A brand new high definition restoration of the seminal TV documentary series The World at War is to be released as it was meant to be seen – in its original full screen format with the maximum picture area from the original film materials now visible on screen.

A televisual milestone and the benchmark for all documentaries that followed, The World at War presents the story of World War Two, from its beginnings in Hitler's pre-war Germany to its horrific climax at Hiroshima.

Produced by Jeremy Isaacs and narrated by Laurence Olivier, this powerful 26 part series was made with the full co-operation of the Imperial War Museum and combines eyewitness testimony with rare archive footage to tell the unforgettable story of the greatest conflict the world has ever known.

Previous restored at released as The World at War – The Ultimate Restored Edition by Fremantle Home Entertainment, this version caught some justifiable flack for cropping the original 1.33:1 image to 16:9, effectively bastardising the historically important wartime footage contained within. This new release sets to right that particular wrong, and will present the entire series in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

Often cited as the best documentary series ever made, The World at War – The Complete Series will be released on 10th October 2016 on Blu-ray and DVD, each at the RRP of £89.99, courtesy of Network Distributing.

Special features:

• All eight supplementary documentaries made by the World at War production team

• "Making of" documentaries

• Experiences of War: unseen and extended interviews

• Dolby 5.1 mix (as well as original Mono audio)

• Image gallery