The Long Road to War

First, the Balkan relations are complicated and I don't want to go into it since it's obviously a sensitive matter. I mention it though since the negative reviews are mostly about that but that's just not my knowledge in this review.

However.. I have read quite a lot about WW1 and what led up to it and watching this it's quite obvious that the "shots at Sarajevo" was pretty insignificant for the outbreak of WW1.

It would have happened anyway and I am actually quite surprised it didn't happen sooner.

I will forever be stunned though that so many leaders (who were quite aware of the terrible consequences) led their countries into a complete disaster and to a conflict that would set the tone for the whole 20th century. Different times but still..

WW2 is much easier to understand.. Germany wanted revenge and it was the perfect circumstances for a complete lunatic to seize power. Even more terrible but but some bizarre logic in there.

WW1 is just the stupidest war ever considering the reasons and the consequences.

It expands on the notion that a simple assassination of a prince could not be the true cause of the ww1.

Historically very accurate and interestingly told through the eyes of the smaller nation, and by historians from both sides of the war.

Its done in very engaging manner.

After watching it again I came to see the reviews and have been really disappointed with political ratings.

This is not a 1 rated documentary.

Main objection being that is partly financed by Serbia, because to people objecting only the English or French or Germans can make an objective documentary, give me a break. There is more propaganda in the avarage documentary then in this one.

Black Hand, their strength in 1914 is debatable, could not lead to ww1 it's naive to think that.

Memebers of Young Bosnia included Muslim and Croats and not just Gavrilo Princip, the Serb from Bosnia.

Ivo Andric, the Nobel winning novelist was Croat and a member of Young Bosnia, their go.

My face has never been glued to screen more than when watching this documentary. Some of the facts that are stated out in this documentary are often ignored by the mainstream historians.

It shows how this war was inevitable and evidently planned for years. I really don't want to destroy the experience, watch the movie for yourself.

11 Historians from all round the world. 4 from Great Britain, 2 from France, 1 Russian, 1 Serbian, 1 Austrian and 1 German. What a great way of telling a story involving all of these nations.

At school we have long been taught that it was the 'shots in Sarajevo' and assassination of arch duke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was the start of The Great War.

But however, I suspect that some of the motives of this documentary is not only to enlighten, but at the same time promote this idea of the 'south slavs' of countries like Serbia and Bosnia is done by the movie creators to support an idea of unification of Serbia and Bosnia and several other countries (such as perhaps Monte Negro). The movie is funded by Serbia on different levels and we are told many times that Bosnia and Serbia consists of primarily the same people.

So it is a very well performed documentary going into depth into the decades before the war and thouroghly describes the advesaries and their different conflicts and interests.

At the same time, I am not sure which parts of the documentary is a documentary and which parts are more motivational talk by Serbia to try to argument for Serbia's reunification of Bosnia and perhaps Yugoslavian grandure.. I feel I have to be a historian to pick apart the documentary part from propaganda or 'wishful thinking' fra Beograd..

At first, I've dismissed the recommendation by Netflix to watch this movie. I've had my share of disappointment with algorithms and documentaries. What changed my mind is the fact that the making of The Long Road to War was almost a one-man-show.

In terms of delivery, The Long Road to War had some similarities with the works of Adam Curtis, my favorite author in the genre for almost two decades. Archive footage and interviews with the experts on the subject matter were expertly mixed.

In terms of content, it was neither provocative nor burdened by conspiracy theories. It is a well known fact that the superpowers of the era eagerly went to war, not only the leaders and the elites but also those who were to die in the conflict.

And if you believe the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo was the cause of the First World War, than I doubt the quality of the history class you've attended. It might have been the reason at best. The causes are well described in this documentary.

In terms of iMDb start The Long Road to War is on the top of the scale.