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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
144 of 144 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
On the face of it, this doesn't sound like the most rivetting viewing in the world, but in fact this series was the television equivalent of a page-turner.
Normally I'm not a fan of documentaries that feature "reconstructions", usually by dodgy actors with sub-standard props and inept scripts, and I watched the first episode almost by accident. However, within minutes I was hooked.
The documentaries take the form of re-enactments, beautifully realized, of actual events, based on the diaries, newspaper reports and records of the times. The actors are uniformly excellent - Robert Cavanah, Ron Cook, Mark McGann and Steven Berkoff in particular stick in the memory - and the stories that unfold are nothing less than jaw-dropping.
From the beginning-to-end disaster that was the Great Eastern (which effectively killed Brunel) through the magnificent Bell Rock Lighthouse, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal and the Trans-Continental railway to Bazalgette's London Sewers (not recommended lunch-time viewing by the way), this gripping series will open your eyes to the pure wonder of constructions we now tend to take for granted. The phenomenal and inspiring vision of the engineers (often in the face of a disbelieving establishment), the cost in human life, the privations, the disasters and the triumphs ... they're all here, with no punches pulled.
The whole thing is held together by Robert Lindsay's measured and intelligent narration - never intrusive, beautifully delivered.
The BBC took an expensive gamble with the making of this series ... but it paid off.
Highly recommended for both the casual viewer and the more serious student of the Industrial Age.
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The BBC still do good quality drama and this is definitely top drawer. I watched this on release on BBC2 and was engrossed. Each 'wonder' is put together using actors to portray the significant players in a 'talking head' format, with the eloquent Robert Lindsay as the voice over.
For those who are interested in how the great engineers of yesteryear built their amazing projects, these seven 'wonders' are compulsive viewing. The story from the beginning to the end is woven with intrigue, danger, personal sacrfice but the biggest battles are against nature itself.
Seven Wonders of The Industrial World is rivetting and won't fail to impress. The Seven Wonders are...
The Great Ship - Isambard Kingdom Brunel
The Brooklyn Bridge
Bell Rock Lighthouse
The Sewer King - London's sewer system
The Panama Canal
The Hoover Dam
The Line - The building of the railway, from coast to coast, in the US.
For those who are interested in how the great engineers of yesteryear built their amazing projects, these seven 'wonders' are compulsive viewing. The story from the beginning to the end is woven with intrigue, danger, personal sacrfice but the biggest battles are against nature itself.
Seven Wonders of The Industrial World is rivetting and won't fail to impress. The Seven Wonders are...
The Great Ship - Isambard Kingdom Brunel
The Brooklyn Bridge
Bell Rock Lighthouse
The Sewer King - London's sewer system
The Panama Canal
The Hoover Dam
The Line - The building of the railway, from coast to coast, in the US.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Stunning from start to finish, this is simply a must-have DVD boxset. It consists of seven historically accurate and incredibly moving reenactments of the planning and construction of the finest structures of the industrial world. The lead acting is superb and understated, the music is stirring and effectively used, the stories are well-balanced and paced and the editing is impeccable. The series also succeeds in marrying technological and medical/public health progress and in communicating the sheer scale and cost (economic and human) of these achievements. Awe-inspiring and tragic, this is television at its finest and an admirable accomplishment. This boxset will sit comfortably alongside Clark's Civilization and Bronowski's The Ascent of Man.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
BBC at its best!
This is the very moving story of the people behind some of the most groundbreaking constructions of the industrial world. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mike
Great Drama Documentary
This is just a great piece of educational television - seven documentaries about seven major pieces and engineering and the people behind them. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Steve
Fantastic documentary
Had been looking for this documentary everywhere. It is a unique mix of live acting and storytelling. My favourite wonder is Brunel and the SS Great Britain. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. A. P. Birkett
triple fab
ABSOLUTELY A MUST. FAB. dramatised from actual historical records.the engineering skills of designers and builders is just mind blowing. Read more
Published 13 months ago by e suffolk
An inspired production
This is a great series and really absorbing. Events are re-enacted in the style of a period drama with monologues to camera and narration. It really brings the story to life. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Miss Reviewer
7 wonders of the industrial world
If you have never heard of this dvd before,it is a must have on your list to buy. It is a factual dvd on some of the biggest Industrial evolutions of our time! Read more
Published on 22 April 2010 by C. A. Nish
Magnificent
A magnificent collection of interesting films that demonstrate why the BBC is held in such high regard.
Published on 9 April 2010 by Gary Henderson
craig smith
being interested in history and how buildings are constructed this pulled me in straight away.with seven amazing stories told and expertley narrated by robert lindsay this as to be... Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2010 by Craig Lee Smith
One of the bst documentry series of all time
An amazing series which achieves the seemingly impossible - to be both highly educational and very entertaining. Most TV series mange to do one but not the other. Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2009 by Mr. O. Farhi
Gripping, entertaining, and educating
The BBC tends to screw up many things. Not in this case - easily one of the best documentary mini-series ever produced. Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2009 by Mr. D. Horn
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