Customer Reviews

Living in the Past: Medieval Times [VHS]

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I purchased this video to use in my ninth grade world history class. I was pleased with the use of re-creation characters through out the video. The students enjoyed seeing actual people in historic surroundings. (Although I was quick to notice the fact that one of the serfs had "highlighted" hair, the students did not notice). Another strong point of the video was the manner in which segments were categorically separated. For notetaking purposes, students were able to make clear transitions as the video switched from agriculture to recreation to clothes to the church, etceteras. Analyses on the video is made by Dr. Martin Lowry, Dr. Robert Swanston and Andrew Brown. The English accents of the men made some of the dialogue difficult to understand. It is important to prep the the students with some Medieval vocabulary before viewing the film. Also, I would recommend stopping the video and reviewing ideas occasionally. Overall this is a good video that presents facts about life in the middle ages in an informative, somewhat entertaining format.

Don't waste your money. This tape was included as part of a Living in the Past set I bought last year. I expected a high quality presentation on the several time periods filmed but returned the tapes after only a partial viewing. This could have been a fascinating study. Unfortunately the film and sound quality were subpar and the format was off the charts boring. I've bought a number of tapes/DVDs on ancient and medieval history. Most are excellent. This one's not.

My middle school students HATED this documentary - and I can't blame them. (It also drove me to gouge out my eyes... well, not really, but it was bad!) What a mistake buying this video. The picture quality and sound are terrible. The expert professors, who are supposed to add interest and insight, are utterly boring and have very, very bad hair (which is highly distracting to 7th graders)! Don't bother with this video. If you're looking for a good video, check out the "Life in the Middle Ages" series instead. It explores the lives of people from the Middle Ages in a language that students can understand! (For example, instead of "The compelling complexity of a stratified society..." (like in this terrible video) the narrator in "Life in the Middle Ages" says, "So - what's the low down on medieval knights?" The kids loved it. Plus there are historical reenactments and awesome footage of European castles and medieval festivals.