A History of Britain (2000)
• September 30th, 2000
Documentary
Overview
Stretching from the Stone Age to the year 2000, Simon Schama's Complete History of Britain does not pretend to be a definitive chronicle of the turbulent events which buffeted and shaped the British Isles. What Schama does do, however, is tell the story in vivid and gripping narrative terms, free of the fustiness of traditional academe, personalising key historical events by examining the major characters at the centre of them. Not all historians would approve of the history depicted here as shaped principally by the actions of great men and women rather than by more abstract developments, but Schama's way of telling it is a good deal more enthralling as a result. Schama successfully gives lie to the idea that the history of Britain has been moderate and temperate, passing down the generations as stately as a galleon, taking on board sensible ideas but steering clear of sillier, revolutionary ones. Nonsense. Schama retells British history the way it was--as bloody, convulsive, precarious, hot-blooded and several times within an inch of haring off onto an entirely different course. Schama seems almost to delight in the goriness of history. Themes returned to repeatedly include the wars between the Scots and the Irish and the Catholic/Protestant conflicts--only the Irish question remains unresolved by the new millennium. As Britain becomes a constitutional monarchy, Schama talks less of Kings and Queens but of poets and idea-makers like Orwell. Still, with his pungent, direct manner and against an evocative visual and aural backdrop, Schama makes history seem as though it happened yesterday, the bloodstains not yet dry.
TV Shows Link coming soon!!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
The Railway: Keeping Britain On Track
Released on: 2013-02-12
Documentary
Documentary series revealing the inner workings of Britain's railways, introducing the track-workers...
Walking Through History
Released on: 2013-03-30
Documentary
Tony Robinson goes for a walk through some of Britain's beautiful and historic landscapes.
Secrets of Britain
Released on: 2014-05-14
Documentary
The enormous popularity of recent British dramas such as Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, and Sherlock,...
Britain at the Bookies
Released on: 2015-07-20
Documentary
Documentary examining the winners and losers in Britain's booming gambling revolution.
Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School
Released on: 2015-08-04
Documentary
In a unique experiment, five teachers from China take over the education of fifty teenagers in a Ham...
Secret Society
Released on: 1987-04-22
Documentary
A politically charged mini-series researched and written by Duncan Campbell which saw dramatic Speci...
Great British Garden Revival
Released on: 2013-12-09
Documentary
Britain’s rich horticultural history is being lost. More and more front and back gardens are paved o...
Secret Britain
Released on: 2010-08-15
Documentary
Exploring the hidden corners of the UK in search of the best the countryside has to offer.
Shop Well for Less
Released on: 2016-03-09
Documentary
A mission to help families change the way they shop - without changing their lifestyle. A host of mo...
Fifties Features - The Women behind the Pictures
Released on: 1986-09-21
Documentary
A three part series about women working in the British film industry during the 1950s.
A1: Britain's Longest Road
Released on: 2017-05-08
Documentary
Following the men and women who work around the clock on Britain's longest and most iconic road, ens...
Oz & James Drink to Britain
Released on: 2009-01-06
Documentary
Oz Clarke and James May travel through Britain and Ireland to discover the amazing array of drinks t...
Lucy Worsley's Royal Myths & Secrets
Released on: 2020-06-21
Documentary
In this 3-part documentary series, Lucy Worsley travels across Britain and Europe visiting the locat...
Coast
Released on: 2005-07-22
Documentary
The nation's love affair with the coast will be reawakened for this entertaining and ambitious explo...
Elizabeth
Released on: 2000-05-04
Documentary
Elizabeth is a four-part British documentary about Queen Elizabeth I of England.
The Royal House of Windsor
Released on: 2017-02-22
Documentary
Drawing on newly available evidence, this epic series explores the Windsor dynasty's gripping family...
Inside Windsor Castle
Released on: 2017-02-14
Drama, Documentary
A look at life in Windsor Castle over the last 80 years, including the tragedies, triumphs, romances...
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
Released on: 2002-02-11
Documentary
Fred Dibnah reveals the genius, the vision and the sheer bloody graft that went into creating some o...