Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3453 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-10-05
• Rating: Exempt
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, Colour, PAL
• Original language: Czech, English, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish
• Number of tapes: 2
• Running time: 180 minutes

Synopsis
Covering the period from the Russian Revolution to the breaking of the Berlin Blockade in 1949. This work shows how tensions came to the boil after the defeat of Nazi Germany and how Europe came to be divided up as a result.

Customer Reviews

Very indepth analysis of the second half of the last century
I watched the video after having read the book, and it presented a vast wealth of information on the foundings of the Cold War. The earlier events were given, such as the Berlin Blockade and the Berlin Airlift, as well as the partition of Germany and Berlin, and the mounting tensions between the two new world superpowers, the USA and the USSR.

There is a good mixture of sources presented on the video, from first-hand sources to maps and diagrams explaining the events. I found the video a highly fascinating insight into the events of the second half of the last century, and how close we came to a full blown Hot War, especially over events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This video is the first in the series, and ideally, i suggest watching them all, as it gives all the information practically up to the last decade, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and Soviet Communism.

The definitive Cold war documentary
This volume of the Cold War series deals with the split between the East and West. Covering the period of deep hostility between Stalinist Russia and the West, it shows what happened through a combination of archive footage, interviews with people who were there and the occasional graphic.

As with the rest of this series, those interviewed are not just pilot X or infantryman Y, but quite often people who played an important part in what went on (This series was the first cold-war documentary to get an interview with Fidel Castro). With people like George Kennan, Clark Clifford and John Kenneth Galbraith, this series cannot be accused of using talking heads simply to pad out the program.

While the programs are limited in that they are only 50 minutes long, they are thoughtful and, relatively speaking, not too biassed (although rather pro-western) compared with many programs on this topic. Anyone interested in really studying the period should read a book on the topic, since it will almost certainly have more to say. But if you want to learn about the cold war from moving pictures, this is perhaps the best way to do it.

The Cold War Version of the Landmark Series 'World at War'.
This series follows in the same landmark vein as the 1973 series of 26 episodes 'World at War' which focuses on WW2. This one however focuses on the period of 1945-91 and the Cold War standoff. The dramatic narration, musical score and style of presentation are all modelled on the aforementioned series and are pulled off just as well. This was made between 1994-8 and released towards the end of 1998 on the cable channel CNN and susequently released on VHS video in 1999-2000 however never made it to DVD and they aren't making anymore VHS either, hence the difficulty in obtaining copies. There are a total of 6 double video VHS volumes (UK version not USA) each volume comprising 4 episodes for a total of 24 episodes.

All I can say is that if you are reading this and have seen the 'World at War' then you can expect the same quality from this series executively produced by the same indiviudal who did 'World at War' 25 years earlier being Sir Jeremy Iaascs. The two are perfect accompanyments to one another. If you see it BUY IT.