Documentation Movie Reviews

As much as the Cold War created tense times between America and Russia, the need to protect our American nation also drove some of the most significant technological advancements of the 20th century. Among them were the advancements in nuclear technology and a redefined role for the Navy as a strategic deterrent.

Regulus: The First Nuclear Missile Submarine documents one such advancement, as the silent service was quickly modified for use as a strategic deterrent against nuclear conflict through the development and implementation of the Regulus missile. A little known project, the Regulus was a quick solution to implementation of long-range nuclear missile launches that was eventually replaced by the Polaris, and later Trident submarines.

Other than the military significance of the weapon, the mechanical ingenuity of the times rings clear through the project as the old hands of World War II service come together to solve many of the problems through design enhancements to conventional WWII technology, filling a void until the modern nuclear submarine was developed and put into service.

My first introduction to the Regulus project was while visiting the Intrepid Museum in NYC, where the only remaining Regulus Missile Submarine "Growler" resides as a testament to the project. This documentary is well prepared, informative, and pays an important tribute to the men who designed and operated the Regulus Project and will be well received by anyone interest in the cold war era, submarines, or naval history.

This DVD was given to me by a friend who is aware of my penchant for military history. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much; I'm not a big missle fan. I popped it into the player and began work on my finances expecting it to be little more than mildly interesting. BOY WAS I WRONG! Before I knew it I was away from the computer and glued to the television irrevocably engrossed by the subject. Why this hasn't aired on the History Channel is beyond me. An EXCELLENT buy, packed with hours of bonna fide supplemental materials, not the normal thoroughly usless "garbage" so often foisted upon the consumer these days. Watch, learn, and enjoy. Trust me, you could do a heck of a lot worse...A WHOLE HECK OF A LOT!

Spark employs his eye for historical significance and his technical studio acumen to produce a piece worthy of both the National Archives and the History Channel! The Regulus sailors were uncommon men in uncommon times. The boats and crews were instruments thrown into the breach in the early days of the Cold War. "Regulus" focuses on the weapons delivery system - men and missiles - that stood watch until America could launch its ballistic missile fleet onto the world's stage. This is truely a MUST SEE for submariners and history buffs!

This series represents an important archive of information about a crucial part of World history. This collection should be part of every Middle or High schools' media center. If you have the means, buy even one episode on DVD and donate it to a local school. Specific to my review, now, this episode about the P-38 Lightning was my first exposure to the Roaring Glory experience. It completely entertained and informed me, giving me an entire new respect and admiration for the men who designed and fought in these machines. The DVD is astounding in it's image quality and sound. There are many extra features, making this little nugget of history a steal at the prices found on Amazon! Want to keep history alive? Want to feel renewed pride as an American? Start your own adventure with Vol. 9 of Roaring Glory - let the "Lightning" strike you today!

This is my 2nd Roaring Glory Warbids movie (the 1st being the F4U Corsair), and I haven't been disappointed yet!

The movie really illustrates the unique characteristics of this WWII fighter -- twin engines, no-torque, tricycle gear, non-convergent armament, all-sheet-metal skin -- that make it one of the most important fighters of the war, and of later years as well, as the P-38 is regarded as the first modern day fighter and a distant ancestor of the SR-71 Blackbird.

The movie combines a present day flight and interesting narration with 1940-era training films, family albums, and footage. I especially enjoy the old film clips, and the narrations by P-38 pilots of actual combat missions.

I recommend this movie -- and the whole series -- for those interested in WWII era fighters and stories.

This is amazing! The photography is beautiful - crisp, in focus, well lit, beautiful. Jeff Ethells's commentary is excellent as he puts the 38 through its paces from preflight through shutdown and flight off the beautiful coast of Oregon at Tillamook. This segment is also haunting as I think the plane he is flying is the same one he died in not too long after the footage was taken for this segment. Also the one featured on the cover of Flight Magazine in Jeff's "Flying the..." series. But it is the best footage of a living, breathing, P-38 you will find. It also has the training film that you'll find separately at museums and such on VHS - but on DVD so you can play it as much as you want. I haven't had time to go through the whole DVD yet but everything I've seen so far is too good to be true - but it is. If you like P-38s, this is an absolute must-have.

Although all the Secrets of War DVDs generally get good reviews, this one's a little different -- it's twice as long as any of the others, and still the same price!

