Customer Reviews

Threshold the Blue Angels Experience DVD

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Outstanding quality (considering the age of the orginal print). If you have seen Threshold, you know you MUST buy this. If you like aviation, you will love this movie. The Blue Angels flying F-4s. It just does not get any better than that....

This was my favorite aviation documentary for decades, kept my full length VHS pristine since I bought it all those years ago. Ordered this as soon as I saw it was available, I'm anxiously waiting for the DVD to arrive. Only question I have, at one point in Amazon's description it says this is Region Free, and elsewhere it says Region 1. Which is right?

It might finally have been surpassed, check out Speed and Angels, also available from Amazon: Speed and Angels (w/game). Still, if you love aviation and/or the Blue Angels, you Really MUST get this!

UPDATE: this movie is as good as I remember. However, there has been no remastering done. I's the straight movie, no special fetures, not even chapters. The video quality is about what you'd expect from a decent VHS tape. Probably the people who made it possible to be on DVD knew that it would not be a giant seller and worked with the budget they had. Still, this movie is DEFINITELY worth the money! If you like the Blue Angels you Need to get this while it's available.

Amazon no longer sells this directly, but one of the sellers they list is actually the producer of the DVD itself, and appears to be a relative of the person who originally made the documentary. Highly Recommended!

I am overjoyed to see this film finally make it to DVD. I have copies of it from its first release in Beta through the short lived 60 minute version NavAir Films had out years ago. I knew most of those guys and the stories they could tell. The Phantom was the last of the fast heavy iron birds designed in the 50's that proved you could do anything if you had a big enough engine. The old school aerodynamic design had more than a few coffin corners that guaranteed very creative departures from controlled flight in the blink of an eye to those who did not respect her limits and this film showed the best of the best pilots making precision flying look easy in this bird. Until the invention of high speed camera mounts for IMAX, this was always the best film I had ever seen to give non flyers the chance of knowing what it was like to strap on a high performance jet and go blasting around the sky. I do miss the days when Uncle Sugar let me play with the best toys in the world.

i was flight instructing in the 70's when i first saw a 16mm print of this movie at one of our periodic hangar parties. i was hooked. i bought a vhs copy as soon as it became available in the early 80's and virtually wore it out over the years. it finally became unplayable and i could not find another one. i had searched for a possible dvd copy for a few years and now it's here.

regarding harley hall, i was at the air show in cleveland a couple of weeks ago. as my wife and i got off the hotel van and approached the front gate at burke lakefront airport, i saw 2 f-4's guarding the entrance, one painted in thunderbird colors and one in the blues. i started telling my wife the story of "threshold" and how blue angel number 1, harley hall, returned to the fleet after the movie was shot and became one of the last naval aviators shot down and lost forever in the vietnam war. as i got closer to the blue angel sentry overlooking the gate i glanced up and saw harley hall's name under the canopy. i am 55 years old now, have been a major airline pilot for over 30 years--and was overcome with emotion i haven't felt in years. the thunderbirds, the blues, harley hall, and the rest of the men and women watching over us are the best of what we are as americans. may god bless them all.

I watched this video over and over on VHS when I was young, but I had not seen the movie in years, I got my copy in the mail yesterday, and I've watched it twice already. Simply perfect! Tons of awesome flying, great narration, and while the soundtrack is straight out of the 70's, I enjoyed the music. Like one of the other reviewers said, it doesn't get much better then watching the Blue Angels flying F-4's.

Added note: The Boss (Blue Angel 1) Harley Hall was shot down over Vietnam after he left the Blue Angels, and ended up being the one of the last pilots to be shot down in that conflict. More information is here: [...]

As a former Phantom Driver I must say that this is some of the best footage you'll see. My VHS version is just about worn out. The music and the style are very 70's and a little corny but you can't beat the visuals. While any aviation enthusiast will enjoy it, only someone who's flown it will really appreciate it. Two flight glove clad thumbs up!

I was slightly reluctant to pay the advertised price for this DVD, but having seen it, I'm glad that I did. When I first saw the Blue Angels, they were in F-11F Tigers, in the mid-1960's; these were attractive aerobatic mounts, and though I was quite young, I certainly enjoyed the performance. I later saw them in two shows, I believe, while they had the F-4J Phantom; THESE WERE THEIR ULTIMATE MOUNTS!! When four, or all six F-4's kicked-in full afterburner, in a steep climb, or loop, you not only saw them, and heard them, YOU FELT THEM (your ridcage vibrated), lending an added dimension unique to the Phantom. The F-18 Hornets which they've now had for awhile are quite good, and vastly better than the A-4 Skyhawks the team was disgraced with during the 1970's, when their F-4's were stupidly confiscated, but the F-18 can't equal, let alone overshadow, the F-4J Phantom. If they'd been given F-14 Tomcats, THAT might have done it, but these have been unwisely retired, prematurely. Remember that part of the intent behind creation of both the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels was to showcase not only the skills of highly-trained pilots, but frontline fighters of the respective services, as well. That idea suffered badly when the Blues were demoted to the A-4, and the Thunderbirds to the T-38. This feature is priceless, in my opinion, as it preserves an important insight into the chapter of history when they had the F-4 Phantom. Also worthwhile are scenes showing the team marching out to their aircraft, prior to a performance, something most of us NEVER SEE. Credit is also given to those who work long, hard hours to maintain the team's aircraft, another aspect most of us are unaware of. Perhaps the only thing missing is mention of the fact that the C-130 which is the Blue Angels' support aircraft (known as "Fat Albert"), is crewed by Marines, not Navy personnel. Since the Marines do not have their own precision flying demonstration team, this is important. You also get some insight into the considerable amount of time, effort, and study which goes into team performances. All things considered, I'd highly recommend this DVD to anyone with any real interest in the Blue Angels, and/or the F-4 Phantom...

This film contains some of the most impressive in-flight footage you will ever see, past or present. Excellent insight into the team of the era through interviews and radio comm chatter. I am a life-long Blue Angel fan and I've been attending their airshows for over 20 years, but that means I've only ever see them fly the Hornets. This film gives me a window into the Blues from before my time and I realize I missed a helluva lot. I have a large collection of airshow videos, including "View from the Cockpit" (a shortened version of "Threshold") and this one is a real gem. I'm so glad to find it here on DVD. If you know enough to find this page, then you shouldn't hesistate at all to buy this film.

**Note: Despite the "G" rating, there is, I'd say, an appropriate amount of language used by the pilots. Also, there is a brief clip of an on-screen mishap that resulted in the death of Lt. Larry Watters.

Glad to see this was put to DVD. I first saw it in 16mm with one of the pilots featured in the movie (he was my commanding officer). The movie truly shows what life is like for the military aviator.

A superb video of the Blue Angels in action. A bit dated by now, made near the end of the Viet Nam war, but still head and shoulders above the others of its kind. Highly recommended.