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From Amazon.co.uk
A 26-episode World War II documentary from the American perspective, 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--South Pacific--Rodgers. Produced with the full cooperation of the US Navy, each 26-minute programme consists of black and white wartime film edited 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 Harbour gets a show of its own, the raid depicted in a brilliantly edited montage which almost certainly contains "docu-drama" footage. Each episode contains at least one powerful stand-alone sequence in the tradition of Serge--Battleship Potemkin--Eisenstein, these action-suspense set-pieces giving the programmes 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, 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. 20 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.
On the DVD: The 26 episodes total approximately 11 and-a-half hours on six DVDs. The 4:3 picture varies depending on the different archive footage used but the image is always perfectly watchable and sometimes surprisingly good. The sound is mono and the music is sometimes distorted. Extras consist of reprinting the credits, an incredibly basic filmography and a gallery of 25 stills, presented without any supporting information and marred by a large Victory at Sea logo. These are the same on all six DVDs. Each disc also includes a few pages of disc-specific history, adding further detail to the events in each episode. --Gary S Dalkin
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a pale imitation of the great television series. The most disappointing aspect is that the music is not only NOT Richard Rogers great score, but is a series of intrusive (and inappropriate)brass band pieces, including music from recent musicals! The sound and picture quality is very poor, and the commentary is jarring. The editing of the section on the Battle of Midway is very puzzling. All round, a bad buy, in my opinion.
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By Brian Porter
Format:DVD
I am very disappointed with this set.The original soundtrack written by Richard Rogers has been removed and replaced with a mish-mash of'music from the shows" sort of thing,which at times drowns out the commentary.The "Midway Is East" episode ends before the battle is over.All in all a very below par offering of what is one of the best war documentaries ever filmed.
53 of 54 people found the following review helpful
By G. Cobban
Format:DVD
I don't as a whole enjoy writing a bad review but this item merits it. I bought this to replace my VHS tape set and all I can say is I regret having given the tapes away to a friend.
The quality of this offering is just downright bad. The image quality has lost a lot of definition and is fuzzy while the sound reproduction is a joke - it sounds as if the narrator is speaking through a biscuit tin full of socks from three rooms away.
Now I may have got a rogue bad example but I'm not taking a chance - I'll wait till a decent reproduction of this important television landmark series is available.
The quality of this offering is just downright bad. The image quality has lost a lot of definition and is fuzzy while the sound reproduction is a joke - it sounds as if the narrator is speaking through a biscuit tin full of socks from three rooms away.
Now I may have got a rogue bad example but I'm not taking a chance - I'll wait till a decent reproduction of this important television landmark series is available.
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful
I can only reiterate what has been said already about this DVD set. The music is so awful that it becomes distracting to the point where you cannot concentrate on what is being... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Brian Wareham
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is not the original Victory at Sea series
This is a pathetic substitute for the brilliant original series that I watched nearly 60 years ago.
The soundtrack has been replaced with a loud assortment of music that... Read more
The soundtrack has been replaced with a loud assortment of music that... Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2010 by Richard Angry
1.0 out of 5 stars
DISGRACEFUL PRODUCT
DISCRACEFUL REMASTERING. Unlistenable and unwatchable fro the begining. TOTAL waste of money should not be for sale on Amazon
Published on 14 Feb 2010 by Joan Elizabeth Johnston
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful post-war propaganda, unworthy of a title of documentary
Before you purchase this item, please understand the age of this work. It's infantile propaganda spiced up with some superficial facts. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2009 by Sakari
1.0 out of 5 stars
Incomplete delivery
This product arrived with only 3 of 4 disks.
I have requested the missing disk but have not yet received a reply
I am extremely disappointed
I have requested the missing disk but have not yet received a reply
I am extremely disappointed
Published on 16 April 2009 by B. Brown
2.0 out of 5 stars
Style quite dated & often annoying
This DVD uses ancient reviews to substantiate its claim to being an excellent video. Whilst it might in its day have been the epitome of excellence, the whole production now seems... Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2008 by DF McCleland
2.0 out of 5 stars
Style quite dated & often annoying but the content often provides a...
This DVD uses ancient reviews to substantiate its claim to being an excellent video. Whilst it might in its day have been the epitome of excellence, the whole production now seems... Read more
Published on 16 Dec 2007 by DF McCleland
1.0 out of 5 stars
NOT THE TV-SERIES FROM THE 50's
Concerning the cheap (under Ł20 new) 6-disc set "Victory at Sea (DVD-2006)": This is NOT the "Victory at Sea" series that was sent in America during the 50's and 60's. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2007 by Ex-naval officer
2.0 out of 5 stars
victory at sea
This DVD collection has the original pictures but does not have the original music and the soundtrack is read by a different actor.
Published on 3 Jun 2007 by TK Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
VICTORY AT SEA
FIRST CLASS REPRODUCTION, EXCELLENT SOUND. JUST AS I REMEMBER THE 50`s T V PROGRAMME. CERTAINLY VALUE FOR MONEY
Published on 21 May 2004 by MR R BODDY
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