37 Days (2014) User Reviews

The phenomenal Ian McDiarmid versus a cartoonish cavalcade of Continental caricatures

[TheEtiquette · 8/10 · 9 March 2014]

37 Days is an informative, well-paced, even thrilling piece of historical drama with some superb performances from the best of the British. Its approach to the causes of the First World War is both entertaining and educational. However, there are some problems which prevent this mini-series from becoming a true classic.

The greatest problem is that almost all character who are not British are portrayed in a manner most cartoonish; from the German Kaiser to Austrian and French ambassadors all non-British characters are ridiculously over-the-top caricatures, more ludicrous than the characters in Oh! What a Lovely War. And Lovely War is a musical parody.

I can't but wonder why a production which pays so much attention to detail and is slavishly faithful to historical facts makes its characters look one-dimensional caricatures? Especially when all the British characters are portrayed as completely normal and there is true emotion and humanity in the scenes taking place in London. Is portraying the Continental characters as buffoons some kind of a statement or a lousy attempt at comedy by the British production team? In this respect 37 Days brings to mind the Nazi version of Titanic in 1943 where all the English characters are baddies and the German one saves the day. (Another point which bothers me is the portrayal of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II. In this he is shown as an aggressive and stern military man rather than the sensitive and simple family man portrayed in every single film and history book concerning this topic. Could it be that the production team has confused Nicholas II with his father Alexander III because the character in 37 Days truly looks and acts like Alexander?)

Nevertheless, 37 Days is a fresh take on the First World War and includes some wonderful performances. Absolutely phenomenal is Ian McDiarmid as Sir Edward Grey who truly brings realism and humanity to the production which is in places in a danger of becoming a parody because of its cartoonish cavalcade of Continental caricatures or a boring history lesson since all the scenes take place in cabinet meeting rooms. Other great performances are delivered by Bill Paterson, Sinéad Cusack, Nicholas Farrell and Tim Pigott-Smith, to name a few.

Gripping and informative

[woolie2011 · 8/10 · 21 March 2014]

I admit some of the Geman characters were a bit one dimensional but I wouldn't be so hard on this series as others. I really enjoyed it and missed it when it ended. It was educational, informative and entertaining. I am a fan of history so I might be a bit biased I admit but it was right up my street.

It isn't meant to be a high-budget American blockbuster, but a serious look at a side of the First World War that usually gets little coverage. OK the odd bit of dialogue was less than authentic - but a darn sight more authentic than all the massive bloopers in Downton Abbey! We all know about the battles and the casualties, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and the Treaty of Versailles, but it is politicians who make wars. Politicians and human frailties. This series focuses on the politicians involved and shows how we come to war by degree and mis-interpretation and not by some big event.

As stated, the performances by the actors playing the English characters were great - understated and probably accurate.

I learnt a lot. Perhaps an abridged version would be useful in schools so those studying GCSE History can see that there was more to it than 'a bloke getting shot in the Balkans'.

Very good presentation of an engrossing historical event.

[abecedariusrex · 8/10 · 25 June 2016]

Other reviewers have already stated objections similar to my own: overacting by some of the principles, cartoonish depiction of these complex characters (especially czar Nicholas of Russia), and a bias towards the British historical figures such as Edward Grey. Nevertheless, as a contribution to the dramatic works about the Great War this was a worthy contribution. Enjoyable to watch, well presented by Ian McDiarmid and Nicholas Farrell as Eyre Crowe, and with the looming horror of July 1914 creating a sense of tension and dread throughout the whole production - much like the movie "Conspiracy" with Kenneth Branagh. There were many things I would have changed, such as sound quality, use of subtitles, more subtlety in the motives of the characters (the Kaiser's decision to go to war based on hurt feelings seems ridiculous and inept), and better depictions of certain characters who did seem 1-dimensional (at least read William Manchester's "Last Lion" before portraying Winston Churchill as an unthinking warhawk). Nevertheless this was a production worthy of applause.

Spoiler alert - war breaks out.

highly complex .

[oscar-35 · 8 August 2014]

*Spoiler/plot- 37 Days, 2014. A docu-drama TV mini-series that unveils the behind-closed-doors story of the final weeks before the outbreak of World War I from all points view.

*Special Stars- Ian McDiarmind, Rainer Sellien, Mark Lewis Jones, Bill Paterson, Nicholas Farrell, Urs Remond, Nicholas Asbury.

*Theme- Diplomacy should be a serious business.

*Trivia/location/goofs- British, BBC, docu-drama.

*Emotion- A highly complex and wordy exploration of the many countries diplomatic actions to avert war and protect their world status. The harshest and highly judged characters in this treatment is The Czar, Nicholas and German General, Von Molke. In the end, it's the killing of an Archduke by a 'wild-card' socialist bitter peasant that gets everyone uncontrollably involved. In this film they got the actors from the culture/countries they are cast, so there's a real historic good language accents on camera. The other interesting fact in the plot was the interesting interplay of a huge dysfunctional family from Queen Victoria's time. The many combative royal houses were an interesting family story angle. This is a thoughtful film well worth being seen.

