J'avais hâte de visionner ce documentaire dont on disait tant de bien. Je l'ai regardé avec un oeil intéressé et critique puisque la Seconde guerre mondiale est une période de l'histoire qui me captive. Bien que les images colorisées soient rermarquables, je ne peux m'empêcher d'être irrité par certains choix des réalisateurs et scénaristes. Je ne peux que reprocher ici l'intérêt très soutenu des documentaristes pour le sort réservé à la France - le profane apprendra beaucoup sans doute, mais cela peut sembler chauvin considérant le rôle joué par ce pays dans le cours de la guerre. La bataille d'Angleterre reçoit très peu d'attention et toute la guerre du Pacifique occupe à peine 15% du temps de ce documentaire! Le traitement et l'analyse du Japon est d'ailleurs très caricatural et on fait passer tous les Japonais pour des fanatiques endoctrinés et prêts à mourir sans broncher ce qui est d'un simplisme intolérable. Je note aussi que l'essentiel des documents visuels de la guerre du Pacifique sont une reprise de l'excellent documentaire Japan's War in Colour paru il y a quelques années.

Je trouve le documentaire fort descriptif aussi: on y voit des batailles et des combats, mais la diplomatie et les motivations politiques des forces en présence sont plutôt occultées. On décrit, mais on explique peu et les jeunes élèves pourraient ne pas bien en saisir la mécanique. À la défense des documentaristes, il semble qu'on ait voulu montrer les horreurs de la guerre et donc illustrer la violence était peut-être l'objectif alors que l'expliquer l'aurait justifiée...

Bref, excellent documentaire pour qui veut découvrir un document vidéo sur cette période, mais celui qui la connaît pourrait - comme moi - être un petit peu agacé par cette production très franco-centriste et partisane...

I know a lot of people did not like this movie, perhaps for the wrong reasons. I own the 1953 version, and this 2005 movie is not a remake of it, as some might have expected. In fact, Spielberg's version is much closer to the original H.G. Wells novel than it is from the 1953 motion picture. I remember reading the novel when I was 12 and it was the most terrifying book I had ever read back then. The movie offers a visual rendering of the horror I felt reading the novel. The Blu-Ray version has very good sound. The bass is overwhelming and one should be careful in order not to damage the woofers! The video, however, leaves much to be desired... Apparently Spielberg wanted to give the movie a documentary feel. So the image is very grainy, with saturation at times. The colours are far from vivid, and they are even dull... I really thought there was something wrong with my disc when I watched it, but no, that's apparently the "look & feel" that was intended... One can respect that artistic vision of Spielberg's and not be thrilled by the result in HD... A great movie, but the HD transfer is dissapointing I'm afraid...

Petit livre bien réalisé par Philippe Moreau-Defarges, auteur bien connu d'ouvrages dédiés aux Relations internationales. Plutôt intéressé par la guerre, l'ouvrage occulte plusieurs thèmes pertinents des Relations internationales contemporaines, mais il n'en demeure pas moins que le livre ratisse large et de belle manière et permet au novice de découvrir les clefs interprétatives qui rendront clairs plusieurs conflits qui font l'actualité depuis longtemps, comme l'invasion de l'Irak et ses conséquences, ou la guerre contre le terrorisme. Excellent ouvrage pour se lancer à la découverte du monde de la politique internationale et en saisir les rouages... Cet ouvrage deviendra bientôt le manuel obligatoire d'un cours d'Actualité politique internationale que j'offre en 2e année collégiale. Bon ouvrage "pratico-pratique", mais très peu théorique, voire trop peu... Seule faiblesse notable...

Pas que le livre soit mauvais mais je ne lui accorde que 3 étoiles car son titre est trompeur et j'ai le sentiment d'avoir perdu mon argent en l'achetant... Je cherchais un petit ouvrage sans prétention pour introduire à la politique des élèves de niveau collégial. Avec le titre qu'il a, cet ouvrage semblait tout désigné. Mais dès qu'on l'ouvre, il devient clair que toutes les notions théoriques sont mises en application dans le seul contexte de la France. Les institutions politiques, les pouvoirs constitutionnels, la séparation des pouvoirs, les partis politiques, et j'en passe, qui sont abordés dans le livre sont exclusivement ceux de la France. Bien qu'il soit bien conçu, clair et intéressant, le livre n'est pas du tout adapté aux réalités québécoise ou canadienne... Bref, ce n'est pas "La politique pour les nuls" qu'il vous offre, mais plutôt "La politique FRANÇAISE pour les nuls"...

I'm not about to review the movies because you all know them. When I upgraded to Blu-Ray I gave away my collector's editions DVDs and - as another reviewer mentioned - these Blu-Ray versions are the theatrical release versions, not the remastered or extended ones. Pity because ST-TMP was really improved in the reworked version. I'm writing this only to inform you that most of the featurettes that appeared on disc 2 of all the collector's edition DVDs are simply nowhere to be found in this new boxset. If you're looking for the movies, then this will suit you just fine. However, if you're expecting more extras and interviews, you'll have to buy the separate Blu-Ray disc of the individual movies, which, it seems, have more to offer... But will cost you twice as much...

