Search - Boone and Crockett (A&E DVD Archives) on DVD

The Real Hunter Heroes of the West

Matthew S. Schweitzer | Columbus, OH United States | 09/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This History Channel DVD portrays the lives of two of the most famous American frontier pioneers, Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett. Each man has been shrouded in myth and legend for nearly 200 years and this documentary uses historical accounts and re-enactments to tell the true story of their lives and how they were both different men, they both came to represent the American Ideal.

Daniel Boone is a figure who features prominently in the creation myths of the American West. His contributions to the formation of Kentucky and the conquest of the Trans-Appalachain west are immense, yet Boone always saw himself as a common man who did his duty and led a normal life, quite unconcerned with fame and fortune. His exploits during the American Revolution and ensuing Indian Wars helped to shape the future of the west and made him a legend in his own time. Ironically, the land he helped to protect and settle soon became too crowded for him, and he moved further west in an attempt to find peace and happiness in the wilderness. In the end, he came to indentify more with the Indians with whom he had once fought than with the over-crowded civilization he helped to bring west.

Davey Crockett is another frontier legend that followed in the footsteps of Boone. Crockett, contray to popular legend, was really not an Indian fighter. He participated in only one battle during the Creek War of 1813 under Andrew Jackson and was so appalled by what he saw that he would eagerly leave the service soon after. His real claim to fame was as a hunter, and later, as a popular and genuinely amiable frontier politician who fought for the rights of the poor and dispossessed, including the Indians. His staunch opposition to President Jackson's Indian Removal policies would prove his undoing in Congress, but he always stuck to his principles and lived by his famous maxim "Be always sure you're right...then go ahead". He guaranteed his legendary status by fighting, and dying, at the Alamo in 1836.

This DVD uses great re-enactments and commentary by historians and authors. It is highly recommended to any history enthusiast.

"

Great History

CR | 03/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was a great pairing of two amazing American folk heroes. I imagine it would be hard to tell someone's life story in one hour, let alone two individuals who lived such full lives and did so much, but the filmmakers managed to do a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of both. I wish the program had been longer! Great job!"