Product Details

• 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: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Run Time: 150 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000059TO6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,086 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Go beyond the headlines & the hoolywood blockbuster for a revealing in-depth exploration of the notorious first strike that awakened the sleeping giant of the american military. Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 04/24/2001 Run time: 150 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Documentaries On The Pacific War, September 25, 2004

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History Channel's Pearl Harbor (DVD)

This is a DVD set which is quite well done, but I find the packaging a bit misleading. There are three DVDs included, only one of which is specifically about Pearl Harbor, the other two are biographies of Douglas MacArthur and Chester Nimitz. Obviously these two figures are crucial to an understanding of the Pacific war, but are really tangential to Pearl Harbor. This was the sole reason that I deducted a star from the package.

The Pearl Harbor DVD is quite well done and combines historical and contemporary footage and interviews with some rather early generation computer graphics to produce a slick and powerful telling of the story of the Pearl Harbor attack and its context in history.

The biography of MacArthur is fascinating. I have always found MacArthur to be a brilliant but arrogant General, and this DVD reinforced that appraisal. This production helped me appreciate some of MacArthur's strengths more than I had before, but also helped me understand the psychological side of him which led to his aloofness and arrogance.

The Nimitz biography is wonderful. I have always regarded Nimitz as the greatest of the Pacific commanders. I think Halsey was the better battlefield commander, but Nimitz was an amazing motivator and organizer, and a great, compassionate man. This DVD made me appreciate Nimitz even more that I previously did, and I think anyone interested in naval history would love it.

In total, this is a very good production, with excellent use of archive and current footage and with insightful interviews. I think anyone interested in World War Two would be thrilled with this set, even if it isn't exclusively about Pearl Harbor.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Familiar Stuff To A History Channel Viewer, April 25, 2001

By 

B. Graham (Chesterfield, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History Channel's Pearl Harbor (DVD)

But without a doubt, worth the money. Pearl Harbor will be big this summer with the release of Ben Afleck's big screen beefcake-fest of the same name, so it might inspire your kids to watch just some of the story behind the Hollywood treatment. Showing that wars don't just happen, it explains the steady build up of a world heading non-stop to global conflict. Seeing pictures of some of the survivors as young men and hearing their stories as told today, both Japanese and American, adds a very touching human element to a story that we all know the ending. Also, spending time on what happened on December 8 and shortly after helps fill in the picture of an isolationist nation thrust in a rage into a war. Disk Two offers a wonderful look at the man that was responsible for hold Japan at bay while America rebuilt in the Pacific, Chester Nimitz. Another bonus program,"America's Five Star Heros" is familiar, but no less enlightening. All in all, a great choice for the history buff.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little misleading, May 9, 2001

By 

L. Richard Houston (Hamptonville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History Channel's Pearl Harbor (DVD)

The first disc in this offering rates five stars for being an absolutely fantastic documentary. However, the second disc is about Admiral Nimitz and not about Pearl Harbor itself. Also, the bonus program offered is not "Blunders Of Pearl Harbor" but something about leaders of the Pacific theater, again, not about Pearl Harbor itself. I wanted a thorough documentary on Pearl Harbor, which I got on disc one. The second disc seems thrown in haphazardly. The item description, however, didn't mention the Nimitz material on the second disc and got the bonus program wrong entirely. I would've liked a more thorough, not to mention accurate, description before making my purchase.