ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Mark Rizo (baltopro) I just finished watching the series again, for at least the fifth time. "The Great War" is one of the best historical documentaries ever made - on-par with Ken Burns' "The Civil War" - and is the definitive program on the subject matter.Rather than rehash all that's already been said, I would like to make a couple of (hopefully) fresh observations.This series' soundtrack is an audio masterwork. Aside from occasional interviews, photos, and graphics cutaways, "The Great War" is necessarily comprised primarily of SILENT film footage. The sound added is done so well, it took me some time to remember this.It is a tour de force of "foley" - sound effects added after the fact. Scenes of men in camp, on the march, and in battle - shots that would otherwise be silent - are meticulously enhanced with believable ambient sounds: footsteps falling, metal clanging, wind blowing, horses snorting, flies buzzing, men shouting, etc.Add to this the haunting score by the BBC Northern Orchestra, Michael Redgrave's mesmerizing narration, character voiceovers by a talented cast, plus the voices of actual veterans. Sound and visual mesh seamlessly and with perfect pacing.The series does have one glaring weak spot: Very little discourse on the weapons and technology of the war.The use of poison gas is detailed, there is mention of flame throwers, and the viewer is told there were varying sizes of artillery. Submarines and surface warships are given a cursory review. That's about it. For the most part, no information is provided about weapons development or capability - virtually nothing on aircraft, tanks, machine guns, or small arms.For example, unless learned outside the series, a viewer could assume that semi-automatic assault rifles were standard issue in WWI. It's amazing that, in over 17 hours of content, you never hear the terms "Enfield rifle", "Mauser rifle", or even "bolt-action".Almost nothing is said about the medical technology of the era, or the huge advances made in treatment, like blood transfusions becoming practical. Little is said about disease. The "Spanish Flu" of 1918 was the worst pandemic in human history, resulting in some 50 million deaths, including more than half of all US servicemen who died in the war, but it is never mentioned.I guess I'm kind of a tech guy. To its credit, The Great War does avoid falling into a pit of techno-babble that might bore the casual viewer. The program consistently stays on-point: the mindset of the era, how and why historical events took their course, and how the war impacted the common soldier and citizen.Though the series finale spends much time on the Allied celebration of the armistice, it does not mention the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations, or any of the shortcomings made in concluding WWI (key factors in having to fight the war all over again in 21 years, on an even greater scale). I suppose this would have been anti-climatic, but they could have thrown-in at least a sentence or two about the war's legacy. On the other hand, maybe it's just as well - there's a bazillion documentaries on WWII that start where "The Great War" leaves off. WWI was a watershed event in human history that deserves due consideration outside of WWII's shadow, and "The Great War" drives this point home.That being said, a true understanding of the Second World War is not possible without an in-depth understanding of the First World War, and "The Great War" is the best source for this that I know of. Bottom line: "The Great War" is a highly engaging and relevant program, even 50 years after its first showing, and 100 years after the start of WWI. It's a must-see for anyone interested in 20th century and/or military history, and should be required viewing for everyone.

filmnoirfilms-1 As a great fan of THE WORLD AT WAR series, THE GREAT WAR was not a disappointment. Essential the same layout, THE GREAT WAR is the best series on WWI. Leave it to the Brits to make a fantastic documentary on this subject, vastly superior to later efforts like the the Robert Ryan / CBS series, the 1990's THE GREAT WAR series and film THE GUNS OF AUGUST.If there is a fault, it's that is it doesn't move at the quick pace of the THE WORLD AT WAR, but hey, WWII is a much more exciting war. Also, if you live in the states only PAL versions are available. I picked mine up on EBAY, the Chinese version with subtitles. Other than that it makes a must bookend for TWAW.

BusyBusey Even though it was nearly 40 years old and in Black & White "The Great War" immediatly grabbed my attention with its music,truly shocking images and excellent narration.The start alone would be worth a "10" score,showing a British soldier staring blankly beside a German Officers gruesome corpse whilst that haunting,bombastic music plays."The Great War" as it was known before before that other War is a Brilliant and Intelligent series about the First World war that certainly does not hold back.As i said some of the images are truly shocking with film footage of British,French and German dead shown through-out the series,yet this is vital in showing the futility of war and in particular,"The Great War itself." Certainly some of the images you see in this series you will not be able to forget forexample even though i saw the "Gallipoli" over 6 months ago i can still remember the ending showing a British or ANZAC soldier with his head in hands whilst the credits rolled and the sublime score brought the episode to an end.Also the pictures of Lancashires Landing from the same episode are equally hard to forget even though they were just drawings.I can honestly say that Music,Imagery and Narration has never been used together so well,not even in "The World at War"On the negative side,Propaganda footage was used far to often and was easy to spot(just look at the angle the camera was facing) as was some of the same footage. Also British High Command seemed to get off rather lightly in "The Somme" episode.Because although Haig and Rawlinson should certainly not take all of the blame it annoyed me that they didnt recieve any critcism and the 'inexperience' of the British army was often highlighted as the main problem as far as that battle is concerned.Also of the interviews with those that fought in the war,i didnt think there was enough ordinary British soldiers to give their opinion and to many 'Cut-glass' accented men.Nothing against those men,just i dont think it was a fair representation,regardless of how they speak.But my complaints are certainly minor and i would advise anyone with an interest in the First World war to watch this or buy the DVD.

Dr. Barry Worthington (shrbw) In the early 1960's the BBC had a very talented production team that had come together to make a nightly 'magazine' feature called 'Tonight'. They somehow became part of a project to create a series about the First World War (then still known by some people as the 'Great War').Something of this magnitude had never before been attempted in Britain. It required a great deal of painstaking research and assembling still photographs and archive film from all over the world. More to the point, at this period, a large number of the participants were still alive and could be interviewed - the series is a priceless exercise in 'oral history'.The principal historical consultant and writer was John Terraine, the foremost military historian of the time, and Michael Redgrave was engaged to speak the narration.The series appeared in 1964, when I saw it as a child. It was an outstanding success, and spawned a rather weaker sequel, 'The Lost Peace'.Then, for reasons best known to themselves, the BBC sat on the tapes. Some isolated episodes were sometimes shown at the Imperial War Museum in London, but the series was largely forgotten.However, it has recently been re-released in its entirety as five double video packs. It should not be confused with any other series of a similar title - this remains the original and the best!