27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Origins of an 80s Icon, April 12, 2003
This review is from: G.I. Joe - Real American Hero/Revenge of the Cobra (DVD)
The 1980's were dominated by two children's cartoons, the Transformers and G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe "The Real American Hero" followed the adventures of an elite military force dedicated to protecting the world (and America) from the forces of evil (in the form of terrorist organization Cobra). In the midst of all this a TV series ran for several seasons in first run as well as re-runs and millions of toys were sold. Finally, after 20 years, the two original mini-series that began the Mania are finally released on DVD.
This two-disc set collects the first two G.I. Joe mini-series (5-parts each) that aired in the 1983 and 1984.
Disc 1: Mini-Series One - A Real American Hero (AKA "The Mass Device") (1983)
This is the story arc that introduced the world to the Joes and intros most of the main characters.
THE STORY: Cobra has stolen a device ("The Mass Device") that can automatically transport anything, anywhere. Can the Joes stop Cobra and the Mass Device from destroying the world?
Disc 2: Mini-Series Two - The Revenge of Cobra (AKA "The Weather Dominator") (1984)
This story arc sees Cobra returning to wreak more havoc than ever and introduces even more Joes and Cobra (Zartan and the Dreadnoks)
THE STORY: Cobra and Destro have built "The Weather Dominator," a device that gives them control over the weather and uses the forces of nature to destroy the world. But what happens when Cobra loses control over their own device? Can the Joes save the world before the world destroys itself?
THE COOL STUFF:
Easily the best feature of the DVD is the series itself. Not a bad deal where you get nearly 4 hours of action for the relative cheap price of the DVD.
THE CRITICISM:
Too bad there's no DVD extras, although from my understanding another set of these will be released with them (thus potentially negating the reason to purchase THIS set if you are into the extras).
THE VERDICT:
Well conventional wisdom says (if rumors hold true) to hold off on this set and get the deluxe set with the extras HOWEVER, this set is still a bargain at the relatively cheap price and may be the better purchase depending on the extras that come with the other (remember the ... extras on the Transformers movie DVD???).
Highly Recommended purchase (with or without the extras, for all fans)
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect., February 16, 2003
This review is from: G.I. Joe - Real American Hero/Revenge of the Cobra (DVD)
This set is the perfect release for G.I. Joe fans and TV purists. As these were the first 10 episodes before the series started with actual seasons, it is the perfect way to release them. Now they can release season box sets, which, of course, would not include these episodes as they were not part of any season. I am not sure why people would have a problem with this. Don't wait for a season box set to get these episodes, because you can probably bet your jamies that this is the only way that these 10 episodes will be released, as they predate season one. Sorry to run that point into the ground, but some people seem to forget this fact while unjustly complaining about it.
I was also very excited that these were not cut into whole movies, but that the discs actually preserve the complete 10 episodes (including the end credits on each episode and even the "will return after these messages" bits!). While I rode home from buying this I worried breifly that they had cut them all together, but not for long, knowing well that Rhino (unlike many home-video companies that own cartoons) actually has respect for the people who made the cartoons and respect for the people who love them.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The G.I. Joe Series is Finally coming to DVD!!!, January 22, 2003
This review is from: G.I. Joe - Real American Hero/Revenge of the Cobra (DVD)
This DVD starts out with two great episodes.
In "A Real American Hero," the G.I. Joe team faces their greatest challenge ever. The ruthless, evil, terrorist organization named Cobra has developed a powerful device that allows them to turn objects into beams of energy and transport them anywhere in the world.
In the second feature "Revenge of the Cobra" Cobra commander steals a powerful device capable of changing the world's weather patterns, and uses it to launch an attack on Washington, D.C. Only the G.I. Joe team can stop him.
These two G.I. Joe movies are great and I cannot wait until more episodes from the series are released.
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