Review of Churchills, The

Introduction

How apt that this DVD appears during the BBC`s Great Britons season. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill is of course in the top 10, but the current voting puts Princess Diana on top. Let`s hope the public see sense in the coming weeks. And if you need some convincing about Churchill`s qualities, this DVD might just have some answers for you.

It could be argued that he had a great start in life, born at at Blenheim Palace, the son of Lord Randolph Churchill. He began an army career after attending Sandhurst Royal Military Academy. He moved into politics in 1900, first a Tory, then a Liberal, and became minister of munitions under David Lloyd George. He returned to the Conservatives many years later.

After Neville Chamberlain left the country in a mess with his fluttering piece of paper (after meeting Hitler in Munich in 1938 he declared, "it is peace for our time") , Churchill came to Downing Street in 1940 and led us through the war with his bulldog spirit and `blood, toil, tears and sweat`. Somewhat inexplicably he lost the 1945 election, but returned to power in 1951 at age 77.

That`s a very brief potted history - I urge you to find out more by watching this DVD.

Video

A full-frame transfer which is probably to be expected. The "episodes" of the series contained here are made up largely from footage from the first half of the 20th century, with a few more recent interviews scattered in between. So there`s lots of black and white material, that looks old, scratchy, dirty and just like most footage of Churchill that you`ve probably ever seen. However, this doesn`t really detract from the programme, it almost gives it a certain authenticity.

Some of the images from the War episode are quite harrowing, but a very powerful reminder of the evil of Hitler.

Audio

A DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which is a combination of stereo (I assume it is anyway, from the modern interviews) and scratchy and hissy mono from some of the footage from over 50 years ago. As with the video, this doesn`t really detract from the programme, it gives it a certain authenticity. Ian Holm`s excellent narration is crisp and clear and excellently handled.

The only gripe is that the sound is out about 2 seconds of synch with the picture for the whole of episode 2. This doesn`t matter in the main, as there`s not loads of footage of people talking to camera. But when this footage is shown, the interviewees look rather odd.

Features

Some extras too. A bonus episode, called Churchill`s War - this focuses purely on the war, whereas the 3 main programmes cover the life of the Churchills from Winston`s birth to death. The war "episode" is the most interesting on the whole DVD and gives an excellent insight into the man and the war. There`s also a biography and text versions of many of his speeches.

Conclusion

Was he a Great Briton? Unquestionably - and this DVD just goes to prove it. With over 3 hours devoted to his life and work, this DVD goes into a fair amount of detail, and has a strong focus on the war which is where he really earned his title of "great". The vast amount of footage, combined with the calm narration of Ian Holm makes for a fascinating series.

There is much debate about education in schools at the moment. The study of the war and of Churchill`s impact should be compulsory, and this DVD is a reasonable starting place. So if you or anyone you know doesn`t know enough about Churchill then watch this DVD devoted to the life of a Great Briton. And vote Churchill in the BBC poll!