Island At War (British Mini-Series)
Picture: B-
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: B-
In yet another British TV production focusing on World War
II, Island At War (2004) focuses on The Nazis invasion of The Channel
Islands and how inhabitants had to deal with it. Running nearly 400 minutes over six episodes, the fictional St.
Gregory Island is used as a hybrid of all of them, pulling us through the story
of how three families deal with the nightmare situation.
Shown in eight installments directed in turns by Thaddeus
O’Sullivan and Peter Lydon, the shows get more brutal as they go along, but
some of this is still more melodramatic than expected. What does work is that this aspect of the
war has not been dramatized as often, as the Nazis outnumbered those who stayed
behind 2-to-1 and started making plans as if their stay would be permanent
(renaming everything on the map with new German names, ban radios, vehicles and
any socialization, and even reset the clocks) and forever. How this affects the families is what
qualified this for Masterpiece Theater, but it does not always gel like
some of their better programs, though this is still good. James Wilby, Clare Holman and Saskia Reeves
lead the strong cast, who also bring Stephen Mallatratt’s teleplay above any
problems it runs into. The result is
one of the most unusual mini-series experiences I have had in a while, and I
watch enough of them.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 x 1/16 X 9 image seems to
have originated in digital High Definition and is not bad. It looks a bit more film-like than such
productions most of the time and makes the entire series more entertaining to
sit through. The location shooting is a
plus. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo does
not have any real surrounds to speak of, but is clear and clean for what it
is. Extras are all text and on DVD1,
including historical background on the series, a cast reflections
section that offers a question and answer session with eight of them, their
filmographies separately and a photo gallery that shows behind-the-scenes of
the production. If you are in the mood
for a WWII tale, which is the best way to approach Island At War, then
you will not be disappointed. I just
wanted something different in the character development department, but it is
different down to its ending.
- Nicholas Sheffo
