World War II takes centre stage with drama series ‘World on Fire’ and ‘Das Boot’

2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II with the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on 2 September 1945. Das Boot and World on Fire, two critically acclaimed series now available to binge on Showmax, are stark reminders of both the heroism and horror that marked the war. 

About Das Boot

Picking up nine months after the events of Wolfgang Petersen’s Oscar-nominated classic 1981 movie based on a true story, this tense, subtitled German drama splits the action between sea and land, with loyalties divided on both sides.

It also avoids the obvious, leaning instead on the human conflicts both between and within its characters. As Times (UK) puts it, “The Nazis are the ultimate screen villains… there are always any number of shrieking, jack-booted stormtroopers to be machine-gunned down by the good guys. Das Boot tries something different. Here there are Germans racked with inner conflict about what they are doing, or at least some of them (there’s always the repellent Gestapo zealot around too).”

Das Boot has already been renewed for a third season and holds an 85% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus reads, “Das Boot possesses the atmospheric pressure of its cinematic forebear while adding new depth to its compelling ensemble, making for a riveting international production.” 

The cast includes Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones’ Jaqen H’ghar), Saturn Award nominee Rainer Bock (Better Call Saul, Wonder Woman) and Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), who won the Golden Nymph for Best Actress – Drama Series at Monte-Carlo TV Festival and the German Television Awards for her performance here. Season 1 also features James D’Arcy (Homeland, Broadchurch, and Avengers: Endgame’s Jarvis) and Emmy nominee Lizzy Kaplan (Masters of Sex, Castle Rock, Cloverfield).

Last year, Das Boot won the Magnolia Award at Shanghai International TV Festival for Best Foreign TV Film/Miniseries and Best Cinematography at the German Television Awards, where Das Boot was up for eight further awards, including Best Director for Andreas Prochaska (Alex Rider). 

Das Boot was also nominated for Outstanding Cinematography at the 2020 American Society of Cinematographers Awards, and for Best Sound Design at the 2020 German Television Academy Awards, where it won for Best Visual Effects last year.

About World on Fire

World on Fire starts in 1939, on the eve of the German invasion of Poland, and follows the interwoven stories of ordinary families in England and Europe as the war begins to escalate around them, drawing everyone into its devastating ambit. 

Written and produced by five-time Bafta winner Peter Bowker, the series has an 84% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has already been renewed for a second season, due out next year. 

The impressive cast includes Bafta winner Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings), Oscar winner Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets, Mad About You), Oscar and Bafta nominee Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Harlots), and Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women). 

“It’s hard to recall any dramatic work that captured the terror of this invasion with such immediacy,” says Wall Street Journal.  

BBC hailed this seven-part drama as a “must-watch”, with reviewer Hayley Campbell praising its depiction of “war, on a personal level… focusing on civilians rather than soldiers; this huge global thing shrunk right down.”

OTHER WORLD WAR II CLASSICS

If that’s not enough perspective on World War II for you, we also recommend the Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated series Catch-22, based on the classic Joseph Heller novel and starring Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (The Sinner, Girls), with an ensemble cast that includes Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie (House), and Oscar-winning Argo producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov, who also produced. The series was #4 on Rotten Tomatoes’ list of the best-reviewed limited series last year.

Alternatively, historical thriller The Last Witness follows a young journalist’s dangerous investigation into the cover-up of the Katyn Massacre, in which 22 000 Polish officers lost their lives. Winner of 40 awards, The Last Witness stars Teen Choice winner Alex Pettyfer (Alex Rider in the 2006 movie Stormbreaker), Golden Globe nominee Michael Gambon (Gosford Park, Harry Potter) and Talulah Riley (Westworld).