Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Wars and ConflictsΒ  permalink

WW1 Prog

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by Pete- Weatherman (U14670985) on Friday, 5th November 2010

  On Sunday 7th there is a program on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ 9pm about WW1 its called WW1 From the Air. I saw a prevew last night and have alredy tagged it, The film shows the trenches from the point of vew of a Blimp Pilot. It looks brill

  Link to this forum: WW1 Prog

  Report message1

• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Peter (U14679020) on Sunday, 7th November 2010

  Pete is right as this is the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ at it's very best. A wonderful film, excellent commentary by Fergal and in depth interviews with both military historians who know their stuff inside out and also with a French lady plus of course there is a very moving part of the film with the daughter of the balloon pilot who was eventually executed by the Gestapo in WW2. One minor detail it would have been great if the interview with the French lady was kept in the original French and not translated into English as we must value our modern language studies and not keep dubbing everything. Many thanks to the team who put this together.

  Link to this forum: WW1 Prog

  Report message2

• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by radioarm (U14109967) on Monday, 8th November 2010

  I have to disagree, it would appear that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ have employed too many History Channel programme makers, documentaries for people with Attention Deficit Disorder.
  
  The programme was trailed and had a lengthy introduction regarding a revealing unseen 70 minute film taken from an airship which started on the Belgian coast. Instead of having a detailed analysis of the towns and battlefields shown in the film, the programme then immediately went off to cover still photos taken by the RAF, Fergal got a ride in a bi-plane? Then off to the Somme (which was not covered by the airship film) after 20 minutes we got a very brief glimpse of the footage of a badly damaged town Then we had the usual History Channel trick, here are some still photos of a battlefield, we are so clever we can raise the contours on them, but never go into any of the detail.
  
  We expect documentary programmes from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to be of a much higher standard, if it was not possible to have a detailed analysis of a stunning piece of historic film, please be honest with us.

  Link to this forum: WW1 Prog

  Report message3

• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by fascinating (U1944795) on Monday, 8th November 2010

  I agree with radioarm. I tried to watch the program but became annoyed by the introduction, which was ridiculously long. Fergal Keane, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's bleeding-heart-in-residence, was as usual trying to extract maximum emotion from this. I turned over to watch something else, but kept flicking back to see if anything of substance appeared. Nothing did.
  
  This is typical of modern documentaries, almost no substance and full of padding, presented by self-obsessed presenters, together with fairly naff computer graphics (when and old-fashioned diagram or map would have made things much clearer). At least the photography was OK in this case.
  
  Contrast with "Secrets of World War 2" now being shown on Yesterday channel which has got to be the best documentary ever. The commentator, who we never see (make note producers) is very clear and each program is packed with facts, illustrated almost totally by wall to wall original footage, incredible photography from a time when cine photographers really knew how to use their cameras, with very sparing use of talking heads only when necessary. Each program is really informative and full of facts which I did not know. This series should be used as study material, not only by serious students of the war, it should also be compulsory viewing for anybody commissioned to make any documentary series for television.

  Link to this forum: WW1 Prog

  Report message4

• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by colonelblimp (U1705702) on Monday, 8th November 2010

  Sadly, I agree with both of you. Much of this programme was padding and not particularly relevant to the unique film footage that was supposed to be at its core. What, for example, were the computer graphics illustrating a town (Ypres?) peppered with random shellbursts supposed to tell us? That this is what a town looks like from the air and, when a shell falls on it, there's an explosion and buildings fall down? I think we all knew that.
  
  I would also question whether the aerial photos taken by the RFC/RAF are really such a little-known resource as the programme seemed to imply. And I began to find Fergal Keane's presentation really irritating, particularly the way he insisted on giving us the airship pilot's full name every single time he mentioned the man, as if we were very dim and wouldn't follow him unless he belaboured the point.

  Link to this forum: WW1 Prog

  Report message5

Back to top