In one of my earlier reviews, I wrote at great length of how great World at War is and how it is the apex of ww2 documentaries, delving into almost every single aspect of the war, from Hitler's rise to power, to the german invasion of poland, to barbarossa, d-day, okinawa, iwo jima, dunkirk, and everything in between. This show is basically World at War but for the first war, although because it came earlier, you can argue this was the real trailblazer. It employs many things that would later go on to become a staple of any war documentary worth anything, which includes getting interviews from people that were actually there (even german soldiers are interviewed), using scenes that involve maps that give the viewer a bird's eye view of what the opposing armies are trying to accomplish, the reading of primary sources from the time (like newspapers) and a soundtrack that perfectly fits with what is going on, whether it's sad, heroic, or terrifying. Most importantly, the show covers the entire war from start to finish, and includes the most critical and savage battles of world war 1, including Ypres, Passchendaele, Verdun, the Somme, Belleau Wood, Amiens, Tannenberg, and Gallipoli just to name a few. The series also goes into detail about some of the the first world war's lesser known battlegrounds, such as the german colony in Tsingtao, china, where the japanese fought the very country they would ally with 2 decades later. Just like World at War, the Great War has a stellar narrator, Michael Redgrave. No matter what he's discussing on screen, just the sound of him talking is enough to interest the viewer. To summarize, the Great War is simply a must watch for anybody who likes to study war history, and they shouldn't consider themselves a specialist on ww1 until they see it.
