Customer Reviews

Patton 360: The Complete Season 1 [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

I bought this video for my husband who is a big fan of Patton and could recite every one of his quotes. I ordered this on 22 November and received it today. Within 30 minutes my husband had the DVD in his player to watch it.

The combination of both archival news footage and computer graphics had me pulled into the battle as soon as I heard the tank rounds explode in the TV room.

This DVD set of three discs runs over seven hours long. The story, narration and scenery pull you into the battle. Tank rounds never stop exploding in the background as you go from scratchy video to CGI to talking heads and back to scratchy video as the battle goes on, as if in real time. And, like zooming in and out with Google Earth, you get to see aerial views of the battlefield as well as lateral shots and ground shots. Old-looking maps of the warfront show the US and Nazi armies moving toward each other in the Benelux area.

The transformation between film footage and CGI is continuous, as the CGI helps continue the battle scenes. You may see one scene of a tank getting hit. That very same tank then turns into a computer-enhanced graphic that turns around and fires a shot back. This is thrilling, exciting and scary all rolled into one!

Between battle scenes old veterans of this battle retell their version of the fight. This is classic History Channel quality. Even the narrator sounds so History Channelish.

My husband gives this production five stars, I give it four. My complaint is the background superimposition of what looks like an old compass dial coming at you while you are listening to a veteran retell his story, or a historian comment on the action. It's not noticable at first, but in most every archival footage there is that compass dial coming at you like shooting stars or snow aiming for the camera. What is that all about? My husband was so engrossed in the story he says it didn't bother him, but to me it was annoying. This did not take away from the subject matter, though: Patton was an amazing strategist.

Thus, from two history fans, 4+ stars. A great gift for any Patton fan.

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
author of:]]

I stumbled upon this set while browsing through Amazon and bought this set right away. I don't have cable and miss getting to see some of the tremendous programs that the History channel has to offer. This set is fantastic!

My only complaint is how it is produced. For me, the constant flow of "special effects" take away from the overall program. After watching for a bit, you DO get used to it, but I don't like the style of the production. It would have been extra special had they had interviews from German combat survivors.

It breaks your heart to see combat vets who are 80+ still weep about lost friends. War is hell, that's for sure.

I was waiting for Patton 360 to come out on DVD for a long time, but I must say that I was mildly disappointed. Frankly, there was way too much going on. Instead of focusing on one aspect at a time, like the ground campaign or naval help, the show tried to tell the story of everything and everybody all at once. I understand that the producers were trying to be complete, but I think they sacrificed the personal aspects of the war. I loved Dogfights and Battle 360 because I was literally on the edge of my seat during some of the battles, but Patton 360 failed to deliver suspense. Perhaps Dogfights and Battle 360 was more condusive to showing a mano-a-mano fight than Patton 360 because Patton 360 focused more on strategy and the overall campaign than individual fights.
However, I found Patton 360 to be very enlightening. Obviously, I just described how it wasn't very good as a movie experience, but in terms of historical documentation, Patton 360 is excellent. I agree that it showed Pattons prowess both as a tactician and as a leader, going in depth about how his troops would be arranged and how he would lead from the front. Other documentaries I have seen focused entirely on his personal life or on his impact on the war, but this series showed his tactical strategies, something which I haven't seen much of.
tl,dr: Not that great as a movie and dramatic experience, but awesome as a documentary, 3.5 stars.

As the grandson of a solider who served under Patton this review maybe a little bias. First of a few months ago I was watching Battle 360: Complete Season 1 [Blu-ray] on demand and I said to my roommate who was also watching it, " I really wish that they made a series on Patton and the European ground war. I found this a little while late. The series is extremely well made and is well above History's Normal standards. The series followed General George S. Patton and the units he commanded, from the Operation Torch landings in Morocco in 1942, through the campaigns in North Africa and Sicily, and in the battles across Northwest Europe. The only thing that is misleading about the package and online description is that is the only season of the show.

Recommended. This is a well done documentary that provides excellent insight into Patton's WW II campaigns and his relentless leadership style.

THIS MAKES A GREAT COMPANION TO BATTLE 360 SET ABOUT USS ENTERPRISE. I HOPE THEY DO ONE ABOUT THE AIR WAR. A MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN WWII.

Not to repeat what others have written about 'Patton 360' it follows somewhat in the same vein as Battle 360's Season 1 which catalogue's the Carrier Enterprise's involvement in the Pacifc conflict.

"Patton 360" equally draws you into the battle, but is a must for history fanatics and Patton historians or serious students of the era. "Old Blood'n Guts" General Patton in spite of his obvious character flaws, notable disdain for authority along the infamous 'slapping incident' was probably the only man that could have achieved what he did. Patton's "Lust for Glory" was undoubtably what drove him to the victories he acheived and was perhaps the right, and only General that could have done this.

A few of the CG effects were a bit bland of the land conflicts and tank battles, but most other re-enacted scenes based on eye witness accounts and records remain unparalleled similary to the aforementioned in this series by the History Channel.

highly recommended.