Customer Reviews

Victory At Sea: The Complete Series 3 Disc Collector's Edition

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

 

 

This complete edition of all 26 hours of Victory at Sea is the first really well done remastering since the original release many years back in Laser Disc. It is superior to the current History Channel release (without the superfluous H-Channel introductions). It brings me back to Sunday afternoons over dinner in our den as we watched the original broadcasts on an exceptional (for its time) 21" B&W TV. Archival footage is just that, but the presentation appears quite well on a 52" rear-projection monitor. The music track (Richard Rodgers beautiful music) along with Graves excellent narration is nicely done in Dolby. This was a true pioneering effort in documenting WWII and, specifically, the war at sea. While somewhat dated in production values, the overall product is a must for any serious collector, student or enthusiast.

Of the "Budget" priced editions available on the market -the one produced by ST.CLAIR VISION is the best available quality.The transfer of 50 year old film footage to DVD was well done -GOOD picture and sound quality.Complaints from other reviewers about there being only 15 epidsodes on the DVDs are untrue - If you go into the epidsode selection Menu and look for the ARROW icon which is just to the right of where it says MAIN MENU-and CLICK on the arrow - you bring up another menu page with the "Missing Epidsodes" - Problem Solved! If you are a big fan WWII documentaries this DVD set is a "Must Have"!

Very good DVD set. It was rated as one of the best versions and it was!! I would recommend this particular DVD to anyone who liked the program, Victory At Sea.

Gary Bacon

This is the fifth (count em FIVE) release of this series on DVD and what most people fail to comment on is the actual DVD release itself. Yes, Victory at Sea was one of the best naval warfare series presented with actual B&W footage with narration by Leonard Graves and the music by Richard Rodgers as in ALL the Victory at sea releases whether it is a DVD or VHS edition. St. Clair Vision (2007), Mill Creek Entertainment (2005), A&E Entertainment (the History Channel version) (2003), Emson (2004?) and now St. Clair Entertainment 2008 re-release re-packaged edition, all have versions out and EVERYONE comments on the series instead of the actual quality of the DVD set itself.

Emson is the company that sells 50 movies for $9.95 on 4 DVD and you get what you pay for. The same goes for their Victory at Sea version- unwatchable as the DVD's lock up or skip like crazy. Not bad considering I picked it up on a clearance rack for $5 at a discounter that sells mostly clothes. The audio video quality is better for the others but none have gone through (if any) restoration and one is just as good as another. A small bonus is the History Channel version that has a Peter Graves (no relation to Leonard) introduction overview for the uninitiated of the proceding episode. If you can't Peter Graves, then any other version would suffice but stay away from the el-cheapo versions out there as most of older series, movies and shows are public domain for any "studio" out there who is willing to put them on DVD and make a buck. Hence, the multiple versions of the same series of Victory at Sea that are floating around out there.

This is a very good series, BUT there needs to be instruction on seeing all of the episodes. I found it in another review, click the ARROW next to main menu. I was some upset to think that I only got 15 of the 26 episodes.

This "Victory at Sea" is an excellent re-mastering of an American classic. The video and sound quality must be close to the original, considering the extensive use of actual WWII film footage. The series still captures the immensity of the Nation's sacrifices needed to help win the war. This is more real history than Hollywood, and it makes one reflect on how relatively secure the United States has been since World War II. The Richard Rodgers soundtrack seems timeless. One might find oneself humming the melodies days after watching "Victory at Sea".
Highly recommended.

This was purchased as a birthday gift for my husband, a retired U.S. Marine. He had often mentioned his memories of enjoying this series with his Dad. He was delighted with my gift and could hardly wait for the family celebration to end so he could sit back in his lounger and watch this set. Imagine mine and his devastation with the poor quality of the visuals and sound. In this technological age, I see no reason that the audio and visuals of this award-winning, historically-significant series could not be re-mastered and enhanced. Film makers spend hundreds of millions on pop trite like: Spiderman, Harry Potter, Ironman, etc. Is it too much to ask that a few thousand be spent to make this series enticing to those of us who remember "The Great War" and those of this generation who should remember? I do not regret purchasing this item. Until something better comes along, I urge you to do so too.

This was a magnificent achievement in its day. As a teenager I eagerly awaited every episode. Thrilling, especially since much of the footage had been captured from the Japanese and Germans and even images made by Americans had not been seen in the moviehouse newsreels. Seeing it again at age 72 I now realize that it was heavy on atmosphere but short on details. The pictures are still powerful and worth seeing again and again, but this is not really a history of WWII. It is primarily about the men and their day-to-day perils--battles and boredom. Many notable battles are merely mentioned (as if we should know of them, as we did back then) and the few action sequences are severely curtailed (less than five minutes to capture Iwo Jima, for instance). Nonetheless, this is a series that captured the eyes of America and though the focus is on the Navy personnel, every branch of the service has its moments. The price, incidentally, makes this a terrific bargain and a terrific stocking stuffer for veterans of that and future campaigns.

I have very fond memories of watching this series with my Dad when it was originally broadcast.

The DVDs were well done - good quality video and audio - and as memorable as I remembered from my childhood. I only wish my Dad was still here to provide his own comments and viewpoint.

The discs I received did not include all of the episodes promised. Only five episodes for each disc, not the eight or nine listed on the case. Please inform the supplier of my dissatisfaction. This is the first time I have been displeased with an order from Amazon.com. Thank you.

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