Product Details

• Actors: Errol James Snyder
• Directors: History
• Format: 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: September 28, 2010
• Run Time: 470 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003JQZY2G
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,483 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of World War II's greatest and most controversial leaders is the focus of Patton 360, a three-disc, 10-episode offering from the History Channel. General George S. Patton, "Ol' Blood and Guts" to admirers and detractors alike, had already served in World War I when, at age 57, he was put in command of Operation Torch, the 1943 Allied campaign to seize North Africa from the pro-Nazi French forces who were occupying the area at the time. That's where Patton 360 begins; subsequent episodes chronicle his incursions into Sicily, Belgium, France (where his Third Army landed just weeks after D-day, and Operation Cobra, described as "the largest carpet bombing mission in military history," helped lead the way to victory in Europe), and finally Germany; it was there, some months after the war ended, that Patton died in a car crash.

Scion of a wealthy Pasadena, California, family, Patton was a brilliant military man--his toughness, discipline (he insisted that his men shave every day and observe strict uniform requirements), and willingness to "lead from the front" were unquestioned. But as the series tells it, he was also a foulmouthed hothead accused of having a "lust for glory" that led to accusations that he put his own reputation before the safety of his soldiers. The fourth episode, "Rogue General," details the infamous incidents (also familiar to fans of the 1970 film Patton, which earned lead actor George C. Scott an Oscar®) in which he slapped two GIs in Sicily, accusing the war-weary men, one of whom also had malaria, of cowardice and forcing Allied leader Dwight D. Eisenhower to temporarily relieve Patton of his command.

All of this is presented by way of the same ingredients used in the earlier Battle 360 series, combining file footage (including silent clips of Patton himself), photos, CGI, occasional reenactments, expert analysis, and reminiscences of several men who fought under Patton. There is plenty of edifying history delivered, as well as detailed descriptions of strategy, tactics, and weaponry, especially tanks and artillery. But the episodes are also loud and kinetic to distraction, with a constant and relentless background of pounding music and sound effects, flashing graphics, and macho voice-over narration. This may prove wearisome to some viewers, but Patton 360 is entertainment, not scholarship, and as such it is undeniably effective. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 09/28/2010

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome series, June 22, 2009

By 

Robert K. Garrou (Pikeville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Patton 360: The Complete Season 1 (DVD)

I knew General Patton was a great battlefield commander. Despite his flaws, he was still the right man to do the job of smashing the Hitler-Nazi machine. This what the series, Patton 360, brings out. It clearly portrays the genius of a man driven to wreak havoc on the enemy. I never realized, until now, just how much of a struggle it was to win back France, and the obstacles that had to be overcome. I have no doubt that if Patton was given full sway, the war might well have shortened by almost a year. But judge for yourself. Watch or buy the series. Enjoy the clever and artful way computer graphics have been combined with historical footage to give a complete and exciting story of World War II's most controversial but successful general - and appreciate how America always seems to come with a man at the hour of her need or peril.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhere in the middle, October 20, 2009

By 

Peter T. Wolf "Gilded Age Lover" (lake forest, ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Patton 360: The Complete Season 1 (DVD)

Im between the two extremes of the previous reviewers. I disagree with the negative reviewer that the series did nothing to document Patton's tactical skill. On the contrary it did that quite well. Further, it documented the skills of his subordinate commanders which any student of WW2 WOULD be interested in. Also, it paid due respect to the skills of the German commanders. THIS the series did very well. Rommel and Kesselring are of course well celebrated in the espisodes. But outside of students of the subject, who knows that much about Manteuffel? Yet here he is given justified attention. So are the early battles against the Vichy French. Where I agree with the negative reviewer was the repetition of the simulated graphics and stock footage, although some of the footage IS rare. In short, the series could have been reduced in length and been more impactful.
3.5 stars.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Prepare to be made nervous, July 28, 2010

By 

Hal Herring - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patton 360: The Complete Season 1 (DVD)

I just finished watching most of the first season. As a long time student of WWII, and admirer of Patton, from his days of chasing Pancho Villa through his beyond-bold leadership against the Nazis, I was excited to get this series.

I learned a few new things about the fights and the politics, without a doubt. But halfway through the first disc, I thought I was going insane. The images move so quickly, and repeat themselves over and over, the same photos, the same clips, the same utterly ridiculous computer-generated bombs and tanks and gunfire. The show is like some kind of test you'd get in a psychiatrist's office to test your threshold of mental abuse.

I wish somebody had grabbed the director or the editor and screamed, right in their face, "Nobody has an attention span this short!!!!! Nobody!!! The person who needs this much visual and auditory stimulation would be in a COMA!!!!"

And if the stimulation was in the least bit necessary, if it were truly creative, maybe, just maybe, I could take it. But I repeat, just like the film: it is the SAME images over and over and over.

I'm not a geezer. I like modern film, modern documentaries. But there were so many places in this film where I wanted to stop it so I could see what was happening- the combat footage, the footage of the towns, the tanks, the fighters, the POWs, the people of the towns and camps. The whole project is poisoned by how good it could be if it just slowed down enough for the viewer to occupy an image, to record the image in their mind, absorb it. Patton 360 is much like those old films of the 70's that tried to mimic the effects of LSD and wound up just making the viewer nauseous.

Hal Herring
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