HermannGermanic Tribes: The Complete Four-Part Saga

The documentary is broken into four 50 min (approx) parts, each covering progressive time periods of history. The first deals with Julius Caesar's Gallic wars and offers some general information on the nature of the Germanic tribes. The second part deals with Rome's further expansion into and subjugation of Gaul and the revolt at Teutoburg forest. Part three deals with the frontier world of the Pax Romana, how Rome and Germania managed to coexist. And part four deals with the end of the Roman world and the birth of the Germanic kingdoms that became the realms of medieval Europe.Most of the negative comments made about this documentary concentrate on the series's brevity or lack of coverage of a particular tribe or event. With more than 500 years to cover, I think the filmmakers did a more than honorable job. They offer enough details and discussion of research and excavation results and techniques to be scholarly, while at the same time weaving a narrative story through the material to aid in delivering the information. There is admittedly enough real history to populate many more hours of coverage, but not many documentary filmmakers would have the funds for a project of such scope, nor could they find a big enough audience to justify the expenditure. The outline followed in the four parts, I thought, worked brilliantly to form a well documented and cohesive, albeit compact, telling of the history of the Germanic tribes. It may have left me wanting for more, but I'll seek that more with further reading.

this 4 part 3+ hour documentary tries to create different key moments in the history of the Germanic tribes. The use of dramatic re-enactments of "typical", if fictionalized, characters, interspersed with commentary by contemporary archeologists works fairly well. There is an underlying agenda to show how important these tribes were to future European history and its informative at the most basic level if one doesn't know about the Battle of the Teuterberg Forest stopping Roman northward expansion or the Frankish King Clovis' conversion to Christianity being decisive in spreading that religion. Still, there is so much more left out than put in and a great disservice is done. Granted that Germanic origins are mysterious, but archeologists have far more to say than this documentary which merely starts and ends with some image of "mysterious warlike tribes in dense primeval forests". Also not to speak of the wandering trajectories of various tribes which brought down the Roman Empire and peopled various parts of Europe is a big limitation. The Goths are barely mentioned, other tribes like the Vandals not at all, and a viewer would have no idea of the role of the Angles and Saxons in post-Roman Britain or the Visigoths in Spain, etc. Interesting questions like the relations of Germanic to Scandinavian aren't even broached. Granted that much in this history may be speculative, contemporary accounts of the earlier centuries are taken almost entirely from Roman sources, and this DVD is designed as popular entertainment, much more could have been done. I suppose that to get beyond the boiled down 15 minutes of actual information, it's better to read a good book on the subject.

I found the first part to be the most interesting, mostly because I could now see those pillar idols that may have been the same as Ibn Fadlan and Tacitus had referred to. The first person narrative ties each episode together, but I found this to be rather detracting, because it allowed for quite a bit of conjecture. On the other hand, the treatment of the archeological evidence is bountiful and well done - the first episode made the entire series worthwhile for me, since it focused on the Germanic tribes, their religions, and practices. It should also be mentioned that the production value is top-notch and much of the conjecture is then followed up by supporting evidence via the archeological finds.

I agree with at least one other reviewer in that this documentary "is more about contact between the two groups, rather than showing Germans as they saw themselves." I also share the view of others in that origins of Germanic tribes are not really examined. Some tribes such as the anglo saxons are not even mentioned. That said, I still recommned highly this documentary as it incorporates some new views (to me at least) in that contact between Rome and peoples living right outside their territorial limits were pacific or of mutual interest, to some extent. Digital reconstruction of towns and fortifications to guard imperial limits are cool and enjoying. Good picture quality, no subtitles provided.

My husband and I both enjoyed this series. I feel it was accurate and gave theviewer a good overall knowledge of the area before Rome came and after. Anyonewho is interested in a history of an area and people would enjoy it.

Excellent way to familiarize yourself with a very murky part of European history and pre-history. It is authoritative, and up to date with archaeological evidence. Worthwhile.

Truly more of a historical study with minor aspects of scenes showing human conflict, it is well worth the excellent facts it reveals.

