WW1 100th Anniversary Collection

GREAT FOOTAGE, BUT ALL THREE DOCUMENTARIES (6 DISCS) HAVE MEDIOCRE NARRATION AND PRODUCTIONFirst of all, this is WWI so you already know the footage is going to be grainy and poor. These three previously released documentaries are thrown together in a condensed package for a bit of a cash grab on the 2014 anniversary of the start of the war. There was minimal restoration of the footage, though production values are fairly bland. The narration is passable, but dry and wanting on all three. The War Birds series probably had the most tinkering with the footage in terms of restoration or colorization.Pacific Media version  The Great War - 1914 -1918Gives a background of key developments in each year of the war. Footage is great but narration is pretty weak. Low production values and the streaming version I linked to got mostly less than 3 star average. What's worse, I noticed that some small introduction and transitions are cut from this set that was in the narration. Further, the Air Power and Sea War episodes are not listed for this set. Here is the link to the individual DVD release instead of streaming.  The Great War  It has the same issues as the group set I review here.Air warfare series  War Birds Over The Trenches This is the story of the beginning of war in the sky. This 5 part series covers some ground war for context, the impetus that lead to air warfare, air battles, aces, zeppelins, advances, and interviews that give one an idea of what it was like to be a fighter pilot in the first air combat. Lots of great footage including some colorized and even zeppelin raids that I hadn't seen before. The narration was about par, but two historical commentators were less good and even detracted in my opinion. This documentary focuses quite a bit on the ground war despite its title.Mill Creek Entertainment  WWI War: The War to End All Wars "WWI: The War To End All Wars is a unique, 10-part, comprehensive look at the war that shaped the 20th Century. Through rare, actual battle footage and rare veteran interviews, The War To End All Wars takes you from the assassination of the Austrian Arch Duke in 1914, to the final desperate battles of 1918. Unique and stunning, you will "go-over-the-top" on the Western Front and witness the carnage in Russia. You''ll take to the skies in the world''s first air war and ride with the legendary Lawrence of Arabia."--- Again, the main complaints I and others had on this show was the poor narration and production values.Overall, I gave it passing grade at 3 stars mainly because of the condensed packaging, interesting footage and economical choice to collect all three. I have seen it as low as $11. One can find better documentaries all round than these however.

Product came timely and in good shape.

This is a video series composed of archival footage, voice-over commentary and interviews with historians and World War One reenactors. The producers match the archival footage with the battles presented, and describe the political issues in play at the given moment. So, the viewer is carried along in both the sense of overall history and the boots-on-the ground experience of the soldiers.The really special part of this series is that the archival footage includes interviews and commentaries from World War One veterans, some from the trenches, others in command positions. One of the soldiers offered his impression of the Christmas cease fire he participated in. If the production is not quite as polished as, say, the Ken Burns Civil War series, the comments from these veterans more than makes up for that. These men are all gone now, and we'll never hear their voices again.

Wished I had read the other reviewer's comments about this being a compilation of previously released separate DVD's.If I had, I would have discovered that I already own one of them and foolishly ordered a second one as a separate item! Oh well, that isn't Amazon's fault. As for the other reviewers comments about the condition of the footage, I have my own opinion on that.I find it fascinating that film survives of the battles and the military people responsible at all. Oh sure, I know silent movies may have been made at that time, but someone to film battles then seems unheard of. Therefore, I believe restoring them would be a disservice to the actual events and the sacredness of the war. Yes, it is hard to watch the old footage with its 100 year old film technology, but it would be harder still to watch if it were colorized or changed in any way-IMHO.The reason I am giving this three stars is not because of content, but rather it is because it's too expensive for something that is not new.

A great addition to my military video library. The first two disks are more academic with historians often inserting insight into the situation. The third and fourth discuss the air war, but often repeat material from the first two disks. The last two disks, fifth and sixth, make the whole set valuable and worth the price. The last two disks go through a narration of each year of the war in five episodes. Awesome detail, without being boring.

I liked it. I saw a better WW1 program on cable tvCalled apocalypse WW 1, it was a four part documentary. Highly recommend if you can find it

I would buy this again if I needed to

An outstanding and concise history of the War to end all Wars! Great restored films of the war only wish that colored films were available back in those days. A good history overall of the war.

nothing new here