Customer Reviews

Century of Warfare:World War I Coll. [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Century of Warfare is a somewhat inconsistent but generally satisfying production that mixes flashes of brilliance with equal doses of mediocrity.

The strength of this set lies in attention to detail, such as the strong opening episode which examines the political and social make-up of the world from the late 1800s up to the start of the First World War. Factors often overlooked by more conventional military history video productions are given their just due, including a refreshingly thorough examination of the Balkan tinderbox.

World War I is given very detailed treatment, particularly in lesser known theaters. For example, the episode entitled Battle Fleets and U-Boats takes the time to cover many secondary naval clashes, as opposed to the usual tunnel-vision emphasis on submarine warfare and the Battle of Jutland.

World War II is a weak spot, primarily because there are more comprehensive works available, in particular the masterful "World at War" series. However, given the overall scope of The Century of Warfare, these are relatively minor weaknesses.

The Korean Conflict is given more than a cursory look, another conspicuous plus for this production. Many minor conflicts which have been largely ignored (at least by Western historians) are also covered.

Production values are excellent, relying on historical footage with no attempt to edit or correct flaws. This insistence on authentic images imparts an almost tangible immediacy and power to the series.

The one serious weakness is in the narration. Robert Powell's droning, monotonous reading of the script is an excellent prescription for insomnia but does little to support what is often a powerful and gripping visual record.

Taken as a whole, the strengths of The Century of Warfare far outweigh its few weaknesses. This is a superior overview of 20th century armed conflicts, a legitimate bargain for students of military history or anyone wishing to see a major factor in this dynamic and too often tragic period of time.

I just recently purchased this DVD set and I am, for the most part, happy with it. I also own the Victory at Sea and The World at War DVD sets and this is a good addition to my collection. V at S and W at W deal only with WW II, so the value of C of W is it's dealing with other 20th century conflicts.

If you are considering buying this collection, please understand that this is a British production (with a British narrator) and has a decidedly British point of view. This should not keep you from purchasing Century of Warfare.

The 20th century is often refered to as the "American Century" for good reason, but you may not get that feeling or understanding from this DVD collection. After watching this, you may get the idea that Great Britain is still a super power as it was at the dawn of the 20th century. That's OK, the videos in this collection are excellent and, even in it's treatment of WW II, there are videos that I have not seen in V at S or W at W.

As for the narration, it has been criticized in other reviews as dull and monotonous. Well, as I said, the narrator is British and he does keep that famous "stiff upper lip," but the narration is insightful and well done.

The Century of Warfare goes beyond just the military aspect of the century and delves into the political, economic, and social events of the century. Yes, Great Britain was a super power at the beginning of the 20th century and the wars she fought took its toll on this nation in more than the loss of life. Perhaps a lesson that should not be lost on the United States today.

This is real history given at the freshman college level. The main information is in the audio with the video as illustrations.

This is in stark contrast to the junior high school level journalism-propaganda type programs on PBS that pass for history lessons.

One shortcoming is that it does not give enough time to the espionage operations of the wars. Another is some minor errors. For example the Bismark is claimed to have been sunk. The captain claimed it was scuttled. Underwater photos of the wreck confirm this.

There are some errors. In the Vietnam portion they describe a general rotating out after two years (standard Army practice) as being relieved of his command. They fail to mention that the final collapse was caused by congress cutting off resupply of critical items such as ammunition. Tet 68 was a US victory. Almost of the Vietcong were killed when they fought to the death instead of retreating. After that the war was carried on by regular army troops of the north who wore civilian clothes. Another error was their inferring that the US public in general had turned against the war by 1972 or so. Nixon won the election by the second greatest landslide in presidential election history. He won over the other candidate who wanted to stop the war immediately and withdraw immediately.

This set more than makes up for the "Disaster" (Victory) At Sea collection recently released by the History Channel.

These discs are wonderfully mastered, with very few recreations ( and those are subtly done ) plus first rate production values: the sound quality is superb, the music plays quitely in the background and adds to the overall effect, rather than being a distraction. The narration is informative, and well paced. The narration comes out front and center in the 5.1 format, with the music providing stereo effects, and the dubbing of the sound effects is well done, and matches the pacing and content of the original silent film well. There is some minor surround info, but that is not a detriment. The discs break the years/events into well chosen blocks, and the net effect is that a great deal of information is presented, without being dull or overbearing. Some of the early moving footage is particularly rare and has been well cleaned up in these transfers. The narrative perspective tends to be British, talking about the "war of 1914-1918" rather than "World War One" as Americans are used to, but the overall effect is very competent and correct. While admitedly no historian, I didn't notice any real gaffs in either facts or the conclusions as presented.
The quality of the transfers is EXCELLENT, holding up very well even on a big screen ( 47" ) in progressive scan. The image is sharp, and well lit. The intro's are a bit repetitous, but at least they don't everwhelm you in blasting modern stereo and then leave the audio to fade out to inteligibility when you get into the program, and each of the 4 major segements on each disc has a "Play all" button so you don't have to endlessly work the remote or the menus.
All in all, a program which displays everything you've come to expect from the History Channel, and provides a level of enjoyment and entertainment you might wish were found on more such DVD sets.
Well worth the cost, and a bargain if you shop around !

Between two World Wars, the Cold War plus numerous other conflicts, the twentieth century proved to be perhaps the most violent in terms of armed conflict. Towards the end of the century Nugus/Martin Productions set out to create a unique visual record of the conflicts that defined the century so much. The result would be The Century Of Warfare, first aired in 1993 and finally released on DVD last year. It is a mammoth twenty-six part documentary series that at, twenty-two and half hours, covers virtually every major and even minor conflict in some detail and is a fine documentary series as well.

