it always brings hope when some things which constantly disappoints you suddenly nicely surprise you. in this very case it is croatian television, an institution so profoundly boring and in constant decay in last ten years. i just can't believe this institution produced such a great documentary about croatian kings. i won't write about art of film, but, as a historian i must say something about the historiography in croatian kings. it is definitely most competent media project of this kind in croatia for a long time. impressive group of experts worked as consultants, including master of all masters for European medieval history, jacques le goff, old french professor and a great author. middle ages are presented creatively, with much sense for humor and details from every-day life. only thing which is made a little bit pretentious are some parts of history of catholic church (it is very unlikely that gregory vii wanted to rule the warrior class in the way it was presented in the documentary, but that is a long-discussion item), and that is why i'm giving 9 instead 10, but, nevertheless: it is a masterpiece among documentaries about history.
11 Reviews
Great documentary
hristoabogoev10 March 2013
Fine work for Croatians. They have reach history, in this particular period even connected with some of Bulgarian rulers, Boris I and emperor Samuel. Some historical theories on Bulgarian-Croatian war conflicts, as shown in this documentary series, are difficult to prove, but nevertheless, I have no serious objections on the approach. For East-European public, this series is very interesting, and Viasat History made a very good choice to broadcast it. I hope there will be more projects like this - it is obviously well- funded, but probably not too expensive. I suppose that public televisions of other south Slavic states can find a model in this Croatian example. I strongly believe this is the right way to present history to the public.
Very, very interesting
pablo-arringarosa24 February 2013
Before watching this documentary, I must admit I didn't know anything about history of Croatians. Today, I wish somebody in my Spain do documentary like this about early medieval history of Iberia, or at least Extremadura. The style of the documentary is very interesting - mixture of documentarism and acted scenes. I suppose all of it was filmed in Croatia. If so, that country is very beautiful. Costumes are also beautifully done, direction is very good, text is full of useful and new (to me) facts, but the best part is music. I can't remember last time I was so touched by music like while watching this documentary series. I found the music on Soundcloud, but, unfortunately, one can only listen it, but not download it. In one word: bravo!
great European medieval history
mirceavalcea12 January 2013
well done low-budget documentary about the early medieval Croatian kings. with quite few resources and some CGI, combined with great music (so good that I looked for it on the Internet to download) they manage to tell a god historical story. actually, the series made me envious and angry, because it shows that a great series can be done with not too much money, and no one in my country managed to do that (I live in Romania, which is nearby, with just Serbia in between, and has a very similar history). I highly recommend it for European public (especially East-Europeans), not so much for Americans, as the story (and historical assumptions) are favored over special effects. 10/10
Excellent history documentary series
andrahaile23 January 2013
I saw this surprising series at the end of 2011, in the time of its premiere broadcasting at Croatian Television. I was expecting another ecstatically patriotic overview on nation's history, but in first minutes I realized this is gonna be something completely different. Series is full of Europe's best experts in medieval and the objectivity of the whole story is unquestionable. Speaking of cinematography, the job is almost perfectly done - beautiful picture with mighty, epic-like scenes. Direction is also a strong side of the series - very resolute, unusually imaginative for a documentary. In some moments I had a feeling I'm seeing a Hollywood movie. There's maybe a slight over-enthusiasm in using a slow motion, but those scenes are so esthetically memorable that I can't judge director for insisting on these scenes. Particularly interesting are middle parts of episodes, obviously designed as a kind of pause of political history and giving a chance to medieval everyday life. In each episode we are witnessing various events in life of seven Croatian medieval peasants, designed as hilarious and vivid characters which are, in fact, telling us a story of less known facts on life of medieval common people. Opening credits, with sculptures of medieval kings coming alive in 21th century, is very strong and memorable. Supreme job!
Great series, I really enjoyed it.
rkoljaja12 October 2014
With the help of a small budget and a lot of effort, people can make a great piece of art (work), that's what this series showed.
Despite "surreal" animations, this series amused me very much.
I was most impressed that they invited top level experts in that field/part of history as commentators/consultants. It was also interesting to see how all the parts of history from other neighboring countries fit into the big picture. And just to mention, the music was perfect. Job well done.
I hope that in the future, we will see more series like this one. I recommend this series to European public and all "history lovers".
Despite "surreal" animations, this series amused me very much.
I was most impressed that they invited top level experts in that field/part of history as commentators/consultants. It was also interesting to see how all the parts of history from other neighboring countries fit into the big picture. And just to mention, the music was perfect. Job well done.
I hope that in the future, we will see more series like this one. I recommend this series to European public and all "history lovers".
Excellent series for history lovers!
kristijanvkci28 December 2015
The series was magnificent! I'm kind of sad it was so short! I wanted to see defense against the Ottoman invasion, Mongols etc. Very good effects, when I first started it I was hoping just to learn something, didn't expect to feel like I'm really there! Extraordinary. But, I'll repeat, it is a documentary, don't expect an action movie if you're not into this genre! However if you love history and documentaries, I can guarantee, you won't regret watching it! What perplexes me is how the bad reviews are coming from nicknames like "vojkan" which is a Serbian name, but on the other hand, as the father of Serbian literature (Dobrica Ćosić) says "We lie to deceit ourselves, to console others, we lie for mercy, to encourage, to hide our misery, we lie because of fairness. Lies are sight of Serbian patriotism and confirmation of our intelligence. We lie creatively, imaginatively and inventively. Lies are Serbian state interest. Lies are inside the Serbian being. In this country every lie in the end becomes the truth. Serbs got saved so many times by lies in history. Don't believe the haters, if you're going to watch anything about Bosniak, Croatian, Albanian and even Macedonian history, you will always find these!