A big budget production,that just misses excellence. This material means a lot to the German cast and crew, and that lack of objectivity may work against the finished product. The German Nationalist point of view,is probably as valid as any other;but it is good sometimes to see material from a different nations' point of view.But the film's view of the Germanic Prince Arminius,is almost a whitewash of a very complicated human being. There is just something unseemly about a man who betrays men who trusted him and considered him a comrade and an friend. The Romans are not saints either,and perhaps the best way to look at the events,is to the judge the characters by the standards of that day.Attempting to characterize historical figures by modern codes of conduct,places an undue burden on the viewer.The long list of acknowledgements in the end credits,proves that this was a prestige production.Worth seeing for the points of view expressed.

This series about the ‘The Germanic Tribes’ (in German ‘Die Germanen’) comprises four fifty-two-minute episodes and was produced in 2007.Rather than English subtitles, which would have been the better option, instead we have an English narration. With only two voices – one male and one female – to read the words of the script, the words of the experts, and the words put into the mouths of the ‘actors’ – there is unfortunately a large element of unspoken drama – the sound can become quite monotonous. This can be confusing when the narrator speaks the words of commentators or even first-person thoughts of protagonists, and we also lose the valuable intonation of the archaeological and historical experts. If only the DVD producers had relied on subtitles, I would have given this set four stars instead of three.That aside, there is still much of value here. As well as the views of experts, we hear the words of the likes of Tacitus, Caesar, and Cassius Dio. We visit archaeological sites and see the artistic treasures of the times. One more gripe is that the narrators use the term ‘Germania’ rather than ‘Germany’ – we don’t say ‘Britannia’ in relation to Roman Britain; we say, well, ‘Britain’.The title of each individual episode gives an idea of its content. Thus the first, ‘Barbarians against Rome’ describes the first meetings between Romans and Germans, covering the period up to Arminius being taken as a hostage as a child to Rome in the time of Tiberius.Episode two – ‘The Battle of the Teutoberg Forest’ shows how Germany was won by the Romans, and then lost. The archaeological discoveries tend to confirm Tacitus’s account. ‘Pax Romana’ is the title of the third episode. Here we see the German limes, and the exchange of trade and culture between the two sides. Roman Cologne is explored, as is the runic language. Finally, we have ‘In the Sign of the Cross’, which features Childeric and the Franks, the conversion of Clovis at Rheims.The whole series is professionally and often very imaginatively shot. And there is much here to interest British viewers, not only in its occasional coverage of Britain (for example, Yeavering is featured), but also of course due to the links between Germanic and Romano-British culture, and the origins of the Anglo-Saxons. Take out the docu-drama aspect, and let the German (and Danish and French) experts speak for themselves, and I would have given five stars. But I suppose we should be thankful to our continental cousins for investing a lot of time, money, and energy in covering such an important yet little-covered subject at all.

This DVD was pretty good. I liked the first disc (two parts per disc) the best, but both discs were fine. There was a lot of new information for me contained on these discs. The narrator was a little bland, and the reenactments were less lively than I'd have hoped, but that likely makes them more realistic. I actually would have liked more details on the first two parts, on how the Germanic Tribes fought up against Rome's power and finally repelled the Roman forces. I found those details a little lacking; good, just wanted more. It spent a lot of time on the Tribes' conversion to Christianity in the last two parts, the second DVD. That time could have been cut in half really.

A fairly detailed and accurate(evidence-based)portrayal of some of the Germanic tribes from about Julius Caesar's time to Clovis. The evidence is clearly stated, whether textual or archeological, and well selected to bolster the conclusions of the series. The experts speak in their own language (German, French, and Danish), and are translated by the voice-over narrator. The sound and picture quality are good.To prevent boredom, the series includes dramatisations of some of the main events, including Arminius' extermination of the three legions of Varus in the Teuteburger Wald, and the conversion of Clovis to Christianity. These dramatisations do not really carry the series. The acting is not very good, and the characterisations extremely stereotypical. The battle scenes are slow.So: the production qualities are reasonable, the scholarship is good, but the re-enactments are mediocre. Still, to anyone who does not know the history of the Germanic tribes between 0-500 AD, this would be a good start.

This was a really good historical documentary about the people who lived in ancient Germany. It covered the Roman invasion of Germany and the overthrowing of Roman rule in Germany. It was interesting and informative.This set has 2 discs with a total of 4 episodes. I was happy with the quality of the discs. I learned a lot about ancient German history.

A very informative set of DVDs that give information not commonly known about the Germanic Tribes.