This contains 4 hour-long programs (each one's actually 52min. since there aren't any commercials). Anyhow, that's about 3 1/2 hours for 10 bucks.

The documentaries are each very good -- some of them are a little densely-packed, so you may find yourself rewinding a few times to catch everything. Although there are some interviews and the requisite pan across a photo while the narrator tells the story with the stirring (or foreboding) music, these documentaries consist mostly of wartime footage (which is good, you didn't pay your money to spend the time staring at a map). They are very well done, with a lot of good information. Narration, writing, and editing all come together to make a comprehensive and informative product.

Lastly, picture quality and sound are decent, even with the wartime footage (sound effects added later, of course). Highly recommended.

This is an excellent documentary for people interested in the second WW. If you like to see how spy networks are created and how magic, yes magic, is used on the battlefield as a tool of deception. How the british made believe the desert fox (General Rommel) that they had a 100 tanks when there was only 2-3 on the battlefield. Just buy the DVD it's worth it, and Charlton Heston does a great job narrating it.

I'm not a real fan of documentaries, however lately I've been interested in WWII. This is a fantastic glimpse into the intelligence and spy aspect of that war. Charleton Heston does a wonderful job as narrator. A must see for anyone interested in intelligence work or WWII in general.

These folks know how to do an outdoor sport movie. Actually, they're the ONLY folks who do aerobic outdoor action vid and I'm glad they do!

This is all nature action all the time. With freely applied rowdy music. (The director's track says one of the main tunes was picked coz his little kid wanted it. Now that's a good Canadian-style reason!)

This new flick follows a trajectory that outdoor people of so many stripes know and love and which no one else has covered before: it shows what we do all year 'round. Simple. Instant variety. Most people are generalists, no? So show it all...and this movie does.

Anyway, the movie starts as good as I could ask with retro footage of XC people on long old wood skis and ole leather boots...then some freak in wool whips by doing a fool new skate move and the others join in. Fun follows as people explore what you can do with big boards. Knickers and rock'n'roll in full deployment.

It never lets up. You get yer skiing. Then a showdown between rock-runnin fools and mtbike champs on singletrack. Then bike racing, inline racing, rollerski racing, triathloning, adventure racing...clapskating with Pilot-skates. LAND SAKES!

The thing is that none of it is what I'd call rad or extreme. There's air, but it's casual XC air that you can throw anywhere. People are bouncing here and there as they ski, but there's no special equipment. It's a movie about real life and fairly normal people, as action-movies go. It's truly just showing what an action outdoors person does all year. OK, these people are pros, and they have a great soundtrack, but many are MASTERS. They have KIDS. It's an accessible, friendly world of color. No attitude need apply.

They film a lot in Gatineau Park by Ottawa. I never knew how huge and rich that park is! Right by town. They have some worldclass XC events there for the whole family. I better visit!

The how-to disk is fine, too, using a lot of the same footage with coaching talk and slow-mo applied to teach all the various skills. Neat!

OK, and there's tons of other stuff included, including a whole other inspirational, instructional multi-media program called the Tao of Skiing that they usually sell separately. Whoa!

Two DVDs: one, a motivational movie on outdoor sports spun around nordic skiing and two, an awesome instructional disk which takes you from beginner to racer at your own pace. With the DVD technology I can even stop, do frame by frame analysis and zoom in on the best skiers in N.America. You gotta check these suits out and some of the most amazing stunts I have every seen performed on xc race skis. Music by Sum 41, Roch Voisine , Dean Batstone and Drastik are complemented by slick narration, multiple audio tracks and subtitles and DVD-ROM features that kept me playing past my bed time. This is the wholly professonal production that Nordic skiing needs... just don't forget to go skiing.

When one product has all the National Ski associations, clubs and major magazines talking, it's worth checking out. Unlimited Skiing is clearly the most advanced DVD of its kind with exquisite images, exacting technical discriptions and loads of special DVD-ROM features. It has taken me a week and I still haven't reviewed it all, but I like what I am seeing.

