Landships II

"The Great War" - BBC documentary series from the 1960s. USP (I gather - my partner has seen it and very pleased with it though not an enthusiast like we are) is the interviews with participants at all levels. It was reissued in 2002. Not sure if it is still available though!

www.amazon.co.uk/World-War-Great-Complete-Disc/dp/B0000634BA/ref=sr_1_1

The BBC's 'The Great War' was *given away* on DVD by the Daily Mail around five years ago.  It cost me the price of about 10-15 issues of the newspaper (plus the loss of self-respect involved in buying them).  You can view/preview at least some episodes on Youtube.  The first is at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXhiagFG8KE

I'd guess that the BBC and/or one of the history channels will show the series some time over the next 4 years - and the Daily Mail may even recycle the promotion - so, if you want to spend £300+, you'd better send off your money pronto.  There's an episode listing on Wikipedia.

The series is not as 'great' as it's sometimes made out to be but:

(a) it was written by historians (John Terraine and Corelli Barnett);

(b) there are no 'celebrities' imposing themselves on it (though the narrator is an unseen Michael Redgrave and various famous actors such as Ralph Richardson and Marius Goring - also unseen - voice historical figures); and

(c) it predates overused and tedious techniques such as frenetic panning and zooming, the 'Ken Burns effect' and the ironically-named dramatic reconstruction (although it occasionally makes unacknowledged use of post-war footage).

For a more modest price, I think the Nugus-Martin production 'World War One in Colour' is worth considering.  You may well object to some of the colourisation but it gives an interesting perspective on familiar footage - and it's less than a tenner so you're unlikely to go far wrong.

Here are a couple of others:

Blood and Oil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP0evPEsc30

Guns of August: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4zPg5Kv_ug