User reviews

We have seen plenty of Wartime dramas which see it from the British point of view, I was impressed to see this told from the point of view of the Polish, an often overlooked aspect. It features breathtaking special effects, it looks lavish and features some terrific performances, Lesley Manville and Sean Bean in particular stand out.

Part three was my favourite episode, I thought the story there was particularly harrowing, but there are some interesting segments.

It does tell the story from the point of view of some of the minority groups, those that class this as pc, are pretending that such things didn't happen? In reality such stories happened.

The scene that will always stay with me is the one where Helen Hunt talks to the Doctor responsible for the death of the disabled. A very harrowing, but powerful scene.

Can't wait for Series 2. 8/10

1/10.... reallly? Poor acting... really?

You are on this forum, as am I, for ONE reason - to convey the cinematic qualities of what we have before us. This is NOT a historical debate forum. I'm glad we got that out of the way....

World on Fire delivers. It doesn't deliver historical accuracy - but it delivers "the sense of the moment" and it does so pretty damn well.

This is a half full glas and it's contents are pretty tasty. Any review below 6/10 cannot be taken seriously.

Enjoy.

This well intentioned series surprises in some ways. After seeming cliched at first the characters surprise with some unexpectedly interesting stories that cover unfamiliar WW2 movie ground. The Polish point of view at the beginning of the war is interesting. The triangle between the pretty Manchester singer, the feisty Polish resistance fighter and the soldier translator caught in between is quite amusing. The best story is the initially nasty Mother of the guy and how she comes round to the working class Sean Bean and the Polish refugee boy. Some characters seem like forced inclusion for diversity. Like Helen Hunt's reporter concerns over euthanasia programmes and the gay doctor and his lover. Some "modern" themes of shell shock and doubt are portrayed here. No comic book super heroes here.

It takes some concentration to get used to the different characters but once you get them sorted out it's quite good.

Of the cast Leslie Manville stands out. The Polish actress who plays the resistance fighter is convincing and authentic. Jonah Hauer King looks like he comes straight from a WW2 poster. The cast is fine but the directing could be more clear. Another fault is the Manchester accents of some of the cast are too thick to understand.

Surprisingly well made and engrossing.

Nice to see the polish side of the story and how horrifying it all was. Glad the bbc used well known polish actors rather than British actors with accents. Lends an authenticity to proceedings. Well acted throughout and great to see heavyweights like Helen hunt and Sean bean and Lesley Manville in tv

I really enjoyed this series and can't wait for the second season. It's a WWII drama/love story ... not 100 percent factual but there's definitely some history there along with some really great acting. Who doesn't like Sean Bean? Helen Hunt plays her role very well. Just don't expect a true retelling of events surrounding WWII.

Really amazed at amount of critical reviewers who base their criticism of a drama on history. This is a fictional account of some personal experiences of WWII not a documentary. Using your criteria, then all drama must be reviewed in terms of history and condemned if not absolutely accurate. Also, amazed that some reviewers are concerned about the bad depiction of Nazis and the display of blatant homophobic remarks as well as using the typical PC attack. I do see homophobic remarks in many reviews of any movie/series that has major gay roles. Looks like lots of right-wing and possibly Nazi nuts reviewing this but I guess that is to be expected when WWII related presentations are involved. But even with all this negativity, it has a decent rating because this series is well presented and acted. Great dramatic presentation of personal experiences and the challenges and heartache they faced in a horrific crisis.

War on Fire is a simplistic, soap opera dramatization of a microcosm of World War Two. Too many (unrealistic) coincidences and unsubtle political statements stuffed into this show.

Watch if you enjoy soap operas. If you were hoping for a serious war drama look elsewhere.

This is for people who want to know about confusion and pain, not the shoot them up pastiche of war that is typical. It's sibjective approach means it has nine of the grand narative, but that's exactly right for the humane film it is

I don,t understand what people have these days with pc. What is your problem? That sound like peope not able to relax and just enjoy a tv show. Possibly the same people that wrote a pc reaction on some doctor who episodes. If you don,t like a tv show change the program. I do it all the time. It is a tv show to enetertain not a documentary about ww2.

At first I was amazed in episode 4 how the two Polish soldiers met up with the Brits in Northern France. From history i know that Polish soldiers, when given the order to withdraw, managed to get to France via friendly Rumania forming the free Polish army in France where they offcourse also had to withdraw ending up in the Uk to form a new free Polish army. Another group of Polish soldiers managed to get to Palestine. The first group fought in western europe, the second one in afrika and italy. Both groups had an amazing yourney. So it is maybe a bit off a shortcut and a free interpretation by a writer but not that bad.

