Barbarians
(History Channel)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: B- Episodes: B-
In
another good combo DVD set, The History Channel has issued their four-part
mini-series Barbarians (2003). It is a good series and is informative, but
also has more reenactment footage than usual that fells like too much and some
history and facts seem to be stretched out slightly to make this a little more
entertaining.
It is
that which separates it from the more informative equivalent you would find on
PBS or in older such programs. At times,
it feels like it is trying to appeal to wrestling fans, but in fairness, the
facts are still accurate. That does make
it better for school kids, but is a bit more basic then we are used to from an
A&E Network.
Actor
Clancy Brown does nice job of narrating the chapters, but as good as he is, I
kept wishing he would have even more to say.
With so many other civilizations involved, this feels disturbingly
“ethnic free” enough to not always feel authentic and that is as much of a
problem as the lack of detailed information.
The overall result is mixed.
The DVD
case claims that the 16 X 9 image is anamorphically enhanced, but it does not
register that way in playback and being shot on analog video, it is only going
to look so good. This is newly shot, so
it is a clean image throughout. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has healthy Pro Logic surrounds, though the music is a
bit repetitious. The extras include a
mixed behind-the-scenes featurette on DVD 1 runs 20:42, while DVD 2 offers the
Genghis Khan installment of Biography from
1995. The latter show is the best in
this set. These two programs are welcome
additions, but being this is DVD, I continued to wish for more.
So it is
a competent set, but those interested should only have so many
expectations. The best of such programs
we usually consider archival, and though this is not exactly disposable, it is
not archival priority. It is still
collectible and should make fans of the subject happy enough.
- Nicholas Sheffo
