Category: (DVD)
18 new, starting at $44.30
4 used, starting at $38.99
This incredible collection from Mill Creek Entertainment contains over 170 hours of documentaries and feature films that capture America at war. The Civil War, World War I, World War II, The Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict are all presented here in this amazing collector's set.
Over 100 hours of content is documentary-based, with a portion of this being exclusively produced for Mill Creek Entertainment. You'll have actual combat footage, rare interviews, battle re-enactments and rare photos that will appeal to your favorite history buff.
In addition, this 36 DVD set includes Mill Creek Entertainment's popular Combat Classics 50 Movie Pack which contains over 70 hours of feature war films.
This entire set comes packaged in a very unique collectable tin
that comes shaped in the form of an ammo box. This package is
sure to make this a popular gift item.
Films Included:
1. Adventures of Tartu, The
2. Aerial Gunner
3. Battle of Blood Island
4. Battle of El Alamein, The
5. Battle of the Eagles
6. Big Lift, The
7. Black Brigade
8. Blood on the Sun
9. Bombs over Burma
10. British Intelligence
11. Bushwhackers, The
12. Commandos
13. Corregidor
14. Dawn Express, The
15. Desert Commandos
16. Drums In the Deep South
17. Eagle in a Cage
18. Go For Broke!
19. Gung Ho!
20. Hearts in Bondage
21. Hell in Normandy
22. Hitler's S.S.
23. Identity Unknown
24. Immortal Battalion, The
25. Iron Angel
26. Kansas Pacific
27. Lady from Chungking, The
28. Last Chance, The
29. Marines are Coming, The
30. Mark of the Hawk, The
31. Minesweeper
32. Mutiny
33. Navy Way, The
34. One of our Aircraft is Missing
35. Outpost in Morocco
36. Pacific Inferno
37. Proud and the Damned, The
38. Spitfire
39. Steel Claw, The
40. Submarine Alert
41. Submarine Base
42. Sundown
43. Then There Were Three
44. They Raid By Night
45. This is the Army
46. Three Came Home
47. Torch, The
48. War Devils
49. War Head
50. Yellowneck
great servceReviewed by M. Peck, 2009-07-19
I was suprised to recieve this order so quick when othr have still not arrived that i ordered earlier, This was a gift for my father so I have not watched them but i can safley say that he was overjoyed at being given this item,I received it in great condition and still wrapped ...thank you for your service
Dad loved itReviewed by CollectedSounds, 2009-02-24
I got this for my father for Xmas. He's a huge WW2 buff. He said the first dvd he watched was poor quality and he was worried but that the others were great. My step mom said she wanted to quit her job so she could stay home and watch them all over and over again. So it was a hit. For the price especially, I think it's a great deal.
Jaw Dropping Collection of War Documentaries and FilmsReviewed by Robert Huggins, 2009-01-20
"America: Stories of War" is a huge collection of 36 DVDs,
representing over 170 hours (7+ days!!!) of war documentaries and
theatrical films dealing with various conflicts throughout
America's history. Attractively packaged in a tin designed to look
like an ammo can (complete with battle scars), this collection from
Mill Creek Entertainment assembles two of their sets in a single,
larger package, including a documentary set that's also titled
America Stories of War and a 50 movie set titled Combat Classics 50
MoviePack.
The documentaries are spread over 24 single-sided DVDs and cover
the following:
* The Civil War (10 documentary segments)
* World War I (10 segments)
* World War II (91 segments)
* The Korean War (32 segments)
* The Vietnam War (51 segments)
One might quibble about the exclusion, especially, of the
Revolutionary War and other conflicts such as the War of 1812, the
Spanish-American War, and the current War in Iraq, but with nearly
200 documentary segments included for the five conflicts listed
above, it's easy to overlook these omissions. There's also a
certain amount of propaganda throughout some of the documentaries,
but that's largely overshadowed by some extraordinary images
captured by numerous combat photographers.
Both the Civil War and World War I documentaries were produced by
Creation Films and are of recent vintage, carrying a 2008 copyright
date (the only licensed material in this otherwise public domain
collection). As I viewed the Civil War documentary segments, they
reminded me of a poor man's version of "Ken Burns' The Civil War"
that was broadcast on PBS. While the production values aren't in
the same class as the Burns film, the narration is compelling in
its own way and, after a slow start, I found myself thoroughly
engrossed in the material. The World War I documentaries fare a bit
better; motion picture cameras had been developed by that time and
cameras were taken into battle. I hadn't heard about Creation Films
before watching these two documentaries, but despite what must have
been a modest budget, the documentaries are well done and I'd be
interested in seeing other documentaries that the company might
produce in the future.
The World War II segments comprise the largest portion of the
documentaries and include some notable documentaries that were
developed for television, including NBC's Emmy award winning
"Victory at Sea" (yes, the original Richard Rodgers/Robert Russell
Bennett score is intact), "Crusade in Europe," which was one of the
earliest war documentary series developed for television, running
on ABC from May to October of 1949, and "Crusade in the Pacific," a
syndicated series. All of the World War II films that were part of
Frank "It's a Wonderful Life" Capra's "Why We Fight" series are
also included in this grouping.
