The Celts

I see this movie listed on the BBC America shop online in the coming soon section. That'll be such a good thing. The soundtrack has always been mesmerizing.

This documentary is what dreams are made of.

Frank Delaney presents a wonderful documentary filled with scholarly commentary, enactments of Celtic life, stories from surviving Celtic people, visual displays of ancient artifacts and to-scale-models of ancient dwellings, and on location shots from historical places.

The beginning opens at Hallstatt, Austria, the oldest archaeological site containing remnants of the Celtic people, and proceeds from there with a historical narrative considering their origins, continued migration across Europe, their eventual concentration in the northwest corner of Europe, and final migration to America. This is a well done piece on the people who truly are the Fathers of Europe.

"The Celts" is remembered as an excellent documentary on an ancient culture (not to be confused with a more recent series of well done documentaries by the same title). But it is best remembered as the show that introduced the world to the Irish singer Enya, who was hired to write the score for the series.

Enya, still several years away from her first worldwide hit "Orinoco Flow", really shines with her haunting ethereal melodies. Fans will want to check out this program (finally available on video) since Enya is shown singing during the opening credits, and one episode features a music video of her performing one of her wordless masterpieces ("Aldebaran"). The segment is actually rather out of place with much of the show in a sense (what does it have to do with ancient cultures?), but it does give the show a unique feel that stays with the viewer long after the closing credits roll.

Probably the most comprehensive story of the Celtic people ever undertaken, this series examines their history from their earliest archaeological finds, throughout the iron ages and Roman eras, up to modern times. The researchers seem to have left no stones unturned in their search to examine Celtic history.

Sumptuously filmed, probably the best feature of this program is the music from Enya. The title music is really stirring and most of the other music throughout the series is really haunting and beautiful. This program has not been repeated recently and is highly deserving to be enjoyed by a new generation of 13 year olds (the age I was when it first came on.) Watch and enjoy!