31 июл. 2012 г.

Michael Wood's Story of England

The Story of England, written and directed by Michael Wood, is one of the most fascinating TV documentary series in recent memory. One doesn't need to be English to find this approach to living history absolutely gripping. The idea was a genius one, yet hard to imagine what the results might be. Wood and his crew decided to pick an ordinary small English town, Kib­worth, and see if they could get the townsfolk to agree to help them figure out how to learn the history of the hamlet. And an amazing history it is, the viewer soon finds. Located in Leicestershire in the heart of England, the area was ruled by Romans, Saxons, descendants of Vikings, tribal leaders, and many others over the centuries-long history of England. Meticu­lously, Wood and the scholars on his team fan out into the town, which enthusiastically agrees to help. This plays out in having living archeological digs dotted all around the town, in regular backyards, fields, streets, and crossroads. And the findings are amazing--tools from the Bronze Age, Viking arti­facts, Roman coins, skeletal remains from the time of the Black Death. Wood's Story of England not only brings history alive, but it puts it into immediate context, and the excitement of the villagers upon each new find is contagious. Don't be sur­prised if, after you've watched the whole series, you find your­self wondering what might be buried just a few feet below the surface in your own backyard. Amazon