World War I Documentaries (1 Viewer)

[Cheetah]

With PBS’s excellent WWII series The War being released onto DVD so quickly after its premiere on the network, it is annoying that they still have not made available a very well done WWI entry from several years ago in the same format. Entitled The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century, it was released onto VHS, but what is taking PBS so long to release a DVD version?

Another entry that already made it to DVD but has yet to see an R1 release is BBC’s epic The Great War. While I not seen it myself, many have stated that this is the definitive video history of WWI, the equivalent to another epic…WWII’s 26 episode series The World at War. That series has been available on DVD in R1 for several years now. Not only does it provide a wide ranging chronological overview of WWII, Laurence Olivier is simply outstanding.

Why has Major’s Channel’s relatively recent production of the 10 episode series The First World War already had a release in R1, but not its predecessor…the more through 26 episode series The Great War? I have viewed some of Major Channel’s entry and it is not too bad, but I don’t like it enough to want to own it. The narration in my opinion leaves something to be desired. Chronology is not a priority with that series and I am also not very fond of having too many modern day views in color utilized in conjunction with archival film. With The Great War being a far better companion to The World at War, it is a shame that it has yet to see an R1 release.

 

[rob007]

I totally agree that the Great War should be made available here in Region 1. I personally have owned a region free copy of the series for years (thanks Ebay!) and think it is one of the finest documentaries ever made. It certainly goes hand in hand with the World At War and should be a must-see for fans of that particular genre.
The music used in the series and the narration is top notch as well.