1914-1918 The Crucible [1996]

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Summary: Part 2 of the big BBC series on World War I
Comment: This is a two-tape box set, and is the second half of a series done in 1997 for the BBC and KCET in America. It's a great introduction into the history of World War I. [The other half is called 1914-1918, Total War.]

The series uses historical films, photos, and music to paint the picture of WWI. This part of the series begins in 1917, and traces the last two years of the war, including the first glimmers of protest against the war in Britain; the mutiny of the French army; the revolution in Russia; and the total exhaustion of all the European armies before America entereed the war. The final tape discusses the aftermath of the war, including the silliness of Woodrow Wilson trying to impose his principles at Versailles with no real sense of what he was doing.

Finally, it includes extensive footage from a French (silent) anti-war film that was produced in the 1920's. If you ever thought that war protests were just invented in the 1960's, learning about this French film alone is worth the price of this tape set.

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