The First World War - The Complete Series [DVD]

The 1960's BBC series, "The Great War" is more definitive than this latest production. Examples where there is lack of completeness are the Verdun and Somme campaigns which are compressed into one episode. The Eastern Front which was cataclysmic from a Russian perspective is also sparsely covered. This is undoubtedly an unbalanced production in terms of the importance of the action versus the time spent on the aspect covered. If one requires a definitive documentary on this war, rather purchase the BBC version but this production being more than 40 years old, although excellent, is rather dated in style.In contrast in this DVD little known actions are covered in a disproportional amount of detail. No other video covers aspects such as the campaign in the ex-German colonies such as German East Africa [now Tanzania] & German South West Africa [now known as Namibia]. The German attempts to incite the Islamic world into anti British & Russian actions are also covered quite comprehensively.Even though the aforementioned aspects are treated at the expense of more important parts of the war, it does add a new dimension to a war which otherwise comprised an unremitting series of artillery bombardments, machine guns scything down lines of soldiers "going over the top" & battles which are similar to one another & which in the facetious words of Rowan Atkinson a la Black Adder merely resulted in General Haig's drink's table moving one yard nearer to Berlin.The style is a balance between three presentation styles. The backbone are videos many of them new to this reviewer. These are interwoven with extracts of diaries from eye witnesses. This provides a sense of immediacy. It would have been preferable to use the testimony of the actual eye witnesses but given the effluxion of time this was probably not possible. The third component of the style is the use of contemporary & current views of the same scene. This certainly provides an additional dimension to this production. The blend of these three styles does provide renewed interest in the subject.Overall this is an excellent production & deserves to be purchased but bear in mind that a comprehensive account is not possible within a 10 hour production. For those who have all the currently available videos on this war, this DVD covers certain neglected aspects & for those who are neophytes to the subject it will give one a feel for the combatants, style of warfare & modus operandi.

An excellent series,particularly as it is based on the Hew Strachan book on the same subject. The remarkable thing to me was that so much of the early action, setting the scene, the areas and countries involved were the same as we hear and see daily now on the news screens. For example Crimea, Syria, Bosnia,Aleppo,Kut.Ukraine. Almost like History repeating itself. Make sure you get THIS history and series as there are a lot of them about this Centenary year. My mind was muddled about the origins of this war,the assassination etc..but I now have a much better idea,thanks to this work.

This is one of the best First World War documentaries available right now, but coming in a worthy second to the legendary BBC's 'The Great War' series from the 1960s. Nothing will ever equal that in my view. Apart from these two productions the others aren't worth bothering with from what I've seen. I want facts, figures, personal experiences ... I don't want the whole production to be underlined by an anti-war message. The casualty figures alone on all sides are quite sufficient to remind the viewer that war is hell, and should be avoided at all costs because people can get hurt. War isn't Hollywood, and we should not judge the inexplicable bravery of so many soldiers by today's standards. To undermine such courage with a plea for pacifism is almost to ridicule it. I see bravery and comradeship in the face of insuperable odds as some of the highest of human virtues. Personally, as long as warfare is confined to the TV screen, and I don't have to be involved in it, then it suits me just fine, thanks. However, a fine TV documentary series of this nature reminds me, as it should remind everybody that if it wasn't for the noble sacrifices of previous generations, we probably wouldn't have any carefully censored TV programmes to review without big brother breathing down our necks anyway. Was old Horace right when he wrote, 'Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.'? It would be nice to think it was worth it. I guess I'm just an old romantic at heart.

This 3 DVD set is for me by far the best of all the First World War documentary sets. Almost all geographical areas of the conflict are covered, historical background to the outbreak and military/naval strategies and weapons employed by all countries involved are clearly explained. Much old film footage appears that I have never seen in previous First World War documentaries (old film of an Austro-Hungarian river gunboat is one of many examples here). I thoroughly recommend this set. It is well worth the money.

This is probably the best documentary on the subject since the 1960's series 'The Great War'. It attempts to explain and highlight the tactics and strategy's employed in the conflict and is both revisionist and traditional in its interpretation of events. Its clever use of letters and diaries of the time helps to produce a sense of the time for the viewer. Although unseen footage of the period is now hard to come by this series does manage to include some previously unseen pictures.The series will be useful to anyone interested in British and/or military history. A very good aid for the pupil at school learning about the Great War just as for the graduate.

This was an extremely watchable series, which explained the First World War, its causes and effects, better than I've ever heard it. Much of its strength was that it didn't concentrate only on strategy and what the upper echelons were doing, but looked at how events impacted the men in the trenches. Lots of battlefield and trench film demonstrates conditions, as well as first hand accounts (mostly letters) from those involved. Should be compulsory school viewing.