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» Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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» Topic: Wanted; Recomendations for DVD sets
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I was wanting to get my husband a good set of WWII documentary type DVDs for Christmas.
I was looking at a boxed set called " The Pacific" by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg at Costco and I wondered if you guy's could tell me if you thought that was a good choice or not.

Maybe there is something else out there that you would recommend for us to help continue our education on his fathers time on the 156 and about the war in the Pacific in general.
There seems to be many DVD sets on the subject.
Wondering if there are any that you would recommend to be a good choice or a bad choice.
Thanks,
Julie



Posted By: MN Gal | Posted on: Dec 7, 2013 - 11:02am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Jan 4, 2012 - 7:57am



Julie;
The Pacific is very good, but it is a series made for HBO, not a documentary. It is actually a Bio pic series just like Band Of Brothers was,, which is also excellent. To bad they don't make one about PT Boats, the title is already made : Knights of The Sea.
Take care,
TED



Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Dec 7, 2013 - 1:19pm
Total Posts: 3058 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am



VICTORY AT SEA, one of the best documentary series ever made about WWII.

Will

Posted By: Will Day | Posted on: Dec 8, 2013 - 6:46am
Total Posts: 1955 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 4:19pm



I agree with Will, The Victory at Sea is perhaps one of the best series ever produced. I am sure you can get the boxed set at Amazon.com on DVD. I used to watch it every week when it was on TV, and had many of the VHS tapes when they came out. Well worth it.



Posted By: Frank Andruss | Posted on: Dec 8, 2013 - 7:53am
Total Posts: 3964 | Joined: Feb 9, 2007 - 11:41am



I also love Victory ay Sea. Keep an eye on Wal-Mart's video section. They always have a bin of WWII movies and I picked up several Victory at Sea sets for only $5 each. Also you might look into NOVA PBS special documentaries on e-bay about specific subjects during WWII like the I-400 Super Subs of the Killer Mini-Subs at Pearl.



Posted By: Roy Forbes | Posted on: Dec 8, 2013 - 8:02am
Total Posts: 371 | Joined: Sep 5, 2012 - 4:57pm




I agree with Will, The Victory at Sea is perhaps one of the best series ever produced. I am sure you can get the boxed set at Amazon.com on DVD. I used to watch it every week when it was on TV, and had many of the VHS tapes when they came out. Well worth it.



" Three and a half years after Pearl Harbor the target is still the United States Navy, it becomes a fantastic duel, between gunners who fight to live, and pilots who fight to die".

My favorite quote from the V@S series describing some of the first kamikaze attacks on our fleet.

I have fond memories of watching V@S with my father as a young child so many many years ago. I miss you Dad.

Larry
62 Bel-Air
260 Eagle EXP
79 Cole TR-2

Posted By: bubbletop409 | Posted on: Dec 8, 2013 - 12:23pm
Total Posts: 164 | Joined: Apr 22, 2013 - 11:48pm



Hi Julie,
The PT658 had a documentary made on DVD called "Devil Boat, the saga of PT658" It has a lot of WW2 documentary footage and is a pretty good story about the PT Boats in the Pacific. It is sold in a 2 DVD set at big box stores like Walmart KMart etc. It is called the "Silent Victory and Devil Boat 2 DVD box set"and it is packaged in a embossed tin box. We at the Save the PT Boat group dont get any proceeds from this boxed set sales, I believe Timeless media Group must have purchased the rights to it somehow. (we are unsure how that happened!) although we do sell the Devil Boat video by itself (eg not grouped with the submarine DVD) from our Save the PT Boat website ships store page (here is the link to that page)
[url]http://www.savetheptboatinc.com/Heritage_store.htm [/url] that we make a small amount from selling to help restore the PT658. You may want to consider getting this DVD either way, although the single DVD is not a "Boxed Set". I think you would be pleased with the video.

Here is the write up from Amazon about the contents of the Devil Boat DVD

"Devil Boat follows a group of Portland, Oregon PT Boat veterans as they attempt to resurrect a PT boat from the ravages of time and neglect, sixty years after the war's end. Their aim was to restore PT 658 to its original state, complete with armaments and the original compliment of three 1,200 horsepower Packard engines. With the restoration on the Willamette River as backdrop, Devil Boat takes you on an up-close-and-personal journey into the history of the PT boat, as told through the WWII PT Boat veterans' thrilling tales and rare archival footage of the origins, development and deployment of the Mosquito Squadrons. The restoration of PT 658 was a daunting task. It is not an ordinary boat, but these are not ordinary men, and their memories of combat on the high seas illustrate just how special these boats and their crews were."

Thanks Jerry
PT658 restoration crew

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Jerry%20G%20PT658/devilboatsilentvictoryboxset.jpg[/image]

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Jerry%20G%20PT658/devilboatdvd.jpg[/image]

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/PT658/PT658paintrev1.jpg[/image]

Posted By: Jerry N Gilmartin | Posted on: Dec 8, 2013 - 1:34pm
Total Posts: 26 | Joined: Oct 12, 2013 - 8:28pm



Devil Boat, The Saga of PT-658, is a wonderful Video, which I have in my DVD Military Library. As Jerry mentioned, it is well worth the price and features some good footage throughout the piece. I didn't mention this one because my mind was thinking about National released WWII programs, but yes,adding this to your Library is a must..............



Posted By: Frank Andruss | Posted on: Dec 8, 2013 - 7:39pm
Total Posts: 3964 | Joined: Feb 9, 2007 - 11:41am



Thank you to all who gave me their recommendations, I really appreciate it. You guy's have become like family to me. If you say its good, I know its good.
I will get all of the suggested titles. If you think of any others I would be glad to hear about them, I am sure others might appreciate the tips too. Its very cold -9 this morning with short days here in MN, it will be nice to hunker down and watch anything suggested to be good for our WWII PT Boat education.

