User reviews

I thoroughly loved this TV series, very interesting and enjoyable. The only negative thing about it is the effects were lacking slightly, I did notice that the belt on one on the Vickers machine guns wasn't very convincing, slight let down but none the less, still very entertaining and realistic. TV series are usually a let down, however this one was the best one I've seen in a while. Hope they release this on a Box set! The actors were very good and the CGI was pretty good. If they do a mini- series about World War 2, I will definitely watch since this series was amazing, shame about it only being 3 Episodes long. BBC did a very good job at making this entertaining and I have to say, it was a must watch series.

Just watched all three episodes on Netflix.

Exceptionally well produced, directed and acted. Production values are very good for TV.

I hope that if a season II is produced that they show the horror of poison gas used by both sides during the war as well as the fledgling use of airplanes as weapons of war.

The use of recorded WWI veterans voices is very moving.

As was the use of actual pictures and video blended into show. Not sure I like the introduction of modern music, but I understand the need to use objects to drawer younger viewers.

Does anyone know if more episodes are in production? Thanks

Got recommended this by a friend. It is now back on Iplayer and I am confined by lockdown. Have to sat this was one of the best I have seen for a long time. The stories picked to shine a light on small aspects of the great war were incredibly well done.

I watched this show with anticipation & in the end, I found that it was absolutely brilliant. Not only is the production great, the acting superb, the story line, which are taken from actual diaries & stories of the soldiers in World War I. I found this show to be honest in it's reflection to the soldiers in the Great War. It must have been horrifying for the men & women who in the beginning thought it was to be an adventure. I highly recommend this series for all adults to see. Having said that, I would not let children watch this show as the special effects are graphic but well done. Looking forward to watching the rest of the series.

Reading some of the previous reviews I feel them to unjustly pick on the music used. I thought it helped and gives the right emotional tone. Its modern yes... so is the audience. Using the music from back then might be awkward.

Be it the music or the camera work... the program gives a fresh view of WW I and of the people who fought it. You feel like you are in the trenches waiting for battle. The actors look very much like the men they portray. I am very glad this is now available in Netflix and I sure hope to see a 2nd season. If you haven't seen it do so... this is some very very good directing and filming.

I had six second cousins (two times removed) that I've discovered from ancestry research who died in WW1. From the ages of 18 to 42 they died in Turkey, France, Belgium, and India. All of them were buried where they died except one who died of his wounds and is buried in Kent, England. Two of them were in the Manchester 18th. Watching this series took me to the battlefields, and I felt as if I were in the thick of it with them. The series is an emotional experience when you know that you have the DNA of distant cousins who served, fought, and perished in this terrible war. This has been undoubtedly the most moving re-enactment and documentary about the war, at least for me. Well done.

What the negative reviewers are failing to appreciate...

This is a mixed genre piece... Also, get over it.

Remember Knights Tale, and how effectively they used modern music to connect with a modern audience? "We will rock Rock you" for a jousting tournament? Remember Moulin Rouge! Solid examples of modern music, used in period pieces--to great effect, I'm thinking. We all imagine WW11 to the musical stylings of Vera Lynn, or can't imagine a WW1 piece without: It's a Long Way to Tipperary, all in black and white of course.

How does that hit our hearts now? This series has accurate uniform, armory, battles, replete with letters, and recorded statements from the participants involved. You don't get anymore historically accurate than this... Seriously, I can safely say it is a well researched portrayal. How about communicating that portrayal, so it is fully appreciated nowadays? How about expressing the extreme violence, nobleness and depravities of this period of history, in a language understandable to a modern day teenager--which were the fodder that we grinded up in this war? Perhaps, maybe, tell it in now, in this same young person's vocabulary, to express a greater truer impact of this conflict, in a way that will communicate to their own sensibilities? You know are youngsters now have currently been equally called out, and died in wars recently, that are perhaps stupider than this, and they just might benefit from what WW1 has to tell them. Why not make this piece accessible to them? This is nothing new in cinema, that hasn't been done many times over in the spirit of showing a generation, what previous generations have experienced. In my opinion, this is one of the stand outs, which makes history more tangible, something you can taste and feel, instead of a dusty old relic.

