Product Details

• Actors: Walter Cronkite
• Format: Box set, Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Timeless Media Group
• DVD Release Date: August 6, 2002
• Run Time: 360 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008978Z
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,147 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Air Power - Riveting Stories of World War II Air Combat" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

This exceptional six hour documentary, produced by CBS News in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force and narrated by the voice of America, Walter Cronkite, chronicles the impact that the fighting machines of the air had on the outcome of World War II. Follow Hitler's determined attempts to conquer Britain by sending the Luftwaffe over the English Channel to bomb London. Relive the infamous day when Japan's Air Force attacked Pearl Harbor, the D-Day invasion of Normandy and the deadly dogfights in the Pacific theater. Featuring spectacular and rare documentary film footage, this fascinating retrospective also explores aviation's impact on the 20th Century. Culled from over 300 million feet of film and featuring an original score performed by the CBS Symphony. Here are the unforgettable stories of World War II...Air Power.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Missing Scene, July 26, 2004

By 

R. D Thomason (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Air Power - Riveting Stories of World War II Air Combat (DVD)

With great excitement I sat down to view this DVD, one of my all-time favorite documentaries. I was extremely disappointed to find, that in my favorite segment: The Liberation of France, the final scene had been cut! It was the best scene in the whole series. The beautiful footage of two flights of Thunderbolts, criss-crossing above the Arch de Triomphe was missing! These documentaries are works of art. You can't cut the last scene of one anymore than you could with Gone With The Wind. What were these guys thinking? I'm returning my set. I refuse to support such insensitive and indiscriminate editing and I urge others to do the same.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Heavily Edited - Wish I'd known, April 27, 2008

By 

Larks "Larks" (Lancaster, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Air Power - Riveting Stories of World War II Air Combat (DVD)

Those individuals who have seen this series on television will likely be disappointed. The episodes have been very heavily edited and some of the more memorable scenes have been slashed away completely. Additionally, the titles of a number of the episodes have been changed. It would have been nice to have known prior to ordering that the product is not a DVD release of even a portion of the complete episodes of the television series, but rather a set of very heavily edited episodes with a dubious (though unknown) set of editing criteria. On the bright side, however, the transfer of the episode fragments to DVD technology was done quite well and the picture quality was better than I had expected it could be.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Series butchered, January 18, 2011

By 

T28Bart - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Air Power - Riveting Stories of World War II Air Combat (DVD)

The other reviewers are, unfortunately, correct - some of the most dramatic parts are cut or misplaced. For me, in particular, is the final portion of the Ploesti segment. If my fading memory serves me, the original ended with an ominous comment by Cronkite that now (rather than using and losing so many crew, planes and bombs) "one plane , one pilot and one bomb" would do the job and eliminate the target. And, having been an engine mechanic on those huge 28 cylinder, R-4360 radial engines (during the 60's) I also miss the engine start that began each episode.