Cheap National Geographic - Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack (DVD) (National Geographic, Tom Brokaw) Price

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Customer Reviews of National Geographic - Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack

The DVD is multifaceted. In part it showcases Bob Ballard and his quest for a Japanese midget sub. That is interesting enough, but that isn't the real attraction of the documentary. The more important part of the film are images of the December 7, 1941 attack, the haunting footage of the 'Arizona' as she is now (including unbelievable interior shots), and most powerfully of all, the interviews with Pearl Harbor survivors. There are also some interactive maps, a behind the scenes feature and extended survivor interviews as bonus features.

I really must emphasize the importance of the survivor interviews. These interviews are unstructured, and they tell the audience what they think is important. It is all important. I can't imagine that anyone can listen to these men recount their experiences without feeling a huge debt of gratitude to them. They are true American heroes. This DVD is about sacrifice and the things that are good about the United States. It is hard to watch what they went through, but it is important that we never forget.

Buy this DVD and remember the lessons of Pearl Harbor.

Another Excellent Video From National Geographic
This video does an excellent job of telling the story of the Pearl Harbor Attack by using actual footage as well as testimonials of survivors. Again, National Geographic has solicited the help of Dr. Robert Ballard in hopes of finding a sunken Japanese midget submarine which tried to enter the harbor during the attack. Dr. Ballard has been featrued in other National Geographic videos dealing with the search for the U.S.S. Yorktown, the German Battleship Bismarck, and the ships of Ironbottom Sound. I own all of these other videos and I particularly enjoy Ballard's approach to finding sunken ships, so I was anxious to see how he would do in his search for the Japanese submarine. Survivors of the U.S.S. Ward, an American destroyer on patrol on December 7, 1941, are interviewed in this video. Their ship was the actual one which fired on and sank the sub that Ballard is searching for. I have always enjoyed the way that National Geographic has blended together the actual war footage along with the stories of the survivors, and this video keeps up the tradition. Perhaps my favorite part of this video was seeing the first images taken from inside the U.S.S. Arizona. It was really someting special to see. I would highly recommend this video to anyone who enjoys underwater adventures as well as Pearl Harbor readers/viewers.

Dr. Bob is starting to run out of steam
I avidly follow Dr. Ballard's expeditions, and usually buy anything related to his work, but this one falls a bit short. Yes, it goes into personal recollections of the attack, yes, he looks for underwater wreckage, and yes, there is some great footage of the Arizona.

But....

There is altogether too much footage of ROV's being lowered into the water, a very high level background on the attack, that doesn't even talk about each of the midget subs involved, and a very short intro into the sub he's looking for.

There is much more to find Dr. Ballard, How about clearing up the Fuso/Yamashiro questions?, or the Shoho and Lexington? Or even another try for the Japanese carriers off of Midway.