*Based On- Historical event leading up to the outbreak of WW1.

One of the Best Series on WWI

[ColleenFarris · 10/10 · 26 June 2014]

Thoroughly enjoyed this 3 part series; excellent writing acting and overall. The choice of exactly 37 days seemed arbitrary, since Austria declared war on Serbia on July 28 (the assassination having been on June 28), while Britain didn't declare war on Austria till August 12. Never mind. It gave the feeling of a ticking clock nearing the midnight hour. The writer, chose as narrators a young clerk in the Foreign Office and his counterpart in Germany. I did not mind being told facts all the time, but for me the way into the drama came from Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, beautifully acted by Ian McDiarmid (though 17 years older than Grey was). Grey was portrayed as a deep player, saying less than he meant. The dialogue, in particular, does an excellent job of conveying both the prevalent political mood and any diplomatic subtleties that might otherwise be lost on modern viewers.

Fascinating!

[rawiri42 · 8/10 · 5 July 2014]

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!

Doesn't Get Much Better

[tonysletterbox · 9/10 · 2 July 2017]

Talk about a fly on the wall! I was absolutely spellbound, and to just think that I was privy to the inner meetings that led up to this great disaster. The acting was superb, and although, I couldn't say whether the parts were played with accuracy, they were certainly played with an intelligence and real life perfection that would have put German high command to shame.

And this is why I was transformed into a fly. The script, the accessible truth of this fascinating situation, the acting – cor blimey. I'll be watching it again tomorrow.

Who Would Have Thought a Filmed Portrayal of Diplomatic History Could Be So Absorbing!

[don2507 · 9/10 · 27 February 2018]

Of course (see title above), if you're not a history buff, then 160 minutes of meetings between ambassadors, foreign secretaries, heads of state, as well as cabinet meetings and military conferences, may prove less riveting. "37 Days" is a docudrama that covers the miscalculations that the European powers made in the 37 days between the assassination of the Austrian Archduke and Great Britain's declaration of war on the German Empire that culminates in the start of World War I, an event of enormous geopolitical significance for the 20th century. (It might be noted that JFK required his advisers to read Barbara Tuchman's "The Guns of August", a book on these same miscalculations, to avoid the kind of "accidental" war represented by the start of WW I.)

"37 Days" is told from the British government's viewpoint, and the central figure is Britain's Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, who grasps the enormity of the consequences of a general war, works for a settlement, but in the end recommends going to war to honor a treaty that protects Belgium's neutrality. But the whole sequence of events is covered from Austria's desired revenge on Serbia to Russia's protection of the fellow Slavs in Serbia, to Germany's protection of Austria from Russia, to France's alignment with Russia, to then Germany's planned invasion of France, through Belgium, which prompts Britain (and her Dominions) into the conflagration. All in a matter of days! What was very interesting to me in this series were the British Cabinet debates and the articulate speeches both for peace and for honoring treaties given by ruling Liberal Party members who were fearful that if their government fell, the "Tories would go all out for war."

Since Britain's statesmen got the lion's share of the minutes, her characters have been fleshed out a bit more than her adversaries (and allies) as some reviewers have noted. But I don't think the Kaiser was caricatured; he was, indeed, quite histrionic. The Czar was a weak ruler and the Franz Joseph, the Austrian emperor, was doddering, as depicted in "37 Days." If you ignore trivial matters like uniforms and the like, this film captures the historical validity of a complicated series of events, and in an engrossing manner like only the BBC can do. We see Germany's "blank check" to Austria (to teach Serbia a lesson), we see Russia's premature general mobilization, we see the social democratic parties of Europe morph into nationalist parties, and as in Germany, vote the war credits necessary for waging war, and we see Britain opting for war against Germany to protect Belgium more so than to assist its ally France. The irony is that very few of the statesmen depicted in this film wanted a general European war, but that is what they got. There were, however, some members of the German High Command, e.g., von Moltke, who wanted to eliminate the Russian threat while the power balance was in her favor, which prompts the German Chancellor's (Bethmann Hollweg) comment at the end of the film: "I wanted to build a great state with an army attached to it, instead I have the reverse."

Very well made

[paulvancraeynest · 9/10 · 4 October 2021]

This series shows how WW1 started. Nobody actually wanted war, but everybody thought someone else will stop it. When it started, there was no way back.

Riveting!

[vulture64 · 9/10 · 22 February 2021]

You don't need to be interested in history to be absorbed by the most important 37-days in history. Days that led to the WW1, WW2, and everything thereafter. Fabulous production!