The first part of the series is"The Violent Century", which is very much both an overview and introduction to the series. It covers the lead up, fighting and aftermaths of both World Wars plus the Cold War as well. After that it primarily it looks at the advancement of weapons technology including the evolution of submarine--warfare and air-warfare. This first part also looks at the rise of weapons of mass destruction and unconventional warfare and how they changed the face of warfare forever along with the conflicts that rose up in the back half of the century (or at least up until 1993). This episode alone is well worth the price tag as it gives a fine overview of the wars and weapons of the last century.

The heart of the series therefore lies in the nineteen parts that act as its coverage of the two World Wars. Parts two through seven cover World War I in virtually every imaginable detail from the lead up to the war, both the Western and Eastern fronts, the war at sea and the beginnings of air-warfare. Moving on from World War I parts eight through twenty (nearly half the series) is spent on World War II in much the same way though the placing of the parts about the sea and air parts of World War II after the episodes on the war itself seems like odd placing. All of these parts are well produced, full of excellent footage, maps and narration by Robert Powell that make them intriguing looks at the two major conflicts that dominated and shaped the century so much.

The final six episodes of the series look at the conflicts that filled the back half of the twentieth century. This begins with part twenty-one "Iron Curtain" which, much like "The Violent Century", serves as a one episode overview of The Cold War which means that perhaps it does not get as much coverage as it deserved, especially in light of the amount of coverage given to the two World Wars which proceeded it. This is somewhat made up for in parts twenty-two and twenty-four which cover the rise of communism in Asia (including the Korean War) and the Vietnam War respectively which means that both of those conflicts are given plenty of coverage. Part twenty-three "Wars In Peace" looks at many of the other conflicts that occurred including various wars for independence and the Falkland Islands war amongst many, many others and this part is perhaps the most intriguing of the series as a consequence. The final two parts, "War In The Middle East" and "Gulf War And Beyond", are of course somewhat dated some decade and a half on, but these episodes over an invaluable look at the events that would give rise to the conflicts that have shaped much of the conflicts that have so far filled the first decade of the twenty-first century. These parts help to round out the series rather well.

The Century Of Warfare is as good a documentary series as you will probably ever find. By covering both World Wars, the Cold War and numerous other conflicts as well this series goes a long way to show the as many conflicts as possible, no matter how big or small. While some areas may not be covered it as much depth as possible, the series is nonetheless well produced, full of excellent footage, maps and narration by Robert Powell. The result is that the series may very well be the definitive look at the conflicts that not only shaped the last century but continue to have repercussions today.

Purchased these 7 discs several years ago and upon recent review, am still quite content that we have them. Though everything is pretty much in black and white, the choice and quality makes these films well worth watching.

The 7 discs start with "The Violent Century" or overview of modern war and weapons development ending with disc 7 with the "Gulf War and The Future". With each disc covering in length from 156 minutes to over 200. So the viewer covers a time period from Lawrence of Arabia right though the 'jungles of Vietnam' through the 'liberation of Kuwait'.

With The History Channel involved in this presentation, need more be said. This boxed set will stand alone or compliment any other series a viewer may have. For the historian or military historian, this set is a pleasure to watch. And it seemingly goes on forever.

Semper Fi.

This collection is simply a must-have for war buffs and historians. Unlike documentaries filled with talking heads and re-enactments, this one uses extensive use of archival videos with the ominous soundtracks. The narration may at times appear sonombulous but what makes this production so effective is that each segment leads right into the following segment. We learn of the cause-and-effect and the significance of each military technological advancement. This is definitely one of the History Channel's better works.

Focusing on the advancements in technology at the end of the 19th century, we see how discoveries quickly advanced with the introduction of the combustion engine. The tank, blimp, airplane, submarine could not have come about without the perfection of this new device. Instead of being bored to death with hours of tactics and maneuvers and biographies of leading generals, we see instead the work that went into perfecting each new fighting machine. There is not one type of warfare left out.

Although I'm more into social history, my military-buff husband loves this collection. We take turns watching the various DVDs multiple times. "Wow, I didn't know that!" he says a few times during each showing. We both enjoyed the introduction to the onset of the 20th century in the Caribbean and the Phillipines and other parts of the world. And in fact the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s get so much coverage in the first two discs that WWII seems rather redundant. And anyone who has watched war footage on the History Channel will agree that most of its war footage concerns WWII.

If there's a complaint to be made it's that war technology has made so many advances in the last decade (since our air raids over Bosnia in 1995) that an 8th video should be made takling about the many advances we have made in surveillance and tracking devices. Ooops, wait, that's all the start of the sequel due out in 90 years: "The 21st Century of Warfare."

This superb and Outstanding account of WW2 Video footage and voice over are both Excellent.This box set is a must for all who study the events of War

This outstanding documentary, with rare footage and in depth reporting, should be shown to every young person. Too often now we are subjected to revisionist history by those who feel they must get their own particular view across. This documentary doesn't editorialize or try to change history to suit themselves. It just reports what happened. This collection is a must-have for anyone interested in history.

Excellent documentary. Haven't watched the entire series yet, but, if you want to know why, how, and who starts wars, then you must watch. Also alot of info on aircraft development, tanks, ships, etc. Prosperity, economic collaps, civil unrest, dictatorship, war...