It's all becoming clearer and clearer with each passing day, that Israel truly has the US by the "you know whats". Here you have it, actual footage, interviews with the ship's survivors, and documented evidence that the USS Liberty was definitely attacked deliberately by our so-called friends, the Israelis. Why, you wonder? See the film, listen to the stories, hear and see the documented evidence, learn of the enforced gag order placed on the survivors by the US govt. and there's only one conclusion you will reach: that this was a planned event. The only part that wasn't planned was that there would be survivors and the ship would not be sunk. Simply, the Israelis disguised their aircraft hoping the US gov would think Egypt was attacking our ship, in hopes that we would join them in their attack and theft of more Arab land. The investigation that followed was nothing more than a cover up, the Israelis were forgiven and the whole incident was never to be discussed again. Now, 35 years later, the survivors have come forward to tell the truth of what really took place on that fateful June day in 1967. This was NO accident or "series of blunders" as Israel claimed. And the US Gov still won't talk about this event. Watch the film, then maybe you can start to put together the pieces that explain why we are the only country that not only tolerates Israel, but calls it our "friend". As they say, with friends like these...

The documentary is well planned and presented in a straight forward and realistic manner.It is a required view because of current events. It is past time the American public holds politicians accountable.Liberty is bought and paid for with blood.The blood shed by the crew of the USS Liberty was too much for political reasons and is a shame on our countries honor.It is past time to learn the why of the attack and the reason for the continued cover up.

Mitchell proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that the attack on the Liberty was not only deliberate but also premedicated. Until now there had been no motivation for the attack but it is now perfectly clear. A must see for lovers of history.

I've found it's hard to review such a piece without turning Amazon into my own private forum.

This is a thought provoking piece. Especially knowing what we know now. I learned a couple historical facts that I never knew and gained further understanding about the atmosphere at the time of WWII. After viewing this I found myself talking about it with family and friends, opening the door for dibate on issues of involvement and non-involvement. At what point should you go to war? How far can you dibate an issue before it's too late? The thought process is almost dizzying. This film gives a possible view of what might have happened should action not have been taken. I highly recommend this as both a learning source and also as something to provoke you into thought.

I also want to bring to attention that this is 2 out of ? number of films by Frank Capra. This is also sold as a set that includes all of the collection. These two films have left me hungry to see the rest of his work. I myself will probably end up buying the collection and wanted to recommend you make the same consideration.

As a german blooded american (three generations removed), I'm constanly in search for understanding. As I've visited german websites I've become increasingly irratated by the anit-american views.* I believe america is a county of good intention, not that our intentions always work out well but, we try. I would never wish another Vietnam tragedy.

Is there a time to fight? Do you believe in shunning? Do you take a non-partisan view? In our current situation we should be all asking ourselves these questions. Imagine a world without diplomacy... What a crazy place that would be. But, what do you do when diplomacy fails? What do you do if there isn't a cop on the beat to intervene?

This film gives an idea of what might have happened. With this in mind I applaud the English, Australians, New Zealanders and Indians for stepping up to the plate and getting involved as quickly as they did.

This film is great food for thought and I question whether it shouldn't be required viewing in schools.

For those in search of german pride, I highly recommend "The Rommel Papers". You will read a tragic story of a true german soldier and a very honorable man. We could have used him on our side.

* The anti-american views were viewed only on a couple websites and in no way implicate that germany as a whole shares such views.

The heck with _Triumph of the Will_, Capra's got the Nazis beat! The whole cavalcade of human suffering during the war, the "gangsterism" of the Facists, even the racist stereotyping of the Japanese are woven together to create a moving, inspirational, and compeling history of World War II before the US got into the fight. This is both great entertainment and important primary historical documentation. No wonder they still show it on TV. Watch with your family, your children, and don't forget to bring some tissues.

This film is long overdue! The Tuskegee Airmen were one of the bravest groups of men to ever grace the uniformed services. They fought so much than just the "official" enemy. They fought racism on levels that most of us can never comprehend. Imagine the stress they must have been under at all times. Yet, they still took a stand for their country and changed things for all of us, regardless of race. These men have been so under-appreciated by the country, and especially by our home state, Alabama.

This movie should be incorporated into every Alabama history class in the state and every American hstory class in the country. It is an outstanding movie about an outstanding group of men. Every American should own it!

Note: In spite of what others may feel about the bravery and "kill counts" of the German fliers, the 332nd never lost a bomber that they were assigned to escort and even saved a few that they were not assigned to escort! Talk is cheap when there is documented proof! The Tuskegee Airmen rocked!

