Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A hidden gem, 24 Mar 2008
I was pointed towards this series by a tv magazine review, one of the main points of the review was that although this is a lavish well-made series it had hardly any publicism.
Amazing really as it is brilliant. I have only seen three of the epsiodes so far - Richard the Lionheart and Attila the Hun which were fantastic and spartacus which didn't quite reach the same heights- mostly due to the actors not being as interesting.
I am purchasing the Dvd which I think is good value, and should be praised for its authenticity as well as quality entertainment.
In an aside anyone who is into the Total war series on PC - you will love this.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Six great men of history, 20 Jun 2008
This great drama documentary series for the BBC is made in a similar style to the previous series `Ancient Rome - The Rise & Fall of an Empire'. This series details important events from the lives of six famous figures in world history: the slave rebellion of Spartacus, Attila the Hun's conquests, Tokugawa Ieyasu rising to be the first Shogun of Japan, Richard the Lionheart's actions during the Crusades, Cortes' conquest of Mexico and the early career of Napoleon before he became Emperor. Each episode is brilliantly made with some great performances from the all-star cast and as far as I am aware all the information presented here is as historically accurate as possible.
Of the six episodes of this series my favourite has to be the one detailing the rise to power of Tokugawa Ieyasu. I have a great interest in far eastern history and this episode was a great representation of the period with some surprisingly lavish battle scenes considering that it was made to a TV budget. I did find the Cortes episode slightly less interesting than all the rest but that is because I have little interest in that period of history.
Heroes & Villains has been an excellent series, well researched and able to portray the various periods in a fascinating and entertaining manner. This series would be a worthy addition to the collection of any history buff but would be of particular interest to people studying the periods covered.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting but Uneven Series, 20 Oct 2008
Heroes and Villains is the latest in a long line of historical drama documentaries by the BBC. It follows in the tradition of "Ancient Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire" in that the format is identical.
The big difference with this series is that it takes a broader approach, covering the lives of some of history's most famous warriors and generals, from Spartacus to Napoleon.
Each episode is directed by a different team, which makes the series a bit uneven. Therefore it's worth discussing each episode individually, in the order they appear on the discs:
Spartacus:
This episode covers the life of Spartacus, from his arrival at the Gladiator school of Capua, to his final battle against Crassus.
The first episode is the weakest of the lot in my opinion. A poor script, bad directing, a re-hash of scenes from 'Ancient Rome', and the most historically inaccurate episode to boot. A bad introduction to the series.
Attila:
This episode covers the rise to power of Attila, and how he came to be defeated by a Roman-Barbarian coalition at the Battle of Chalons.
This episode has some interesting scenes, including a well choreographed siege of Naissus by Attila's army. Some ropey CGI effects here and there, but very well done considering the budget. The script is ok, and the acting is generally good. It does contain quite a few inaccuracies, especially concerning Attila's murder of Bleda.
The Shogun:
This episode covers Tokugawa Ieyasu's attempt to become supreme ruler of Japan, and how this led to the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. This story makes a nice change from the other euro-centric episodes, and is very well made. The battle scenes in this episode are the most epic of the series, although the Japanese actors speaking in English is a bit distracting at first (I'm used to watching Japanese films). Generally a good episode.
Richard the Lionheart:
This episode covers the Third Crusade, and how Richard came to defeat Saladin's army at Jaffa. The opening moments of the episode are the best, although it begins to lose steam as the story progresses. The acting is generally good, although the script isn't up to much. The costumes are very well made though.
Hernan Cortes:
An interesting take on a often ignored but very important part of human history - the conquest of the Americas by the Europeans. This episode covers Cortes's attempts to subdue the Aztec Empire from 1519 to 1521. I have an interest in this period, so I found this a good episode. The reconstruction of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitaln was well made in my opinion, even if the CGI effects were a bit off here and there.
Napoleon:
They seem to have saved the best till last, as this was the best episode of the series in my opinion. It looks at the 24 year old Napoleon Bonaparte, when he was only an obscure captain during the siege of Toulon in 1793. This episode benefits from having the events taking place over a month, giving it a sharper focus (the other episodes take place over several years). The acting, script and directing for this episode are high above any of the others in the series. I was also less distracted by the historical inaccuracies as I don't really know much about 18th century France.
Generally speaking this series is rather hit and miss. Some episodes don't work as drama, and the numerous deviations from the historical events keep them from being real documentaries. That said they do contain some great spectacles, mostly concerning the large scale battle scenes. As a matter of fact, the series is often at its weakest when it avoids the battles, as it's then that the weak scripts are at their most noticeable.
Still, those with an interest in history will find this series interesting. Others might find it worth a watch too, and it might spur you on to find out more about these figures and their lives.
DVD Info -
No.of Disks: 2 (3 episodes on each disk)
Audio: 5.1 Suuround and 2.0 Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
English Subtitles
No Special Features
Length: 353 Minutes (6 hours Approx).
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