"Les jeunes vont s'éclater !" Apocalypse, la Première Guerre Mondiale ou l'enseignement au défi du spectaculaire

Abstract

Apocalypse World War I puts history teachers in a delicate position. The colossal success of the historical series, with an average audience of 6 million viewers during its French broadcast, is based on debatable montage techniques. The archive images are colourized and reframed and a new sound illustration added. Should one rejoice nevertheless? If yes, how can this satisfactory stance be reconciled with the warnings of scholars and other specialists of filmed archive material who denounce it as a dangerous manipulation of the film source?