Der große Krieg

This documentry explains about the start of the war,then takes you through the misery of trench war fare.This is heart breaking and informative and moving,old soldiers recall the mud ,the gas,the sheer misery of fighting in water filled trenches. One soldier explains what it was like to take part in a firing squad,the guilt and pain etched on his face. The war is covered from all aspects ,home front,the somme,gallipoli and the russian revolution.Lawrence of arabia is mentioned briefly a romantic hero in a world full of horror. The saying in Britain was that it would be over by christmas and in Germany by the time the leaves fell in autumn.People volunteered to fight in 1914 but by 1915 it was obvious this was the war to end all wars. Watch this its compelling stuff then say two prayers thank God you didnt have to fight it,and ask God that theres no more world wars ,world war 3 will be the end. This series has stood the test of time its for serious students of war. Peace to the world

Quite simply the definitive documentary on the First World War. 26 40-minute episodes which do as much as any book to encapsulate the 1914-1918 conflict. I'd go so far as to say it surpasses the World at War (which basically copied it!) as THE television documentary. The narration is perfectly pitched, the soundtrack is stunning, and there were enough veterans from all sides to add personal insights into the war. But what I think lifts it above all other Great War programmes (apart from the length) is that it gives airtime to campaigns that simply don't get a look in normally - the Eastern Front and Palestine; there are even lengthy segments on the war at sea with some excellent archive footage. If you've got a day to spare, watch it all in one go: you'll be better for it...

I first saw this series when it was repeated by the BBC in the early Seventies on Sunday afternoons. I watched several of the episodes with my grandmother whose beloved brother died at the Battle of the Somme. It is one of the main reasons that I am interested in the First World War, why I became a historian and why I take groups of schoolchildren to the battlefields every year. After years of claiming it was 'out of date' and 'unshowable' the BBC have released it on video/DVD and shown it on TV on Saturday evenings. As I started to watch the first episode the hairs on the back of my neck stood up-the portentous music,Sir Michael Redgrave's melifluous narratiion, the superbly literate script by John Terraine and Correlli ('Bill') Barnett, the archive footage (even if much of it is used out of context)-it was all as I remembered it. This series provided the blueprint for many others, especially 'The World at War'. It is a timeless classic which should be seen by anyone with the remotest interest in history or a moving story superbly told. Interestingly the series was masterminded by John Terraine and, as such, embodies the then unfashionable 'revisionist' view that not all the generals (especially Field Marshal Haig)were blundering idiots who sent men cruelly to their deaths but were limited by the available technology into fighting grim attrition battles as the only means of victory. This now pretty much the academic orthodoxy-40 years after this classic series was made!

In one of my earlier reviews, I wrote at great length of how great World at War is and how it is the apex of ww2 documentaries, delving into almost every single aspect of the war, from Hitler's rise to power, to the german invasion of poland, to barbarossa, d-day, okinawa, iwo jima, dunkirk, and everything in between. This show is basically World at War but for the first war, although because it came earlier, you can argue this was the real trailblazer. It employs many things that would later go on to become a staple of any war documentary worth anything, which includes getting interviews from people that were actually there (even german soldiers are interviewed), using scenes that involve maps that give the viewer a bird's eye view of what the opposing armies are trying to accomplish, the reading of primary sources from the time (like newspapers) and a soundtrack that perfectly fits with what is going on, whether it's sad, heroic, or terrifying. Most importantly, the show covers the entire war from start to finish, and includes the most critical and savage battles of world war 1, including Ypres, Passchendaele, Verdun, the Somme, Belleau Wood, Amiens, Tannenberg, and Gallipoli just to name a few. The series also goes into detail about some of the the first world war's lesser known battlegrounds, such as the german colony in Tsingtao, china, where the japanese fought the very country they would ally with 2 decades later. Just like World at War, the Great War has a stellar narrator, Michael Redgrave. No matter what he's discussing on screen, just the sound of him talking is enough to interest the viewer. To summarize, the Great War is simply a must watch for anybody who likes to study war history, and they shouldn't consider themselves a specialist on ww1 until they see it.

Even though it was nearly 40 years old and in Black & White "The Great War" immediatly grabbed my attention with its music,truly shocking images and excellent narration.

The start alone would be worth a "10" score,showing a British soldier staring blankly beside a German Officers gruesome corpse whilst that haunting,bombastic music plays."The Great War" as it was known before before that other War is a Brilliant and Intelligent series about the First World war that certainly does not hold back.As i said some of the images are truly shocking with film footage of British,French and German dead shown through-out the series,yet this is vital in showing the futility of war and in particular,"The Great War itself." Certainly some of the images you see in this series you will not be able to forget forexample even though i saw the "Gallipoli" over 6 months ago i can still remember the ending showing a British or ANZAC soldier with his head in hands whilst the credits rolled and the sublime score brought the episode to an end.Also the pictures of Lancashires Landing from the same episode are equally hard to forget even though they were just drawings.I can honestly say that Music,Imagery and Narration has never been used together so well,not even in "The World at War"

On the negative side,Propaganda footage was used far to often and was easy to spot(just look at the angle the camera was facing) as was some of the same footage. Also British High Command seemed to get off rather lightly in "The Somme" episode.Because although Haig and Rawlinson should certainly not take all of the blame it annoyed me that they didnt recieve any critcism and the 'inexperience' of the British army was often highlighted as the main problem as far as that battle is concerned.Also of the interviews with those that fought in the war,i didnt think there was enough ordinary British soldiers to give their opinion and to many 'Cut-glass' accented men.Nothing against those men,just i dont think it was a fair representation,regardless of how they speak.

But my complaints are certainly minor and i would advise anyone with an interest in the First World war to watch this or buy the DVD.