Victory at Sea - The Legendary World War II Documentary (History Channel)
directed by: M. Clay Adams
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Product Description:
Studio: A&e Home VideoRelease Date: 12/16/2008Run time: 78 minutesRating: Nr
Amazon.com:
A 26-episode World War II documentary, Victory at Sea is one of the most important series in the history of television. Made in 1952, the show was a huge success, winning many major awards and even spawning albums featuring the orchestral score by Richard Rodgers, best known for his musicals with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. Produced with the full cooperation of the U.S. Navy, each 26-minute program consists of black-and-white wartime film set to a narration by Leonard Graves. The two years leading up to America's entry into the war are dismissed in episode one, while the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor gets a show of its own, the raid depicted in a brilliantly edited montage that almost certainly contains "docu-drama" footage. Each episode contains at least one powerful stand-alone sequence in the tradition of Serge Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin), these action-suspense set-pieces giving the programs an urgent, surprisingly modern feel. Indeed, the emphasis is at least as much on entertainment as information, the factual content delivered in poetic narration, the score transforming the war into a more than usually serious Hollywood adventure. The documentaries are nothing if not wide-ranging, covering parts of the land war despite the title, and including everything from the Atlantic convoys and U-boat "Wolfpacks" to war in Alaska, the South Atlantic, and the Far East, the Pacific War, and the Fall of Japan. There is an attempt to include other nations--certainly the D-Day episode acknowledges the British far more than Saving Private Ryan--but inevitably the focus is on America's war.The very dated narration gives a fascinating insight into how America saw WWII in the early 1950s, while the dynamic cutting and often genuinely remarkable wartime footage make Victory at Sea still gripping today. Twenty years later, Granada's The World at War would become the definitive television WWII history, but this release offers a unique opportunity to see a series of great importance from the very early days of television. --Gary S. Dalkin
Studio: A&e Home VideoRelease Date: 12/16/2008Run time: 78 minutesRating: Nr
Amazon.com:
A 26-episode World War II documentary, Victory at Sea is one of the most important series in the history of television. Made in 1952, the show was a huge success, winning many major awards and even spawning albums featuring the orchestral score by Richard Rodgers, best known for his musicals with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. Produced with the full cooperation of the U.S. Navy, each 26-minute program consists of black-and-white wartime film set to a narration by Leonard Graves. The two years leading up to America's entry into the war are dismissed in episode one, while the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor gets a show of its own, the raid depicted in a brilliantly edited montage that almost certainly contains "docu-drama" footage. Each episode contains at least one powerful stand-alone sequence in the tradition of Serge Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin), these action-suspense set-pieces giving the programs an urgent, surprisingly modern feel. Indeed, the emphasis is at least as much on entertainment as information, the factual content delivered in poetic narration, the score transforming the war into a more than usually serious Hollywood adventure. The documentaries are nothing if not wide-ranging, covering parts of the land war despite the title, and including everything from the Atlantic convoys and U-boat "Wolfpacks" to war in Alaska, the South Atlantic, and the Far East, the Pacific War, and the Fall of Japan. There is an attempt to include other nations--certainly the D-Day episode acknowledges the British far more than Saving Private Ryan--but inevitably the focus is on America's war.The very dated narration gives a fascinating insight into how America saw WWII in the early 1950s, while the dynamic cutting and often genuinely remarkable wartime footage make Victory at Sea still gripping today. Twenty years later, Granada's The World at War would become the definitive television WWII history, but this release offers a unique opportunity to see a series of great importance from the very early days of television. --Gary S. Dalkin
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Extensive,Navy Oriented,Best War Documentary Series in Era of 1950with Unforgeeable Theme Music !
These "VICTORY at SEA"--Old but Unforggetable
distant but clear,Good Remmemberance with
Full US.NAVY Cooperated Series of Documentary
of naval oriented War including Land War Hitory
is Stiil Best Documantary Which placed in important
seat of My Bookshelf,livingroom-Library !
I can't forgett it's Signal and/or Theme Music
by Richard Rodger's Music(Very famous team with
Oscar HammersteinsII !).
These Series of Documantary included 26 episodes
Read More
Rating: - Historical classic
I had watched this series when it was presented (without the 50th anniversary introductions by Peter Graves) in the mid-80s.I loved it then, and I really love it now.Watching the sea and land battles in HD is truly awe-inspiring.The presentation has given me an appreciation for the struggles our Marines and sailors endured in WWII.
Rating: 
- Never Even Got My Copy
I ordered this in November 2008 and never, ever received my order.I did, however, receive a slew of emails telling me it would ship later than expected.I finally just canceled the order in January.As much as I love Amazon, they completely failed me on this one.Hint: you can find the original version at Cracker Barrel for $9.99.
Rating: - Victory at Sea,
This dvd is very good. There are other copies of this on the market that are very inferior. I know because I bought one. As far as the content goes, W.W.II is very well documented from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima.The musical score by Richard Rogers and the N.B.C. orchestra are half the program. If you're into W.W.II history this is well worth the money.
Rating: - No subtitles?No closed captions?Too bad
I read here that the audio is not great.How about the total lack of subtitles or closed captions?
Hey Sales Department at History Channel - how about the 30 million US people who are hearing impaired?That's a big market that you are excluding yourself from.
- Extensive,Navy Oriented,Best War Documentary Series in Era of 1950with Unforgeeable Theme Music !These "VICTORY at SEA"--Old but Unforggetable
distant but clear,Good Remmemberance with
Full US.NAVY Cooperated Series of Documentary
of naval oriented War including Land War Hitory
is Stiil Best Documantary Which placed in important
seat of My Bookshelf,livingroom-Library !
I can't forgett it's Signal and/or Theme Music
by Richard Rodger's Music(Very famous team with
Oscar HammersteinsII !).
These Series of Documantary included 26 episodes
Read More
- Historical classicI had watched this series when it was presented (without the 50th anniversary introductions by Peter Graves) in the mid-80s.I loved it then, and I really love it now.Watching the sea and land battles in HD is truly awe-inspiring.The presentation has given me an appreciation for the struggles our Marines and sailors endured in WWII.
- Never Even Got My CopyI ordered this in November 2008 and never, ever received my order.I did, however, receive a slew of emails telling me it would ship later than expected.I finally just canceled the order in January.As much as I love Amazon, they completely failed me on this one.Hint: you can find the original version at Cracker Barrel for $9.99.
- Victory at Sea,This dvd is very good. There are other copies of this on the market that are very inferior. I know because I bought one. As far as the content goes, W.W.II is very well documented from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima.The musical score by Richard Rogers and the N.B.C. orchestra are half the program. If you're into W.W.II history this is well worth the money.
- No subtitles?No closed captions?Too badI read here that the audio is not great.How about the total lack of subtitles or closed captions?
Hey Sales Department at History Channel - how about the 30 million US people who are hearing impaired?That's a big market that you are excluding yourself from.