I was thrilled to hear about the coming of this movie--then saddened to realize that it was only to be shown as a TV movie. It seemed to me that the saga of these marvelous aviator warriors--treated as they were as second-class citizens by their own government--is one which deserved to be a silver-screen triumph. Our four-engine bombers were being punched out of the sky by the Luftwaffe, but NEVER when the Tuskegee pilots graced their wingtips. Their combat record was nothing short of amazing. The movie was well done, with great story, great actors, great acting. Still, I came away wishing that it might have been better in one respect: During the aerial combat segments, you hear the pilots bantering back and forth loudly over the radios using these rediculous phrases: "Take that, Gerry!" "That's for yo mamma, Gerry!" This was such a great movie; why did they have to dip into corny dialogue during the dog-fighting? It was a flawless procduction till it went hackneyed in those moments.
Aside from that, it was awe-inspiring, moving, even gripping. I just hope the subject is not dropped, and that someday the Tuskegee heroes' story is given even better homage--on the silver screen. This is a far more important story than, say, the sinking of the Titanic.

I'm a white 64 year old Air Force veteran. Watching these heroes of WWII in dedicated, valorous performance, who never lost a bomber to the Nazis, brought tears and pride from me for them. For those still on the ground and for those still "On Patrol", thank you!

The California Zephyr video was exceptionally well-done. I live right next to the Western Pacific Railroad's former Niles Canyon route in Fremont, California, so I have a special interest in the California Zephyr . The color movies of the train were very fantastic to watch and the commentaries of former railroad employees greatly added credibility to this fascinating story. I was especially thrilled to watch the train stop at Fremont station (now the Union Pacific's freight yard), passing by Niles control tower (sadly destroyed by a fire set by an arson several years ago), and passing through Niles Canyon where I live. Another feature of the video I liked was, the names of most of the people that were interviewed in the video were listed on the video's box. Only one person's name was not listed, the wife of one of the people who appeared in the video. I also enjoyed the audio compact disc included with the video. I could hear actual sounds of the train pulled by a diesel locomotive, actual train arrival announcements at both Oakland and Fremont stations and voice of engineer chatting with fireman in locomotive's cab. How ironic that some of the video footage was filmed in 1966, the year I was born. I have special fondness for the F7 which pulled this passenger train. During the late 1970s and early 80s, I saw several of these F unit diesels, pulling freight cars, passing by my house in Niles Canyon several times. It brings back many sentimental memories.

This program is an excellent documentary about the history of the California Zephyr during its 20 years of operation between Chicago and the West Coast. Unlike most railroad documentaries presented on PBS and the History Channel, this one has more depth as it skips much of the dry history and instead focuses on recollections from people who worked on the train.

Coverage of the train is slanted towards the west coast with tons of footage on the Western Pacific Railroad. Highlights that stand out were scenes of the train on 3rd Street in Oakland, through Altamont Pass, and through Feather River Canyon. The DVD also includes a ride in the locomotive cab along with extra scenes of the train trackside.

The producer did an excellent job and I only wonder where he dug up some of the people interviewed in the program. Most notable was Arthur Lloyd who was a railroad public relations person back in the 1950's and 60's. Lloyd gave some spectacular commentary that broke up what could have been a dry program.

I think this program is excellent for anyone who has a passing interest in passenger trains or transportation history. Although this program focuses on the California Zephyr, the general theme is about the death of the Streamliner in America. I regret that I never rode the California Zephyr as we lost a great gem.

What I loved best about this DVD was the 1969 cab ride on the Western Pacific. This program has lots of great views of the Zephyr with footage I have never seen before. There is a great shot of the last train passing by a graveyard! Very fitting and I commend Virgil Staff for taking the time to shoot the film. There is also a neat little piece with Virgil talking about why he shot the film. The added compact disc which comes with the program is a very nice bonus and hearing the locomotive cab interior recordings are worth their weight in gold! I only wish all railfan videos were this nice.

Many of the descriptions of the experiences of the POW's of the Vietnam War that I was aware of centered around the torture that they went through. This video gave a fuller description of who our POW's were rather than the specific torture that they experienced. I don't know if enough was said about the leadership of people like Denton, Risner, and Stockdale. I was amazed at how normal the men looked given the horrors that they went through. I heard nothing of permanent damage. There was a brief section on what the wives experienced. I don't remember anything on the diet of the POW's. I never knew that there had been at least one escape (for which the recaptured POW's and remaining POWs paid dearly). I would have liked to know how many POW's died in prison. I was also surprised to hear that some thought their treatment got better after the death of Ho Chi Mihn.

For a full picture of who our pow's were and what they experienced done in a format that was tolerable for the more squeamish among us I think this was very well done.