If you are a history buff, 10/10 and compulsory viewing.

So so or so.

[trlrprkcon1 · 6/10 · 3 April 2014]

This series is very entertaining....but. The "but" admonition is awarded because of the mistreatment of historical facts and characters. What follows is a "maybe" in the spoiler category because I have no idea how much information is allowed without incurring the wrath of IMDb. 1 example, the idiotic portrayal of Tsar Nicholas, his son and their relationship is....idiotic? It's idiotic because the Czar's son was a hemophiliac and the Tsar doted on him because of it. (BTW, the guy who plays the Czar? Did they TRY to find a guy that looked NOTHING like Nicholas? Nicholas was a small man, no taller than 5' 6" and 140# in weight) The Tsar was famous as a great family man, spoiling his children, especially his son, the Czarevitch. This is a factual misrepresentation of small importance but it does paint the Czar as someone he wasn't for no apparent reason. Now, there are several small errors like this throughout which seems to be "much ado about nothing" BUT, when you add them all up.(?) they become one very major and film spoiling cluster duck which leaves me to award 6 stars. So if you know history as I do you may think "6 stars was overly generous trlrprkcon". If you don't? You will learn many salient facts about the Europe of 1914,, why it went to war in 1914 and be entertained all at the same time.

Excellent Historical Drama

[Peadles · 10/10 · 9 March 2014]

I am not clued in enough to say, with certainty, this BBC drama was impartial - but given how i suppose it could have gone, i think it was close enough. Even if you don't agree, you cannot fault the acting and the direction of this mini series.

Loosely told from the perspective of two foreign office clerks - one German, one British - depicts the many sad, unfortunate and ironic events in the 37 days leading to the deaths of ten million men and women around the globe during WW1.

I am of a generation of kids whose history lessons saw WW1 being completely overshadowed in favour of WW2 - so for me this was particularly interesting. It could have been poorly acted, badly directed and cheap to make and I would still have found it interesting. That it was none of those things was a great bonus! It was obvious from the outset that while they were speaking in English, the German actors were German, the Russian actors Russian and so on. Which added some authenticity to the whole thing (I am a stickler for accents!).

If you want 3 hours of world history and a good account of the bumbling old gits that ran Germany and Great Britain at the time - give this a go :)

Interesting but flawed account of the days leading up to WW1

[marklv · 7/10 · 23 March 2014]

The main reason behind this mini-series was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WW1, so this programme certainly had an educational purpose behind it. Unfortunately, the only saving grace of this rather clumsy attempt to tell the story was the brilliant performance of Ian McDiarmid, who despite being far too old to play Sir Edward Grey, was astonishingly convincing in the role. As has been mentioned by other reviewers, the continental characters were very poorly played, with some over the top hysterics from Kaiser Wilhelm and Von Moltke in particular -shouting and gesticulations taking the place of cogent discussion. The actors playing the Kaiser and the Tsar, in particular, looked nothing like the genuine individuals, and tried to make up for it with poor acting. There was also very little from the Austro-Hungarians, other than their ambassador coming up with poor excuses whilst being reprimanded like a naughty schoolboy by Sir Edward. The other continental characters conformed very much to national stereotypes. Finally, three hours did seem rather too much to explain the events - a single, edited two hour programme would have been much better. The first two episodes contained some periods of rather unnecessary tedium, only redeemed by the third one.

Gets better in part 3

[pawebster · 5/10 · 9 March 2014]

It was a tough task to make an interesting drama out of 37 days of meetings. This series make has a reasonable go at dealing with it by using the artifice of two fictional clerks, one in London and one in Berlin. There were problems, however.

One was the dialogue, which did not always catch the correct tone. It was sometimes too familiar and lacked diplomatic etiquette. On one occasion, an ambassador just leaves a fairly amicable meeting with Sir Edward Grey (the best acting performance) without any word of farewell - he simply walks out.

Another problem was a lot of hammy acting on the German side (even though I accept that the real-life Kaiser was indeed hammy). The German actors were also hampered by having to speak English. I think subtitles would have been not only more authentic, but also better for the tone of the piece. To make matters worse, the Germans had to clomp about in heavy boots on uncarpeted floors. Since there was an awful lot of roaming around while talking (unusual in real-life meetings), this made a distracting clatter. Perhaps the sound recording department was at fault here.

In general, budget problems undermined the production. The only signs of Germany were stock establishing shots of the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate. Otherwise, Germany was represented by very obviously British buildings. One of the "German" cars prominently displayed its AA membership badge. The scenes of tiny groups of soldiers on the German borders were laughable and should have been left out.

Despite these flaws, I stuck with it, as I am interested in the history of the period. It became much better in the third and final part as war neared and the scenes in the cabinet room were tense and poignant.

Brilliant, a drama which makes me happy to pay my BBC licence fee!

