Official Synopsis:
Through dramatic reconstruction, eye-witness accounts and archive footage, each episode of this series pieces together the thrilling stories of the landmarks of our time, the moments in history - human tragedies, scientific breakthroughs and calamitous events - that have profoundly affected how the world thinks and acts. Incisive, fascinating and dramatic, Days That Shook The World brings to life truly seismic moments in modern history. These are the events that changed the way we view the world.

Episodes:

- First in Flight: The Wright Brothers and the Moon Landing

- The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the Death of Diana

- The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the Death of Hitler

- The Assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Release of Nelson Mandela

- Hiroshima

- The Murder of the Romanovs and the Fall of the Berlin Wall

- Kristallnacht and the Birth of Israel

- Tutankhamun's Tomb and the Rosetta Stone

- The First Nuclear Reaction and Chernobyl

- Black September and Lockerbie

- The Assassination of JFK and the Resignation of Nixon

- Marconi's First Transatlantic Radio Transmission and the Concorde's First Transatlantic Flight

- Chuck Yeager and Bluebird

Our Take:
Nostalgia and education provide dual appeal in this two-disc set of DVDs about momentous historic events from this century. Watching tape of Nixon and the gang, as well as JFK and Martin Luther king, Jr. assassination footage brought me back in time to my childhood; I’m sure most people who were alive then remember those days pretty vividly. As much as I thought I knew about those events though, I learned new things while watching the BBC production Days That Shook The World: The Complete First Season.

I learned much more about historical events that I only had a glancing knowledge of, such as the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and Tutankhamen.

Learning is something I enjoy so, needless to say, I was fascinated by this set and spent much more time reviewing it than I’m sure my editor wanted me to.

Obviously, there were no movie cameras to capture the events leading to the Wright Brothers’s first flight at Kitty Hawk, or the unfolding of the conspiracy to kill the Arch Duke that led to World War I. The BBC uses dramatizations based on existing photographs and documentation such as diaries, journals and trial transcripts. They do a great job.

Sadly, there are no extras included with the DVD set.

I really enjoyed watching Days That Shook The World: The Complete First Season because l feel that as long as we continue to learn, we are still alive. When the world stops holding wonder, awe or mystery, then I think our minds begin to atrophy and it’s just a matter of time before real death catches up with the brain dead. Buy the DVD so you can live long and prosper! (OK, maybe not, but it’s still worth the money)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Movie: A+
DVD: B

- Tony Gray

Staff Writer