Russia - Land of the Tsars
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Movie Reviews of Russia - Land of the Tsars
Movie Review: Well worth it
Summary: 5 Stars
This video is great. The 1st disk is beautifully done and is a great overview of Russian history with lots of interesting facts and cultural insights. The 2nd disk has biographies of Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and Rasputin - which are worth the price of this collection alone.Movie Review: Interesting
Summary: 5 Stars
Before traveling to Russia I saw these documentary series and they are absolutely great. Very informative. I felt like I know the history of Russia before the communism as well as our Russian tour leader did...Movie Review: very informative
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great over-all history of Russia. Great commentary and beautiful scenes. I could see myself in school watching this and wanting to know more.Movie Review: Excellent!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hollywood could not have created the twists, turns and turmoil in this true story of Russian history. A well done documentary, perfectly narrated.Movie Review: Good Primer to Start With
Summary: 4 Stars
I was honestly suprised to see how many reviewers gave negative comments regarding Russia - Land of the Tsars DVD. There are certainly repetitive clips, but I found that overall, the entire DVD was a good introduction for a first time student or someone who wanted a visual history of the Russian Tsars.
I rented the DVD from my library, and watched both volumes on the weekend. There are two DVDs in all, volume one covering the entire history of the Tsars, and volume two featuring stories on Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and Rasputin (from Tsar Nicholas II's reign).
The first volume, although it covers such an immense range of material, is done well. Of course, the notable Tsars like Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and Catherine the Great are described in better detail. However, I agree that there are rehashed clips, and some of the renactments are merely clips of horsemen banging swords around (with the camera showing closeups of these swords).
Volume two, although about the Russian Tsars, seems dissimilar to volume one in some respects. While Vol. I was done by the History Channel, Vol. II contains episodes from A&E's biography. Thus, there are a few conflicts between the stories on Vol. I and II. For example, Vol. I emphasized Peter the Great's half sister, Sophia, more in the history of his youth. But in Vol. II, you don't get a sense that Sophia was important at all. And although Ivan the Terrible is one of the three figures on Vol. II, there are missing elements to his story that are captured with more depth in Vol. I.
The only thing that really frustrated me was how Vol. II used the
same clips from previous stories. During the Peter the Great's
story, they kept showing the painting of Ivan the Terrible's murder of his son. How does this relate? It obviously doesn't,
and this error diminishes Vol. II's narration and accuracy.
So although I was displeased with some of the things in Vol. II,
I thought Vol. I was done well enough that I could recommend this DVD to individuals without any background in Russian history who were interested learning about the Tsars. Of course, it does more to read about the long, expansive history, but Vol. I can perform a service by getting people introduced and interested in some of the leading figures in Russian history before they get started on a book.