was an Austrian-born American industrialist. Early life Bluhdorn was born in Vienna, Austria, to an Austrian Jewish mother Rosa Fuchs and father Paul B ...
, who hosted the event, as well as ABC Motion Pictures President
Brandon Stoddard Brandon Stoddard (March 31, 1937 – December 22, 2014) was an American television executive. He was president of ABC Entertainment between 1985–89 and head of ABC Productions between 1989–1995. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Early ...
,
Jack Valenti Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Association ...
, Ted Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Art Buchwald, two senators, and numerous other Washington luminaries. After running a massive year-long advertising campaign, which cost an additional $23 million, ABC reported that the miniseries had 140 million viewers for all or part of its eighteen hours, making it the most-watched miniseries up to that time. '' New York Times'' TV critic John O'Connor said that the "hoopla on The Winds of War''' has been nearly as massive as the project itself. The result, while not as artistically impressive as ' ''Brideshead Revisited,''' is less manipulative than ' ''Holocaust''' and at least as emotionally compelling as ' ''Roots''.'" Mitchum, he said, "manages to carry the art of acting to the extremes of minimalism. He moves like an imposing battleship." Most of the actors, he said, are "at least 10 years older than the characters they are playing." Overall, O'Connor said, "the story does hold. It rumbles along, creating its own momentum, until it eventually becomes the television equivalent of a good read that can't be put down." '' Washington Post'' columnist Tom Shales called the miniseries "bulbous and bloated" and said "a first-year film-school student could edit three or four hours out of the thing without hurting the flow at all." Watching ''Winds of War,'' he said, "ecstatic superlatives like 'competent' and 'acceptable' come to mind." He ridiculed the performances, and described the actors as too old for their roles. The show was a success throughout the United States and received many accolades, including Golden Globe nominations and various Emmy wins and nominations.


Emmy Awards

Won: * Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Special * Outstanding Individual Achievement - Costumers * Outstanding Individual Achievement - Special Visual Effects Nominated: * Outstanding Art Direction for a Limited Series or a Special * Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or a Special * Outstanding Film Editing for a Limited Series or a Special * Outstanding Film Sound Editing for a Limited Series or a Special * Outstanding Film Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or a Special (three individual episodes nominated) * Outstanding Limited Series (Dan Curtis, producer) * Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special (Ralph Bellamy, for playing Franklin Delano Roosevelt) * Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special (Polly Bergen, for playing Rhoda Henry)


References


External links

* *
''The Winds of War''
opening titles on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Winds of War (miniseries), The Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler American Broadcasting Company original programming 1980s American television miniseries Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill English-language television shows Films directed by Dan Curtis Films set in the 1930s Television shows based on American novels Television series by CBS Studios Holocaust films World War II television series World War II television drama series American World War II films Films shot in Croatia Films shot in Yugoslavia Films based on works by Herman Wouk Works about women in war Television series set in 1940 Television series set in 1941