Product Details

• Actors: Jack Perkins, Peter Graves, Harry Smith, Dave Hoffman, Bill Mumy
• Writers: Agnes Nixon
• Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• VHS Release Date: December 23, 1996
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 076700003X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #322,644 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An honest biography of America's best fighting soldier, June 21, 2001

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Patton: A Genius for War [VHS] (VHS Tape)

There is no skill that a nation requires more or finds easier to ignore than the ability to win wars. General George Patton was clearly the most talented war fighter the United States produced in the twentieth century and arguably the best ever. The no-nonsense, hard driving personality that made him successful in war also made him an embarrassment when peace broke out. Possessing a mouth that occasionally became detached from his brain, he sometimes uttered stupid comments that cost him dearly. And yet, there was no commander that was more dearly loved than him.
Over the past twenty years when I encounter men who fought in the US military in world war two I have asked them their opinions about their commanders. Some have been very critical of McArthur, Eisenhower and other generals, but I have yet to hear a man who served under him criticize Patton. After all these years, there is still admiration and awe in their voices when they speak of him.
This video biography captures the complete essence of that personality. He knew and truly loved only one occupation, that of using his army to destroy another. All else to him was insignificant. Even the Germans considered him to be the best American general. The announcement of his commanding a fictitious army was enough for them to keep significant forces at the Pas De Calais to guard against the attack he was rumored to be planning. One aspect of his persona that is not well-known is that he considered himself to be a reincarnation of great warriors and that he was subject to visions, including an appearance of his fathers' ghost.
The description of his life is very even-handed, showing his genius as a commander and his ineptness at almost everything else. He was such an irascible personality that even his daughters were overheard calling him an SOB. In many ways, his postwar death from a simple auto accident was an act of kindness. He would have found life so difficult after the war and who knows what comments he would have made about the cold war. However, I relish the thought of what he might have said about Senator Joseph McCarthy during the height of his red baiting days. It would make a fascinating story of speculative fiction to consider what his no BS attitude would have led him to say about McCarthy.
Patton is most likely the most talented battlefield soldier and the least gifted peacetime one that this country has ever produced. This biography is an excellent introduction to both sides of this man who was good at only one thing, winning wars. We can all be grateful that he existed when he did, for without him the war may have lasted longer than it did.