Product Details

• Actors: Pearl Harbor
• Format: Box set, Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Run Time: 150 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000059TO6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,340 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Documentary > Military & War > World War II

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This History Channel production provides an in-depth look at the Japanese attack on the American Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor on the fateful day of December 7, 1941. The documentary begins by providing a background to the eventual conflict in the Pacific, noting how Japan had been waging a war of conquest in China since the early 1930s. As a power struggle with the U.S. loomed on the horizon, the Japanese built a formidable navy marked by an innovative utilization of carrier-based aircraft. Special attention is given to Admiral Yamamoto, who had studied at Harvard and admired America but vigorously planned the assault on America's naval might. The attack on the morning of December 7 is explained tactically, and films shot at Pearl Harbor during the Sunday morning air raid, including shots of the massive explosion triggered by a bomb hit on the battleship USS Arizona, provide dramatic proof of how devastating the attack was. Personal stories of the battle are recalled in interviews with veterans from both sides. Various revisionist theories about how America had warning of the attack and sacrificed Pearl Harbor are quickly dismissed, and a closing segment focuses on Japanese and American veterans who have reconciled at a reunion (and some American vets who would have no part of that). An additional documentary provides a biography of Admiral Chester Nimitz, who rebuilt the U.S. Pacific fleet following Pearl Harbor, and a bonus program features brief biographies of other American commanders in the Pacific. --Robert J. McNamara

Product Description
Go beyond the wartime headlines for a revealing, in -depth exploration of World War II's most notorious first strike as experienced by both the Japanese attackers and U.S. forces on the ground. Witness as never before the prelude, onslaught and aftermath of the assault, from Japanese Zero pilots recalling the textbook-perfect execution of their plans, to American servicemen fighting to survive the nightmarish inferno of the battle. With gripping archival combat footage, deeply moving personal accounts and richly detailed historical analysis, it's an unprecedented journey back in time to relive this history-changing day of infamy.

Also included is an inside look at the man who almost single=handedly rebuilt the devastated American Naval fleet in the wake of Pearl Harbor - Admiral Chester Nimitz. Learn how the "Thunder of the Pacific" took the tattered remnants of the Pacific fleet and re-shaped them into the force that ultimately ruled the seas and won the war.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Documentaries On The Pacific War, September 25, 2004

By	Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a DVD set which is quite well done, but I find the packaging a bit misleading. There are three DVDs included, only one of which is specifically about Pearl Harbor, the other two are biographies of Douglas MacArthur and Chester Nimitz. Obviously these two figures are crucial to an understanding of the Pacific war, but are really tangential to Pearl Harbor. This was the sole reason that I deducted a star from the package.

The Pearl Harbor DVD is quite well done and combines historical and contemporary footage and interviews with some rather early generation computer graphics to produce a slick and powerful telling of the story of the Pearl Harbor attack and its context in history.

The biography of MacArthur is fascinating. I have always found MacArthur to be a brilliant but arrogant General, and this DVD reinforced that appraisal. This production helped me appreciate some of MacArthur's strengths more than I had before, but also helped me understand the psychological side of him which led to his aloofness and arrogance.

The Nimitz biography is wonderful. I have always regarded Nimitz as the greatest of the Pacific commanders. I think Halsey was the better battlefield commander, but Nimitz was an amazing motivator and organizer, and a great, compassionate man. This DVD made me appreciate Nimitz even more that I previously did, and I think anyone interested in naval history would love it.

In total, this is a very good production, with excellent use of archive and current footage and with insightful interviews. I think anyone interested in World War Two would be thrilled with this set, even if it isn't exclusively about Pearl Harbor.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Familiar Stuff To A History Channel Viewer, April 26, 2001

By	B. Graham (Chesterfield, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

But without a doubt, worth the money. Pearl Harbor will be big this summer with the release of Ben Afleck's big screen beefcake-fest of the same name, so it might inspire your kids to watch just some of the story behind the Hollywood treatment. Showing that wars don't just happen, it explains the steady build up of a world heading non-stop to global conflict. Seeing pictures of some of the survivors as young men and hearing their stories as told today, both Japanese and American, adds a very touching human element to a story that we all know the ending. Also, spending time on what happened on December 8 and shortly after helps fill in the picture of an isolationist nation thrust in a rage into a war. Disk Two offers a wonderful look at the man that was responsible for hold Japan at bay while America rebuilt in the Pacific, Chester Nimitz. Another bonus program,"America's Five Star Heros" is familiar, but no less enlightening. All in all, a great choice for the history buff.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little misleading, May 9, 2001

By	L. Richard Houston (Hamptonville, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first disc in this offering rates five stars for being an absolutely fantastic documentary. However, the second disc is about Admiral Nimitz and not about Pearl Harbor itself. Also, the bonus program offered is not "Blunders Of Pearl Harbor" but something about leaders of the Pacific theater, again, not about Pearl Harbor itself. I wanted a thorough documentary on Pearl Harbor, which I got on disc one. The second disc seems thrown in haphazardly. The item description, however, didn't mention the Nimitz material on the second disc and got the bonus program wrong entirely. I would've liked a more thorough, not to mention accurate, description before making my purchase.