This is only a hundred years ago. We didn't have tails and were trying to avoid being eaten on the kalahari. The automobile, airplane, and telephone had already been incorporated into modern warfare.

They were listening to songs, like we are. This mixing of genres brings it home. It shows the relevancy of this war, and these young people, not it's antiquatedness. It was supposed to be: The war to end all Wars, and because it didn't, we might take pains to remind everyone of that fact.

Same assessment, for the modern in-camera portrayals, for the exact same reasons. YES!!! If the filmmakers of that day, could show what their generation went though, with the Pizazz this BBC production has, they would have been equally blown away, as I was watching this show.

Way to go BBC! Another brilliant example of how you are out-pacing other markets. A must see for anyone I can think of.

I'm not sure why so many feel the need for spoiler alerts. Do you NOT know about WWI, the Armistice, Guns of August, etc.? If not, then you probably need a spoiler to appreciate this. Anyway, the drama is top notch and the other features (maps, real-life voices of Vets, etc. ) are well done. Music to me added an interesting twist, but nothing to worry about really. The acting & directing are spectacular. My only regret was that there were only three segments. it would be nice someday to see something similar from the German perspective.

Even if you have just a passing interest in this era, this is well worth watching.

The series is excellent, great scenery and special effects and story line but the choice of music is so inappropriate for the time period.

Why modern rock style music used?

Other than that its pretty good but the music selections are such out of character for the times back then. Makes me wonder what the producers were thinking.... perhaps they were just lazy or maybe they owed someone in the music industry a favor? Not that I didn't like the music on the series, it would have been better on some coming of age film set in the 90's. Its just not appropriate for that time period and distracted immensely from my enjoyment.

The camera work is very good, the angles and composition excellent, I wish the producers (and possibly director) would have thought about their music choices as much as they did the camera work. Thats why I gave it 5 stars, reissue this with more timely background music and I would update review to 10 stars

I take a little umbrage to those who would prefer a more classic portrayal of this war. I have seen it. Yawn.

As for the music, would you rather have the more period specific backing the battle scenes? The music helps put the viewer in the scene by providing a modern touch point of what would probably be playing in the back of the mind of today's soldier if put into a similar situation. Those soldiers had that day's music in their heads; by scoring period music it forces the viewer to distance themselves from the story being told, rather than emotionally putting themselves into the middle of it. The same goes for the GoPro/game play cinematic style.

As far as the Mohawk helmet modification being absolutely unprecedented/not allowed on the WWI battle field, I submit exhibit A: http://tinyurl.com/ybww9dw6 - it did not take long to do a simple Google search debunking this statement.

This is an emotional telling of three distinct periods of a very brutal war.

This is what telling a story is all about. It feels like a real story and it is. The interspersed scenes of the real war work perfectly and the character development is just right for me. They do a great job of showing the progress of the battles which is missing in most all war stories. Finally this show affected me like nothing in a long time. Yes I cried like a baby at the end of episode 3. The first episode broke me up also and the knowledge of the bravery and the awards for it truly exhausted me. Action, truth, great stories, Perfect. The directors and producers need to learn from this how to tell the war stories from all wars in the last century.

The BBC do a good job with drama-documentaries, and this is a contender for their best yet. I watched it on release in 2014 and, 6 years on, have just watched them all again.

Forget a sterile narration of the strategic direction of WW1, these three episodes look at real events from the war and the stories are on a much more personal level, showing the war as a dynamic, mobile affair rather than focusing on the stalemate of the trenches. This gives an insight into the sort of horrors our grandfather/great grandfather/great great grandfather etc might have experienced. Definitely not for children, as the language and violence is on the strong side.

The endings feature the real recorded voices of the people whose stories are told and I thought that was a genius touch.

The only negative I can find is that there are only 3 episodes.

Very much enjoyed this show. I don't get all fussed about rivet counting. And judging from some of the reviewers, they were expecting a tried and true formula. The "video game" graphics and modern music may have well drawn in the younger gen, and that's important.

