Dikke Bertha Posted 2 November , 2004 Share Posted 2 November , 2004 Hello I am not sure if this is the right place to discuss a DVD but I have just bought the boxed set of "The Great War" on DVD produced by the BBC. I have read that there were scenes in it taken from films, as distinct from documentary footage, and used to illustrate some of the action scenes. I have just finished watching volume 1 and, although I reserve judgement on the content, I have to say I am very impressed by some of the footage especially the battle of Le Cateau. This has to be the film footage referred to. Does anybody know of a film made showing the BEF in action in 1914??? It certainly looks very impressive. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie Posted 2 November , 2004 Share Posted 2 November , 2004 I am not sure if this is the right place to discuss a DVD but I have just bought the boxed set of "The Great War" on DVD produced by the BBC. Hi Dikke B, I am VERY envious..as a matter of interest did you win it on Ebay? Robbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dikke Bertha Posted 3 November , 2004 Author Share Posted 3 November , 2004 Robbie - why do you ask? Do you know if the scenes came from a film? Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie Posted 3 November , 2004 Share Posted 3 November , 2004 Hi Dikke, no reason other than it is rare to find the full set on Ebay. Robbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gRANdson Posted 3 November , 2004 Share Posted 3 November , 2004 Just a quick aside on "the great war" dvd box set. I found a complete box sets on eBay for about £50. This was significantly cheaper than the versions I had seen elsewhere that had varied in price between £80-100. It was cheaper because it was the Chinese version [all narration and support material was in English, with the option of turning on Chinese subtitles if required!]. HOWEVER, the quality of the disc pressing was so poor that only a few of the discs played. I thought it was just that batch, so I returned the set and waited patiently for another auction. Again, I won a set for about £50...and again it was the Chinese version. This time I tested all the discs on 4 different dvd players...and again only a few discs worked. I eventually won an eBay auction for the ENGLISH version [paying closer to £65] - and it all worked perfectly, first time. Of all the histories/documentaries I have seen, this is BY FAR the best. All I would say is, watch out for the suspect imprints and try and hold out for the English version whenever possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dikke Bertha Posted 3 November , 2004 Author Share Posted 3 November , 2004 Hello Robbie gRANdson seems to have found three full sets? Does anybody know if the scenes came from a film? Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie Posted 3 November , 2004 Share Posted 3 November , 2004 Not sure mate. Robbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IMDB Fan Posted 10 October , 2005 Share Posted 10 October , 2005 Did anyone watch THE 50 GREATEST DOCUMENTARIES on channel 4 last night ? I`m just asking because this documentary can claim to have been a contender for the greatest documentary series ever I noticed THE WAR GAME was included which is strange because I don`t ever recall a nuclear attack on Britain ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 10 October , 2005 Share Posted 10 October , 2005 Modern times, short memories IMDB, modern times, short memories. In a few years I'm sure even The War Game will have been replaced by some episode of Wife Swap. Probably the one with Lizzy "stop looking at my ******** husband Bardsley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IMDB Fan Posted 10 October , 2005 Share Posted 10 October , 2005 You could be right Spike , I don`t think reality TV should count as documentary anyway I Rate THE GREAT WAR as just about the greatest documentary series ever and typical of the BBC they released the DVD set several months before they repeated the whole series on BBC 2 . I bet few people here never even knew that it was repeated on BBC 2 at 2pm weekdays in the Spring of this year What sort of extras does the DVD box set have ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIFFO Posted 11 October , 2005 Share Posted 11 October , 2005 go look in sales and wants bargain of the year,so ok its on vhs but not iffy not chinese "when you put in the chinese version in video m/c is the slit the other way up?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armourersergeant Posted 12 October , 2005 Share Posted 12 October , 2005 Hello Robbie gRANdson seems to have found three full sets? Does anybody know if the scenes came from a film? Regards <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can not tell you wether the shots came from a film, but i can say that a film about the retreat from Mons was shot around 1924 as I beleive Smith-Dorrien actually appeared in it, as himself obviously. Its very unlikely that any Cameras were in the line in 1914! regards Arm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 12 October , 2005 Share Posted 12 October , 2005 The use of inappropriate footage to illustrate certain scenes in 'The Great War' has been much criticized. However the makers were forced to use whatever footage thay had to hand, and in my view did a remarkable job. The odd thing to my mind is the failure to identify the eyewitnesses interviewed on camera-a mistake rectified in 'The World At War', in many ways an unofficial sequel. In that series all sorts of footage is used, spliced together with bits of completely different films with a manufactured soundtrack added on, but I haven't read many complaints about that. On the whole I think it is still preferable to most of the ham acting 'reconstructions' which make many otherwise good historical documentaries of today unintentionally comic. If I see the shadowy form of a fat bald actor with a cigar waddling across the screen plotting the downfall of Hitler once more I think I shall hurl the remote control through the telly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lund Posted 12 October , 2005 Share Posted 12 October , 2005 I have just received a catalogue from DD Home Entertainment, they are offering The Great War Boxed Set DVD’s at £69.99. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedley Malloch Posted 12 October , 2005 Share Posted 12 October , 2005 The history of the making of this series is interesting. They mixed commercial film with contemporary footage. It was all made in a tremendous hurry to meet the deadlines imposed by the impending 50th anniversary of WW1, so much so that when the screening started they had not finished the last six episodes. It's small wonder that short cuts were taken. Another device used to speed things up was to reverse the negatives where necessary so that Allied troops are always shown attacking left to right; Germans right to left. This made continuity, script-writing and other aspects of production quicker. Again, it's not what really happened. When it was first shown in 1964, it was broadcast on Friday evenings and repeated on the following Sunday afternoon. The pubs would empty ... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIFFO Posted 22 October , 2005 Share Posted 22 October , 2005 the great war bbc 7 dvd set £49.99 www.ddhe.co.uk tel order line 0845 1236949 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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