World On Fire has its strengths and weaknesses. That's true of any show, but it's more difficult to overlook the (numerous and glaring) weaknesses if you have knowledge about World War II and the legitimate history.

The positive is that there is a large focus on Poland, something which is so frequently overlooked when in comes to WW II history in Britain and America. The writers have some big plot holes, from the story of the young refugee - somehow his rescuer is able to keep it a secret & say next to nothing to anyone. Frankly, he does that throughout the series to the point that it gets stupid.

I do like the idea of the way they're using characters in different countries and then tying them together as the series goes on. The biggest drawback is that you get the idea that writers have forgotten about or have too many characters of whom to keep track and in turn, parts where they come together can feel forced and there isn't the character development one would hope to see.

The biggest flaw in this series is the way the writers appear to re-write large parts of history to make it more palatable for the Gen Z crowd. Unlike true period dramas like SAS Rogue Heroes and Call The Midwife, World On Fire is lost between its desire to engage in a show about the war and a desire to combine it with a heavier dose of views you'd see in 2019 rather than 1939. Rather than staying true to the time, the writers stray and in turn, parts veer in to melodrama. They produce big, explosive war scenes, but only some of them feel appropriate. A storyline with a German child takes a turn that doesn't feel at all in character for what we've seen thus far.

The women, save for the main character's mother, are straight out of this decade & it can be almost distracting. You also very much get the idea that they're trying to hit a diversity quota without actually tackling the biggest population that was destroyed at the hands of the Nazis: Jewish people.

On one hand, it's yes, it's fiction, however, the number of Polish and French Jews who lost their lives are almost a side note. They show them, but most don't have any real story focused on them. For such a major historic event that nearly wiped out a population, it's almost a crime not to have a strong main character that is Jewish.

In a bizarre way, World On Fire is what I can imagine the outcome should someone who loved Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries come up with if they chose to make a current period drama about World War II. This show isn't terrible, but the lack of accuracy when it's trying to be so serious can make for an unsettling watch.

If you have little or no knowledge of history, you'll probably enjoy World On Fire. If you were born in 1999 or later, this was probably written for you. On the whole I recommend it so long as you understand & don't mind the above caveats.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode and am already feel empathy towards some of the characters and look forward to seeing how their lives pan out. I particularly liked that you can see the human drama play out against the backdrop of war and not vice versa. Hope it stays this way and l shall look forward to Sunday nights.

I fully enjoyed this Series. The end is a cliff hanger, suggesting a sequel. I hope so.

I enjoyed this movie the second time around as I did the first. Noting some of the comments posted here by others, it is important to remind viewers this is a movie; not an historical documentary.

Lesley Manville as Robina is excellent. She reminds me somewhat of Maggie Smith from "Downton Abbey". Jonah Hauer-King is strickingly handsome and portrays the role of Harry superbly with a captivating ability to convey deepset emotions. Sean Bean as Douglas isso-so; his performance (role) a bit over the top emotionally. Ewan Mitchel as Tommy Douglas plays the perfect smart aleck. Julia Brown as Lois and Helen Hunt as Nancy Campbell bring forth a palpable sense of reality and endurance.

I tend to enjoy more those films where the actors and actresses are from the U.K or Australian/New Zealand. This movie did not disappoint.

Below the line is my original post.

I've just finished episode 4, and I've lowered my rating to a "2/10". Unbelievable that they've obviously used writers that have *zero* knowledge of basic warfare, or tactics of WWII. The British soldiers are portrayed as unorganised idiots that are so happy-go-lucky that they keep getting surprised by Germans because they don't even post sentries! For the record, at the beginning of the war, Brits were fierce warriors, even though severely outgunned.

The Germans in Poland keep falling for the female bait to their doom, but there's no retaliation against the innocent citizens?!

Oh, it's getting very, very bad, and not even Sean Bean can help this one.

I'll keep watching, but *only* because there's three episodes left.

Original.....................................................................................V

I was quite stoked for this after the first episode, even excusing some of the bad writing. I gave it a generous "9".

After the second episode, it's obvious that the men are weak, bumbling incompetents.

All the women are the leaders, strong, defiant, organized, and in charge.

Too bad that Hollywood has corrupted British film makers...

My rating slid to "5" stars, I'll adjust as necessary as the series progresses.

Ambitious attempt to tell the story of the first year of the Second World War through multiple characters in Britain, Poland, France and Germany. Succeeds through intelligent writing and a stellar cast. As usual Lesley Manville, Sean Bean and Helen Hunt are excellent but strong performances also from the newer faces with Julia Brown and Zofia Wichlacz stealing the show. Bring on Season Two!

