People's Century: 1900-1999 (1995– ) User Reviews

A century in 26 episodes

[encroach65 · 9/10 · 18 August 2006]

This series is amazing. A complete history of the 20th century in 26 episodes. It covers all facets of the times. From the hope perceived in 1900 to the new hopes expectant in 1999. The historical film footage is excellent and apt. The script and narration are concise and informative but with the emphasis on the experiences of ordinary people. It would appear that US viewers had different narrators - John Forsythe and Alfre Woodard. The British version used little known, but professional, narrators - Sean Barrett and Veronika Hyks (though IMDb does not credit Veronika on this site) who are excellent. The series concentration on peoples recollection of events as well as visual footage sets it apart from other documentaries. I have seen and recorded all, but one, of the episodes and recommend it without hesitation. Each episode centres on a theme which may span anything from a few years (1929 - Breadline) to almost the whole century (1970 - Half the People). I am currently transferring my video recordings onto DVD as it would appear to be difficult to attain copies of this series which is a definite shame. Hopefully, someday someone will wake up to the value of this series and make it more universally available.

regarding the music score by Zbigniew Preisner

[VAHEYGRIFFITHS · 10/10 · 25 November 2009]

I fully endorse the previous comment. The series was superb. I particularly admired the musical score by Zbigniew Preisner which managed to enhance the drama without overwhelming it. I had heard only one other score by this composer which was music to the film Damage. I did not enjoy the film very much and thought the score was the best thing in it! Ihave discovered recently that Preisner composed the scores for the trilogy Red, Blue and White which I enjoyed immensely.

If any other contributor knows of any further works by this composer I should be glad to hear of them.

I sincerely hope this wonderful series gets another airing.

A lesser known classic history documentary

[harj-41-607090 · 10/10 · 28 August 2018]

The 20th century in 26 superb episodes as told by the people who lived it.

This is a superb piece of documentary making which carries a powerful score with it which itself is superb while not overpowering the central narrative. The narration itself is concise, to the point and powerfully delivered.

Sadly, this superb documentary is not well known, and doesn't seem easily available. I can't remember it being retransmitted since the original broadcast at the turn of the millennium