This disc features over six hours of rare footage from World War 1 which has been painstakingly colourised by over 400 technicians over a period of five months. The resulting... more
cooperation of the Imperial War Museum, designed to make the Great War come alive for a 21st-century audience. The events of 1914-18 are authoritatively narrated by ...
cooperation of the Imperial War Museum, designed to make the Great War come alive for a 21st-century audience. The events of 1914-18 are authoritatively narrated by ...
lives of 10 million soldiers and civilians. It was fought mainly by young men in the fields and trenches of Northern France and Belgium and saw the development of...
A review by g-sus on The First World War In Colour (DVD) February 15th, 2009
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Story
Outstanding
Advantages:
It Is In Colour
Disadvantages:
None
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
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 part of the series for me is seeing some of 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 space of time they dedicated to the Battle of Jutland in the Sea War programme. The same can be said of the BEF action in August 1914 at the start of the war, and as always the magnificent fighting retreat from Mons was almost totally ignored - arguably one of the greatest military actions in the history of the British Army.
So in conclusion the programme is certainly worth watching as an introduction to the Great War, but compared to the definitive BBC production in 1964 on the Great War, or the 1969 Thames TV production called the World at War, the First World War in Colour certainly falls a long way short of reaching these standards.
Genre: Documentaries & Biographies - Military Documentary - World War
Classification: Exempt
Production Year: 2003
Running Time: 6 hours 12 minutes
Plot: For the first time we can witness the gritty reality of life in the trenches and other aspects of the first World War in full colour. Includes material from Russia, Germany, France, Italy, the USA and Britain's own Imperial War Museum.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): FREMANTLE HOME ENTERTAINMENT; ARVATO SERVICES
This disc features over six hours of rare footage from World War 1 which has been painstakingly colourised by over 400 technicians over a period of five months. The resulting documentary attempts to give new relevance to the reality and the horror of the Great War. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh.
Languages
Main Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Tactics And Strategy CGI Special, Interviews With Production Team, Biographies
Sound: Dolby Digital
Dubbing Sound: Dolby Digital English
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Listed on Ciao since : 06/12/2005
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