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The Story of India DVD

$34.99 $24.99
Item #: WA8752
Sixty years after Indian independence, British historian Michael Wood presents the tale of the oldest and most diverse civilization, and largest democracy.  A nuclear power and a rising giant, India's population will overtake China's within 10 years and its economy is predicted to overtake that of the U.S. in the 2030s. This journey of sights and sounds, and achievements takes ... More
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Sixty years after Indian independence, British historian Michael Wood presents the tale of the oldest and most diverse civilization, and largest democracy.  A nuclear power and a rising giant, India's population will overtake China's within 10 years and its economy is predicted to overtake that of the U.S. in the 2030s. This journey of sights and sounds, and achievements takes him from the deserts of Turkmenistan to the Khyber Pass.

Scene Selections
The Sights and Sound of India
Audio descriptions for the visually impaired

Producer: Rebecca Dobbs
Executive Producer: Leo Eaton
Production Company: BBC; Public Broadcasting Service; Maya Vision International, Ltd
Production Year: 2009
Copyright Year: 2008
Rating: TV-PG
Director: Jeremy Jeff
Host: Michael Wood
Talent: Michael Wood
Writers: Michael Wood
Number of Discs: 2
Length: 360 minutes
Language Track: English
DVI: Y
Audio Format: 5.1 Surround
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen

140 Reviews
J
Jutta
Verified Buyer
5.0 star rating
05/11/22
Fascinating
Review by Jutta on 05/11/22 review stating Fascinating
Fascinating
J
JANET
Verified Buyer
5.0 star rating
04/13/22
Cultural Surprises
Review by JANET on 04/13/22 review stating Cultural Surprises
Although we had some difficulty understanding Indian English, we really enjoyed our Indian journey via Michael Woods travels and narration. Such a variety in topography, cultural/religious expressions and ceremonies and so very different from our rural setting with hoards of people and animals in many scenes. Loved all the color.
D
David
Verified Buyer
5.0 star rating
01/21/22
Wood digs into the heart of India
Review by David on 01/21/22 review stating Wood digs into the heart of India
Lets face it. Anything Michael Wood produces, is the gold standard. He is Englands Ken Burns of documentaries.
T
Trudy
Verified Buyer
5.0 star rating
12/12/21
Great way to learn about India
Review by Trudy on 12/12/21 review stating Great way to learn about India
I really enjoyed watching this video. I didn't know much about India. Not being able to travel there myself, this was a perfect way to learn about the people and their history.
S
Sugganth D.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
11/23/21
Wonderful
Review by Sugganth D. on 11/23/21 review stating Wonderful
A great attempt at profiling India it is of course incomplete as any effort at such a huge task will be. There is a conscious effort to avoid controversy in India and to avoid alienating Western viewers but having said that is still a fresh lively look at a place which very precious to me.
H
History L.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
11/23/21
Truly Madly Deeply - !ncredible !ndia
Review by History L. on 11/23/21 review stating Truly Madly Deeply - !ncredible !ndia
! have never seen !ndia as shown on the program today. Michael Wood tells a story which is so honest with so much passion. My view Of !ndia has changed forever. ! am looking forward to the rest of the series. !t has enticed me into visiting this country someday, which ! will. ! am sure if this is the beginning, it is going to get even better and bolder...
R
ROBIN
Verified Buyer
5.0 star rating
09/07/21
This is for a gift.
Review by ROBIN on 09/07/21 review stating This is for a gift.
This is for a gift. Anything that I've purchased over the years from PBS has been treasured.
R
Ramanand P.
Anonymous User
3.0 star rating
06/09/21
I wish Rick Steve done this series
Review by Ramanand P. on 06/09/21 review stating I wish Rick Steve done this series
Anchor person should do better. I wish Rick Steves Presented the series on India.
C
CHARLENE
Verified Buyer
5.0 star rating
04/09/21
Very amazing and interesting.
Review by CHARLENE on 04/09/21 review stating Very amazing and interesting.
Very amazing and interesting.
A
Arm H.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Well done
Review by Arm H. on 07/17/20 review stating Well done
Mr. Wood has done an excellent job of researching for the book and DVD. it is sad that several hard evidence in history has been destroyed by successive armies. It clearly shown Evangelists were the biggest culprits throughout the world in destroying other cultures. There is lesson to be learned by the US and West on how to deal with the present conflicts in ME. Read and understand cultures and do not go to destroy cultures but try to win the hearts and minds of people
A
Adit
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Very entertaining and educational
Review by Adit on 07/17/20 review stating Very entertaining and educational
Michael has done an amazing performance! If the put the facts and information aside, Michael has just provided a wonderful, entertaining performance. Now add back the insights and the stories that hes told us, and it makes for an excellent collection. For best results, try watching over a few weeks - it will allow you to absorb more and want more from Michael.
M
Mo
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
ONE THOROUGH JOB!!!
Review by Mo on 07/17/20 review stating ONE THOROUGH JOB!!!
god is trying to tell you something, I kept saying to myself. Well, I think this work by Michael Wood definitely reveals to us that(the gods or) god is speaking to a lot of people in India; INDIA HAS millions of gods and they love each one (seemingly) and they love PEACE. In fact, they did not pick up a gun to get the atrociously behaving Brits out of their country; they used peaceful means and ousted yet another invader who sought to break the spirit of the People of India but could not. But even more stunning was when Michael Woods went to the wall of history and saw the British tag stuck to a mere section of the wall, in one mere stratosphere...and thats all. IN FACT, all of Indias previous invaders and atrociters took up a mere section of space in a stratosphere too; they did not expand through time to cover the whole wall and history of INDIA! INDIA really does behave like an old mother hen; she never forgets what she has lived and everyday, it seemed from the video, India was celebrating some part of their past as if it was their present and would be their future. India doesnt seem to forget India, ever! (And, everybody then has a role to play in one form or another keeping India as India: past, present and future. The other fascinating thing about Mother India, anthropologically, is this: (a) everyone is charged with a personal responsibility to seek enlightenment and virture--materialism has its place but it is not the greatest measure of essence in life, majorly, because materialism does not in itself bring the mind peace forever but enlightenment does with a certain amount of virture...but even more (b) these people know that god loves them (thoroughly) because there are either thousands of gods in India or even millions...so as the old saying goes, thats a hint-and-a-half-for-yo-mind (and yobehind).. that god is real! (Forgive the explicity but...) I bet you wont forget it! Now...take a hint from India and go and love and serve the Lord, thy god. India knows India but India feels that it knows something else even better: LIFE. India feels it knows life and living humanly because they have so much variety and multiculturism and because of this one factor the people of India feel they live the gist of the human life experience...even with the atrocious caste system (and sati, the funeral fire for women) in tow but fading to their past. BUT PERSONALLY, I praise Mother India for this one mantra from her countrymen during the one battle for their freedom when they did use weapons of mass destruction. The Muslims and the Hindus were at constant odds with each other (and they can act ugly, real ugly at times, the documntary shows), but then, there was an interesting straw that broke the camels back that literally ignited the People of India and they came together is a passion very quickly and very unpronounced to save their country and themselves and fought the British together, which surprised the Brits to no end. The mantra that was used was, Country before religion! Wow! And, a woman warrior said it. Wow, wow, wow...All countries end up in the end being their religion and our religion (as humans) ends up being what we use to keep our country lifted. We need god to have a country and we need religion to keep our god in sight and in place. Amen. (Im through preaching.) Enjoy Michael. Hes passionate and pleasant and respectful for the most part. Bravo Michael Woods, I love your idealism... and it is pure idealism not to realize that your commission to do this documentary is for your benefactor to learn something more about India because there is very likely to be another invasion. Maybe not right now but within a century. But India knows that, yet India doesnt appear to be rushing out to buy or to create weapons to fight an atrociter with. They will try PEACE first, as always. --MO
