Apocalipsis: La Primera Guerra Mundial Online

The documentary is great, has amazing pictures, the sound is very nice. The order of the footages is intrinsically linked to the history, narration is impeccable, showing both sides and their expectations, with rare footage.

With scenes of real situations, you shall feel rather than occurred, he feels how a war is inhumane. possessing scenes impactful.

Politics is naked and demonstrates the willingness of power between the parties, with reports of soldiers' letters and excerpts from historians.

Worth every minute watching.

This mini-TV documentary series aired on the 'American Heroes' cable channel in the US. I've always been interested in WW1, pursuing many books, films and documentaries on this topic.

I had no idea this much vintage video from every aspect of the war existed. This production must have been a real labor of love, as they have very skillfully and respectfully added realistic soundtrack and restrained coloring to this amazing archival footage. The music and graphics are also excellent, resulting in a compelling, "first-hand" account.

Many little known historical aspects are also presented, e.g., that the Germans orchestrated sending Lenin back to Russia as a diversion to weaken the Russian military. Even if you think you have no interest in the First World War, this is a "must see" because so many of our world issues (creation of Iraq, impetus for WW2) stem from the aftermath of WW1.

Amazing images, great presentation, awesome music, effective narration and excellent colorization job. A bit confusing here and there (unlike "Apocalypse: la 2eme guerre mondiale") due to the complexity of that war i guess, but i'm not an expert in politics or historical facts, so it was expected somehow.

The music is really efficient and the sound effects are well made but i was surprised by the bad audio mix from time to time; the level of the narrator (Mathieu Kassovitz) is unequal and sometime buried by the music.

I will watch it a couple times because there's a tremendous amount of information. The horror of the war and the worse side of humanity is very well pictured and of course some scenes are quite disturbing.

Really fantastic images, it's definitely a "must watch"!

Of the many film documentaries of the First World War, this is by far the best. I have seen nearly all available film material about the war and shows the quality of production that can be achieved when dedicated professionals are attached to a project. I teach a college-level course on WWI and use excerpts from this series to help the students get a better feeling for the century-old conflict that shaped our modern world. All had positive comments about the film. This series includes film I have not seen previously and the use of colorization along with modern frame-timing make it much more agreeable to twenty-first-century eyes.

I found this series playing on American Heroes Channel one evening and after watching the first five-minutes of the show I was hooked. The storytelling combined with the real colorful images via archival footage was amazing. Even the soundtrack was too-notch and added extra life to the scenes.

Extremely well done, and I would watch again just to try and absorb all the information that is presented. If you didn't know much about WWI and all it's its main characters and events - you certainly will after watching this. WWI was a horrible event that had many differing components, but also should not be forgotten for all the sacrifices that were made. This show definitely does the era justice in a good way! Highly recommended historical viewing!

First of all, I have to say this is definitely the best WW1 documentary I have seen, not just because it's in color, but also because it brings a fresh view on such an old topic. The whole documentary is built upon a cause-and-effect logic, which I really appreciated and this is valid especially when analyzing how a seemingly tranquil and prosperous Europe was suddenly plunged into the chaos and nightmare of a world war. Furthermore, I was happy to see the documentary also talks about the less glorious aspects of the war (such as the mutiny of soldiers, especially in the French army) and that it includes information about less known theaters like Turkey and the Pacific.

On the downside, however, the main weakness of the documentary is that it is dis-proportionally focused on the Western front, possibly creating the impression that the other fronts were just side-shows and that the whole war was just a crawl through the muddy trenches. This is absolutely not the case especially for the Eastern Front, where an even higher number of casualties than on the Western Front occurred and where the large spaces offered opportunity for wars of maneuver, unlike the trench warfare predominant in the West. In this respect, I was disappointed that the Russian Brusilov offensive of 1916, the greatest advance any army achieved during the war is not even mentioned. Furthermore, information is severely lacking for the following countries:

• Serbia: the only information about Serbia is that the Serbs initially stopped the Austrian offensive in 1914; absolutely nothing afterwards about its defeat and occupation by the Central Powers in 1915.
• Bulgaria: it is only mentioned that it joined the Central Powers, but there's not the slightest information about what happened afterwards and who they fought.
• Romania: I found it absolutely inexcusable that Romania is not mentioned even once during the 4 and a half hours of the documentary. Without saying a word about the fact that Romania had even entered the war, at the very end they say that among others some 200,000 Romanian soldiers died in the conflict. At this point even the most basic information is missing, for example on whose side Romania fought. It would have probably been useful to mention that the Germans had to relocate much needed divisions from the battle of Verdun the moment Romania entered the war in order to stabilize the front. In addition, the German conquest of half of Romania in 1916, an extraordinary feat of arms, which historian Michael Barrett named a "prelude to blitzkrieg", could have also been interesting to include.

I totally understand the need to focus on the main aspects of the war, but I think applying a principle of proportionality is preferable to overlooking some potentially relevant information. A few phrases would have been enough to give a general overview also on these aspects above.

To sum up, great documentary and analysis for the Western Front, but unfortunately it fails to cover some relevant aspects from the Eastern Front.

I first saw this on the AHC Channel in the US and, as a former soldier, was overwhelmed by what I saw and heard. The English narrator, François Arnaud, had the perfect, nearly monotone delivery that could send chills down your spine. His delivery was flawless and as far as I am concerned, really 'sells' the English version of this project. I cannot comment on the French as I do not speak it. I have enough trouble with English. The video itself was surprising in its quality and the colorization was just enough to allow you to better see what Mr. Arnaud was speaking about. The overall historical content, giving the time restraints, is amazing, really showing you that this was a World War.

Stunning imagery highlights this very good documentary and as an introduction to World War I it is strongly recommended. The history of the era is presented accurately and the narration is well written. The major flaw in the presentation is the odd choice of narrator. A stronger voice would have served the subject better and been far more effective. One recalls Robert Ryan's splendid and memorable narration in the CBS series on the First World War, produced in the 1960's, as well as its magnificent musical score. That production, while not colorized, is highly recommended indeed. Here, the viewer is distracted by a emotionless, drab speaker who sounds like a school boy. He simply lacks the gravitas, the authority required. Quite disappointing and even distracting at times. However, as stated previously, for those who are not familiar with the time period and the horror of this terrible conflict, this series serves the purpose well.

"Apocalypse: WW1" brings the war to life in a way never seen before. This Canadian documentary adds modern sound and music with the crude film of the era in a perfect blend of drama and poignancy.

We are shown the roots of the war; the contemporary European peace that existed on the continent from 1871-1914 along with the simmering tensions among the major European powers of the age. Done in a way that is never trite nor dull, "Apocalypse" explains what happened in the first "great war" of 1914-18: the clash of ideologies, the futility, the mass deaths in the new age of conscript soldiers, and the ultimate futility of it all in a world war that left 10 million soldiers dead. Probably the penultimate World war 1 documentary. Don't miss it.

A wonderful documentary. I am a life long student of the First World War and highly recommend this study. One can only marvel that so much film has survived over a hundred years. A fairly even handed treatment of the history, the narration is good along with the music. The films are priceless, bringing this cataclysmic event to the eyes & eyes of modern, sometimes forgetful people. It was a world war that truly changed the world in near countless ways. We are still struggling with its outcome.

The coloured footage very nice to watch. They give a nice insight to the reality of the time. However, the documentary as a whole presents a very onesided and politically coloured view. This is very outdated. The Great War was one that all countries involved welcomed (except Belgium probably), but once again the Germans are the bad guys. This isn't the 2nd world war, guys!

I guess that's what you get with a documentary that's originally French. I do think the writing takes away what could be a very good documentary. Neutrality is important 100 years later. All parties involved wanted this war and did nothing to stop it and all parties involved committed warcrimes.

Watch this documentary for the footage, not for what's being told. I can recommend the youtube channel "The Great War". It paints a complete and neutral picture of events.

All in all, it gets a 6 because its footage is really good, but the writing is outdated and told from victors' perspective instead of a nuanced story about what happened.

This is an excellent series which highlights some of the history of WW1. Much of the film is material I had never seen elsewhere. The effect of colourizing it, adding some relevant sound, and playing it at the correct speed brings this tragic period into sharper reality. A must see, particularly as the end of the conflict is now 100 years old. (Of course, do we learn any lessons? Young men (and women) are still sent off to wars initiated by old men)

Unfortunately what could have been an informative series on an important war turns out to be a biased anti-war piece of pacifist propaganda. Whatever other misquotes, misrepresentations and just plain lies are told by the author I leave to WWI historians to uncover and reveal. But one clear distortion of literature can easily be verified by anyone who chooses to look it up. In the one hour part of the series labeled "Rage" at the very end, as the credits are rolling, the famous poem In Flanders Fields by Major John McCrae is quoted. But in keeping with his melancholy rant on the war the series author chose to quote only the first two stanzas which completely distorts the meaning of the poem. Viewed that way the poem sounds like a bitter lament over the war. In fact when stanza 3 is included one sees that the poet's intent was the exact opposite. It was, and is, a spirited call to arms! I quote the poem in its entirety below so the reader can make up his own mind.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

STANZA 1.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

STANZA 2.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

STANZA 3.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Worse than plagiarism is the deliberate distortion of a dead poet's work to further a cause antithetical to his heartfelt belief and intent. We owe him better than that.

No matter what his personal political beliefs about war the author of the TV series should at least be honest when quoting famous literature. And AHC-TV should do a better job of editing and fact checking.

This is only propaganda. Propaganda for the warring state of France. Propaganda about France, as the victim of "The Great Powers"??? Propaganda for the total state that should take the serfs from cradle to the grave.

It is about the conspiracy theory, about ejecting progress and the modern in the name of (the irony!) progressism. It is about evil capitalists as wolves and populist politicians as sheep.

And the footage is just illustration to the fairy tale.

While this series is visually impressive and the historical interpretation interesting, it lacks passion. The biggest problem is with the narration. There is no gravitas or authority to the narrator and while the pronunciation of relevant locations and personalities is well done, it's lackluster otherwise. One recalls the wonderful Robert Ryan's narration of the CBS documentary from the 60's, "The First World War." Now, there was emotion, feeling, and passion.