Having read some of the other reviews on "37 Days" I am not sure whether it is a great series about historical facts or a great series about historical events as seen from the ultimate winners' point of view. Suffice to say, it is a great entertainment if you like that sort of genre.
Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed it (but then it is my sort of movie) as I enjoyed "Elizabeth, The Golden Age" and "The Other Boleyn Girl" although I honestly have very little idea as to the historical accuracy of any of them. Having so said, one has to presume that SOME historical accuracy had to be present otherwise the whole thing would have been nothing more than a fantasy movie about a fictional war (or, to be more correct, the events leading up to one) and that, it clearly wasn't.
I suppose the reason that I like this type of movie is because it has (at least, some) bearing on how the world got to be where it is today and, to that end, I'm sure that "37 Days" has sufficient accuracy to preclude it from being a parody. Other reviewers have commented, for example, on the inaccuracy of the portrayal of Czar Nicholas and, whilst I have no doubt that they write from a much better knowledge of the facts than I possess, it doesn't make the story as presented any less entertaining. Which raises the question, "Is this a film loosely based on historical events or is it a documentary?" and the answer to that makes all the difference in the world on how you view it.
I have rated the "37 Days" trilogy much the same as I rated Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy which is on entertainment value and, in turn, makes me wonder how much relevance historical accuracy and artists' license have on rating entertainment value. To put that another way, when portraying events that actually happened, should historical accuracy be an essential facet? Because "37 Days" occurred much more recently in a time when journalistic reporting was far better developed and records much more prolific than a few hundred years earlier writers and directors have many, many more "facts" that they can draw upon than they had, for example, when making "Braveheart" or "Troy" so that history buffs (who also have those records) are able to vilify them for every little inaccuracy. That is sad because, in the end, unless they ARE documentaries, movies are made for entertainment and caricaturisation of characters simply adds to that entertainment. If they are caricatured to the point of absurdity, then the movie is a comedy or even a farce (a genre that I sadly note IMDb still doesn't have) and the entertainment value takes on a somewhat different complexion - but it's still entertainment!
Perhaps, by way of illustrating the point, another much-loved BBC TV series, "Heartbeat" - which is all fiction based around a historically factual police force set in Yorkshire in the early 1960s - often shows scenes that include railway trains. Those scenes are filmed at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway which is an enthusiast-run heritage steam railway where locomotives that never ran anywhere near Yorkshire are preserved in working order. So, because I happen to be a railway enthusiast, I COULD bemoan the absolutely prototypical inaccuracy of a Southern Railway S15 class steam engine pulling into Aidensfield station but what would be the point? Rather, I joyfully thank the enthusiasts who made the shooting of such scenes possible at all!
So, whilst I thank all those other reviewers who have educated me, fortunately, that education hasn't spoiled my enjoyment of "37 Days" one bit! I hope it will be available on DVD soon> I'll buy it.
On the story line, the only puzzling aspect for me was why on earth Britain felt any compunction to support France - a nation that had been a traditional enemy of theirs for centuries. I seemed to me that, had Britain simply acted as an observer, Germany wouldn't have had any reason to attack them as the disagreements were all continental. Also, it was really great that the story ended before America got involved and we were subjected to all the "swagger" that would have been associated with that!
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