Customer Reviews

The British Empire in Color

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There was indeed a time when the sun never set upon the globe-spanning British empire whose peak was reached under the reign of Queen Victoria. Ably narrated by Art Malik, the 20th century decline and eventual collapse of that venerable empire is superbly documented in an historical survey that is unique in that it is presented with color film taken from major archives and private collections. Presented in three major parts (The Decline of Empire; The Fall of Empire; The Aftermath of Empire), this mini-series charts Britain's empire country by country, beginning with India, justifiably considered the chief jewel in the imperial crown., "The British Empire In Color" proceeds with an informed and informative overview of both British contributions with respect to education, technology, law, and democracy to its possession, as well as the prejudice, discrimination, cultural bigotry and racism it fostered as a means of controlling its subject populations. Covering the partition of India and Pakistan, the creation of Palestine and Israel, the Suez crisis, the rise of Black Nationalism leading to the emancipation of the African colonies, the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese, and more. Of special note is the use of personal letters and diary excerpts from both the British and their colonial subjects. Enhanced with the inclusion of a 26-minute 'making of' documentary on how the series was researched and developed, "The British Empire In Color" is a superb production and a very highly recommended addition for personal, community, and school library DVD collections in general.

Delightfully, more color film continues to be found, restored and shared. History does live in our present beliefs, conflicts, loves and tragedies; it was, as it is now, in glorious, gory color. Maybe these newer generations, not as protected by B&W, will pay better attention to our human story. Amazing to see Gandhi in color, and as one who spent a brief 3 years in colonial East Africa (58-61, me being 8-11 years old), the material on the Mau-Mau uprising and Kenya's eventual independence was simply astounding. History fans, anglophiles, documentary film enthusiasts should be well pleased. My only wish is for more, even more of this stuff, please and thank you.

I am a great fan of documentaries. And I have seen many on the British empire. This is exceptional and singular. As a product of a British stlye education in post colonial Ghana, I was entralled to follow the events leading to Ghana's independence in 1957. In truth, it all started with Gandhi. It is all the more thrilling to watch the account on modern day Britain; a true potpourri of the remnants of degradation of empire.

This is one of the most stunning documentaries I've seen, and I've seen many hundreds of them. This is real color (not colorized) motion picture film of the British Empire, including London scenes, from the 1920s and earlier and later. The producers also provide us with a sober narration and include acted quotes from letters and the like in the format that's become so familiar. If you are either an Anglophile or a history buff, or are just fascinated by early newsreels, home movies, or documentary footage, pounce!

If you are expecting to see something of a balanced history of the British Empire (good, bad, ugly) illustrated with color video - you are half right.

The film is in color. And generally, the source video quality was quite good.

The program itself is not a comprehensive history of the empire or even the end of the empire. There are some interesting film sequences (though few I'd classify as outstanding) that seemed to miss most of the target. It was very heavy on India and Israel and sparse on other parts of the empire.

The editorial view is left of center, and many film bits seem to be used to set up some negative quotation or to show anyone who hadn't figured it out by that point in the film, that the empire was bad.

The lack of even a pretense at being an unbiased (or merely comprehensive) study of the subject was surprising.

I was so put off by the dvd, that I ordered the companion book (through an Amazon re-seller) to see if the text was as pompous as the video.

Can you say "sucker?"

Actually, the text was worse than the dvd, the book's author observing that Mountbatten was appointed Viceroy "to ensure that the British would leave their precious Raj with dignity."

That the Falklands War "proved very little except that the British had lost very little of their pugilistic nature."

And of England today "Britain is now a microcosm of its old empire: Not a global empire of ruler and ruled, but a society of equals, all sharing the mother country. Now Britain has to learn to live with that."

Sort of like "You ate all those pies, you fat s.o.b., now deal with the high cholesterol and have an early heart attack! You'll be better off when you're submerged in a Franco-German Europe and, where your grandkids will speak Esperanto, anyway!"

Ironically, lefty text to the side, the book has a better representation of color images of the empire than the dvd set did, so if I had it to do over - I'd buy the book and skip the dvd.

While the imagery shown was 1st rate and a joy to see. I frankly was put off by the narration. While once in a while, mention was made of the good done by the British. They lovingly detailed every goof, mistake and evil deed done in the name of the Empire. Which is a pity as the British Empire is a great story that needs to be told but without the bias.