Customer Reviews

Winston Churchill

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're looking for a DVD on and about Sir Winston Churchill this is definitely the one to get. Presented and narrated by Sir Winston's official biographer Martin Gilbert, he takes the viewer through the course of the subject's life and to some of the locations of note in Sir Winston's life. He takes the viewer through the high and low points of his life as well as some of his formative years. Interlaced in this presentation are interviews with those that have actually known him as well as his daughter and his grandson namesake. A must have.

Winston Churchill, a two-DVD set from The History Channel, will delight both connoisseurs and neophytes. Archival footage, interviews with people who knew Churchill and, last but not least, narrative by Winston's official biographer Martin Gilbert make this series stand out among the visual productions dedicated to Churchill. Gilbert makes Churchill accessible to a wide audience by keeping his narrative both erudite and lighthearted.

In Volume I, Gilbert opts for a chronological approach to his subject. Describing Churchill, however, is tricky. First, Churchill, either in turn or concomitantly, was a journalist, historian, soldier, painter, and statesman. Furthermore, as one of his early conquests noted in 1905, "The first time you meet Winston, you see all his faults, and the rest of your life you spend in discovering his virtues." Churchill embodied over time vision and foresight, humanity and sense of fair play, democracy and patriotism, formidable powers of work and thought, as well as controversy, disappointment and abuse.

To his credit, Gilbert clearly narrates the ups and downs in his tumultuous career. Many people, who are unfamiliar with Churchill's biography, can be forgiven for ignoring the many setbacks that Churchill experienced in his early career before finally becoming the iconic figure for which he is generally known today. Sometimes, Churchill was his worst enemy because of his own excesses.

In Volume II, James Faulkner focuses on the workings of the war room from where Churchill led the war against the Axis powers. John Daly then covers the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt and the special relationship that Roosevelt developed with Churchill during WWII. Volume I will probably enthrall more than Volume II because of the stature of its narrator.

To summarize, Winston Churchill ranks among the best productions ever made for a broad audience.

I am a fanatic Winston Churchill enthusiast.

I find, that Sir Martin Gilbert,the most authoritative person still alive, with many (official) written biographies that he has authored on Winston Churchill, along with the last (and no longer living) son of Winston Churchill, who benefacted Sir Gilbert and also authorized Sir Martin Gilbert, to become the official biographer of Winston Churchill.

Since I had previously bought "Biography of His Life and Speeches" DVD, (among many other such dvd's,) I have recently also bought this (two disk)"Winston Churchill (2000)" DVD that Sir Martin Gilbert supervised and narrates.

After collecting a vast amount of documentations, books,DVD's, as well a vast amount of memorabillia, pertaining to and about Winston Churchill. As far as all the DVD's regarding Winston Churchill that I own, I consider THIS "Winston Churchill (2000)" DVD the most authoritative (warts and all)and being the most informative (DVD) biography on the life of Winston Churchill.

If you truly are interested in the history of WWII and the part that Winston Churchill played and was actually was responsible of the victory of WWII, then THIS ("Winston Churchill (2000)" DVD is THE ultimate essential DVD.

J. Levin

My biggest complaint about many filmed biographies is the extensive use of "talking heads" in lieu of archival films and other material when it is clearly available for the subject. That is definitely not the case here. Much archival film and other media material is used which makes this biography far more interesting and throrough. Anyone interested in either WWII or Churchill will not go wrong with this DVD.

I'm older and remember him from my youth. This is a good way to pick up history on one of the most important persons of the 20th century. It's interesting that the British people turned their backs on him when the war was almost won. The British people have seen their country/culture slip considerably since they chose socialism. Dumping Churchill accelerated this slide.

I agree with all the 5 star reviewers that this is a great documentary on Churchill. The amount of detail is amazing, especially all of the live footage from the period. I watched "The Gathering Storm" and "Into the Storm". These are both well done movies and gave me a desire to see what the real Churchill was like. This series will not disappoint and you will be amazed at what this great man did, especially how much time he spent on the front line with the troops during WWII. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Churchill and WWII.

I was disgusted that an apparently high class outfit such as the History Channel would produce an important documentary like this one without closed captions. Most movies today provide that amenity. Only the "intellectual' community seems to disdain to help the hearing impaired. Shame on them!

This is a truly fantastic documentary and is a must for anyone interested in history.

The programme has credibility and is very accurate and there is a lot of unseen footage from the war years.

Great job! Well worth the money!


Winston Churchill

I was really disappointed in this DVD selection. Not much detail about this great man for a 2-dvd set. DVD 1, jumps from one period to another without really informing on the issues and influences on the life of Winston Churchill. The second DVD had nothing do with Churchill and was more of a commercial for the History Channel's other products. Really disappointing this DVD set. For a better option, take a look at Churchill's Bodyguard which is more illustrative and informative on the great man as told by his former Scotland Yard Bodyguard.

I love history, I travel a great deal and am a member of the New York Book Club abd the Aspen book club, I found Churchill very rewarding and have recommended it to friends. I liked this book very much. I enjoyed this book very much because it was just what I was looking for. I try to spread out my reading to keep a wide variety following. This book kept my interest. I liked the balance, the development of the characters and the over all pictures created. I share my reviews with two book clubs, one in New York and the other here in Aspen. I love to share reviews of book as it is so positive and I get great tips. This book will be an added showcase. I try my best to give either a positive review or nothing at all, negative review are worthless to me and those in our book clubs, we look for the positive. This book was just what I was looking for, not too much of anything, fun where it should have been and no so where it needed to be serious. Great job. Other book I recommend are: Obsession Into Darkness (Gay Thriller) this was a real read, I loved it, I've Always Known (Child Abuse) I cried when reading this true story, From Boys to Men (Gay Classic), this was a hot one, Reflections In The Looking Glass - A Murder Mystery That Will Surprise you (Gay Murder Mystery),Ride 'Em Cowboy (Gay Cowboy), The Lady In White (Gay Romance)and if your looking for hot stuff, you may want to try out Sinbad - The Balloon Kingdom (Gay Sailor).