Jesse Posted 13 February , 2011 Share Posted 13 February , 2011 Very nice, Mike. Here in the U.S., in our great bubble, such productions are generally deemed "not audience worthy". "pertinent", or "relevant", and so never see the screen. Thus, having access to them thru online sources is a great blessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhicks0 Posted 2 July , 2011 Share Posted 2 July , 2011 The productions of "The History Channel" are not half as good as this. It was great to hear the testimony of so many veterans. Thanks for putting this online! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckandbullets Posted 2 July , 2011 Share Posted 2 July , 2011 Just a quick statement to say this post is to get Skipman's brilliant link onto my contents as a quick shortcut. I'm ready to start part 4 later. Going outside now to change engine oil. Many Thanks to Skipman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 5 July , 2011 Share Posted 5 July , 2011 I've just finished watching the whole of this series, spread out over a number of weeks. An amazing enterprise it was, and thanks to Skipman for highlighting it, and the guy who downloaded it on to Yu-tube. Not without its faults of course, notably in the editing -- Russians crossing a river before Tannenberg became Brits crossing the Aisne after Mons in a subsequent episode, and it was extraordinary how many left-handed Germans there were, with the bolts on their rifles to match . Also virtually nothing about the war in the air and absolutely nothing at all about the African campaign (was this because of a lack of adequate film footage?). I wondered how much of the footage was really shot during the event in question (there was more than a bit of doubling up, e.g. pickelhaubes seem to have been worn in combat later than I thought) and I suspect bits of feature films also crept in. But the idea of adding sound effects to the silent film was brilliant. I'd have liked to see more of the veterans' contributions, but there you go. Has anyone done a 'making of' on this series? I suppose if they did it again it would all be "colorized" -- yuck. cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 5 July , 2011 Share Posted 5 July , 2011 Martin. I once saw a documentary on the making of the series, Maybe 5 yrs ago? Have never seen it since, but it was very interesting. One Woman, who interviewd one of the veterans, spoke of how he seemed to be relivng his experiences, at one point, and chased her about the room. I think it was quite traumatic for both of them. Cheers Mike It may be added on to the DVD version? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 6 July , 2011 Admin Share Posted 6 July , 2011 The lady was Julia Cave. For the making of programme she interviewed John Terraine who was by then in failing health. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest exuser1 Posted 6 July , 2011 Share Posted 6 July , 2011 out of intrest befor the series was released to DVD or Video ,the IWM held a copy that they would release to a member of the public ,IF he was a direct relative of one of the old soliders who had been interviewd for the series ! and only the episode in which he appeard ! when i was a member of the WFA back in the early 90s one member of our branch had 2 episodes in which his father appeard ,many of the members had never seen the series and those of us that had were shocked at how young many of the old boys appeared to us who were by now in our 40s and 50s ,one critisism many raised were that it never detailed the unit the old solider was with ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMeech Posted 7 July , 2011 Share Posted 7 July , 2011 Dear All Having watched this series when I was young and more recently bought the DVD set and watched it (and now with more knowledge of the war), I feel it was very good for its time and with the material available. On the plus side there were the veterens available to interview, with the caveats mentioned in previous posts. However, it was released before much of the documentation on the war in the PRO became available to the public (1969-70ish) so the reliance was on war memoirs and the Official Histories for overviews and detail. So some things are not dealt with fully. But, of course, it was a massive series for the time (and probably no one would do it today) and gives a 'not too bad' overall view of the war, although we could all pick out various things that could have been done better, eg. aviation and East Africa. Despite the problems over the film used some interesting things do turn up when you watch it on DVD, and can pause it, for example in Episode 17 there is some film of a Lewis gun team in action with a flare burning in the bottom of the trench in the foreground. This is the location troops would place flares to indicate their location to Contact Aeroplanes (my particular interest) which is rarely illustrated, it also shows the amount of smoke given off which was a worry to many troops. The 'Battle of the Somme' (footage from this is used in 'The Great War Series') film released by the IWM also has items of interest on the subject of 'Contact Patrols' with troops wearing the familiar 'tin triangles', actually in two variants it appears, but also in various scenes troops are equipped with 'cloth flaps' on their 'back packs', again a method used in conjunction with flares to indicate their location to CP machines but not normally associated with The Somme. The use of aviation in the 'Great War', although relatively minor in the overall scheme of things, was actually of some importance to the troops on the ground this includes the more well known Artillery Spotting and Photo Recce but also the lesser known Contact Patrol and Counter Attack Patrol as well as the dedicated air support squadrons for the Cavalry and the Tank Corps. In any 100th Anniversary year of the war one wonders if any TV company would be interested in dealing not only these aspects of the air/ground war but other subjects and events that have been missed or glossed over in previous series like the Great War? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest exuser1 Posted 7 July , 2011 Share Posted 7 July , 2011 and of course if you watched it first time around in 64 like me as a young lad there was a good chance you were watching it with someone who was there who would fill in a lot of the blanks and also get a running commentry ,i would watch this with my grandad who was pre war regular went over early August 14 with 4th Hussars ,also with nan watching who was on the strength and in Ireland so you got both points off view ,also i would assume if re done for the 100th there would be a lot more footage not known in 1964 from eastern europe ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckandbullets Posted 8 July , 2011 Share Posted 8 July , 2011 That poor chap left with the short straw in the trench, surrounded by dead comrades at the beginning of each section of the film, does anyone know anything about him? The look on his face when the camera zooms in is daunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 That poor chap left with the short straw in the trench, surrounded by dead comrades at the beginning of each section of the film, does anyone know anything about him? The look on his face when the camera zooms in is daunting. All is not as it appears. There is a thread on it somewhere? I think the image is of a working party (Irish unit?) with a bit of camera trickery regarding the bodies in trench. I agree his face tells a different story. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckandbullets Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 All is not as it appears. There is a thread on it somewhere? I think the image is of a working party (Irish unit?) with a bit of camera trickery regarding the bodies in trench. I agree his face tells a different story. Mike Ah, I had my suspicions, the camera man if a genuine carnage picture , would either have to be very callous or have sloping broad shoulders considering the dead comrades with one surviving soldier in the daunting zoom in. Would like to know the title of said thread, there are so many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 " Would like to know the title of said thread " Sorry, not sure. It may have been part of an answer to a different thread. I have certainly read it somewhere. I'm sure someone else will be able to help. Cheers Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 Click Here Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckandbullets Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 Click Here Mike Thanks Mike, From what I can gather by the "Famouse British Face of the Somme" ( who was this soldier), he was WALTER GIRVAN,according to the link. In the real photo with some comrades surrounding him smiling, he is looking at us as though he knows more than he is letting on. Post 32,33,34 ,the photos by The Somme Association are no longer there on my computer with a red cross on the picture. As you know you can then lead onto other threads from this one, like the haunting pictures. Its nice to give it a break and look out the window or go onto Skindles for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista52 Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 IWM Photo Q1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 That poor chap left with the short straw in the trench, surrounded by dead comrades at the beginning of each section of the film, does anyone know anything about him? The look on his face when the camera zooms in is daunting. All is not as it appears. There is a thread on it somewhere? I think the image is of a working party (Irish unit?) with a bit of camera trickery regarding the bodies in trench. I agree his face tells a different story. As Mike says all is not as it appears - the image as it appears is actually two separate photographs that have been well spliced together to create a shot that never was... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckandbullets Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 As Mike says all is not as it appears - the image as it appears is actually two separate photographs that have been well spliced together to create a shot that never was... Thanks Andrew, See post 62 and post 65 following Mikes posting of the link. (The real photo with others smiling around him are on the other link). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Connolly Posted 9 July , 2011 Share Posted 9 July , 2011 For our American readers - I got the "Great War" series on DVD after looking on e-bay - one of our daily papers here in the UK (the Daily Mail) gave away DVD disks of the whole series. Canny buyers collected the lot and then sold them on. They *may* still be available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckandbullets Posted 10 July , 2011 Share Posted 10 July , 2011 I'm pecking away at Mike's link slowly but surely, now ready for no 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Wig Posted 28 July , 2011 Share Posted 28 July , 2011 Very nice, Mike. Here in the U.S., in our great bubble, such productions are generally deemed "not audience worthy". "pertinent", or "relevant", and so never see the screen. Thus, having access to them thru online sources is a great blessing. Jesse...my sentiments too mate. As an Aussie living in the US, I find it a bit frustrating, 'missing out' on so many docos mentioned on the Forum. But...the cool thing about the forum is getting access to stuff, via postings like Mike's. Cheers Wig For our American readers - I got the "Great War" series on DVD after looking on e-bay - one of our daily papers here in the UK (the Daily Mail) gave away DVD disks of the whole series. Canny buyers collected the lot and then sold them on. They *may* still be available. Rob, thanks for the tip mate, much appreciated ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckandbullets Posted 9 September , 2011 Share Posted 9 September , 2011 Mike Once again many thanks for this thread of the BBC now completed. I'm still learning but through the thread I now know a lot more. My comment that is the obvious but cannot be contained :- WHAT A WASTE OF LIFE WITH MORE TO COME ! The Eagle will return to the nest and turn on Eagle or Cockerel and the Tank shall rule for a time and we shall have WAR ! Mars and Ares will urge all on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warra48 Posted 19 December , 2011 Share Posted 19 December , 2011 Many thanks for posting this. Very interesting, and it gives me a perspective beyond just the Australian involvement. I read Les Carlyon's book, The Great War, last year, and was quite confused about many aspects. Fortunately, in June this year my wife and I did a tour of the Western Front, concentrating largely on the Australian connection, as 90% of those on the tour were Aussies. It now makes a lot more sense, and I'm re-reading Les Carlyon's book with much more understanding. I was interested to do the tour as my wife's great-uncle left Australia for Gallipoli, but it was over before he got to Alexandria. He was subsequently sent to the Western Front, where he was injured. He was repatriated to Australia, presumably because of his injuries, and never returned. He lived into the 1970s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckandbullets Posted 3 October , 2012 Share Posted 3 October , 2012 This post is to hopefully get Mike's links back on my contents to give me my short cut. Thanks to Mike for doing all the donkey work. Regards MN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now