Jerry, I will buy from your site, I am hoping that my husband and I can make a trip to see the 658 this coming spring/summer. Now that he knows about his fathers service I look forward to making lots of trips.
Thanks Everyone!
Julie




Posted By: MN Gal | Posted on: Dec 9, 2013 - 7:06am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Jan 4, 2012 - 7:57am



One more question on this, there seems to be some mixed reviews about the Victory at Sea series. Some of the reviews are complaining about the quality of the DVD's being not done very well. Some complaints about the sound being to loud in some parts than others and you have to watch with the remote in your hand to control it.
One review complained about the quality of the picture quality compared to the VHS series.
Frank, since you have had both the VHS and the DVD, did you see this discrepancy ?
I could be either one on ebay. There also seems to be a plethora of DVD sets, some two disc, some 4 disc. I was looking at this one on ebay. The seller said, if I paid the $6 right now he would get it in the mail right away. Does anyone have any input on all this info? disc.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Victory-at-Sea-4-disc-set-/251397131554?ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

thanks again,
Julie



Posted By: MN Gal | Posted on: Dec 10, 2013 - 6:01am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Jan 4, 2012 - 7:57am



Julie, I had bought my Victory at Sea DVD's several years ago from Amazon.com, who I recommend buying from so you can have a good return policy. I am happy to say that I have not had this problem on my DVD'S. There are some portions that are not as clear as others, but I attributed this to the photography of the times.



Posted By: Frank Andruss | Posted on: Dec 10, 2013 - 6:26am
Total Posts: 3964 | Joined: Feb 9, 2007 - 11:41am




Hi Julie . . .

The quality wasn't the greatest even back when I would view them on TV back in the mid 50's on KNBC Channel 4 in the Los Angeles area. However they provided a wealth of information, at least for the 1950's era market. Remember all the WWII documentaries use combat footage and the quality was simply "what-you-see-is-what-you-get", its real and raw and filled with flaws.

The Victory at Sea series is now in public domain and the entire series can be found, viewed or even downloaded to your computer from:

[url]http://archive.org/search.php?query=mediatype%3Amovies%20AND%20collection%3Aclassic_tv%20AND%20subject%3A%22Victory%20At%20Sea%22[/url]





Posted By: Dick | Posted on: Dec 10, 2013 - 8:42am
Total Posts: 1417 | Joined: Aug 27, 2006 - 6:36pm



Julie,

"Victory At Sea," even though it was made in the early 1950's, would probably be the definitive WWII naval documentary DVD gift to give.

The series was originally a 26-part documentary, with 30-minute black & white episodes broadcast on NBC television in late 1952 and early 1953.

NBC edited the episodes into an 89-minute feature-length documentary that aired in 1954, and again in 1960, when it was edited down to 79 minutes and broadcast in a 90-minute time slot.

One of the most famous and notable things about "Victory At Sea" is its magnificent and stirring music soundtrack by the NBC Orchestra, conducted by Robert Russell Bennett from a score and themes written by the famous Broadway composer Richard Rodgers.

Mill Creek Entertainment released the entire original 26-episode series on two DVDs and a bonus disc in 2012. Its still available on their website for $14.98.



Posted By: Drew Cook | Posted on: Dec 10, 2013 - 12:02pm
Total Posts: 1306 | Joined: Oct 19, 2006 - 10:44am



I agree that V@Sea is pretty all encompassing and well done, but I found it focused almost entirely on the big ships of the Navy. I cant remember one episode that even shows a single PT Boat. For that reason I dont like the series maybe as much as others. Just my 2c. Jerry



Posted By: Jerry N Gilmartin | Posted on: Dec 10, 2013 - 12:49pm
Total Posts: 26 | Joined: Oct 12, 2013 - 8:28pm



Jerr: I think I remember two PT shots, but that's all.

Will

Posted By: Will Day | Posted on: Dec 10, 2013 - 10:14pm
Total Posts: 1955 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 4:19pm



I can always remember watching the series when it was on TV, and hoping to see a PT BOAT. I think there are two or three in the entire DVD set that show a boat. Although no PT BOATS, this certainly doesn't detract from it being one heck of a series.



Posted By: Frank Andruss | Posted on: Dec 11, 2013 - 8:09am
Total Posts: 3964 | Joined: Feb 9, 2007 - 11:41am



I can always remember watching the series when it was on TV, and hoping to see a PT BOAT. I think there are two or three in the entire DVD set that show a boat. Although no PT BOATS, this certainly doesn't detract from it being one heck of a series.



Posted By: Frank Andruss | Posted on: Dec 11, 2013 - 8:09am
Total Posts: 3964 | Joined: Feb 9, 2007 - 11:41am



Hello All,
Happy New Year!
I just wanted to thank all of you who gave me advice on what to buy for Christmas as far as WWII PT Boat DVDs.
I bought Victory at Sea in a boxed VHS set that was new on ebay.
I bought Devil Boats the Saga of PT 658 and The Pacific boxed dvd set.
We have watched a few of the Victory at Sea tapes that is very good, we are glad to have them. Loved, Devil Boats and haven't had time to watch The Pacific yet.
I just wanted to thank all you guy's who gave me some help with this.
We would still like any other suggestions, since we cant seem to get enough.
Regards, Julie



Posted By: MN Gal | Posted on: Jan 11, 2014 - 6:11am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Jan 4, 2012 - 7:57am



Another very nice video series is Hero Ships done by the History Channel. Very nice documentary series. I saw that Amazon has a couple of sets still.
Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Jan 11, 2014 - 7:42am
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm