Search - War & Civilization - Hosted By Walter Cronkite on DVD

"War & Civilization ... Walter Cronkite ... Koch Vision (200

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 10/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Koch Vision presents "WAR AND CIVILIZATION" (2007) (416 mins/Color) (Widescreen/Dolby Digital) --- This eight-part series examines various developments in the evolution of armed conflict - from technological breakthroughs to tactical innovations - while simultaneously exploring how and why the major military campaigns of the past 3,000 years were fought --- Directed by Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker, Stephen Trombley (Nuremberg), and narrated by broadcasting legend Walter Cronkite, War and Civilization takes an in-depth look at the history of warfare --- Based on the research of military historian John Keegan ("Face of Battle," "The History of Warfare")

The series discusses how wars began out of need, usually agricultural in nature --- Technological advances such as the development of bronze, steel and the splitting of the atom have changed the face of warfare --- The series also touches on just about every major military campaign in history --- Take note the series main focus is the evolution of warfare.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
EPISODES:
DISC ONE (1) -- War and Civilization
1. Open [1:09]
2. First Blood - Greek Phalanx Warfare [21:11]
3. Pursia [10:55]
4. Macedonia [10:20]
5. Alexander [7:51]
6. Credits [:29]

1. Open [1:09]
2. Empires & Armies - The Roman and Chinese Empires [21:11]
3. Asia [10:55]
4. Germans [10:20]
5. Britain [7:51]
6. Credits [:29]

1. Open [1:09]
2. Horse Warriors - Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan and Samurai Warriors [21:11]
3. Muhammad [10:55]
4. Normandy [10:20]
5. Boshido [7:51]
6. Credits [:29]

DISC TWO (2) -- War and Civilization
1. Open [1:02]
2. Gunpowder - The Fall of Constantinople and the Aztec Empire [8:00]
3. Constantinople [15:34]
4. Hand Gun [10:03]
5. The Sword [16:47]
6. Credits [:30]

1. Open [1:02]
2. Revolution - The Seven Years War, American and French Revolution [8:00]
3. Washington [15:34]
4. X-Factor [10:03]
5. France [16:47]
6. Credits [:30]

1. Open [1:02]
2. Blood & Iron - Rapid-Fire Weapons, Crimean War, The Civil War [8:00]
3. Civil War [15:34]
4. Robert E. Lee [10:03]
5. Prussia [16:47]
6. Credits [:30]

DISC THREE (3) -- War and Civilization
1. Open [1:02]
2. War Machines - Russo-Japanese War, World War II [11:40]
3. Japan [12:30]
4. WW I [14:24]
5. Hitler [11:51]
6. Credits [:30]

1. Open [1:02]
2. Price of War - The Cold War, Nationalism, Genocide [11:40]
3. WW II [12:30]
4. Korea [14:24]
5. Post Cold War [11:51]
6. Credits [:30]

This Learning Channel series gives an overview of mankind's tendency to make war, and "improvements" in fighting made throughout history, from the ancient Greeks to the present day --- Walter Cronkite, who has the proper stentorian tones as our narrator, is our guide for this eight-part, seven-hour exploration that-like the classic Ken Burns documentaries that have paved the way-combines still photos, archival footage, the reading of letters by historical characters, and reenacted events to create a compelling look at our past world events into war.

Great job by Koch Vision --- looking forward to more high quality titles from the BBC Collection film market --- order your copy now from Amazon or Koch Vision where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 416 mins on DVD ~ Koch Vision ~ (9/11//2007)"

Military History at Its Best

Agustin Guerrero | Guayaquil, Guayas Ecuador | 05/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fine documentary of World History through the study of war. As technology changes we are introduced to the way of fighting since Ancient Greece to the technological and digitalized modern U.S. Army and we receive an explanation of how the society and the way of fighting was changed by technology or organization, being the introduction of gunpowder a step that allowed Western Europe to conquer the world.

The reconstructions of Armies and battles are very well made making use of some Hollywood or European movie footage as the case with the Battle of Leuthen, Zulu Dawn, and we also have outstanding reconstructions by reenactors as the Imperial Roman Army. Some footage had a feeling of being cheaply made such as the reconstruction of the Macedonian Army and Alexander or the Late Roman Army footage but this does not diminish much from the rest of the production.

Especially valuable are the narrative and opinion provided by Sir John Keegan, one of the foremost authorities in military history.

One of the best documentaries I have seen and I highly recommend it."