THE MOVIE

A History of Britain is an epic documentary series that takes a look at many of the important events and people that have shaped the country. It spans an enormous timeline from 3000 BC to 2000 AD, and covers topics such as the Battle of Hastings, the Norman Conquest and the Black Plague. A History of Britain also looks at royalty throughout the years, King Edward and Henry, Queen Elizabeth and Victoria, and politicians such as Oliver Cromwell and Winston Churchill. This documentary series is presented by Simon Schama, Professor of History at Columbia University, New York. It features 15 one-hour episodes, spread across five DVDs. Here’s a quick look at each episode.

DISC 1 - 3000 BC to 1216 AD

Episode 1 - Beginnings
The first episode considers what was going on in Britain up until the Romans invaded and beyond. Rome withdrew in the fourth century, leaving a huge power vacuum. The Saxons moved in. The Christian invasion began not long after (between the sixth and eight century) and the Vikings also started their raids about this time.

Episode 2 - Conquest!
In 1066, King Edward dies without a clear heir. A noble by the name of Godwine attempted to place his son Harold on the throne, but Edward had promised succession to William of Normandy. The infamous 70 m long Bayeux tapestry tells the story of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman invasion of England. The Normans and William became conqueror and king.

Episode 3 - Dynasty
This is the story of Henry II, the most energetic King of England ever. Henry instituted the start of the legal system, separating justice from the individual whim of the nobility. This did not extend to the King though, as Henry had Thomas Beckett, the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, murdered because he saw the will of the church as being superior to the King’s will.

DISC 2 - 1216 AD to 1558 AD

Episode 4 - Nations At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the nations of Britain rose up against their oppressors. Edward was the first King for 100 years, previously the French were in charge. Edward wanted to rule all of Britain so in 1276 he attacked Wales, he eventually won. Scotland was next, in 1296, but both Edward and his son, Edward II, were unsuccessful.

Episode 5 - King Death
This episode is about the plague known as ‘the black death’, a century of death which left half of Britain’s population dead. The plague came to Britain in the blood of fleas transported in grain, on cloth and on rats. No one, regardless of whether they were rich or poor could escape. Death was quick, within one to two week if the disease infected the lungs.

Episode 6 - Burning Convictions
During the reign of King Henry VIII, the reformation took place. The first printed Bible in English was being mass produced. It was a Protestant version, chosen by Henry, and it allowed him to divorce his wife and marry Anne Bolyn (mother of Queen Elizabeth the first). His son Edward made more Protestant reforms. When he died, his sister Mary became Queen and brought back Catholicism.

DISC 3 - 1558 AD to 1689 AD

Episode 7 – The Body of the Queen
This episode considers the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Simon Schama describes her as vain, spiteful, arrogant, unjust and indecisive, but at the same time she was brave, shockingly clever and occasionally wise, not to mention attractive. This episode also looks at the painful union of England and Scotland and the birth of Britain.

Episode 8 - The British Wars
In 1603, James became King of England and Scotland, but he wanted to be known as the King of Great Britain (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales). This led to civil war. His successor, King Charles, wanted the whole of Britain to have the same religious practices, which only caused more division, particularly upsetting the Scottish who were Presbyterians.

Episode 9 - Revolutions
For a time during the 1600’s there was no ruling monarch in England and a parliamentarian called Oliver Cromwell was in charge. He was described as a narrow minded Protestant bigot with imperialist tendencies. He made himself Lord Protector, King in all but name, he was like a British Caesar. After his death in 1651, Charles II succeeded Oliver Cromwell.

DISC 4 -1689 AD to 1836 AD

Episode 10 - Britannia Incorporated
In 1969, William of Orange was crowned King of England, but he like his predecessors was still having trouble with the Scottish, the clans in particular. The Scottish were poor, the English were rich. How were the ever going to get along? This episode shows how it happened that they eventually became Britannia Incorporated.

Episode 11 - The Wrong Empire
Britain was now a global power thanks to trade and the British Empire was now the most aggressive on the planet. The British went out to take over the world, fighting wars in America and India. The British Empire also saw the start of the slave trade, there were an estimated 3.4 million slaves in British ships alone.

Episode 12 - Forces of Nature
In the second half of the eighteenth century, the British people wanted to escape from the fetid cities and recapture the innocence and charm of nature. They were looking for an escape from the revolution seen in France (the French Revolution). This is the story of how close Britain came to a similar revolution.

