in Vienna in 1981
Development Author
Herman Wouk 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. He was convinced by
Paramount Pictures and the
ABC television 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 would be allowed. Wouk also has a
cameo as the
Archbishop of
Siena.
I, Claudius screenwriter
Jack Pulman 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. Houseman later had to withdraw from the sequel miniseries,
War and Remembrance, due to his own ill health (he died in 1988). He 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. Principal photography began on December 1, 1980 aboard the 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. The series was shot at 404 locations in Europe, California and Washington state over 14 months.
Music The music was composed by
Bob Cobert, a composer often associated with Curtis.
Use of stock footage 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! ==Episodes==