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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
How We Built Britain (2007)

How We Built Britain (2007)

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Released 2-Dec-2009
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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio Interviews-Cast
Rating
Year Of Production	2007
Running Time	351:23
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Nicky Illis David Thompson Nigel Walk Jonty Claypole
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual	Starring	None Given
RPI	?	Music	Andrew Blaney

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

The BBC has been making interesting and worthwhile documentary series for many years especially historical and nature documentaries. Another in this long and impressive history is this series, How We Built Britain, which is quite a different approach to the history of Britain. Rather than focusing on Kings or battles or the usual things, it focuses on architecture through the ages and what it reveals about the history and culture of Britain. The show is made up of 6 episodes of approximately an hour each (over 2 discs). These episodes focus on a different region of Britain and investigate the various types of architecture in each region. One key thing about this series which improves its appeal is that it does not focus only on the obvious castles, cathedrals and country houses but also looks at villages, cottages, tenements and more modern buildings.

The series is hosted and written by David Dimbleby who is a UK based political journalist. He is a convivial but informative host who keeps the series moving by never focusing for too long on any piece of architecture. This makes the series of interest to more than just architecture buffs. He also adds interesting details and anecdotes about specific buildings which attracts a wider audience. Another real strength of this series is the wonderful aerial shots and landscape cinematography which shows the beauty of the natural British Isles, not just the architecture.

Overall, an informative and interesting documentary series. Recommended.

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Transfer Quality

Video

The video quality is good without being spectacular.

The feature is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It is 16x9 enhanced widescreen.

The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout. Shadow detail was good. There was some evidence of MPEG compression including mild grain in some scenes and minor blocking during motion.

The colour is very good showing off, I presume, the very lucky excellent weather, especially in Scotland.

Other artefacts on show include some aliasing, especially on wide shots, and some obvious edge enhancement. There is also some jumpiness during the end titles.

There are subtitles in English. They are clear and easy to read.

The layer change was not noticeable during playback.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The audio is very good.

This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.

Dialogue was clear and easy to understand although the subtitles were helpful for some regional accents.

The music is by turns majestic or lyrical depending on the nature of the building. It certainly adds to the atmosphere.

The surround speakers were only used for mild atmosphere when the soundtrack was played using ProLogicII.

The subwoofer was used for adding bass to the music only.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Interview with David Dimbleby (15:08)

Dimbleby discusses why he did the series and his career generally. Worthwhile.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

This seems to be available in the same format in Region 2. Not available in Region 1 currently.

Summary

An interesting documentary series about how Britain's development has been affected by its architecture and vice versa.

The video quality is good.