Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Product Description
This series of documentaries is a major project that will chart the entire 1815 Waterloo Campaign in detail from Napoleon s return to France through the various battles and engagements to the pursuit to Paris and Napoleon s final abdication. The whole suite will total over five hours of programmes. Each of the four disks will contain three separate programmes that concentrates on aspects of the campaign or phases of the great battle itself. Each programme is filmed on the ground where the particular phase of battle was fought making this a unique project that fuses tactics and ground in a readily understood way with re-enactment and lavish use of both maps and diagrams. Vignettes provided by living historians illustrate the life of the Napoleonic soldier, along with his weapons and tactics. This disc will contain programmes that explain the battlefield and the opposing plans, followed by programmes covering the opening attack on Hougoumont complex and the bombardment of Wellington s position, the attack of D Erlon s Corps and the charge of the Union Brigade.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
This DVD is the second of a series of four dealing with the entire Waterloo campaign. This second DVD contains three programmes of just under 30 minutes about the early part of the battle of Waterloo. The first programme deals with the battlefield itself, and the initial deployments of both the Allies and the French. The second is about Hougoumont and the fighting that took place there. The final programme is about d'Erlon's attack.
The presenters follow the same approach as on the first DVD, by telling the story on location. Reenactors add a feel for the period. I think this approach works, because it adds atmosphere.
The story is told well, but firmly from the Allied point of view. The point where this was most noticable for me was when there was no explanation for the formation of the infantry divisions the French chose. These divisional columns were sheer madness, and for me remain one of the true mysteries of the battle, but this was accepted more or less as a given thing.
As with the first DVD of the series I feel the only real problem with this product is the mixed quality of the sound. Everytime several presenters discuss events, at least one of them will sound very hollow and sound levels vary considerably, so I needed volume control at the ready.
Another comment I have to make as well is that I found it rather commical to hear the English pronounciation of French names. This is true for the names of the French commanders, but also of the Belgian locations. I do think the presenters could have tried a little harder to get it right.
Despite all that I still think this DVD series is well worth watching, because I know of no other that deals with this campaign in such depth and with such a good approach and look forward to more series like this. I just hope Pen and Sword will get their sound right on future productions.
The presenters follow the same approach as on the first DVD, by telling the story on location. Reenactors add a feel for the period. I think this approach works, because it adds atmosphere.
The story is told well, but firmly from the Allied point of view. The point where this was most noticable for me was when there was no explanation for the formation of the infantry divisions the French chose. These divisional columns were sheer madness, and for me remain one of the true mysteries of the battle, but this was accepted more or less as a given thing.
As with the first DVD of the series I feel the only real problem with this product is the mixed quality of the sound. Everytime several presenters discuss events, at least one of them will sound very hollow and sound levels vary considerably, so I needed volume control at the ready.
Another comment I have to make as well is that I found it rather commical to hear the English pronounciation of French names. This is true for the names of the French commanders, but also of the Belgian locations. I do think the presenters could have tried a little harder to get it right.
Despite all that I still think this DVD series is well worth watching, because I know of no other that deals with this campaign in such depth and with such a good approach and look forward to more series like this. I just hope Pen and Sword will get their sound right on future productions.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
The second offering in the Waterloo Collection, concentrating on the action in and around Hougoumont and D'Erlon's attacks, is an improvement on the first disc. The overall quality was good, although the sound still suffered slightly in places (on my disc anyway) when the narrative changed from the sound of Napoleonic reenactors in action, to that of the presenters. But certainly nowhere as problematic as in the first disc.
It does seem to concentrate on the Allied point of view, although this may be due to a lack of French sources and also the presenters own backgrounds. One is an author who has mainly written about modern wars, while the rest appear to be battlefield guides and have strong links with the British Regular or Territorial Army.
I'm not sure I agree entirely with their view that the bad weather had nothing to do with the late start of the battle. They state that the late start was because the French troops had not moved into position in time to make an earlier attack. But surely this may have been due partly to the bad weather and muddy ground conditions?
Overall, Part 2 is far more enjoyable than the Part 1 and contains some interesting snippets, such as the religous reason as to why the chapel did not burn down when Hougoumont was set on fire. And, although I don't think they showed enough of Hougoumont itself, what they did show was very interesting and worth seeing.
Some of the best bits included scenes in which the positioning of the rival troops are highlighted on the actual battlefield, while the presenters narrate the events. More of that would have been most welcome, since there are occasions when the presenters were talking when you just wished they would have shown the battlefield areas they were talking about. For example, in one scene, while one presenter talks, another presenter looks in the direction being discussed, but sadly, the camera remains on the presenters, so the full effect of what is being described is sadly reduced.
There are some good illustrations concerning artillery fire and how the British avoided being hit, and there wasn't an exessive amount of reenactor scenes, although I felt it would have been a nice touch to have had some Napoleonic reenactors skirmishing in and around Hougomunt itself.
Although Part 2 could be considered as another overview, it is a good one and one well worth seeing, and, although it still has an amateur feel, presenter and production wise, I found myself warming to it and I really am looking forward to viewing Parts 3 & 4.
It does seem to concentrate on the Allied point of view, although this may be due to a lack of French sources and also the presenters own backgrounds. One is an author who has mainly written about modern wars, while the rest appear to be battlefield guides and have strong links with the British Regular or Territorial Army.
I'm not sure I agree entirely with their view that the bad weather had nothing to do with the late start of the battle. They state that the late start was because the French troops had not moved into position in time to make an earlier attack. But surely this may have been due partly to the bad weather and muddy ground conditions?
Overall, Part 2 is far more enjoyable than the Part 1 and contains some interesting snippets, such as the religous reason as to why the chapel did not burn down when Hougoumont was set on fire. And, although I don't think they showed enough of Hougoumont itself, what they did show was very interesting and worth seeing.
Some of the best bits included scenes in which the positioning of the rival troops are highlighted on the actual battlefield, while the presenters narrate the events. More of that would have been most welcome, since there are occasions when the presenters were talking when you just wished they would have shown the battlefield areas they were talking about. For example, in one scene, while one presenter talks, another presenter looks in the direction being discussed, but sadly, the camera remains on the presenters, so the full effect of what is being described is sadly reduced.
There are some good illustrations concerning artillery fire and how the British avoided being hit, and there wasn't an exessive amount of reenactor scenes, although I felt it would have been a nice touch to have had some Napoleonic reenactors skirmishing in and around Hougomunt itself.
Although Part 2 could be considered as another overview, it is a good one and one well worth seeing, and, although it still has an amateur feel, presenter and production wise, I found myself warming to it and I really am looking forward to viewing Parts 3 & 4.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2nd part in the series still pretty good although unprofessional in style and lacking polish. Could do with more re-enactment footage and some period paintings and music. But the thing that lets this series down the most is the repeated delays in releasing the dvds - the second was a couple of months late and the 3rd which was due out last week I believe, has just had it announced that 'they don't have an availability date' - not to mention the 4th which has not even advertised yet. That's pretty poor and does take the enjoyment of the series away a bit unfortunately.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
