The Man In The High Castle review

Wow! This is our official statement! The Man in the High Castle is one of the best ever made World War II Sci-Fi alternate world tv series ever made!

No one has paid me saying this and it is also our total statement! This is really Distrita’s absolute favorite dystopian sci-fi! A fantastic Amazon Prime stream show that is worth every penny.  The Man In The High Castle is really worth watching for a serial that is really disturbing. Because this is a masterpiece where the Sci-Fi World War II never ended series. It’s really that good! There is simply nothing that comes close to it.

Read on to see why I think that The Man in the High Castle is so amazing! Because it is unique.

What if World War II didn’t end in 1945?

This is a sci-fi apocalyptic World War II Sci-Fi. It questions what would happen if Russia, the USA, and the United Kingdom didn’t have the army to defeat the Nazi army from Great Nazi Reich. The question is pretty “scary” interesting when you think about what the scenario would have been if World War II didn’t end in 1945.

Yes, The Man in the High Castle is in an alternate universe. Here in this dimension, the Nazi regime managed to keep Hitler alive until he passed away in 1962. Here you witness how Berlin is built up quite modern. The continents in this world are reached by several Concorde airplanes that you can hear breaking the sound barrier when the scenes are near the airports.

You also get to know an alternate New York. East-coast of the USA has also changed quite drastically after the Nazis have nuked Washington D.C with a mini atom bomb. They have simply taken control over east-part of the USA, with a neutral zone in the middle that splits Japan and Great Nazi Reich.

Neutral zone dividing Great Nazi Reich and Japan

In this alternative world USA, never bombed Japan at all. Instead, Japan managed to win East-Asia and the western part of the USA. The way everything is made in this series regarding this visually is just breathtaking.

I even remember asking my parents about it after learning about World War II at school. Would you be together if Germany won in the past? And they answered directly to me no, since I am Slavic and my dad is a german person, that the Nazi regime wanted to purify.

Also, when watching this series. I think that my family, my friends and I can be really thankful for not having experienced World War II and The Man in the High Castle is such Sci-Fi apocalyptic drama that tells me I’m right in my conclusion. The world should be at peace now, but it’s not. But the hope for one day is still there!…

One of the best Visually stunning Apocalyptic shows

There are many TV series and movies that have based their story of a world where World War II was never lost by the Nazis. One of the earliest was It Happened Here from 1965. Here it’s about Nazis that managed to invade Great Britain. Then you also have Fatherland from 1994 which is a bit similar to this one.

But The Man in the High Castle is for sure one of the most stunningly made tv series. From the opening to the nature of the place where the actors are and the music is really something. As described, you have normal life going on even if it’s war and the horrible Nazi regime ideology just continues and people do whatever they can to prevent it to spread even more. The more “milder” Japanese territory but yet also very violent as they’ve never felt the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs. It’s really interesting to see how they struggle with peace, while the Nazis just want to get more and more land. It will be really interesting to see what will happen in Season 3 for sure.

The Concorde airplanes are stunningly made, Berlin is built out of from 1960s vision that the Nazi regime. It’s built up with monorails trains running over the streets. They really have managed to invite every viewer to it and that’s quite impressive.

The Story is solid

The Man in the High Castle is really stunning! I can’t say that enough in this review! But, when the story is as good. You know that the people behind The Man in the High Castle have actually made an extravaganza serial for sure. From the moment you see the intro, the story and until the end of each episode. You will love it. You can manage to watch one episode at a time, but in the end, you end up watching it all because it’s so interesting.

Creator Frank Spotnitz has really made a masterpiece! There is simply no serial out there, that pulls you so much into a fiction world as he has managed. You really feel as if you are in the 1960s world with its conflicts. That’s quite stunning and impressive!

Trailer for Season 2 that runs on Amazon Prime Now

Actors knowing how to act in The Man in The High Castle

You might now think that I am done with the positive parts? Well! I want to, but I can’t! Because here is my review of the actors in The Man in The High Castle at all. This serial delivers so extravagantly in this area too. Almost everyone delivers.

I was going to put this topic on top, but the visuals and the story in this serial are so intense that following up with this good review about the actors felt natural to begin that part here.

One of the best actors in this serial is, in fact, all of the main characters. Especially Alexa Davalos, which plays as Juliana Crain in the series. She has those eyes and emotions that get you attached!  You sort of feel that you are on her side all the time. Rupert Evans as Frank Frink is also good, while the Nazi Joe Blake which is played by Luke Kleintank is doing his job perfectly. On the Japanese side, Joel de la Fuente is playing amazingly as Inspector Kido. He is just as evil and speculative as it can be. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa plays as the mysterious Nobusuke Tagomi trade minister, which I really enjoyed to see every time he had a scene. Rufus Sewell as Obergruppenführer John Smith is also playing very well as a Nazi soldier and all in his family that is living under the Nazi regime in New York is very good.

It always feels like you as the viewer, is actually where they are and that’s something few actors have actually made possible. Frank Spotnitz and these actors have just given an amazing job.

If there is any minor comment regarding the actors, then it must have something to do with Dj Quals as Ed McCarthy. He isn’t bad, but there is something about his acting in some scenes that are a bit odd. But they don’t ruin very much. Not at all! Maybe I didn’t like his fashion or the way he handled all of the scenes.

A must-see show for Sure

Nominations and Winnings for The Man in The High Castle

Won Primetime Emmy

Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series
James Hawkinson For episode “The New World

Outstanding Main Title Design
Patrick Clair (creative director)
Paul Kim (designer)
Jose Limon (CG artist)
Raoul Marks (animator)

Nominated Primetime Emmy:

Outstanding Special Visual Effects
Curt Miller (VFX supervisor)
Jeffrey Edward Baksinski (VFX supervisor)
Terry Hutcheson (VFX supervisor)
Sean Tompkins (VFX supervisor)
Daniel Kruse (CG supervisor)
Christina M. Murguia (CG lead)
Nathan Overstrom (compositing supervisor)
Jim Hawkins (matte painting supervisor)

 

Source IMDB.com – bigthink.com – All of the shots are taken from the Amazon Prime Trailer