It so happened that the Patriotic War of 1812, which could indeed be called the World War (since it was not only a confrontation between France and Russia), managed to oust another war from the people's memory, a more bloody one - the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. In modern Russia, there is hardly anyone who does not know what happened on June 22 and what we celebrate on May 9. But the final date of victory over the army of Napoleon - the greatest commander who managed to conquer almost all of Europe, was announced by the manifesto of Alexander I - January 7. Victory Day has been celebrated in Russia for over 100 years. Only the coming to power of the Bolsheviks in 1917 canceled the celebration of the Victory Day, which eventually led to the departure of the date and the people's memory. Yes, of course, the feat of ancestors was revered, Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Lermontov’s Borodino were dealt with in literature lessons, the Battle of Borodino (historical draw) and the burning of Moscow were discussed in history lessons. But as for feature films and documentaries on TV, neither in Soviet times, nor in modern Russian, the theme of the Patriotic War of 1812 was so successful, compared with the same Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. And the only chance to get anything was to wait for another anniversary. If 1962 was remembered by the release of the “Hussar Ballad” by Ryazanov and the beginning of filming “War and Peace” by Sergei Bondarchuk, then 50 years later, on the eve of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the war with Napoleon, modern filmmakers finally spoke about this historically important event for Russia. And the first such thematic project dedicated to the war of 1812 was the popular science series Alexander Sidorov 2011 entitled "1812: Encyclopedia of the Great War"
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In my opinion, the format of the project was not quite successful - 56 series for 3.5 minutes each. I understand that analogues have already existed before, such as “Battle for Moscow” (2006), “History of the Russian State” (2007-2008) by Valery Babich. But in this series I was rather annoyed: just finished the credits with solemn and thunderous music, as the presenter said something in the frame, then behind the scenes (at this moment are shots from the Soviet films about the Patriotic War of 1812, or scenes-reconstruction, in which there are costumed actors), silently go the final credits and again went a new series, again this solemn music... And after watching all the series at once (it turns out about 3 hours), I realized that it would be possible to quietly break the project into 3-4 series and calmly combine these mini-stories in each of them, for which you have to watch the opening and final credits. But, in fairness, calling the series an “encyclopedia”, the creators did not deceive anyone. Because the encyclopedia consists of small articles, which take only a few minutes to read.
To the presenter of the project - Fyodor Bondarchuk I had no complaints. The voice is pleasant, not bleak. And nothing complicated, at first glance, Fedor (who starred in only one location - the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace) and did not show. And in general, it would be logical to invite him to the role of the host, given the fact that the series constantly featured footage from “War and Peace” of his father – Sergey Bondarchuk.
I am not ready to judge the project for matchmaking, because I do not see where the audience is openly lied to, and where the truth is told. Information is provided easily, without a heap of numbers, dates and events, and is fully absorbed in the head. Although visually inferior to the same projects of the studio "Babich Design", such as "1812" and "1812-1815". Expedition abroad”. I would recommend it for you to know.
7 out of 10
