World War I (in 3D) with Tony Robinson (2015) Blu-ray 3D [Region Free]

[MercurySeven]

Just finished watching this. It's a very good history series, and the 3D photographs are absolutely fascinating. Some are better than others, as you'd expect from such old images, but the majority are beautifully layered and immersive. It's like gazing through a window into frozen moments from the First World War. Depth-wise, a number of them are just jaw-dropping: lines of troops stretch back for miles; dirt and debris from explosions hangs there, seemingly outside the screen; the claustrophobia of the trenches becomes searingly real thanks to the separation of foreground and background. It's startling to see, even experience, history this way.

I do have a few issues with the constant panning and zooming inside the 3D images. The director's guiding us, gradually revealing the depth of the scene or emphasizing certain things in it, and often it works well. It takes you “inside” the images. But to be honest I wanted to see the entire photographs, full-frame, as the original photographers intended. Some of the 3D contrast is lost when you’re only seeing a section of the image at a time. I did get used to that, but I was disappointed they didn’t include a gallery of the complete photos as a special feature on the BD. That would have been awesome.

The stereocards (3D photos) are the main attraction here, but the modern day stuff with Tony Robinson has exquisite 3D as well. Really, really strong depth, like David Attenborough’s recent nature series (Galapagos, Conquest of the Skies, Kingdom of Plants, etc). Robinson takes us to various sites in Belgium and France, explores a re-created trench, and even flies in a vintage plane. The 3D brings it all vividly to life.

As a re-telling of WW1, it’s not the most exhaustive series out there, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s four episodes long, 3 hours in total. What you get is a solid narrative overview of the war, illustrated by hundreds of stereocards, and backed up by on-location bits and pieces and some lively interviews with war historians. All in glorious 3D.

In short, it’s well worth seeking out.

[Active3D]

Thanks a lot for your thoughtful and informative review, MercurySeven. I very much appreciate it!

[Richard--W]

Yes, thanks MercurySeven for your helpful review and thanks for giving the old stereocards a chance. Not many people do. But those who do get blown away.

Even without a supplement of just stereocards, World War 1 3-D is as essential to any 3-D blu-ray collection as House of Wax.

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by MercurySeven

I do have a few issues with the constant panning and zooming inside the 3D images. The director's guiding us, gradually revealing the depth of the scene or emphasizing certain things in it, and often it works well. It takes you “inside” the images. But to be honest I wanted to see the entire photographs, full-frame, as the original photographers intended. Some of the 3D contrast is lost when you’re only seeing a section of the image at a time. I did get used to that, but I was disappointed they didn’t include a gallery of the complete photos as a special feature on the BD. That would have been awesome.

The Discovery Channel's WWII in 3D also has this problem - this kind of material is crying out to be presented without cropping or zooming.