Product Details

• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: Discovery Channel
• VHS Release Date: March 17, 1998
• Run Time: 225 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304880197
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #464,769 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Whether used as primers before a trip to Europe or as journeys in themselves, these tapes delightfully combine history with a little gossip, castle tour with reenactments, giving viewers the flavor of life as it once was inside the fortress walls. Far more than a travelogue, these tapes are bound to send curious viewers scrambling for their encyclopedias to learn more about the eras and figures each castle hosted. But don't expect dry lectures. Narrator Lary Lewman crams each tape with juicy details such as Mad King Ludwig's proclivity toward male company and his drowning under mysterious circumstances and the war between King Henry II's mistress and wife over--among other things--the French miniature castle Chenonceau. Lots of war, lots of torture, lots of madness surrounded the 10 castles focused on in the three 71-minute tapes making up this boxed set from the Learning Channel. Each video (also available individually) examines a different region: Germany and Romania, France and Spain, and the British Isles. Some of the castles have passed into legend through popular culture, such as Ludwig's Bavarian fairy tale Neuschwanstein, the inspiration for Disney's Cinderella castle, and Dracul's Bran Castle, visited by author Bram Stoker while he was writing Dracula. Shakespeare memorialized both Scotland's Glamis and England's Warwick. Still others will be new to viewers, although their stories are no less fascinating. The videos deftly chronicle the rise and fall (often many times over) of each castle and the rebirth of each as a modern tourist attraction. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It will make you tear up!, September 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Castles of Europe [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I watched these films in awe. They put you right there. END

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT HELP, May 19, 2006

By 

M. DETWILER "fairval4" (Martinsburg, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Castles of Europe [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I use this series in my History class and watch as it really brings the past alive for my students. They especially enjoy Castle Dracula and the Grey Lady of Glamis Castle. My only complaint is that more castles aren't included. I believe I remember when this was on TV, they did include more castles. I would be interested in getting the additional castles. This is well worth the investment for any teacher of History.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Castles of Europe, August 8, 2011

By 

sknorth - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Castles of Europe [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I really enjoyed the series on these castles when it was on TV. I was thrilled to find the VHS tapes. I got them promptly, they were well-packaged, and I've already watched the first tape after receiving them this afternoon. Thanks!!!!