Product Details

• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: January 30, 2007
• Run Time: 50 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000KN7C3K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,138 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Kultur Release Date: 01/30/2007

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Time Waster, February 11, 2007

By 

Catherine A. McClarey (Dwight, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brother Against Brother: The Spanish Civil War (DVD)

I have long been fascinated with the Spanish Civil War and bought this DVD with high expectations. What a disappointment! Rather than a history of the Spanish Civil War, it is mostly a look at Brits who served in the International Brigades, based around the memories of a few elderly members. The overview of the war is weak with no coverage of the events that led up to the Spanish Civil War, little coverage of the political events during the war, virtually no coverage of daily life in the Nationalist and Republican zones, etc. The focus is firmly on the battles fought by the International Brigades, but little attempt is made to place these engagements in the context of the war and the descriptions of the battles are weak. Anyone not already familiar with the war would have been perplexed by this presentation.

As stated earlier in this review, the focus is on the Brits. No coverage is given to so many of the interesting facets of this war. The Requetes are not mentioned. Neither is the Anarchist leader Durruti. Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera and the Phalange are absent. Franco is reduced to a figure in old newsreels and no background is given to him. The only Republican leader to receive much treatment is La Passionaria, and this is largely in the context of memories of her by the Brits of the International Brigades.

As one might expect from the focus on the International Brigades, the tone of the presentation is overwhelmingly left-wing. A British historian is shown sporadically, and he does his best to present accurate information on the war, but the narration and the rest of the presentation largely reduces this complex struggle to a leftist fable of good Republicans against evil Fascists.

From the credits I believe the film was actually produced in 1995. If that fact had been mentioned, and if it had been emphasized that the DVD was mostly about the reminiscences of British members of the International Brigade, I would have awarded it two stars. I think it would still be a poor piece of work, but I would have known what I was getting. I give it one star because it was marketed as a history of the Spanish Civil War, and it is not.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clearly explained, splendidly illustrated, May 21, 2007

By 

Volunteer of America (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Brother Against Brother: The English Civil War (DVD)

Charles I: living in the past, stubbornly holding onto power, unreasonably religious, surrounded by evil counsellors, squandering his subjects' wealth. Sound at all familiar? Anyway, this DVD is an excellent, quite thorough explanation of the English Civil War (1641-1645), its causes, events, and impact on society. Reenactments, many contemporary documents and pictures, and some erudite dons provide a concise and entertaining history of this bloody and significant conflict.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What happens when the political middle disappears, May 11, 2006

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Brother Against Brother - The Spanish Civil War [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A history professor friend of mine once told me that the Spanish Republic of the middle 1930's was a strange animal. That is quite true and the civil war that devastated Spain when the Republic fought for its' very survival demonstrates the terrible consequences when the political center disintegrates. Decades of suppressed political animosity exploded when the Republic seized power, thousands of priests and other politicians of the right wing were executed. This naturally led to a backlash; the military revolt that started the civil war was predictable.
Unfortunately for Spain, it was also a proxy war, where other countries felt they had a stake in the outcome. Germany under Hitler wanted to test new war strategies and equipment and Italy under Mussolini wanted to show their military prowess. Both wanted to damage the international communist movement, which was the strongest backer of the Republican side. Each side massacred people of the other side and the Stalinist communists killed the POUM communists. When Franco finally won, several hundred thousand people considered political opponents were killed.
This tape relives the terrible tragedy of that war, the incredible idealism among the Republican volunteers and the cynicism of the politicians. Two members of the International Brigades tell their story and historian Richard Robinson explains what was going on in the broader sense. Britain and France were notable largely for what they did not do, namely strongly support the legal Republican government. As one of the volunteers points out, if the Republican government had received strong support, it quite likely would have won the war. A defeat of the Franco forces would have changed Europe dramatically, the German and Italian forces would not have returned home victorious and Hitler may have been less adventuresome. Surely Britain and France would have been bolder in their response to the actions of Hitler before the war.
The Second World War began slowly; there were several major events that led to the outbreak in September of 1939. The major event in Europe was the Spanish Civil war, so to understand why the Second World War started; it is necessary to understand the Spanish Civil war. You can achieve that understanding from this tape; years of conflict and international activity are distilled down into fifty minutes. I strongly recommend it for all courses in the history of Europe of the twentieth century.