DVD REVIEWS
"Believe it
or not, this version is far better than the one released by the "History
Channel" two years ago! The reason I say that is this; The sound was
terrible. You could not hear the narrator for the music and yet that series
cost me over $55.00..." Rance A. Nethken
"I have been
watching "Victory at Sea" since I was a kid. I seldom missed an episode when
it was shown. Over the years I have taped the series two or three times but
never got it complete. I have bought crummy VCR tapes. Worst of all I bought
the A&E piece of junk. What an expensive rip off that is. Finally we have
this one. BUY IT if you like "Victory at Sea." The picture is very good and
the music and narration are like you remember it. I don't think it has been
re-mastered but that is a plus after being suckered into buying that A&E
piece of crap. As far as I can see it is complete and each episode is 26
minutes long." Unknown
"The drama
of World War II at sea with the NBC symphony orchestra and narration written
by journalists. Only mishap is the D-Day episode where the chapters seem to
have been reversed: they show the cement Mulberry docks being destroyed by
storm and then show the actual D-Day landings. I don't know why a reviewer
complained the 26-part series is abridged. Each "half-hour" episode is about
26 minutes. I presume the missing 4 minutes are the commercials."
Robert J. Scheppy
"I can
remember watching "Victory at Sea" on Sunday afternoons on PBS, and I still
enjoy seeing the rolling waves and hearing the distinctive music which made
this series so popular. All 26 episodes of the original series are included
on 3 DVDs. I don't think that the individual episodes have been re-mastered.
Regardless, each episode appears just as it was when it appeared on
television. From the U-Boat battles of the North Atlantic to the final
capitulation of Japan, the viewer is treated to a very well-done and
entertaining look at the naval battles of the second world war. Although
there are other versions of the "Victory at Sea" series available on DVD, I
like this one the best because of the very reasonable price. Some of the
other versions cost upwards of $50. The only drawback to this set is that
the picture quality isn't as good as it possibly could have been. However,
this is a minor point. Each episode runs approximately 26 minutes, and each
is loaded with actual footage derived from over 13,000 hours of actual film
shooting. I give this fine version my highest recommendation. You'll get to
re-live the series just as it was when it was on television. The rolling
waves are still there, and the large "V" still appears at the end of each
episode. Watch this legendary series and experience how the second world war
was fought on the high seas." Jeffrey T.
Munson, Dixon, IL.
Victory at Sea, a 26-episode
DVD series on World War II, represented one of the most ambitious
documentary undertakings of early network television. Produced
by Henry Salomon, the series premiered
in
October 1952, and subsequent episodes played each week through
May 1953. Every half-hour black and white installment dealt with
some aspect of World War II naval warfare and highlighted each
of the sea war's major campaigns. The drama was enhanced by the
program's sententious voice-over narration of Leonard Graves
plus the stirring musical score by Richard
Rogers. Never has a film captured the essence and the agony
of a human struggle so great as this timeless epic. Viewed on
five continents, "Victory At Sea" has won 12 major awards
including Emmy, Sylvania, and Peabody Awards. The bulk of
live-action archives of both Allied and Axis government vaults.
The stirring saga of the American and Allied naval operations
during World War II is a visual panorama.
26 Episodes:
Design for War
- The start of World War II, Sept. 1939
The Pacific Boils Over
- Attack on Pearl Harbor
Sealing the Breach
- Anti-Submarine Warfare
Midway is East -
Battle for Midway, 1942
Mediterranean Mosaic
Guadalcanal
Rings Around Rabaul
- The Solomon Islands
Mare Nostrum -
The Mediterranean
Sea and Sand -
Invasion of North Africa
Beneath the Southern Cross
- The South Atlantic
The Magnetic North
- From Murmansk to Alaska
Conquest of Micronesia
Melanesian Nightmare
- New Guinea campaign
Roman Renaissance -
Sicily and Italy
D-Day - Normandy
invasion, June 1944
Killers and the Kill -
German U-Boat campaign
The Turkey Shoot -
The Conquest of the Marianas
Two if by Sea -
Peleliu and Angaur, Sept. 1944
The Battle for Leyte Gulf
- October 1944
Return of the Allies
- Liberation of the Philippines
Full Fathom Five -
U.S. Pacific submarines
The Fate of Europe
Target Suribachi
- Battle for Iwo Jima
The Road to Mandalay
Suicide for Glory
-
Okinawa and the kamikaze's
Design for Peace
-
The end of WWII, August 1945
New DVDs --- $19.95
Victory at Sea, all 26-episodes,
same as above in a used VHS box video set. The entire series on six (6)
video cassettes.
This classic World War II
series, represented one of the most ambitious
documentary undertakings of early network television. Produced
by Henry Salomon, the series premiered
in
October 1952, and subsequent episodes played each week through
May 1953. Every half-hour black and white installment dealt with
some aspect of World War II naval warfare and highlighted each
of the sea war's major campaigns. The drama was enhanced by the
program's sententious voice-over narration of Leonard Graves
plus the stirring musical score by Richard
Rogers. Never has a film captured the essence and the agony
of a human struggle so great as this timeless epic. Viewed on
five continents, "Victory At Sea" has won 12 major awards
including Emmy, Sylvania, and Peabody Awards. The bulk of
live-action archives of both Allied and Axis government vaults.
The stirring saga of the American and Allied naval operations
during World War II is a visual panorama.
Used VHS boxed set --- $11.95
