Cheap Great War-World War I (Video) (Great War-World War I) Price

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Customer Reviews of Great War-World War I

How the US won the war and the allies helped a little!
Correct me if I'm wrong but the US did enter the war 2-3 years after the other allies, yes? Well, you'd never know it from watching this muddled and patched together account of WW1. From the outset you are into an almost total US perspective of WW1, and considering the other allies had been engaged in fighting for such a long time before the US arrived, this is a bit much to take. It also means that a lot of interesting and crucial non-US perspective is missed out.

The narrator is, well, how can I say this kindly? Well you get the feeling he is narrating this while facing and talking to his living room wall. It could and should have been done with a lot more passion. Everything was 'ineresin' (yuk!) or 'kind o' (oh no!) etc etc. a casual style of presentation that really detracted from the seriousness of the event. By tape 7 I was definitely feeling maybe this would be better with sound off.

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A pedestrian effort
This series has the look and feel of something that was slapped together for the educational market. The film's only real virtue is a large amount of original period footage, but the accompanying narration is banal and often inaccurate.This is ,at best ,an archive and not a compelling history. Definitely a far cry from the Robert Ryan/CBS News 1964 documentary, which is regrettably out of print.

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Save Your Money
Anyone who has seen World War I - narrated by Robert Ryan, will find The Great War - World War I a huge disappointment. This seven-tape documentary runs 329 minutes, with 42 to 51 minutes on each tape. Beyond the odd packaging, this video is poorly organized and blandly narrated. Some of the actual war footage appears to be supplemented with theatrical versions and some of the actual footage is overly drawn out. The one positive feature is the commentary of a historian, who adds some perspective to this historical conflict; however, I noticed at least one inaccuracy in his account of the French war plan. In spite of this documentary's low price, you would be better advised to spend the 4 to 5 times more on the Robert Ryan set.