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Category:    Home > Reviews > Documentary > Speculation > History > WWII > Nazi Germany > The President’s Book Of Secrets (2010/A&E DVD) + 20th Century with Mike Wallace – America At War (CBS/Athena DVD Set) + The Unknown War – WWII & The Epic Battles Of The Russian Front (1983/Shout! Fact

The President’s Book Of Secrets (2010/A&E DVD) + 20th Century with Mike Wallace – America At War (CBS/Athena DVD Set) + The Unknown War – WWII & The Epic Battles Of The Russian Front (1983/Shout! Factory DVD Set)

 

Picture: C+/C/C     Sound: C+/C+/C     Extras: D/C+/B-     Main Programs: C+/B+/B

 

 

Now for some interesting titles on government, military, war, history and secrets…

 

 

The President’s Book Of Secrets (2010) is a speculative and long piece about what if there was a secret guide book for each president to get and what would it tell them.  At 94 minutes, this becomes a bit much, though it is bold in covering some of its speculation.  This is a curio at best some will want to see, but once was enough for this writer.  The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is nicer than some of the letterboxing A&E/History still does on their DVDs, but the image can still be weak, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no real surrounds, but is well recorded enough and there are no extras.

 

20th Century with Mike Wallace – America At War continues the releases from the series on Acorn’s Athena label, but this time, we get some remarkable footage of what really happened in Vietnam in the first four of the tem episodes here.  Korea and the first Gulf War are also included, but the remaining episodes cover technology, elite fighters and the politics of war, which has suddenly become more relevant (as has the whole set) since Osama Bin Laden was killed.  This is a solid series and it holds up very well with priceless footage and history, made better by Updates On American Warriors included on all three DVDs.  The 1.33 X 1 image is on the soft side with a slight harshness and aliasing errors throughout suggesting a second-generation digital copy, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono plays back better with some distortion but not as much wear.  Other extras include a link to additional information and 12-page viewer’s guide that further enhances the release.

 

The Unknown War – WWII & The Epic Battles Of The Russian Front is a 20-episode series hosted by Burt Lancaster about how the Soviets took on the Nazis in WWII after the false non-aggression treaty was signed and the amazing toll the two totalitarian powers took on each other, though it is ironic that Stalin killed more of his own people in his private terror campaign against them that the highly murderous Hitler did.

 

On five DVDs, the series was featured most up to date information at the time about the events and is interesting as this side of WWII was somewhat to absolutely censored (or at least ignored to the extent it was publicly) by the U.S. Government because of The Cold War with the U.S.S.R. and they could not be given any ground like that until they were brought down.  This was actually pulled out of syndication and off the air itself (continuing the censorship side) when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, which ironically (along with Chernobyl and the communications age) led to their demise.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image was all shot on film and has older film footage, but these copies look like older analog transfers and can be soft.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also down a generation or so and sounds a little compressed throughout.  Still, this is in good enough shape to enjoy and is vital history.  Extras include a Rod McKuen interview (he co-wrote the program and did the music as well) and Russian History scholar Willard Sunderland also does an interview featurette updating the series and telling us what we know now that the Soviets were keeping secret then that is now possible with their collapse.

 

 

For more of Wallace’s series on DVD, try this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10555/20th+Century+With+Mike+Wallace

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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