War and Civilization: DVD Review (2007)

It may not have the polish, depth or style of a Ken Burns documentary, but Stephen Trombley’s eight-part series, “War and Civilization,” does give a reasonably thorough overview of the past 3,000 years of warfare.

There's much to be reviewed here, and while this 1998 series covers too much ground, it does a decent job in offering a generalized overview.

Walter Cronkite narrates, with Trombley using military historian John Keegan’s research to flesh out the evolution of armed conflict.

Everything from Greek phalanx warfare and Alexander the Great to Attila the Hun, the fall of the Aztec empire, the Crimean War, the Civil War, World War II and the Cold War (and beyond) are covered.

Sound ambitious? It is. It also can be exhausting, its recreations sometimes are crudely manufactured, but the newsreel footage always is compelling, and the final statement Trombley makes about our depressing, inherent need to enter into war stirs the series straight into the present.

Grade: B-