Many of the Korean War segments are from yet another television
documentary series, "The Big Picture," that ran on ABC from 1953 to
1959. This series was produced by the U.S. Army and the Department
of Defense. Likewise, the Vietnam War segments are also government
productions, but some of the segments are in color.
The films selection is a decidedly mixed bag as the films included
consist of older films that have slipped into the public domain due
mainly to lapses in copyright registrations. There are some
bonafide classics and near classics in this group, including "One
of Our Aircraft is Missing" and "The Immortal Battalion" (both
British films made during the years of World War II), as well as
"Go for Broke" and "Blood on the Sun," among a few others. But the
vast majority of the films are B-movie programmers from the U.S.,
England, and Europe that were produced between the 1930s and 1980s.
There are even a few made-for-TV movies in the mix, including "The
Black Brigade" a/k/a "Carter's Army" and "Hitler's SS: Portrait in
Evil." The bulk of these films are focused during the World War II
era, but a few films like "Drums in the Deep South" and "Hearts in
Bondage" are set in the Civil War era and then there's the odd film
like "Eagle in a Cage" that tells the story of Napoleon's exile and
"The Mark of the Hawk," a drama that uses an African uprising as
its backdrop.
The films appear to be unrestored, but are in relatively good
shape. However, most of the discs have four films on a single side,
so there is some occasional digital breakup/blurring in scenes
where there is a lot of motion, due to the compression of so many
films on each disc. But, considering that a collection like this is
the only way that many of these older films will ever see a release
on DVD, they are generally acceptable.
The challenge for many purchasers of this set will be finding time
to view the many hours that are included in this collection and, in
fact, this is one of the few times where it's fair to say that this
collection offers years of viewing pleasure. In fact, this set is
so large that viewers will need to pace themselves, perhaps
watching a film each week along with several of the documentary
segments. Veterans, military enthusiasts and those interested in a
visual history of America's conflicts will find much to like in
this set. While the documentary segments (comprising two-thirds of
this set) rate an easy *****, the theatrical film selection isn't
quite up to scratch and, as such, my overall rating for the set is
closer to **** & ½.
Ammo can brimming with not bullets, but war documentaries and
feature filmsReviewed by Annie Van Auken, 2009-01-15
AMERICA: STORIES OF WAR 36 DVD COLLECTION from MILL CREEK
ENTERTAINMENT combines their previously issued 24 disc war
documentary set with COMBAT CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK, for a total of
170-plus hours of programming. Several of the documentaries
included here are licensed exclusively to this manufacturer. Audio
and video transfer quality is generally quite good, but does depend
in some cases on condition of vintage stock footage.
This unique package consists of discs stored in heavy black paper
envelopes; each has a circular-shaped cellophane window on one side
for quick identification of the dvds. The set's container is a
well-constructed olive drab tin replica of an ammunition box. The
hinged lid is held securely closed at one narrow end by a
spring-loaded clasp. It also has an attached lunch box style handle
for easy transport. Opening the top reveals an insert photo of
loose copper-tipped ammo. Flip this up for access to DVDs and a
40-page contents booklet.
Overview of DOCUMENTARIES--
AMERICA DIVIDED (2008) - Includes vintage maps, photos, newspapers
and art, plus re-enactor footage and animated break-downs of troop
movements during battle. Narration: Ray Foushee. Superior transfer
quality.
THE WAR TO END WAR (2008) - Rare vintage films and photos, plus
animated maps tell the story of the first global conflict of
1914-18. Narrator: Fred North. Good quality transfer.
GREAT BATTLES OF WORLD WAR II - Various contemporary U.S. gov't and
studio shorts report the war's progress. Most show actual battle
footage captured by Signal Corp and other cameramen. With
contributions from Hollywood actors, directors and crews. Most
films are in remarkably good condition for their age.
WAR IN EUROPE and WAR IN THE PACIFIC - "Europe" consists of 26
chapters while "Pacific" has 24. Certain segments appear dark. Some
include modern narration. Hard to identify these as none have
original credits. "Mill Creek" logo appears on-screen
occasionally.
VICTORY AT SEA - Award-winning half-hour series first broadcast on
the NBC-TV network in 1952. Scored by Richard Rodgers, with
narration provided by Leonard Graves. Original films are
well-preserved. Audio is muffled on some episodes.
THE FORGOTTEN WAR - Includes chapters of TV series "The Big
Picture" that originally aired beginning in 1953, plus a John
Ford-directed color documentary (that's blurry), Some titles have
muffled sound, other appear grayish.
AMERICA'S CONFLICT - Color and b&w government-produced films of
varying transfer quality are quite interesting overall. Famous
actors contribute narration for some.
FOR COMPLETE PROGRAMMING DETAILS, SEE COMMENT #1
(Link for this is located directly below)
