Review for World War 1 in Colour

World War 1 in Colour is a six episode series about the First World War. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh and painstakingly computerised into full colour this was described as a way to see the war like it had never been seen before. The six episodes look at the reasons for the war and the war as it went on between 1914-1918 and its aftermath. Many people are interviewed, historians who discuss the tactics and the theories behind the war and also with many of the survivors still able to tell their story.

This series so wanted to be The World at War and yet it fails on so many levels. The use of the colorization technique is so pointless that it adds literally nothing to the look of the series. In some ways, it made the whole experience feel staged and it reminded me of all the old Laurel and Hardy films that were colorised for some unknown reason. I don't understand why they bothered as surely they could have used all those hours they spent on this in adding more information or depth to the documentary itself.

I will not mention much about the pitifully embarrassing CGI reconstructions. I understand that they needed to explain something that they didn't have footage for, but not in this way. As are the hilarious attempts to do impressions of famous people like Winston Churchill and Kaiser Wilhelm which are almost amateur-level.

At only six episodes everything also feels very rushed. They spend literally five minutes on the causes of the war when that could have been an episode all to itself and the same could be said about all the other major moments during the war e.g. Russian Revolution, American Involvement, The Armistice and Treaties. This could have easily been a 10 or 12 episode series and if it had focused more on certain aspects it would have felt more authoritative, rather than a 'Quick Guide to the First World War' which is what it ended up being.

This is not to say that it is a pointless experience, it's not. It's just not the epic depiction of the war that it should have been. Kenneth Branagh's narration is perfect throughout and I cannot fault him on what he says. Though I will say at times it is a little cold and boring as if he has no emotional connection with anything he is reading. This isn't the expressiveness of a David Attenborough or even the calm authority of Laurence Olivier, but just someone reading a script.

Over the two disks they do include some extras such as a fifteen minute Making of giving you an idea about why and how it was made and this is nicely done. However, I do feel that more could have been made of this and maybe if the key people had contributed a commentary then they would have had more time to discuss it.

Tactics and Strategy could almost be described as a 'Lost Episode' which is narrated by Robert Powell (who did the original World War 2 in Colour series) and is a look at all the various combat techniques that were used during the war. This is nice and focused and should have been the template for how all the episodes should have been made.

Timeline is a little odd, as it notes all the main points during the war and some are selectable allowing you to view that point in the series. However, it doesn't just play that moment and then take you back, it actually just takes you to the episode and keeps going. So after it has been discussed you have to Menu exit to get back. Though if you wanted to know about a particular moment then this is quite useful.

General facts is just that. It is stats of numbers killed, numbered forces and it is a really sobering thought when you see that 62,414,000 died between the two sides in only four years. There is also a biography section of all the main figures during the war. These give a nice overview of key people whether political or part of the forces and what their connection and contribution to the war were.

World War 1 in Colour should have been a great documentary and in some ways it is. If you want a quick overview of the war then it does its job perfectly. if you wanted more of an insight into the war then this is not what you are looking for. As an exercise in colorization it shows just what the computer can do to old black and white footage, but just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Some things are meant to be in black and white and I will say that for me the First World War is one of them.