Going into this review I knew next to nothing about Wales. Having watched this program, I now feel like I know Wales a whole lot better. If that isn’t the point of a documentary, I’m not sure what is, so in that regard, The Story of Wales succeeds, hands down. The ambition for this project was pretty epic, simply put. These six episodes last just shy of six hours, and begin about as far back as they could reasonable go — 30,000 years ago, to the event of the first known human burial. The first episode, aptly titled “The Making of Wales” spends its time in these BC years, showcasing key events and structures that were present at the time.
Episodes two and three, “Power Struggles” and “England and Wales” continue to rapidly step through history into the medieval ages and beyond. British royalty, rule, and law are significant parts of the discussion. The final three episodes continue to define the up and coming nation of Wales.
Each episode is presented by Huw Edwards, a proud and native Welshman who confidently and charismatically draws the viewer into the material through narration and on camera appearances. His many visits to different museums — often with white gloves on examining artifacts and documents — is quite interesting and engaging. Huw interviews many Welsh folks and scholars for their input on specific topics, such as Wales’ early use of bronze and iron. These classic documentary tools are used approrpriately and blend nicely with the many scenic shots from the sky and hills. Many re-enactments are also part of the show, and while I’m not a particularly big fan of these, Wales doesn’t over use them. One other presentation tool that I did in fact like was their ability to insert and remove images seamlessly to help depict — while Huw is on camera explaining — what a particular structure might have looked like all those years ago. This isn’t a technique I have seen much of in documentaries (perhaps I’m not watching enough of them), but it does a lot to help present their point.
Presentation quality of this set is really what you would expect from BFS. The DVD case is a sturdy double-sized one with some nice artwork and information. Image and sound quality are straight-forward and good, nothing to get too excited about except for the impressive Wales countryside and architecture. The video is presented in widescreen as well. No extra features are included at all, which isn’t surprising and probably not too upsetting for potential viewers of this set, who are likely focused specifically on the subject matter.
To the summary…