There's lots of war movies out there, so you're comments about '80's rock music etc are misguided, this is how younger gen see things and it works.

Plus, I hate to say it, the US ones are usually better, and all I hear is "the yanks think they won the bloody war themselves!" Most of those in the know, know that's not true but frankly, Spielberg, Hanks et al. nailed it, sorry, they did, and if another country does the same, good one them. Dunkirk is a fine example, there was even a Canadian series modelled somewhat on BOB style that was modern, easy to follow with an accompanying web site (although it's gone now I think) History Canada's War Story. Same with Paul Gross in Passchendaele.

So I hope this give some of the younger less uptight gen a glimpse, of what the great war was like, from a first person perspective.

An excellent well done series taken from actual experiences. I'm so glad I found it. Profoundly moving and informative and exceedingly well crafted.

World War One was perhaps the most god-awful war to have fought in and although more documentaries and films have been made about the Second World War, the First killed off far more soldiers....leaving almost an entire generation of men gone or physically and emotionally damaged. "Our World War" is a show that finally gives the attention this hellish war deserves. However, it's NOT a traditional documentary consisting of grainy old footage. Instead, the BBC recreated select battles based on the notes and letters of enlisted men. It's brilliantly made and the BBC spare little expense to get the British soldier's experience right.

By the way, I do NOT recommend this great series to everyone. It's bloody, awful to watch at times and it's not a bad idea to have some Kleenex handy. This is because you get to know and like the men...and then, much of the time, then see them die before your very eyes in very vivid ways. If you've had PTSD, do not watch the show. If you have kids, do NOT let them watch the show. And, as for yourself...think twice about watching because the show is so well made, it's also horrid to watch.

My class loved it. Used this to inspire a "Letters from the Front" unit around Remebrance Day. Those kids will never forget it. The students were amazed to learn that the last Canadian killed in the Great War was buried at Mons, and recognized just how much was sacrificed for so little. My son and I have watched the series a few times over. Those who don't like it might not have the perspective of having seen kids learn history in a way that reaches them today. Thanks BBC

If you are into military movies series whatever you will love this series! It sucks it's only three episodes though.

Three true stories of British soldiers fighting in World War 1. Each one takes place at a different time and place in the war, focuses on a different unit and shows a different aspect to the war. In Episode 1 it is 1914 and we follow an infantry company defending a bridge in the Battle of Mons. In Episode 2 it is 1916: a soldier is on a firing squad, formed to execute a deserter after the Battle of the Somme. In Episode 3 it is 1918 and we follow a tank crew at the Battle of Amiens.

Excellent series. Very gritty and realistic in its feel, and quite accurate in its depiction of the events and action. The plots are based on actual accounts from soldiers involved, making for engaging viewing. Adding to the engagement is that you get to know the characters, their backstories, motivations etc. Makes it quite an emotional experience at times.

Not perfect though. In an effort to appeal to younger audiences a few modern-day features are thrown in. These are quite subtle though and don't detract too much from the stories. The modern music in the soundtrack is far from subtle but actually blends in quite well. Some of the first-person-shooter views are a bit jarring though.

Biggest negative: only three episodes were produced! This could easily have been expanded to dozens of episodes, there are that many documented unit-level stories of WW1 worth telling.

I found this production to be as close to real as possible but the music sucks. The music is so out of place for the era that it's distracting.

I'm quite well read on the First World (Great) War and I enjoyed these three episodes a great deal. Although I was not there (on the battlefield) myself, the three episodes smacked of reality. They nicely drew on the experiences of individual soldiers (Paddy Kennedy, for example, is a major figure in Martin Middlebrook's classic work The First Day on the Somme and his story can found in print there) and the somewhat larger military picture was provided with some very nice computer graphics that added to the information but did not misrepresent or distort the real story. Later history (events since 1918) has obscured some things from the current view, but this war was a REALLY BIG DEAL for Great Britain and it and the subsequent events (political and otherwise) are in important ways responsible for how the Edwardian (Victorian) UK became the UK of today.