I have to agree with the previous reviewer: this release is for the BG completist but it's hardly worth watching. And that is sad... I had great expectations... You won't learn anything new and significant, I mean, the Plan was to destroy all of humanity... That's a shocker! And some of the things we learn just don't make much sense... The movie was supposed to tie up the loose ends, but it explains very very little... Maybe that has to do with the fact that Ron Moore and David Eick did not write the film. I know 2 other BG fans who were addicted to the series and bought the DVD when it was released: none of them were happy with this film... One word describes it all: useless... Now you know what to expect...

A friend recommended that I give this series a try. I must say I was curious, but I placed the first DVD in the player without a lot of enthusiasm. 4 hours later, a few discs later too, I was stunned, completely hooked by this daring show... The characters are all well written, and the actors are solid and credible. Splendid casting; Byrnes is absolutely brilliant! It's a tour de force to be able to make people watch what is almost theater, since we are in one room (most of the time the same room...), watching 2 or 3 people talking. No action, but an emotional roller-coaster. No music, so that the intensity of the dialogues and the power of those silences hit you... This is not a TV show that you passively watch, it's one that you experience. Flawless, engaging, intelligent, touching... Impressive television!! I can't wait for the release of season 2!

In this age, TV producers and writers don't dare create storylines that span 4 or 5 years because the Damocles sword of cancellation looms over their heads. So Ron Moore and David Eick candidly admitted that after season 2 they did not know exactly where the series was going. Considering this, the ending of BG is a tour de force since it wraps up the story quite nicely. Science-fiction - at least good sci-fi - is always about exploring the human condition and looking critically at the world we live in. Here, BG succeeded better than Star Trek ever did since humans are not always at their best... Corruption, the destruction of democracy in the name of stability and security, the power of religion, good vs evil in the human condition (and in the Cylon condition!), BG dares look at humanity for what it is, and the picture is not always pretty.

The series finale is interesting. Photography is superb and the pace slows down considerably after the final battle with the Cylon colony. One might even call 'visual poetry' the scenes of the Earth the Galactica reaches: a warm and quiet place so different from the cold and harsh environment of the battlestar... Much symbolism there: after the death of the ship, a new life begins in Paradise... Humanity ressurrects to start anew. The religious overtones are everywhere... Genesis 6-14: 'the sons of the Gods came in unto the daughters of men'... Moore and Eick have transformed the Galactica crew into protagonists of Earth religions and into the missing link of human evolution... The union of Caprica 6 and Baltar symbolises the union of Cylons and Men - and by the way, the number 6 has always been associated with Man - consider the Prisonner series where the hero is simply called Number 6... Caprica 6 goes full circle: after destroying manking she become the first Cylon to bear a child... There is genius in this series... But it is not perfect and some will be frustrated with the way Starbuck fullfills her destiny, or with the ease by which the fleet accepts to abandon all technology... This makes little sense considering the many political battles fought in the series over stakes much less crucial than that one... The paradoxes of time travel are unexplained, but then again the unexplained is explained by the presence of the third force, that of God and angels - probably a way to tell the viewers 'Don't try to figure it all: it's a mystery and it does not have to make sense. Can we hope to understand God's intentions?'... I don't buy it....

Overall, this series is perhaps the best sci-fi series ever written. It should be acclaimed for its stunning visual FX, but mostly for the courage and lucidity of its writers who superbly and coldly depicted the quiks of humanity and society without ever becoming moralistic about it...

The DVD set features a few extended versions of the pivotal episodes. The episodes are even better that way. Great value!

I teach a course in Japanese politics and Gerald Curtis is one of the leading political scientist in the field of Japanese domestic and foreign politics. I was happy to preorder this book, believing that it was an actualised version of his celebrated 1971 book. But when it arrived, I was surprised to discover that the book IS the 1971 version, augmented by a new preface by the author. Since the Japanese political landscape has been reshaped dramatically since 1994, and again under Koizumi's leadership, the book is now outdated at times and should only be bought by historians or students of Japanese politics wishing to understand how much has changed - and how much hasn't! - in the way the Japanese democracy works...

I watched this documentary yesterday. Not only was I interested by its topic but since I was impressed with "The Fog of War" (made by the same director), I thought I'd enjoy a thought-provoking exploration of what's been going on in the Abu Ghraib prison...

This documentary is not focused on politics... It's centered on the people who took the infamous pictures. They are interviewed, their motivations are revealed... The problem is that it's horrible to discover that most of the soldiers interviewed, or those who appear in the photos, are not very intelligent and did not exactly know why they did what they did... Nor do they feel much remorse... Why then make them the focus of a documentary? I still wonder what this documentary is trying to show us or tell us... That stupidity and lack of a moral sense lead to violations of human dignity? Visually stunning with computer animations and realistically made dramatizations, it should keep you on your toes, but most of the people interviewed - with the notable exception of a former US General - are not interesting at all... These young soldiers don't have a clue, so what's the point of letting them express themselves? Maybe that's the point, to show that they did not know... If you don't mind watching people talking about actions they committed without thinking much, then this is for you. If you really want a good documentary on the issue of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, grab a copy of "Taxi to the Dark Side" and stay away from "S.O.P."...