Customer Reviews

Battlefield Britain

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Battlefield Britain presents 8 famous British battles in an exciting and engaging way. Each episode jumps quickly among several presentation styles:
1) Narration - father and son Peter and Dan Snow narrate while walking or flying over the battle field. Their writing is interesting and they speak in an engaging manner.
2) Computer battle simulation - Much like the "Decisive Battle" series which used the "Rome: Total War" computer game engine to simulate many fighters, "Battlefield Britain" uses computer simulation to recreate the battle formations, movements, and tactical decisions. The simulations are great at giving a general's eye view of the battle and the carnage.
3) Historical reenactment - Live reenactors provide the up close shots with good views of weapons, equipment, and the "you are there" perspectives.
4) Technical reenactment - Many scenes show the firing of real bows, guns, or cannons or sailing of real ships in an effort to show tactics or advantages of one side or the other.
5) Dramatic reenactment - Actors in period costumes and makeup say why their side won or lost.
6) Technical illustration - using computer maps or computer renderings of the leaders, the show provides these models for further historical explanations.

Of all these techniques, I enjoy the writing and speaking of Peter and Dan Snow the best. They make good professors and are passionate about their subject matter (although not quite as interesting and artistic as Simon Schama in "A History of Britain". Simon Schama has a theatric way of rendering history.) The computer battles are interesting to watch, and they really lay out the battles quite well. Peter's "magic map board" is a great technique for overlaying computer map scenes while he points and talks to various sections of the battle. Most of the other presentation styles serve as good interesting backdrops to these history lectures. Finally, the battle selection is great. I'm sure most people know Boudicca, Hastings, or the Spanish Armada, but the Llywelyn the Great and the Boyne are less well known battles, but every bit as interesting.

On the other hand, some of the computer generated sequences are used over-repetatively. And the dramatic reenactors seem to be saying the same things while adding little to the story: "Well we really crushed those losers," or "We were slaughtered. They just kept coming." The computer generated heads of the generals looks somewhat hokey - I'm sure they will look quite dated in 10 years.

So, despite some shortcomings, overall a very good program that bears repeated viewing.

This is an unapologetic rave review. Father and son Peter and Daniel Snow take the viewer on a high-tech and fast paced tour of UK battlefields, from Roman times to the Blitz. The battles covered are known to most casual historians and well known to military historians. They demonstrate what happened at pivotal moments of British history using reenactments, computer generated graphics of the battles and most entertaining, modern day reenactments of some of the hardships endured by the participants, such as carrying a pike (Naseby)or slogging through the heather at night with and without a compass, (Culloden). Live reenactments are interspersed with the graphics to give a feel of the flow of each battle. The slick 'battle board' technique of opening a folio to reveal the half-mile high view of the battlefield, zooming in to see details of movement of the tiny, accurately uniformed and equipped combatants, will give all wargamers an envy of the future. Least effective are the computer generated recreations of the faces of the commanders. Good portraits or even reenactors would have been better. The palpable excitement of the Snows for their subject should transmit enthusiasm to even a casual viewer. I find myself re-watching the battles and enjoying them as much each time. A great way to present history. We can hope for sequels from this team.

Saw this on PBS. An excellent way to portray historical battles. Great combination of computer graphics and reenactments. I highly recommend it.

This series blows the dust off of the history books! In short, exciting "lessons" one can learn more about the history of Great Britain than sitting in most class rooms. (Or trying to make sense of it on your own.) Very concise and entertaining. Even if your not a history buff, you'll enjoy this. Good for all ages.

I am an amature military historian. I have long experience in wargaming with miniatures, and recent experience "on the field" in my 11th century AD "kit", reenacting the battle of Hastings. So when my friend loaned me his copy of Battlefield Britain, I had come fresh from the battlefield myself. Seeing reenactors snarling and screaming ("in extremis") made my recent experiences seem all the more like having participated in the making of an epic movie. The reenactor spots in the eight battles naturally caught my attention and greatest interest. The CGI armies only less so, because I could see that the animation is not big budget calibre: but looking at the CGI battle scenes as though they are animated wargames armies worked for me. I especially enjoyed the "magic map" case of Peter Snow, which shows the armies moving across the immediate terrain into contact.

Aside from the graphics, the content is good (mostly accurate) history and easily understood, because the writing and speaking is so clearly rendered. This is a very crisp history course. It moves. Seen one after another, there is some repetition in the delivery, but I liked it better when I watched only one or two at a time and "chewed" on what I had just been shown.

How does one convey the experience of war? Other than putting one in battle, it's difficult. This series does quite well in its short segments. And that is my biggest complaint - that each battle coverage is too short. Yet given their time constraints, they do an excellent job. The weakest point is that some of their modern explorations of the past equipment and experiences are a bit superficial - the tacking against the wind, for instance. But these are only a small proportion of the total time spent. My biggest wish is that each segment had been twice as long. It's very good stuff!

Learning history should always be this fun! I hope somebody in The States does something like this.

This is possibly the most informative and interesting tv series that I have ever seen. The personalities are not only extremely knowledgable but they are also intensely passionate about the subject and are able to convey their interest and knowledge to the viewer.

The battles of Britain are described in vivid detail and with the aid of the CGI effects, one can get a great understanding of just how and why the battles unfolded the way they did.

I am enthusiastic about their new series, 20th Century Battlefields and am hopeful that this father son duo will produce many more such series in the years to come.

Bravo Peter and Dan Snow!

A great series for any world history teacher. I like the fact that it has multiple was of displaying the battlefield as well as giving background information of the battles. I plan on using a clip of the series for one of my lesson plans.
A good series!

I saw the Episode about the battle of the Boyne and if the rest of the series is like this its a must have! Excellent innovative way to portray battle scenes!