Documentaries & Biographies > World War Documentaries & Biographies

Superb documentary that has never been rivalled

Advantages: Fantastic pooling of archive footage, interviews with eyewitnesses and no sensationalism
Disadvantages: Occasionally, Laurence Olivier's excellent commentary can be a little hard to hear

The World at War was first broadcast in 1973 and ever since then has stood as the benchmark for Second World War documentaries. Composed of archive footage (mostly black and white) and interviews with some of the eyewitnesses from both sides of the conflict, it avoids the annoying modern trend in documentaries of repetition and pointless and/or endless reconstructions that cannot capture meaning or emotion. It will never be bettered in the sense ...
...It is also narrated by the excellent Oscar-winning Laurence Olivier, whose sparse narration has just the right level of sombre gravitas to provide a fitting frame for the events the documentary relates. It's a very thorough, comprehensive series. There are twenty-six original episodes and this box set also includes eight special presentations and a three hour 30th Anniversary disc with includes previously unseen interviews and retrospective interviews ...

Robs86 13.06.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The World At War (Box Set) (DVD)

Superb detailed history of the Great War

Advantages: Detailed history of First World War, very educational
Disadvantages: Very long and detailed

...a superbly detailed history of the FIrst World War which takes you from the reasons why the war began in 1914 right through to the armastice in 1918. The disks contain 26 individual 45 minute episodes and describes in great detail the battles and outcomes shown in superb (but grainy) b&w film. The great thing about this series is it tells the story from all points of view (German, English, French etc.) both tactically and from the ordinary "tommy" ...
...and many leading actors from the time the series was made (1960's)voice the parts of the leading generals and politicians. This boxed set is a must for anyone studying the First World War or with an interest in history and gives a valuable insight into the horrors and carnage of this terrible war. I highly reccomend it The Disks : The boxed set consists of seven disks. The first six disks contain purely the episodes from the series there are ...

beejay_1949 04.01.2006 · Read full review
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Review of The Great War (Box Set) (DVD)

Never a triumph, never a will.

Advantages: Research for history; politics and psychology, education.
Disadvantages: None

This film which I have in my private collection of rare and classic films was made by the brilliant Leni Riefenstahl who in 1934 was only in her twenties when Adolf Hitler commissioned her to direct and film his political rally at Nuremberg. To appreciate the film is to look first into the brilliance and artistry of one of the greatest women directors of our time. In the early years of sound film, Riefenstahl was ahead of her time, employing new ...
...Hitler and his inner circle of ministers, including Josef Goebbels, are at their malevolent best, seen almost surreal-like through the camera lens which travels everywhere, from the approach to Nuremberg, the preparations of the thousands upon thousands of young soldiers, panning on a slice of their military lives. We see young soldiers joking, laughing, others preparing giant pots of food, still others engaged in ablutions. Then we see the youthfulness ...

vanhunks 14.04.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Triumph Of The Will (DVD)

World War 1 In Colour

Advantages: It Is In Colour
Disadvantages: None

The First World War in Colour accomplishes all it says on the box, covering the Land Sea and Air War with no particular bells or whistles. As previous reviews suggest, the same footage is repeated several times over, and the shot of the guy carrying a wounded soldier through the trenches as he looks towards the camera is shown in every episode, sometimes two or three times an episode. Branagh does a decent job with the narration, however, the best ...
...the old veterans telling their stories, in what was probably the last time they will ever appear on camera talking in depth of their experiences. Just seeing and hearing their tales of horror on its own makes the series worth watching, and it is primarily because of them I gave it a three Star rating, otherwise it would have been two. The programme as expected does rely heavily on footage of the land war, and I was rather disappointed at the short ...

g-sus 15.02.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The First World War In Colour (DVD)

He Was Never Any Good At Hide & Seek

Advantages: sensitive adaptation of the biography of the same name, good acting and character portrayal
Disadvantages: a bit soppy at time, events not in order in which they happen in the book

[Film Only Review] A few weeks ago I wrote about the amazing biography by Brad Cohen, how he overcame the stigma of Tourette syndrome* (TS from herein) and became a teacher and motivational speaker. Today I want to talk about the movie that actually first introduced me to Brad Cohen, who is not just a character in a movie but a real person. Brad Cohen developed TS in early childhood and was stigmatised by most of his peers, as well as some family, ...
...fulfil his ultimate dream, to become a teacher, the teacher he never had when he was at school. *Tourette syndrome (also called Tourette's syndrome, Tourette's disorder, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, GTS or, more commonly, simply Tourette's or TS) is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by the presence of multiple physical (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic; these tics characteristically ...

Tempus_Fugit 03.12.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Front of the Class (DVD)