Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Release Date: 25-APR-2006
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11232 in DVD
• Brand: RYAN,ROBERT
• Published on: 1963
• Released on: 2005-08-24
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: .65 pounds
• Running time: 645 minutes

Customer Reviews

Outstanding Overview of the First World War
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the onset of World War I in 1964, both the BBC in Britain and CBS in the United States produced epid documentary series on the history of the war (The Beeb's is called "The Great War"). Both are now available on DVD and I would have to say that someone who has a strong interest in the war and is interested in its visual images would find both series of interest. Besides the fact that naturally each tends to focus more on the war effort of the country that produced the series, there are other significant differences that make the two series complement each other. First of all, the CBS programs were made to fit into a half-hour time slot, so taking into consideration the commercials, each program is about 24 minutes long, whereas the BBC programs are over 40 minutes. In addition, the British series focuses almost exclusively on the military aspects of the war in addition to social and economic conditions in Britain. The BBC series added interviews with people who participated in the war, whereas the Americans relied only on archive films. The CBS series places less emphasis on the military course of the war but expands on the political and social forces that led up to the war and affected its conduct. Whereas "The Great War" simply mentions in passing the demoralization that occurred on the German home front that brought about Ludendorff's demands for an an armisitice, the CBS series devotes an entire program to what was happening inside Germany as the war progressed. A particularly interesting difference is that the CBS series devoted a significant amount of time to a detailed description of the Battle of Jutland in which the main battle fleets of Germany and Britain faced each other, whereas the BBC show just mentions it in passing (my theory is that since the battle was a tactical draw the British were not to interested in talking too much about it!) Finally, "The Great War" ends with the armisitice of 11 November 1918 showing deliriously happy crowds, whereas the American series devotes significant time showing how the indecisive end of the war and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles paved the way for the next, even more destructive war.
One drawback of the CBS film is that little explanation is given to the conduct of operations on the Eastern Front which "The Great War" discusses at length, possibly because in the 1960's there was a tendency to dismiss Russian history due to Cold War tensions.
I again strongly recommend both series to the viewer who really wants a comprehensive view of this war that radically altered the world in ways that are still being felt.

Like a fine wine, this documentary gets better with age....
Excellent documentary series produced by CBS News in the early sixties and superbly narrrated by the late Robert Ryan, still has an edge over the many others that were produced recently. Lots and lots of photographic and film footage, especially of the German invasion of neutral Belgium, the air and sea war, the sinking of the Lusitania, but sadly lacking in many other series. This series, some will call dated, yet remains remarkably comprehensive and engaging and well worth purchasing. If you like your history in large doses and complete like, for example, Will Durant's 11 volume comprehensive opus, The History of Civilization, then you will enjoy this three disc set. This set is available at Costco for about $19.95, where I purchased mine, rather than the $30.00 list price Amazon charges here.

World War I DVD
This DVD comes in a three-volume set. It is narrated by Robert Ryan whose voice sets the tone for this truly monumental telling of an event that is still being felt by the world amost 100 years later.

It is non-political, it does not take sides, what it does is show with clarity and feeling the effect war had on the entire world. The social, economic, and political realities of the day are explained. I have a minor in history and I was impressed with the research and scholarly approach taken by the film makers in this epic documentary.

There are over 70 episodes within the three volume set. Everyone who watches will gain an appreciation for how WWI changed the geo-political landscape forever. After watching this series, you will be able to understand in depth what Lawrence of Arbia meant to the Arabs.

This DVD is worth 2x the price.