Battlefield Britain

Military history buffs should rejoice over the release of this three-disc set of the BBC series (broadcast here on PBS) featuring energetic father-and-son team Peter and Dan Snow, who visit the sites of eight of the most famous battles in British history, employing dramatic recreations (including improvised interviews with actors portraying combatants), computer-generated graphics, and their own tests (such as trying to tramp through territory covered by an army or fire muskets as rapidly as the historical record indicates) to bring these conflicts to life. The battles included are the first-century Roman victory over the rebel queen Boudicca; Hastings (1066), in which the Norman duke William quashed the Saxon Harold and conquered England; the failed Welsh rebellion against Henry IV in the early 15th century; the routing of the Spanish Armada in 1588; Naseby (1645), in which Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army beat King Charles I; the Boyne (1690), which cemented William III's control over Ireland and forced the deposed James II to flee to France; Culloden (1746), in which the defeat of “Bonnie Prince Charlie” ended hopes for a Stuart restoration; and the Battle of Britain (1940), in which the RAF held off the Luftwaffe, stymieing Hitler's intended invasion. Despite some simplification, this could well be the most impressive example of popular military history that television has yet produced. DVD extras include a half-hour 1997 program on the 1485 battle of Bosworth Field, in which Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor (in contrast to the slick, cutting-edge Battlefield Britain episodes, this solid but homely piece seems decidedly low-tech). Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)