J
Julie
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Completely Excellent
Review by Julie on 07/17/20 review stating Completely Excellent
This series is excellently done. I will be using it for my World Religions class.
A
A W.
Anonymous User
4.0 star rating
07/17/20
A comprehensive first documentary
Review by A W. on 07/17/20 review stating A comprehensive first documentary
This is a really well researched and in depth, first of it?s kind documentary that I learned a lot from, even being from India myself. It was very revealing and covers all the different regions and mentions all the relevant historical view points on various events. I really like the personal touch and the long trips and pains Woods takes to unveil the facts and storyline. I am hoping this will inspire more documentaries of this type in the future, perhaps covering some of these topics covered here in greater detail. Despite the fact that I loved this documentary, I give it four stars instead of five only because I believe a future documentary could use some improvement. Having read a lot of Indian history myself, I did feel that some very key facts, at least in the portions that covered the most recent history, were left out. For instance, a lot of the main players of the partition and Independence movement were not credited or even mentioned (i.e. people other than Gandhi, etc). Two families however were extensively interviewed while there is a lot more to the story. This is a minor point. I also felt like the documentary misrepresented many of the individual groups it covered. The Sikhs were very briefly covered and described for instance as a radical group. This misses the historical facts about how groups of people in the Northwest rose up against what they believed as suppression by the Moguls and eventually identified themselves as Sikhs. My other criticism was that for people who have had no previous exposure to Indian history, this documentary was a bit hard to follow. There was a bit of jumping around along the time line. This was the feedback I received after showing this documentary to a number of people with no background or knowledge of Indian history.
D
Deba
Anonymous User
4.0 star rating
07/17/20
A less controversial honest effort !!
Review by Deba on 07/17/20 review stating A less controversial honest effort !!
This is a great work by Michael Wood. To capture the breadth of Indias socio-cultural-political fabric by its own merit is a huge challenge to any historian and producers of any documentary shows. What I liked about the show was a delicate balance of past to modern India. By far in recent times it is a less controversial documentary on India. The value of this series is its sincerity to portray an India that despite many ups and downs it is still one country and marching to become a major contributor to world economy. This show doesnt leave any bitter taste; rather it gives you a perspective of how India grew from a century old civilization to a modern thriving democratic nation. It justified the fact that economic power is more profound than fire power. (Yet India should not ignore the fact that to move ahead she needs a more modern agile defense system. Lets not repeat the same mistakes ??_??_??_ learn from history.) For now, just experience the inner peace. Once again congratulate Michael for his honest effort to put together some awesome visuals, good research and interesting narration. Watch this show with a childs enthusiasm and open mind. Dont unlearn what you already learned about India but just enjoy the journey.
J
Jay
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
must buy this dvd - It is so good
Review by Jay on 07/17/20 review stating must buy this dvd - It is so good
I have the dvds and i paid [$]. It is good price. One must buy the dvd to understand the life in india and value of true ....
K
Kodava
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Excellent Video
Review by Kodava on 07/17/20 review stating Excellent Video
Nicely done PBS! Is there a part-2 to this series? The story of the british occupation and post-independence India seems to be missing...
G
Great C.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Mesmerizing
Review by Great C. on 07/17/20 review stating Mesmerizing
This is a beautiful documentary about India - spans across its ancient history to current times. A country which is often shrouded with the garb of mystery is revealed with extreme love, delicacy and fondness by Michael Woods. His research is exhaustive and accurate. His affection for the Indian people endearing. It is for the first time some one seems to have taken the trouble to explore and bring to western audiences the many scholarly contributions of this Great nation over the ages. Woods cuts no corners and includes everything from the natural beauty, history, science, culture, art and politics of different eras. A rich and rewarding journey through the many lifetimes of India. If you want to know India - this the dvd to watch. A wonderful addition to any collection.
C
Chicpetite
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Bravo!
Review by Chicpetite on 07/17/20 review stating Bravo!
Amazing visuals, detailed research and a flowing storyline. Michael, you have done a great job. I had goose pimples while watching. The series kept me riveted to my sofa on Monday nights. Michael loves India, its people and its culture. Its clear from the way he speaks. Loved it and saddened that its over. Please, sir, may I have more?
U
Urmi
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Absolutley worth watching
Review by Urmi on 07/17/20 review stating Absolutley worth watching
must to keep in your library so it can be passed on to grand kids.... Michael Wood have done exceptional job putting this together.

Highlighted Customer Reviews


R
Riverton L. reviewed The Story of India DVD
5 star rating
Worth seeing over and over
Review by Riverton L. review stating Worth seeing over and over
Buying and viewing this marvelous DVD series is part of my preparation for a first trip to India. Its a terrific supplement to the books Ive been reading! I plan to watch it many more times before my departure date!
S
Self reviewed The Story of India DVD
5 star rating
Very well presented documentary
Review by Self review stating Very well presented documentary
Very well made and presented documentary covering many facets of India over history. I think each viewer will get something substantial from their viewing and highly recommend it. Michael Woods enthusiasm was key to the beautiful work.
S
Sc reviewed The Story of India DVD
5 star rating
Very well researched
Review by Sc review stating Very well researched
This is an absolute must have for anyone who has always wondered about the cradle of civilization, as well as for anyone who already knows enough about it and wants a beautiful DVD to share with acquaintances from the first category.

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