I have no idea what is coming up in future episodes, but judging by the first episode I sense that this could be one of the finest BBC productions I have seen. The horrors of what happened in Danzig are detailed and to have the Polish language used was a powerful decision to have made. No more lets pretend, as so often happens when wrong casting is used. So far it is the superb acting of Mateusz Wieclawek and Lesley Manville that for me stand out. They took every scene they were in with an extraordinary sense of being, and not simply acting. The rest of the cast did well, and I long to see more of Sean Bean. This too goes for Helen Hunt, an actress I very much like. I think too this series is timely with the rise of Fascism in Europe, and also could raise consciousness in viewers that a Third World War will not happen, and that we will be aware of that dreadful drift towards it if it comes over the horizon. One spoiler I will give away, and that is of the young German soldier who hesitates to kill and clearly does not want to. The humanity in that small cameo performance spoke volumes. We all have the capacity of being truly human, and all countries despite whatever side they are on have that capacity for humanity. The Mosley scenes at the beginning were a dreadful reminder for us in the UK of Fascism here and not to go down a similar path ever again. Beautifully written, a potentially great series for the BBC to be proud of. For some younger viewers who think this is a costume drama I hope they are made to think again. I saw people there very much of today and also the class divide is very much the same.

I enjoyed this show from the very beginning. It had characters that you could build empathy with and feel the pain of a great many of the other characters. And I thought there was some first rate acting in this series. I enjoyed Sean Bean as the World War I shell shocked pacifist father. The relationship with his daughter Julia Brown, his troubled son, Ewan Mitchell is interesting. Julia Brown does get to show off her impressive singing talents. The relationship that Bean develops with two characters melted my heart; those being Leslie Manville a well to do widow and the Polish war orphan Jan Tomaszeski. We get to see Jan sprout like a weed between the two series. Johan Hauer-King was believable as the love interest of Julia Brown AND Zofia Wichalacz. The show had so much potential for at least another two seasons. I wish I could get the BBC to change their minds. The ending leaves us hanging over what is going to happen with Zofia being parachuted back into occupied Poland.

And a child of Wii parents, this seems to really hit the mark of what many different kinds of people went thru on a daily basis. Polish are seen and portrayed as the brave hearts they were. Average folks were ruined by two World wars in a few years of a lifetime and who could blame them? We'd are all tired of wearing masks. How much more of we'd been in London during the blitz. We might have died of annoyance.

I'm frustrated reading some of the reviews here about this show. This drama I really enjoyed. Firstly, a drama is not a documentary. So many times I read that programs or movies are not historically accurate, facts don't match up or the characters aren't how they should have been for the era it's set in. If you want facts, watch a documentary. A drama is supposed to be the writers interpretation of events made to be dramatic for the viewers enjoyment. I have an 80 year old mother who loved this series. She remembers living through the war and hearing the sirens go off overhead and bombs being dropped during the Blitz. She had a grandfather and work colleague who suffered from shell shock. She loved the series because she felt that it was real for her and she could relate to it. Yes, the characters are like a soap and the facts don't add up but who cares. I loved Sean Bean in his role because it was different to what he usually does. His character has fought in WWI and is suffering from PTSD. As a person who works in mental health, the depiction of the psychological effects of war are very accurate. Myself and my husband didn't want to watch a documentary. We wanted to enjoy this adaptation and interpretation of the war from each of the characters viewpoints historically accurate or not! I thought it was excellent. I enjoyed the escapism. That's what I want when I sit down and watch a drama and that's what I got. Bring on series 2!

Season 1 was something to watch when you felt like a WW2 drama that included a bit of everything, but it wasn't engrossing, and I even forgot to watch the end of the series.

Then season 2 arrived. Whatever happened in the years between I'm not sure, but the dialogue is just woeful, and the production seems like it was all done on the cheap - the desert scenes looked like they were made on a movie lot in the 50s, and I thought the gestarpo interrogation scenes were part of some comedy skit!

There were so many different story lines going on at the same time with no connection it just all felt very disjointed.

I'm not sure if it was the characters or the people playing them but they were pretty annoying a lot of the time. The only part worth watching was with Lesley Manville - and now Mark Bonnar has appeared I'm hoping it might get better.

Thoughtful dramatic story. Very well-produced with top-notch performances. Emphasis not on clothing style and music, though there's plenty. The chaos of war, the overwhelming advance of the Nazis and the personal loves and sacrifices of the characters are woven throughout. I'm glad I recorded; much to be gleaned in a second viewing.