Hilarious History

Any program on historical topics cannot do without archival materials. This series has plenty of such material since they are taken from the Film and Television Archive of the University of California, one of the largest American cinematheques. There is everyting: sports competitions and the establishment of curious records, auto racing and a demonstration of technical innovations, training of recruits in the army and sketches of family life filmed on amateur cameras. Black and white film captured almost every aspect of life in the era between the two world wars.

The only question is how to dispose of all this wealth. And here the creators of “Hilarious History” have no problems. Accompanying the entire video sequence with a light commentary, endowing the newsreel characters with funny remarks taken from our today, they turn historical reality into a fun attraction before the viewer’s eyes. After all, the motto of this program is: “You can not change history, but no one prevent you from laughing at it!”