The Great War

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.

In the early 1960's the BBC had a very talented production team that had come together to make a nightly 'magazine' feature called 'Tonight'. They somehow became part of a project to create a series about the First World War (then still known by some people as the 'Great War').

Something of this magnitude had never before been attempted in Britain. It required a great deal of painstaking research and assembling still photographs and archive film from all over the world. More to the point, at this period, a large number of the participants were still alive and could be interviewed - the series is a priceless exercise in 'oral history'.

The principal historical consultant and writer was John Terraine, the foremost military historian of the time, and Michael Redgrave was engaged to speak the narration.

The series appeared in 1964, when I saw it as a child. It was an outstanding success, and spawned a rather weaker sequel, 'The Lost Peace'.

Then, for reasons best known to themselves, the BBC sat on the tapes. Some isolated episodes were sometimes shown at the Imperial War Museum in London, but the series was largely forgotten.

However, it has recently been re-released in its entirety as five double video packs. It should not be confused with any other series of a similar title - this remains the original and the best!

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.

This documentary is possibly the best documentary series ever made. If I could, I would give it an extra star, so it could be the Pershing of documentaries. The fact it beats The World at War and other stunningly epic documentaries shows how incredible it really is.

As a man who has spent his life thinking on history, and could potentially spend a long professional life doing it, all I can say is how refreshing the series is. Unlike other documentaries, it has no platitudes or ahistorical biases, it presents the conflict accurately. Startlingly accurately, with its amazing black and white footage and interviews.

Not only that, but Sir Michael Redgrave topples all narrating rivals in his performances. Forever now will I associate his voice with the conflict, strong, unique and filled with power.

It's the detail that shocks. The emphasis on context, too. By presenting it so historically and professionally, it puts the conflict in its proper place in history and in society. I've watched newer documentaries, and have had to study the literature extensively for my higher education, but never was I more moved than watching this documentary.

Please, seek this series out when you can. It may never be released on Blu-Ray. In-fact, I'd buy a DVD player just for watching this series again, and I'd keep a compatible TV too, just in case. If I was off to a desert island, this would probably be the series I'd take.

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