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Barbarians (History Channel)- Amazon |
Not as bad as others make it sound
2005-10-11
So, okay -- having Mongols depicted by actors who could have been anything from Hispanic to Caucasian and certainly not "authentic" Asians is relatively horrible, considering there cannot be a dearth of Asian/Asian-American actors who could have portrayed Genghis (or JENgis, as several of the historical experts were calling him in the program) far more realistically.
Still, the History Channel did a commendable job of exploring the histories of the Vikings, Huns, Mongols, and Goths in this program. While I cannot verify whether all the information provided is completely accurate, I doubt there are as many hugely glaring errors as other critics would make one believe. My only disappointment is that there were still unanswered questions about several things after having watched this series. The name HUN -- is it related to the HAN dynasty of China that drove them westward...? And what's the difference between an Ostrogoth and a Visigoth -- geography alone, or more? How did Kublai Kahn fit into the blood-drenched history of the Mongols? Finally, I would have liked seeing even a little coverage of other barbarous European tribes such as the Vandals, Gauls, Picts, Angles, Saxons, and Burgundians. At the end of the day "Barbarians" presents a decent documentary on a subject heretofore not covered and I found it largely enjoyable and educational. 
Simply Awful
2005-01-04
I bought this DVD after watching the DVD of "Spartans" by PBS. I was really in the mood for another great history show. However, what I got was simply awful.
To start with, I can't stand the overly dramatic narrator, who tries to imbue every syllable with ominous overtones. His narration is extremely poorly written, it sounds like a script from a B movie. The shows are also filled with innumerable blunders, an example of which is that in showing a map of the Viking's homeland of Scandinavia, it completely leaves out the territory of present day Denmark, even though the Danes were a major part of the Viking age. Then of course, there are the horrible historical re-ennactments, which though copious, are also innacurate. Mongols, Tatars, and Arabs are all portrayed by Caucasion actors and actresses. I find it mind boggling that they couldn't even find actors of the right ethnicity to play an important historical figure like Ghenghis Khan. Anyone looking to buy a History Channel DVD should think twice and then get one of PBS's excellent productions. 
Entertaining, while educating as well
2004-06-18
Barbarians is a big budget history channel miniseries that covers 4 of the better known "barbarian" peoples of history. The Goths, The Mongols, The hun, and the Vikings (a documentary on Ghengis Khan is thrown in as a bonus... one wonders why they did not include one on atilla as well seeing as how the history channel has such a documentary on atilla that it airs all the time). Many have heard of them and knwo something about them, but few really know who they were as a people. The series does a beautiful job illustrating the commercialization of the history channel and discovery channel today. The series is very entertaining, but the focus on entertainment and on popular appeal overpowers it's historical accuracy and it's determination to cover the topics at hand. The series is a lot of fun, but tries to be a bit too main stream. This is why it has so many bad reviews. The episode on the mongols is hands down my favorite, while the rest of the series does a good enough job. I will give this 4 stars because I did in fact enjoy the series, but I will also agree this could have been MUCH better, and had much more substance. Not enough information is given, and the maps, while good, are used sparingly. There's only a few battles covered, and the ones that are covered arent covered with as much detail as other documentaries. This is more an overview than anything else... dont expect to come away with a real understanding of history after watching this... you'll have learned some things, and enjoyed it... but too much is skipped and ignored. The only mongol leaders covered are Chengis Khan and Tamerlane, what about the many other important khans and khanates? No real depth is present, and there is so much facinating stuff left out (the planned mongol invasion of europe... the possabillity the mongols may have caused the plague in europe by tossing corpses over city walls during a seige... kublai khans failed invasion of japan... and many of the religious and cultural and social dimensions of mongol expansion arent discussed in any detail. The other episodes are lacking in similar ways. I suppose I must rate this for what it is though. And it obviously wasnt meant to be comprehensive or far reaching. it was meant to be a fun overview of barbarian peoples, and consequently there is little quality of information and lots of attention paid to style and ratings. Barbarians is soundly centered on entertaing rather than being a serious historical endeaver. I would have liked to have seen what this series could have been if it really explored these peoples fully and gave detailed accounts of history and the battles, but for what it is, I did still enjoy the series enough to buy it.
A fraud!
2004-05-21
Just by seeing the Tv preview the many faults of this fraud are evident. Seing the actual feature is worse:- Badly choreographed and historically inaccurate fighting! - Childish or Hollywoodean weaponplay! - Weapons and armour sometimes inaccurate or even anachronic! - A "viking ship" being constructed skeleton-first mediterranean style! - Caucasian "mongols"! - Etc. etc. A HONEST approach using easily available basic research and expert advice could have avoided this trashing of resources. It's clearly a missed chance to produce a great historical documentary. To be a truly informative resource (and not an unreliable biased fake for mass entertainment) The History Channel must be more carefull with its features. Academics already call it "The Story Channel"! 
Playing Barbarians
2004-04-05
Viewers who object to the Caucasian actors in this series portraying Mongols should take a look at the classic whopper of the genre--John Wayne as Genghis Khan!
 Read for more: http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%3FASIN=B...
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