The box of the dvd (and the video do I guess) says this runs about 113 minutes. But really this runs 103 minutes. And if you are a big Tom Hanks fan, and rexpected to see him a whole lot in this film, you will be disappointed. He only makes one apperance in the movie, and that is in the beginning. On the front you see Thumbs up from Roger Ebert from then Roger Ebert and the Movies (now called Ebert-Roper and the movies). I just check at the website and Eber reviewed this with somebody named Norman Mark, and they both gave this two thumbs up. But I believed that the person who he did it with didn't liked it. Because I only saw Thumbs up from Roger Ebert. Looks like this was aired at one time on PBS and now you can buy it on video or dvd. So do you self some good and watch this film, whether or not you are a vertan of war.

In what is probably the most revealing documentary ever created on ex-POW's from Vietnam, Return With Honor is an outstanding testament to absolute courage, honor, bravery, camaraderie, and survival.

Individual interviews woven with footage from United States and Vietnamese archives paint a very vivid and oftentimes emotional picture of the brutal experience suffered by our U.S. servicemen held captive in Hanoi.

Leaving very little to the imagination, this documentary explores the many facets of captivity to include barbaric torture, communication processes between prisoners, coping with solitary confinement, demoralizing loneliness, and inhuman living conditions. Additional interviews with the spouses of POW's reveal their pain and emotion they dealt with on the home front while not knowing the fates of their husbands.

Finishing off with their triumphant return home, it is truly inspirational and heartwarming to see the footage of these heroic men reunited with their families.

This DVD itself has superb sound and video qualities and offers good additional features such as 26 biographies of POW's and interviews with the producers on the making of Return With Honor.

This documentary comes very highly recommended to everyone and leaves you with a resounding message of patriotism and a deep respect for America and her U.S. servicemen.

If you dont see the connection between Vivaldi and electroacoustic music, let this film show you how music -and beauty- can be found in pretty much anything, depending on how you look at it.

Trust Uli Aumüller to take you along his humorous, scholarly yet accessible intro to the "musique concrète" of Francis Dhomont and Paul Lansky. You'll be happy you got to know these two composers who look at, listen to, and love the stuff our lives are made up of. Through this film they'll make you love it too.

The arts of music and video are usually developed independently of one another. In popular music, the music video attempts to create a new form, but usually the video part comes only as a secondary effort. How many bands have video artists as members of their group, where the primary creation is really the music video?

In the contemporary music world, however, the chances for a success of this kind improve. "My Cinema for the Ears" is a title which suggests an integration of the creative possibilities within the worlds of eye and ear. Uli Aumüller, director of "Music for 1000 Fingers - Conlon Nancarrow", is a pioneer in the synthesis of this new genre, which may perhaps be considered as an extension of the ideas of "Acousmatic Art" [ Sound created primarily for loudspeaker performance ].

In "My Cinema for the Ears", much of the material is chosen for the fact that both sound and image form a 'third' element, which lives in the domain of video, but does not use the standard syntax of that medium. The source material is chosen from among the pastoral Canadian landscape, city life in Montreal, and a suburban Princeton, New Jersey neighborhood.

Along it's duration, this video changes emphasis between the form of such a new video/audio synthesis, a more standard interview form, and creative documentation of the recording process of new Acousmatic works by Francis Dhomont and Paul Lansky. The transitions between these three forms of art process are fascinating to behold and frame the core of the work.

Francis Dhomont is a five-time winner at the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition and has taught at the Université de Montreal. Paul Lansky is a professor and chair of the Music department at Princeton University. The academic approach to sound and video is clearly apparent in "My Cinema for the Ears". This DVD will become a welcome addition to any thorough collection on the art of new music.

My Cinema for the ears - The musique concrète of Francis Dhomont and Paul Lansky is a 59 minute film by Uli Aumüller. An impressionistic, wryly humorous look at nature and the creative process, the film features two composers Francis Dhomont and Paul Lansky - and follows their search for an art, that emanates from their surroundings.

The DVD "My Cinema for the Ears" is in French and English and includes subtitles in French, German and English. Besides the original composition "Un Autre Printemps" commissioned to Francis Dhomont and visualized by the video artist Robert Darroll, this DVD also features the audio tracks of Dhomont's piece "En Cuerdas" and Lansky's "Night Traffic", "Table's Clear" and "Idle Chatter Junior".