Customer Reviews

Art of War

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this History channel look at 'The Art of War' simply fascinating! I can't say anything to the quality of the dvd. I'm just purchasing it now. I kind of stumbled into this when it aired a week or two ago. I couldn't stop watching. It was amazing to see how the Civil War, Vietnam, and World War II were fought and ultimately won/lost based on the teachings of Sun Tzu. I only wished they would have included Iraq as well. Also intriguing was the mystery sourounding Sun Tzu himself. I definately recommend this for anyone even remotely interested in stuff like this. It's interesting from an entertainment point of view, and you might even learn something!

The History Channel has done it once again! It has produced another stellar documentary. This is top-notch entertainment. "Art of War" examines three major American war conflicts: Vietnam, WWII, and the Civil War. How they are won or lost? That's the question these scholars and the principles of THE ART OF WAR will answer. It's all very fascinating! The battle scenes are exciting; the visuals stunning. The narrative is gripping. Awesome music! Despite historical debates regarding Sun Tzu and THE ART OF WAR, there's no denying their significance and influence for wartime success--even in every day life. For readings of THE ART OF WAR try the following translations:

The Art of War by Sun Tzu and Thomas Cleary
The Art of War by Sun Tzu - Special Edition by Sun Tzu and Lionel Giles
The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods (Translations from the Asian Classics) by Sun Zi and Victor H. Mair

- Computer Graphic and Human Actors make this DVD interesting.

- It excitingly and skillfully illustrates how some battles or wars were won based on Sun Tzu's principles. These battles took places during the American civil war, World War II and Vietnam war.

- The over-doing of the conversation makes me wonder how accurate this document is compared to history books. For example, the back cover of this DVD reads "Sun Tzu was the Nostradamus of warfare..." In the film, the narrator says "Sun Tzu predicted the outcome of the Vietnam War and the Allies' landing in Normandy..." No, Sun Tzu could not do that. He died thousand of years before these historical events.

- In short, the DVD is informative and entertaining. It's the only one of this kind. I own it.

I will make this review short.. to avoid redundancy you can view the product information and other reviews.
As a student of military history and a former grunt, I can say this video puts it all together, excellent visuals, clear story telling and narration.
Sun Tzu's manual comes to life here.
Of course there is violence, death, this is The Art Of War, however, nothing most of you haven't seen on the nightly news.
I do take issue with those who say the USA lost the war( the narrator states this) in Vietnam.. NOT so. We were never defeated on the battlefield. We were defeated politically at home.. we lost the will to stay the course. This Video relates to the battlefield. This video does an excellent job in it's full presentation.. A Must Buy

as an old marine AND army officer & gentlebean, i found this documentary both intriguing and informative. i would make it mandatory watching for any cadet and all recruits into any branch of the military.

This book is complete copy of the television program which allows me to watch it over and over. I love the speedy delivery.

The DVD explains Sun Tzu's Art of War and uses it to examine D-Day, Gettysburg and the Tet Offensive. In fact the DVD touches on each of the wars, seeming to focus a large amount of time on the Vietnam conflict. They use Sun Tzu's ideas on how war should be run as a template to compare the different sides, the factors, and the commanders. It was interesting and frankly, I found the discussion about the Tet Offensive the most interesting. Let's face facts, World War II and the American Civil War has been analyzed, examined, explored and explained to death. But while I have books on Vietnam I rarely find ones that truly helps me understand WHY we lost. This DVD really DID explain to me how both sides fought the war and, according to the rules made by Sun Tzu, why the US lost and the Northern Vietnamese won.
Now, the special effects were sometimes OK, but I have to say they were not great. In the Battle of Gettysburg they show some soldiers aiming their muskets into the sky! And it could get pretty bloody, violent, and racy. They showed a bloody hospital scene in the part about the Civil War and a realistic knife fight between an American GI and a German soldier. There was also a scene, shown twice I believe, of hookers acting as spies for North Vietnam. Very shapely, sexy girls in tiny dresses. My older nephew had to leave the room when they were about to saw off a Civil War soldier's leg. He didn't ask about the hookers but if you have younger kids I suggest not letting them watch it till you have. It is in Color, 94 minutes long, and while very good does not cover the Art of War completely. So I would suggest getting a book copy - but be warned some are better than others. I would shop around!

Libraries will find this outstanding DVD a popular pick, offering a fine historical and biographical review. ART OF WAR reviews Sun Tzu, who wrote ART OF WAR over 2,400 years ago. This special from History blends a biography of Sun Tzu with a survey of war's lessons and great battles in history and is a pick for any military library in particular. Highly recommended.

The vast majority of this documentary doesn't involve Sun Tzu, but actually to applying Sun Tzu's principles to the Vietnam War, World War II, and the American Civil War.

There's almost nothing about Sun Tzu's work, beyond selecting a handful of the most basic principles and applying them to future wars.

But the information used is blindingly narrow, and in some cases, offensive.

In the American Civil War segment, Sun Tzu quotes are used liberally to basically make Lee at Gettysburg out to be some kind of idiotic moron. Completely ignored are all the factors that caused the battle to unfold the way it did:

- They criticize Lee for not sending a cavalry reconnaissance before the battle to scout the Union force skirmishing them at Gettysburg.

HE DIDN'T HAVE CAVALRY TO DO SO! General Stuart had the vast majority of Lee's cavalry, and was off behind Union lines, leaving Lee's army blind if not for an actor hired by Longstreet to act as spy.

- They criticize Lee's order to Ewell to attack Cemetery Hill "if practicable".

Vague and stupid as this order was, by many accounts, Cemetery Hill was poorly defended, and General Trimble was VEHEMENT in trying to push Ewell to take the hill. They also criticize Lee's order for being "vague" and unclear. There's nothing particularly vague to an order saying "Take this hill, if you can".

- They criticize Lee for engaging the enemy on the high ground, and wax smug in berating the entire battle's decision, praising Longstreet, even going so far as to think that General Longstreet had Sun Tzu in mind with his decision to disengage and march on Washington D.C.

COMPLETELY IGNORED in this case, not just left out, but ACTIVELY IGNORED, is the fact that Lee's army is on borrowed time. If they do not fight at Gettysburg, they will not fight on Union soil, ever again. They are running low on all supplies, they have no more reinforcements coming. If they disengage the Union army at Gettysburg, they will be forced to leave.

A counter-march on Washington D.C. would not only waste precious time and resources, but it would basically GUARANTEE the COMPLETE AND TOTAL DESTRUCTION of the Army of Northern Virginia; Washington D.C. was heavily fortified. Attacking it would've been as deadly as attacking the army at Gettysburg, and given that the whole intent of this plan was to force the Union Army to disengage and march towards Washington, this basically leaves the Army of Northern Virginia TRAPPED BETWEEN TWO ARMIES.

I would not trust anyone in this documentary with actual military strategy

I am a big fan of Sun Tuz and even though I saw this movie on the History Channel a few times I cannot get an enough of Sun Tuz.
I had to add this movie to my collection.
However having said that I must say in modern day warfare when you can drop a bomb from a unmanned plane it's hard to realize that Sun Tuz's tactics are still studied at military collages today.