Product Details

• Format: Color, Special Edition, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: May 11, 1999
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305378207
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #661,377 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The man who found the Titanic, Dr. Robert Ballard, took on the greatest technical challenge of his career when he traveled to the Pacific waters off Midway Island, site of a critical turning point of World War II, in search of the sunken aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown. This documentary not only details Ballard's challenge in finding the Yorktown, which rests three miles below the surface, a mile deeper than the Titanic, but also provides an intelligent and gripping narrative of the Battle of Midway, in which four Japanese carriers were also sent to the bottom in a furious day of fighting that turned the tide of the war in the Pacific. On the expedition with Ballard are four veterans, two Japanese and two Americans, who had been involved in the decisive 1942 battle, and who are at times overwhelmed by emotion as Ballard looks for their old ships. The dogged search for a Japanese carrier is fruitless, but finally Ballard finds a debris field that leads him to the Yorktown. Ballard's remarkable underwater cameras scan the great carrier, which rests upright on the ocean floor, its antiaircraft guns still pointed skyward as if to ward off yet another furious Japanese attack. As one might expect from a National Geographic production, this documentary is both intelligently conceived and beautifully photographed. --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an awe inspiring look at history, January 15, 2000

By 

brian beirne - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Geographic's The Battle for Midway (DVD)

Robert Ballard who has done similar work on the Bismark and the Titanic sets his sights on the USS Yorktown which was lost in the final hours of the Battle of Midway, June 1942. He brings along members of the Yorktown crew and members of one of the Japanese carriers also sunk in the battle. The initial search for the Japanese carrier is hampered by defective equiptment. Finally giving up Ballard moves on to the Yorktown. He is successful in finding the ship. The pictures of the Yorktown are amazing. The program is in documentary format, going back and forth from a history of the battle, a history of the passengers, to the modern day attempt to locate the ships.

Anyone interested in WW2, Naval history, Ocean exploration, or human interest stories will find this program engrossing.

The DVD also contains added extras of pictures and another program which make it worth the price.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The turning point of the Pacific War, January 21, 2000

By 

Jeffrey T. Munson (Dixon, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Robert Ballard, locater of the Titanic, Bismarck, and the lost fleet of Guadalcal, has ventured to the Pacific island of Midway, site of perhaps the greatest naval battle ever fought. As per his previous expeditions, Ballard has brought along both Japanese and American survivors in the hopes of finding the American carrier Yorktown, and the Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu. Ballard fails to find the Japanese carriers, but he succeeds in finding the "Fighting Lady", the U.S.S Yorktown, resting 17,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The ship is in immaculate condition considering it has been submerged for 50+ years. The video has excellent original battle footage, as well as the complete story of the expedition. If you enjoy World War II history, check out this video. You won't be disappointed.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Done, April 8, 2002

By 

"washizu" (Wilmington, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Geographic Video - The Battle for Midway [VHS] (VHS Tape)

National Geographic has always been known for the quality of its work in all fields, but in this particular show I believe they have gone beyond the expectations. I cannot begin to describe how happy I was to see this documentary the first time. It is divided into two sections that are intercut, one being on a ship with Dr. Ballard (Found the Titanic) looking for the Yorktown and the Japanese carriers sunk at Midway, and the other is a recreation of the actual Battle of Midway through historical footage. What is best about this particular work is it fairness to both sides. Within the historical sections of the video, it portrays both the Japanese and American sides in what I would call a fair and accurate light. No side is made up of monsters and no side is completely innocent. On the modern side of the story, it is wonderful to see the interactions between the Japanese and American veterans that are on the ship with Ballard during the search. It is an important reminder to us all that on both sides the people fighting on the ground were just that, people. They were young men fighting for their country. A particularly touching part of the episode is when the Americans join the Japanese veterans in asking the soul's of their fallen comrades to rest peacefully and offering them flowers brought from Japan. There are too many excellent points about this video to list here. I think anyone interested in World War II will love this episode.