DISC 5 - 1836 AD to 2000 AD

Episode 13 - Victoria and her Sisters
In spring 1851, ‘Victorian’ entered the English language. Queen Victoria may have only been 4’11” tall but she brought about great change in Britain, curbing the rampant commercialism which resulted in horrendous lives for those in the lower classes. This episode also looks at Elizabeth Gaskell who wrote a novel telling the truth about life in the slums of Manchester.

Episode 14 - The Empire of Good Intentions
In the 1800’s the British were travelling all over the place taking British imperialism to the masses. Ireland wasn’t all that happy about this and began to rebel against the British Empire. So in 1845, when the potato famine hit Ireland, Britain did not stop its food exports, instead letting one million Irish starve. A further two million Irish emigrated to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America.

Episode 15 - The Two Winstons
The final episode looks at two great men in Britain’s recent history. George Orwell, a soldier who later became a writer, and Winston Churchill, a soldier who would later became prime minister. A man who refused to let his country fall to the Germans. After the war, a Labour Government meant the end of the class system and real reforms for ordinary people.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

This documentary series is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen and it is also 16:9 enhanced. As you’d expect from a relatively recently shot series such as this, the visual quality is generally pretty good. The level of detail is acceptable and film artefacts are virtually non-existent. Colours are also rich and nicely saturated. There is a little bit of background noise to be observed, however. This is evident during the scenes shot indoors in front of texture rich backdrops when the camera pans to keep the often moving Simon Schama in frame. Some of the black and white re-enactments look to purposely gritty, presumably to give the impression of violence and death, without being overly violent or gory. This series also features a little aged footage, but this doesn’t distract overly from the transfer. This documentary series comes on five dual layered (RSDL) discs, although I was unable to detect layer changes in any of the episodes.

Audio:

A History of Britain has a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack. Simon Schama’s narration is always clear and highly intelligible, and when he is on screen there were no noticeable audio synch problems. Similarly, the readings by various voice actors are also clear. The musical soundtrack by John Harle is worth mentioning. Some wonderful music to be found in this series, especially the piece called Immortal which can be heard during the opening credits for each episode. This documentary series also comes with English subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

Simon Schama’s Promotional Message
Historian Simon Schama gives a brief overview of this documentary series, and answers the question, why another history of Britain? Presumably this is meant to be followed by a promotional trailer of some description. Running time is 6.47 minutes.

Interview taken from The Rest is History with Mark Lawson
Simon Schama is interviewed here by Mark Lawson. Quite a good interview, with excellent visual and audio quality. Simon is asked him to try and summarise the documentary series in a few sentences. This could be quite a challenge for Simon, who tends to give rather long winded answers. Running time is 10.38 minutes.

Television and the Trouble with History
This is the inaugural BBC history lecture at that Simon Schama presented at the Banqueting House in Whitehall. It is entitled “Television and the Trouble with History”, it is introduced David Aaronovitch. He asks the question, does television trivialises history? An intriguing 49 minute lecture. It is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 channel sound.

Biography
Here you will find three pages of textual information about Simon Schama, the presenter of this documentary series. He was born and educated in England and is currently a Professor in the departments of Art History and History at Columbia University, New York. His list of publications and prizes is quite impressive.

Original Score
Selecting this feature loads a submenu where you can choose from six different pieces of music that can be heard throughout the documentary series; Sanctus, Immortal (Cathedral at the Edge of the World) which features on the menus and during the opening credits for each episode, St. Godrick’s Song, Farewell, Lady of the Light and Chanterai Pour Mon Courage.

Tempus Fugit
This is basically an interview with historian Simon Schama. He talks about the content of the fifteen episodes in this documentary series, the fifteen unavoidable questions that he wanted to deal with, and the material that ended up being cut. Simon also discusses shooting on location and the hospitality the crew experienced. We also get to see some actual behind the scenes footage, which is a bonus. This interview is also cut together with excerpts from the series and it is also presented in 1.85:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 channel sound. Running time is around 27 minutes.

SUMMARY

A History of Britain - The Complete Series is a wonderful BBC documentary series that is presented by Simon Schama. It covers important British events and people from 3000 BC to 2000 AD. It skilfully combines storytelling with visuals that range from artwork, photos and documents to architecture and scenic landscapes, not to mention historical footage. A must see for anyone with an interest in history. I imagine this documentary series would also be quite good for schools as a teaching aid. The visual transfer is very good and audio quality is satisfactory. This documentary series also comes with some worthwhile extras.