Supplier: Campaigns in History, Cromwell Films Ltd. Price: £ 14-99 plus £ 1-95 p&p Although I was disappointed with the 1812 video (see issue 9) I decided to purchase Austerlitz for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to create a balance. (1812: Napoleon losing. Austerlitz: Napoleon winning.) Secondly, I like to support anyone that tries to make the Napoleonic Period more accessible, (which is also why I joined the Napoleonic Association). On first viewing my thoughts were: "Great book, shame about the video." But after several sittings I realised the main fault, besides being poor in sound quality, is the length. An hour seems far to short for the price. However, you can see they've tried to improve things. No lengthy previews or introductions here and thankfully no tanks rumbling across the screen in between cavalry charges. But it begins so suddenly I thought the cassette needed rewinding or there was a part missing. The War and Peace footage is again enjoyable and again too short. And, due I imagine, to economic reasons, several clips are repeated and I spotted a couple that had also been used in the 1812 video. On the positive side the subtitles are more effective when Captain Coignet and Major-General Stutterheim speak in their native language. Sadly this nice touch was spoilt by having the same actor portraying Captain Coignet that played Sergeant Bourgogne. As for the MODERN reenactments, as advertised on the video cover, we are offered one short Naval scene? But at least this time they were more liberal with the 3-D computer mapping. As I say, the sound quality was again poor in places, although not as bad as on 1812. But overall, it's a much better product and the best part of the product being the book. If like me you don't already own any material concerning Captain Coignet, then you're in for a treat. Unlike 1812, it's not just a copy of a video script. I started reading it and could not put it down. So again, I would heartily recommend the video for anyone having little knowledge of the battle, but there are more informative books. Finally Cromwell Films do seem a company keen to receive comments about their products, good or bad, to help them improve future productions. They were also kind enough to supply me with a free copy of 1812 as a replacement. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #11 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com