History Classics: The Revolution [DVD]

Excellent recap of the entire revolutionary war from start to finish. While not on par with a Ken Burns epic like "the civil war", this breaks down the revolution and shows all the key aspects of both sides, as well as the most important historical figures. It deals with the struggles and brutal conditions of both sides, and is not afraid to show the darker aspects of our founding fathers. For example, while praising George Washington for his great leadership and iron will, it notes that Washington was a slave owner who banned negro recruits from joining the army early in the revolution, even though his army was desperately short of manpower. He also resorted to capitol punishment in the army on multiple occasions when it was on the brink of collapse.The re-enactments and done with superb quality, and match the narration quite effectively. It's nice to see what the narrator is saying play out right before your eyes. The actors are also dead ringers for the people they portray. I was particularly impressed with who they chose for Washington and Ben Franklin.The only major complaint I have is the final two episodes. They start with Washington's 8-day journey to take up his office as the first President, but end up just being recaps of everything that happened since episode 1. While it was quite immersive to see Washington reflect on everything he had been through, there is still no getting around the fact that it's just two episodes telling us what we already know from the previous ones. I would have preferred they have used two episodes to tell us what he did as president, or gone into more detail on what happened from after the revolution to the time he became president. That wasn't a requirement for the series, as it only says it's about the revolution, but it still would have been a much better use of the final episodes then simple recaps.But overall this is an excellent documentary at a reasonable price. If you want to learn more about the revolution, this is a pick you can't go wrong with.

The History Chanel and its scholors pretty much nailed the important dates and occurences that comprised our Americsn Revolution. What a wonderful learning tool for students 4th grade and up and for anyone interested in our country's birth. I highly recommend it for all families that have school age chidren and anyone with a desire to learn. These four discs contain 13 one hour long segments. A great investment in American Revolutionary History.

This thirteen part documentary takes the viewer from the incendiary events in Boston through George Washington's presidency. It is a combination of narration, reenactments, contemporary visuals, maps, and scholarly commentary. Though many viewers may think that these events are so well-known that a documentary would be tedious and unnecessary, they will be pleasantly suprised by this documentary. The narration relates the overall events and includes many insights and little-known facts. The familiar episodes and figures are illuminated and related; the narration is intelligent; the reenactments are not silly or overdone; the documentary as a whole is very entertaining. The Revolution was done before the History Channel focused on reality shows! In my view, this documentary is superior to most television shows. On a bad or so-so tv night, one can watch one, two, or even three of these episodes from the American Revolution and feel enlightened, entertained, and amazed at the fact that the United States came to be at all. Viewers familiar with the John Adams documentary, or many of the excellent books on the Revolution and the Founding Fathers, or the historical sites of the Revolution, will feel the connections here. The episodes of this popular history are available on these four dvds for a little more than $1 a show.. This History Channel series is well worth the price and the over ten hours of viewing time!

When I first started to watch the first disk, I was bored with it but not because I knew everything being told. It was how it was being told. The narrator is good but not great. His enunciation is excellent and is easy to understand but doesn't have a flair which is partly what makes me sit with rapt attention. By the 2nd DVD, I had become more involved and things started to get interesting. I found the story behind Benedict Arnold completely facinating since I never knew the whole truth. Our teachers obviously edited the story when I was growing up and sadly they probably still do. To me, the price alone was worth that. What annoyed me were small things like repeating a frame over and over for a different story line. Then, they did not tell all things chronoligically. Aside from this, I rank it a 3.5 which is still a very good review rating. Overall this is worth a viewing.

This is the second set of these DVD's that I have purchased. This set is for a gift, another history lover. Every year around July 4th, I get them out and watch them, or anytime during the year when I feel like watching them again. I love the history of our country and the Revolutionary period is my favorite. They have depicted the Revoulution in a very realistic movie,with great actors and beautiful scenery from that time period. I love watching it again and again. If you like the histroy of our country,,you will love these DVD's. Makes you stop and think how easy we have it today. Thank you so much for these great DVD's and for your excellent service Amazon.

Especially at this price, you can't go wrong with this series. The segments are well done and you are learning as you watch each. For that I give it 4 stars. Why not 5? With episode one, everything is fresh and new to the viewer. By episode four or five, you begin recognize the same footage being used time and time again. The footage being used for Guilford Courthouse or Monmouth, is in fact the same scenes from Lexington/Concord. For the producer, they probably saved quite a bit of money that way, but for the viewer it gets repetitive and you wonder if they thought we wouldn't notice?

5 out 5good video.would recommend this to anybody who wants to know about the revolution or American history.

very happy with my order