Battle 360 - Season 1 (History Channel) (Steelbook) | 
 enlarge | Director: Various
Actor: Uss Enterprise
Studio: A&E Home Video (New REleaset)
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $18.99
You Save: $20.96 (52%)
New (24) Used (5) from $18.99
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 2708
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 4
Running Time: 470 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 115310
UPC: 733961115314
EAN: 0733961115314
ASIN: B0016OCTUI
Theatrical Release Date: February 29, 2008
Release Date: August 26, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
For nearly a decade, the legendary World War II aircraft carrier USS Enterprise held a pivotal place on the turbulent seas of war, engaging in some of the fiercest multi-front battles ever witnessed in modern combat. The only carrier to be front and center in every major sea conflict in the Pacific, the Enterprise and her crew s battles were marked by intense firepower, instinct and a 360-coordination between the ship, the destroyers, the aircraft above and the submarines below. In each of ten episodes, and using incredible CGI visualizations, BATTLE 360 follows the Enterprise and its men through another conflict of WWII as they fight off the enemy from the air, the sea and underwater.
DVD Features: Additional Footage
BATTLE 360: THE COMPLETE SEASON ONE includes all 10 original episodes on 4 DVDs:
Disc 1: Call to Duty / Vengeance at Midway / Jaws of the Enemy
Disc 2: Bloody Santa Cruz / Enterprise vs. Japan / The Grey Ghost
Disc 3: Hammer of Hell / D-Day in the Pacific
Disc 4: Battle of Leyte Gulf / The Empire's Last Stand / bonus material
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Good history, but hard to watch August 15, 2008
A reader (Pittsburgh, PA)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
First let me say that I loved the historical account related by this series: the following of the Enterprise throughout its time at war, the interviews with the veterans that served aboard her, the CGI and actual footage presentation of the battles in which she engaged. It's a great idea for a series and I much anticipanted watching it.
However, I found the episodes difficult to watch due to the vast overuse of "attention grabbing" film techniques, such as periods of rapid jump cutting between short bits of film (bits of less than 1 second), which often included bits of what looked like transmission interference and those flashed numbers and letters you get when old-time films run out. Also, the longer duration shots were often polluted with overlays of moving navigational charts.
In my opinion, these sort of techniques show a disrespect for the viewer, as if the producers can't imagine that we have an attention span sufficient to stay with a steady image. It's just a shame that such a promising premise was related with such headache-making techniques.
 Great Show June 30, 2008
R. Calhelha (Iraq)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a huge WW II buff, specifically the U.S.S. Enterprise. I have read all the literature I can get my hands on, seen the shows and build models, so you can imagine my happiness when Battlefield 360 popped up. I managed to get mine off of iTunes.
While a very well thought out show, it is very melodramatic. If you know what actually happened during the war, the over-the-top narrator will sometimes make you cringe. They also have a Marine 1SG on there, who really has no place at all. He just talks about how tough he is and what it is like to be in combat, something I think the actual WWII vets are better able to describe.
While it is 98% historical accurate (with only some very small discrepancies), they often will gloss over American failures, such as the naval battles in and around Guadalcanal. In this show, even terrible defeats are made to seem like victories!
The reason movies like Midway, Tora, Tora, Tora and Battle of Britain are so renowned, is they show both sides of the battle. In 360, the Japanese are relegated to CGI snapshots of burning planes and ships afire. A little more balance would have been nice.
All in all, if you aren't familiar with WWII, love the Enterprise or just like CGI-based history shows, this is a great buy and I am glad I watched it. Nothing is perfect and I just thought I'd point out the flaws in an otherwise fantastic production. 5 stars!
This show is thrilling! June 19, 2008
Ben T. (San Jose, CA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I love this show! I knew a little bit about the war but this show brings you through the major battles as if you're there with them. I was surprised how much I cared about what was happening. When you hear a teacher talk about WWII in school, it just isn't the same.
Every time the fleet got hit hard it felt like it was really happening and when we lost the Hornet I kept thinking what a horrible shame it was. I still think they should have tried harder to save Hornet!
My favorite episode is probably Truk Atoll and of course the epic battle of Leyte Gulf. The Heroic charge of the Tin Can destroyers against the Japanese Center Force was nothing less than the stuff of legends. Heroes, all of them.
I can think of nothing other than the fighter pilots and ship gunners must have been built of courage because they didn't have the technology that we take for granted today. No Satilite survalence, No radar guided missiles, no homing torpedoes. No GPS guided bombs. No Phalanx ship defenses. You have the 5 inch gun and the 20MM and if that's not good enough, then you die.
These men were made of sterner stuff than we see today. Battles like this aren't fought anymore.
Inspiring Epic May 28, 2008
That Guy (Baltimore, MD)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
For content, this series has it all. This ten-episode epic on the history of the USS Enterprise (CV-6) during WWII is an insightful, all-encompassing look at one significant thread of the Pacific campaign. Like the Forrest Gump character, the Big E seems to be at nearly every famous and significant moment in this bloody conflict. Of note, each episode is about 55 minutes long, so you really get your money's worth.
As for the production, it is a mixed bag. The production in all areas is extremely similar to the History Channel's "Dogfights".
First, CGI is mixed liberally with historical footage, some of which may not be from the actual event referenced. If you are not a fan of using copious amounts of CGI to tell a story, you may not enjoy this. Note, the viewer cannot mistake the CGI for the real thing.
Second, interviews are conducted with both actual participants and modern "experts". The interviews with actual participants are priceless. The modern personnel are a bit less so.
Third, the sound production is very poor. An over-emphasis on sound effects constantly drowns out the dialog. This is especially offensive when it steps over the soft spoken veterans whose tales are so inspiring. Deafening explosions are interspersed with quiet dialog, making the audio frustrating and, at times, painful.
This series could have been a bit better with a little more attention to production values.
All in all, a worthy tribute to the gallant E and her heroic crews. I thank you for your service. May God Bless each and every one of you.
Excellent series - 4 and a half stars May 26, 2008
Adam
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just finished watching the Battle 360 series on History HD, and can't recommend this series enough for anyone interested in the Pacific theater of WWII. Battle 360 follows the exploits of the USS Enterprise and her crew from Pearl Harbor through the Empire's last stand involving Kamikaze attacks on the Big E. Prior to viewing this, I had not realized that for a period of time the USS Enterprise was the ONLY operational US air craft carrier in the entire Pacific theater. As the Enterprise was involved in a very high number of the important Pacific naval battles, it makes an excellent vehicle through which to tell the story.
What makes Battle 360 stand out is the battle sequences are depicted using CGI, so we get a view of the action as most of us have never seen before. The CGI battle scenes are very well done. In addition, like most History Channel series the action scenes are broken up with clips interviewing WWII survivors that served on the Enterprise as well as military historians.
I imagine I will end up purchasing more than one of these DVD sets to give as gifts to some of my history nerd friends and family members. The only reason I didn't give this excellent series 5-stars is that after enjoying it on History HD I would have liked to see it released on Blu-ray in addition to DVD. I doubt the DVD format can really allow the excellent CGI graphics to shine as they do in HD (though the series will undoubtedly still look very good and is very much worth purchasing).
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