In Search Of The Dark Ages [DVD]

Broadcast in the early 1980s, this series changed the way history was presented on television, with youthful flair. All that has followed since draws on its inspiration. Still very enjoyable and instructive to watch after half a century.

Very happy with the service

Not new but quality ages well. A must have for a modern anglo-saxon. This ancient (100 AD - 900 AD ) era and its "heroes" was "new" to me. I found the dvd very enlighting. Mickael Wood's enthusiasm is contagious. Discovering the remains and "invisible to the common eye " ruins of Britan's ancient history in today's lanscape was a thrill and a lesson. Surprinsingly, the DVD cover displays what i believe to be a XIVth century armour, how intriguing ! ( smile )

It was too long a wait for the DVD release of this seminal series but patience has finally been rewarded.This was a ground breaking documentary series when originally made: extremely stylish (Jean Michel Jarre, helicopter shots and infra red film) but heavily in favour of substance over style. It is a serious series which demands concentration and thought from the viewer, and leaves the viewer with much to think about and ideas about places to visit and ruins to see.Thematically this is very strong and if you watch every episode you will be left with a good sense of how British (or particularly, English) history developed over the period. It illuminates the importance of East Anglia early on (Raedwald and Sutton Hoo) through the rise of Wessex and the Viking wars leading to the Anglo-Danish huscarlocracy that finally fell at Hastings. It covers Offa during the Mercian supremacy but this darkest and least known period of Anglo Saxon history is the least represented here. Maybe we should crowdfund Mr Wood to do a series on just this subject?The packaging is a bit odd and I suspect Michael Wood was not consulted on it - a Wars of the Roses era suit of armour on the cover, and Elgar's Nimrod droning UKIP-ly over the contents screen. But these are very minor blots on a great release and the publishers are to be congratulated for resolving the copyright issues which apparently denied us this on our screens for so long.If you have the remotest interest in British history, or in dark. foggy, and generally bloody events shrouded in mystery, or even if you only think you have, then buy this. We often think that we can get everything from reading but having a true expert such as Wood in your living room to explain it brings out angles (pun intended) you might not otherwise spot. We just now need to wait for someone to produce parallel series to the same quality on Scotland, Ireland and Wales in the same period.Michael Wood's enthusiasm for the subject is evident in every shot (and it is great to see that this remains unflagging in his latest work in 2016).

IN SEARCH OF, FOUND AND THOROUGHLY WORTH ITPatience rewarded! The jewel that is "In search of" finally gets to DVD. The passage of time has not changed my mind as to how good Michael Woods delivery is, he brings the past to life with his enthusiasm and analysis. Through painstaking investigation he releases the written word to set the scenes and take you to the places that history and destiny once touched pointing out where they are today.From Boadicea to William the conqueror, eight in all, his journey includes those lesser known household names that were so influential on our culture. Drawing fragments together to relate the story of Eric Bloodaxe to the story of one of our forgotten heroes, Athelstan and the crucial "Great Battle" of 937. A hero of mine, Athelstan was the first true King of all the English and aside from his military prowess had many other qualities and I think we should make 937 as important a date as 1066 ( controversial perhaps ).The transfer to DVD is not totally blemish free and the background music and fashion is of its time. There is no booklet with the 2 CDS but the book that accompanied the series is a good read and has an additional chapter on Sutton Hoo Man and can be obtained at a good price through many options on Amazon. Normally that would reduce the rating but this iconic and well made series for its era can only have one verdict, FIVE STARS.If you are into history and haven't got this yet, click buy and wait for the post,you won't be disappointed.

I can only echo what so many others have said before me. This is a fantastic series - a landmark documentary which I had thought lost in the archives forever never to be seen again. In fact I was lucky in that I had kept some ancient videos of the series taped back in the dark ages (or so it seems in retrospect!) but I had despaired of being able to buy the series on DVD. Logic told me that archaeology has moved on in the ensuing thirty years and possibly some of the theories put forward in the series are now obsolete. But no - a miracle has occurred and here is the series bright and shiny as a new pin on DVD. I was delighted to shell out the money for this - worth every penny. Michael Wood is someone with a great gift of communication - I have no doubt he could give a fascinating talk on paint drying and he is superb here - possibly never better. His boyish enthusiasm for the various subjects is totally infectious and it's a series you can watch again and again. The modern electronic soundtrack is (surprisingly) just right and adds a haunting tome to the programmes. What a joy!All I need now for complete DVD heaven are DVD reissues of Alec Clifton-Taylor's various "Six English Towns" series, Huw Wheldon's "Royal Heritage" and the Kevin Brownlow Channel 4 series on "Hollywood" (the silent film era). Now that would be paradise absolutely complete.....

This BBC series features eloquent English historian Michael Wood focusing on figures, mostly from the Anglo-Saxon era in English history - King Arthur, Offa (responsible for "Offa's Dyke"), and William the Conqueror, who ended the Anglo-Saxon era in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings. Most significantly, he's got a wonderful episode dealing with King Alfred the Great, called by Winston Churchill "the greatest Englishman,* who was responsible for bringing to fruition the dream of a united England and fighting and winning over the Danish Vikings. Very illuminating!

I first saw Michael Wood when he filmed his series on the Trojan War. This series was even better. This was his first TV series and he stuck to what he knew best, which was dark age England. His later TV series got farther away from his expertise and they suffered for it. His series on art history was really bad because he did not know the subject and he knew that he didn't, so he got numerous academic "experts" to fill in the details. Unfortunately, he didn't know the right art history experts because they were totally boring and they ruined the series. The series on the dark ages has experts whom professor Wood knew and trusted and their explanations were as riveting as his.

Michael Wood's first experience with documentary television, this set the pace and style for future productions. Anyone interested in the Middle Ages and wants to sample different UK shakers of history during that era, this is for you. Michael knows how to educate through entertainment, in all his documentaries.

While I needed my special "Region-Free" DVD player to even play this beauty, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Following Michael Wood's wonderful book of the same name, he managed to superbly tell the stories of these 8 very important kings from British history. One can only marvel at the content and delivery of Mr. Wood's presentation. Shows again he is a master story teller. This is just another reason that I wish they could do away with that ridiculous regioning system of DVDs and Blu-Rays.

Very interesting series. It was made in 1979, but since historical facts don't change, it isn't out of date, even if Michael Wood's clothes and hairstyle were. I rated it with 4 stars because it really should be called "In Search of the British Dark Ages"; there are a lot of places named in the series that are unfamiliar to audiences outside of Britain. I found myself looking them up--which is probably a tribute to Wood's narration. I wanted to learn more about them.