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Gag Gifts, Occasion Gifts - The Guns of August
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List Price: $19.98
Our Price: $69.69
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Starring: Fritz Weaver, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Winston Churchill, Georges Clemenceau, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf
Directed By: Nathan Kroll
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302703832
Format: Black & White
ISBN: 6302703832
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Studios
Release Date: 1998-01-01
Running Time: 100
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: 1965
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: See it to understand
Comment: For those of you who are enjoying the book Paris, 1919, this is the pictoral history that lead up to that time. It graphically answers the questions what prompted the starting of the war,, why,, how did it become probably the most horrible war for the average fighting soldier in the history of mankind. You will see what they had to endure for four years, poison gas, massive artillery bombardments, flamethowers, machine guns, barb wire, and battles that now counted death in the millions. They called World War I the great meat grinder, because of the way machines mangled and pulverized the soldiers fighting it. This video is probably the best anti-war film make, simply for the honesty of showing the butality of war at its absolute worst.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Demonstration of statecraft at its' worst
Comment: Anyone who thinks that the horror of nuclear war makes it impossible should read "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman. Immediately after the Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by Serbian agents, it appeared to be a crisis, but not a severe one. Then suddenly, it all spiraled out of control into a conflagration that engulfed the world, which is now known as World War I. Monarchs signed decrees that led to their dethronement and in one case, their death and the entire order of Europe was destroyed. The leaders were pushed to a point where they felt their only option was to have their nations fight to the death. This tape is based on that book and on the whole, gives a reasonably accurate portrayal of the events of that time.
One omission is a brief rehash of the Franco-Prussian war, the subsequent German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine and the French desire for revenge. This was the strongest force among the French that pushed them towards the war. The narrative is also somewhat biased against the central powers, in that the footage is almost exclusively from the allied side. The critical involvement of Turkey on the side of the central powers is also ignored. If Turkey had at minimum stayed neutral instead of entering the war on the side of the central powers, it is most likely that the war would have ended in 1917. Had she entered the war on the side of the allies, it may have ended even earlier. Of all the countries who was heavily engaged, she was the one who most easily could have stayed out.
Diplomacy and statecraft will never be exact sciences, so nothing is ever certain. If you read the book or see this tape, you will learn how true that is. Our only hope to do better next time is to understand the mistakes of the last times. This tape is a reasonably accurate portrayal of how what should have been a minor event can escalate to a disaster due to inept leadership, a lesson that should be re-learned on a regular basis.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good historical film.
Comment: I watched this just after reading Barbara Tuchman's book of the same name. This is not a movie production of her work, but rather a good visual tool in the form of a documentary. It contains a treasure trove of WWI film, most of it of excellent quality. I enjoyed seeing the characters I had only imagined from the book come to life. For me, the combination of the book plus the movie made for a more satisfying experience.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Builds on the foundation of Tuchman's literary masterpiece.
Comment: The Guns of August takes its title, its pace and its studious approach to the events of the First World War from Barbara Tuchman's extraordinary book. The film cannot provide the detail or the masterful objectivity of the book, and wisely makes no attempt to be a visual clone.Although both start well before the beginning of hostilities, the printed version draws to a close at the end of August 1914, whereas the movie takes us through to the cessasation of the fighting. A great deal of archival film is included in this ambitious production, adding to the authenticity and the odd sense of disbelief one gains as the incredible series of miscalculations leading to war unfold before the viewer's eyes. The Guns of August is presented in a straight-forward documentary style, making no effort to embellish the accounts included or to make itself entertaining. It is a thoughtful, often morose recounting of the tragic events that consumed an entire generation of Europe's fighting men and untold numbers of innocent civilians unable to avoid its terrible path. It leaves the viewer unable to believe that such horrors could be loosed on the world again, yet knowing that they were a scant two decades later. For any student of military or political science, this is a film not to be missed. The awful depiction of the results of failed diplomacy is a lesson not to be dismissed, lest it must be relearned yet again.
Customer Rating:
Summary: How could any intelligent person not like this?
Comment: Although the length of the documentary cannot do justice to the book by Tuchman, it is probably the most thorough WWI movie ever made. If you want to know why the world is the way it is today, watch this film. It will show you how the conflicts of this century came about. Remember, the war that began in 1914 led us to the war in 1939, which in turn led us to the Cold War that last until the 1990's - and, in my opinion, is still going on.
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