Search - WWII Combat Zone 1939-42 on DVD

Good W.W. II footage

W. Ivey | Austin, TX USA | 07/16/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The gimmick of introducing two soldiers from opposite sides in the particular battle being examined in an episode is OK, but it's the footage that makes this DVD worthwhile - more than three stars anyway. (It is interesting that many of the Axis soldiers introduced were living in the U.S. when this was made.)

The footage is generally fascinating, though some of the editing is a bit tight for my taste - I'd liked to have seen more context but they often liked to cut to a cannon firing then go on to something else. Whether all of it is actually related to the story being told is another matter - I definitely saw the same bomb bay doors and burning ships in a couple of episodes. (And some of the footage in the Pearl Harbor episode is obviously miniature work - but if the History Channel can use clips from "Tora, Tora, Tora", why complain?)

I must have seen a few of these episodes when they ran in the early 1960s because I distinctly remember the show's title screen. It didn't make as much of an impression as "Victory at Sea" though because I remember almost nothing else.
"

"Battleline" by any other name

Frank Kowal III | Hollywood, CA | 04/26/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a collection of a 1963 TV series called "Battleline." Each episode focused on a pair of soldiers on opposite sides of a battle of World War II. It might be a Polish and a German Officer, or a Japanese and a British Officer. This is a great series for anyone interested in that war. The episodes included in this collection are:

DISC ONE:
Fall of Poland
Invasion of Norway
Dunkirk
Battle of Britain
Malta
Commerce Raiders

DISC TWO
Fall of Crete
Pearl Harbor
Battle of the Atlantic
Fall of Singapore
Fall of the Philippines
Dieppe

Although the packaging doesn't acknowledge the original series, this is a fascinating documentary on World War II."