Not historically correct series
nemuskralj-4810314 September 2021
Croatia is truly big and old Country.
olimpius-0714121 March 2021
Valuable content in a campy package
CherryBlossomBoy30 August 2013
Before I got to see this series I thought it would be another piece of political propaganda Croatia's already seen more than enough of, in the last twenty years. History of Medieval Croatia used to be particularly useful to nationalist agenda, precisely because so much about it was, and still is, shrouded in mystery.
I was very pleasantly surprised to see that this was going to be something else. The show abounds with newly discovered data and sheds a new and long awaited light on characters and events of the period. As it happens, the title of the show should've been expanded to "Croatian Rulers" because some of those mentioned never went by the title of "king". It is made very clear, though, that titles didn't play that much of a role in Middle Ages and that the real power was what counted the most. Croatian rulers wielded some real power in the region and this series is after uncovering that.
The strong points of the show are the recruitment of experts on the subject, using the new interdisciplinary data and impressive power of deducing new conclusions, not only out of what was mentioned but also out of what wasn't. For instance, during the reign of Tomislav, Croatia was a vassal state to Byzantium. And since there is never a mention of Croatian "thema" (a term for "province") in Byzantine chronicles of the era, the very likely conclusion is that Croatia was powerful and very much independent. Revision went both ways, both in reinforcing some known theories and refuting others. The series didn't balk at opportunity to show some of the known historical figures as overrated, misconceived or even completely nonexistent, if the new data lead to such conclusion. All in all, "Croatian Kings" brought a fresh approach and convincing arguments for demystifying and debunking the legends that used to be sold as "history" to Croatian population.
The weakness of the series is - production. Noticeably lacking is almost any kind of graphics: geographical maps, charts etc. Absence of such material seriously degrades the didactic value of presentation. The burden of delivering the information falls on the narrator and a couple of guest experts, while we watch "pretty pictures" that are only very loosely related to what's being said. The director focused solely on reenactments and the inspiration for direction is plainly drawn from Ridley Scott. Hence the gritty look, a lot of slow motion and some blood and gore. Unfortunately, the cinematography and special effects come off very cheap and a tad amateurish. Same goes for the sets and casting, so instead of an homage to Scott we have a parody.
Another very distracting thing is the music score, written by the same guy that directed the series. The attempt to mimic Hollywood epics is apparent here as well. However, the result is very pedestrian. In every piece the main theme is rehashed over and over again ad nauseam, with very little in the way of creativity. What's worse, there are only three or four pieces written to cover all the episodes, and very soon hearing the same old thing begins to bother the viewer especially since it clashes with the main source of information - the narrator.
You can freely write off the production aspect of the series as a vanity vehicle for Bozidar Domagoj Buric. "Croatian Kings" could well function as a radio show. But a very informative, eye opening and amusing radio show it would be.
I was very pleasantly surprised to see that this was going to be something else. The show abounds with newly discovered data and sheds a new and long awaited light on characters and events of the period. As it happens, the title of the show should've been expanded to "Croatian Rulers" because some of those mentioned never went by the title of "king". It is made very clear, though, that titles didn't play that much of a role in Middle Ages and that the real power was what counted the most. Croatian rulers wielded some real power in the region and this series is after uncovering that.
The strong points of the show are the recruitment of experts on the subject, using the new interdisciplinary data and impressive power of deducing new conclusions, not only out of what was mentioned but also out of what wasn't. For instance, during the reign of Tomislav, Croatia was a vassal state to Byzantium. And since there is never a mention of Croatian "thema" (a term for "province") in Byzantine chronicles of the era, the very likely conclusion is that Croatia was powerful and very much independent. Revision went both ways, both in reinforcing some known theories and refuting others. The series didn't balk at opportunity to show some of the known historical figures as overrated, misconceived or even completely nonexistent, if the new data lead to such conclusion. All in all, "Croatian Kings" brought a fresh approach and convincing arguments for demystifying and debunking the legends that used to be sold as "history" to Croatian population.
The weakness of the series is - production. Noticeably lacking is almost any kind of graphics: geographical maps, charts etc. Absence of such material seriously degrades the didactic value of presentation. The burden of delivering the information falls on the narrator and a couple of guest experts, while we watch "pretty pictures" that are only very loosely related to what's being said. The director focused solely on reenactments and the inspiration for direction is plainly drawn from Ridley Scott. Hence the gritty look, a lot of slow motion and some blood and gore. Unfortunately, the cinematography and special effects come off very cheap and a tad amateurish. Same goes for the sets and casting, so instead of an homage to Scott we have a parody.
Another very distracting thing is the music score, written by the same guy that directed the series. The attempt to mimic Hollywood epics is apparent here as well. However, the result is very pedestrian. In every piece the main theme is rehashed over and over again ad nauseam, with very little in the way of creativity. What's worse, there are only three or four pieces written to cover all the episodes, and very soon hearing the same old thing begins to bother the viewer especially since it clashes with the main source of information - the narrator.
You can freely write off the production aspect of the series as a vanity vehicle for Bozidar Domagoj Buric. "Croatian Kings" could well function as a radio show. But a very informative, eye opening and amusing radio show it would be.
Terrible!!!
rujan65-150-38253213 December 2012
Lazily done, terrible amateur sets, same terrible sets used over and over, overuse of slow motion to buy time, predictable badly used heavy metal music for the period scenes. Entire series filmed on just couple of sets that weren't even changed in look. All of it looks like a school production with stock footage of slow-motion horseback riders and same couple of ruins. Very little facts, mostly speculation. Boring! Sad Croatian production and a sad presentation of their history. One would think Croats would put much, much more effort in presenting their history they claim to be so proud of, especially after the recent war and claims that others suppressed their history.
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