Customer Reviews

World War II 360

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoy History's Channel 360 dvd's. I own three of them. When I ordered World War II 360 I thought it was about the complete war. Alas, I did not check into it further. It is about the aircraft carrier Enterprise and General Patton. It is actually quite good and I would have given it 5 stars, but I already own Enterprise 360 and General Patton. My fault for not reading all the information on what it's about. But if your a history buff and like WWII,and do not own the others, this is excellent dvd to own.

This set includes all 10 episodes from patton 360 and all 10 episodes from battle 360. The narration, CGI, interviews of veterans, historical accuracy, archive film and photographs, the music etc.... are superb. This is as exciting as it gets.

I really enjoyed this set of DVD's and I'm hoping that the History Channel will continue this series. In general the shows are easy to follow and very informative. The computer graphics are neat because they fill in all the areas that the old film footage can't. The 360 element is great as well, it gives you a birds eye view of the battlefields as well as some insight into the strategy used.
I especially liked the Patton series because it didn't present Patton as the worlds best general. It showed his strengths and weaknesses as well as what his men thought about him. The show lets you draw your own conclusions by offering both sides. It was great being able to listen to the old veterans tell their tales as well. What an incredible and humble group of people.

Overall these are well done and enjoyable. My teenage grandson enjoys them. Purists on this site have found fault, saying there are errors. They should state what those are, because the rest of us have not spent every waking hour studying the minutiae of WWII.

5 Blu-ray Discs, being released October 26, 2010

For all you history buffs, "World War II 360" is over 17 hours of battle action in the Pacific. It has two complete series from the History Channel. The first called Battle 360 covers the war career of the USS Enterprise (Star Trek fans, feel free to drool), which was the only carrier to be front and center in EVERY battle in the Pacific during the war. The amazing story is told through historians, Top Gun graduates (once more, feel free to drool, my husband loves Top Gun), and sailors who were actually THERE.

The USS Enterprise was a giant carrier that was equipped with tons of high-artillery machine guns, a large crew, and a deck carrying several small aircraft ready to take to the air for scouting or battle. Not only are the individual battles exciting, but there are a few funny stories put in too like of a drunk guy relieving himself in a stairwell. The first battle was discovering America had been pulled into the war in the first place with the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. In one terrifying moment, a Japanese pilot whose aircraft was damaged attempted to crash it right into the USS Enterprise, but one American's quick thinking saved the carrier. He jumped into one of the American aircraft and fired away at the Japanese aircraft which through off its trajectory and it scraped the deck and the aircraft of the American but coasted off to crash in the water. The Captain had been watching at the time and requested the hero immediately come see him in his office where he gave the officer two promotions for his bravery.

Almost the entire sequence of battles is done in a CGI format that makes it look like a really cool video game, but it is fascinating to watch, especially in Blu-ray. The bonus features are additional footage from these stories.

The second series is Patton 360 following General George S. Patton Jr. leading soldiers into North Africa, in the Sicilian invasion, and marching across Europe to take down Hitler's Third Reich. In the same manner as the Pacific battles, these fights are also animated in a video game format where historians and soldiers can talk about the strategies used in detail. Once again the bonus features consist of additional footage of these accounts.

If you are a history buff and are particularly interested in battles, how they came about, strategies, and all the excitement that comes with them, this is a set for you!

This product was great. It arrived in great condition and in a timely manner. The price is amazing for what you get. Other places that I saw it, the price was at least double. I bought it as a gift for a friend and they are extremely happy with it.

I have to give this series the credit it is due!
First, I usually don't buy documentaries with anything done in cgi but the price was right and what a great choice.. This dvd set is accompanied by so many little known facts that it is worth it in itself but to see the enterprise, her crew along with Patton and his army gone into with so much detail was more than I expected..You see the enterprise completely 360 with detailed information on how she was made, her crew compliment, it's machines of was including all planes and capabilities..I mean this series gives you information on not just us armament but it goes into german and japanese as well, It will give you absolutely detailed info on the planes including the zero...I mean you get to see the enterprise like it were made of glass and you can see through her...You get absolutely breathtaking cgi on the recreations of the battles with accurate information and not opinions..The exact same goes with patton 360, It lays out the battle plans along with the battle area itself all in 360, detailing german and american tanks and guns...It tells you what the tank armament was including plating, ammo capacity and yields...It details the men of the assaults, the command structures of both pattons army and the enterprise...My personal favorite is patton because of the treasure trove of battle information...THIS IS A MUST OWN!!!

This is one of my favorite History DVDs. It gave many accounts of individual acts of courage that I had no idea had happened. I have about 150 different segments on DVD and VHS and I have never heard of many of these actions. As I watched this series, it made me so thankful for these men whom God used to continue a struggle for freedom that began in the hearts and minds of our founding fathers and continues to this day. Did you know that 1 inexperienced US tank crew stopped an elite force of tiger tanks? It so emboldened our troops, that the GIs pursued the fleeing enemy into a town where they destroyed them! There were many such acts of heroism recorded as they followed General Patton's troops and also the Big E, as well. Thanks so much for contributing to this living record.

Numerous historical errors in each along with often inane commentary, especially from the token enlisted marine. The one on Patton could not decide between taking the big picture overview or sub-unit and tried to do both in a completely ineffectual manner. Graphics were of poor quality but constantly repeated in numerous episodes to reduce production costs and another method of reducing production costs was to waste several minutes summarizing what was shown just before the commercial break.

While it was nice to see some of the old footage, there wasn't enough in either series.