[Joxerlives · 10/10 · 16 March 2014]

Just an excellent BBC production, showing how the Great War enveloped Europe and how Britain was pulled kicking and screaming into it, three cabinet members resigning and Lord Grey reduced to tears at the very thought of it. Very clearly lays the blame at Germany's door and from all I've read (especially by Franz Fischer) quite deservedly so. It's interesting how on the German and Russian side you are constantly seeing high ranking soldiers in uniform influencing and dictating policy but on the British side you never see a single once. Even when the cabinet are discussing the contemporary Home Rule crisis (the British government's proposal to give Ireland limited self-government which was bitterly resisted by Irish Unionists to the point of armed insurrection). Best line has to be when the German ambassador asks his French counterpart (and cousin!) "Have you been waiting long?" and he replies "Since 1872", the year of France's defeat by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War. A truly wonderful performance from Ian McDiarmind (the Emperor from Star Wars!) as Lord Grey, doing his best in an impossible situation and from Tim Piggot Smith, so usually the cast as the bad guy as Prime Minister Asquith (who will lose his own son in th coming conflict). A truly great depiction of the perils of diplomacy, how miscommunication, misunderstanding and a complete lack of empathy for the mindset of the other side can lead to disaster, something you see repeated time and again throughout history.

Wonderful and thought-provoking stuff.

Intriguing and educational

[grantss · 8/10 · 28 February 2016]

Intriguing and educational.

A dramatisation of the events that lead to World War 1, and, in particular, Britain's participation in the war. From the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 until Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914 - 37 days - we see the diplomatic negotiations and behind-the-scenes machinations from many sides.

A well made telling of the diplomacy (and, ultimately, failure thereof) in the lead-up to World War 1. Had the potential to be quite dry, but there is always a fair amount of tension and intrigue present, even though you know how it is all going to end.

Quite educational too: there's plenty of movies about the fighting in wars, but not much about the diplomatic side. This makes 37 Days a bit of a rarity.

Also quite chilling, as you see how things escalate, and realise how the war could have been averted. You see how personalities and sometimes seemingly small events or discussions shape the outcome. Quite eye-opening.

Absolute rubbish

[juripino · 28 August 2016]

The writers of this lousy propaganda have never read any history book, so all series is full of dunno what. Wilhelm wears Iron Cross before the war - it is awarded only in wartime. Similarly, Nicholas wears St George. He was awarded 4th grade only 1915. He has stripes on trousers - in Russian army it is only for generals, and Nicholas was just a Colonel. German uniforms are not correct. Edward Grey acts and speaks as football hooligan. As the rest of British statesmen. Clerks in foreign offices are half-dressed - nobody would allow to show up wearing only a vest. Etc. Generally - watch with shock and awe. Then go to dark corner and weep about decline of education and civilization.

Amazing, Brilliant. Add your own superlative

[jocajosh · 10/10 · 9 March 2014]

What an excellent production, acting and attention to detail. It shows those incredible 37 days between the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and the start of World War I. The self interest and machiavellian machinations of the so called "great powers" that lead to over 16 million deaths, is scarcely to believed but is all true. Those that think Churchill a great man should realise he and others like von Moltke, the Kaiser, the Czar and Emperor Franz Josef lived for war, ignored the suffering to come all in the name of self aggrandisement and self interest. This excellent show will show all this but people at the time were led and manipulated by patriotism (always a dangerous place in which to invest one's life!), to believe it was a just cause. It shows how quickly events can lead to a place of no return which is where we are now vis a vis Russia and the Crimea. For me Ian McDiarmid as the Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey, is particularly well worth the mention of great acting in this show. He is utterly believable. As for Rainer Sellin as the Kaiser and the actor playing Franz Josef, it's like looking at the actual people from history. Well done the casting people. All in all, a marvellous and accurate portrayal of events. Should be played in all schools.

A brave, contained, watchable dramatization of a series of meetings that led to World War

[jonathanfergusonvernon · 7/10 · 14 March 2014]

It falls short of 'Shakespearean' though it is largely accurate. Some dubious casting and location shooting suggests they'd have been better off 'interpretting' the scenes ala 'Oh, What a Lovely War'. Re-interpreted as a 90 minute movie the sub-story of romance in the office might carry it. I half expected to find the junior clerk from the British Foreign Office at the bayonet end of his counterpart from the Richtstag . Armed with a transcript and played in excerpts this would be a valuable 'Open Educational Resource' - better than showing 'Blackadder', more objective than the massive 1964 'The Great WR' too. Worth discussing across the social media to understand what the origins and causes of the First World War were.

It's hardly a spoiler, but they do go to war and millions die.

If the BBC are involved..

[mjp78 · 1/10 · 1 December 2019]

It's a work of literal fiction, masquerading as fact, and will treat you like an illiterate child. Enjoy.