Dogfights - DVD

Dogfights -The Complete Season 2 (History Channel)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Solid reenactments of the greatest aerial battles 5 out of 5 stars.
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Where do I begin? Right from where season 1 left off, series 2 comes back right at you adding even more aerial bottles using serious computer generated graphics.

The series does a great job of covering aerial battles across the 20th century starting from the very first aerial battles involving biplanes all the way to battles involving jets in Operation Desert Storm. The series does a great job of even including the legendary Tuskegee airmen and their contributions during World War II.

A series recommended for military buffs, this is definitely a worthy add on to any collection.

Excellent Continuation of a Great Series! 5 out of 5 stars.
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From the moment that the pilot of Dogfights appeared on my TV screen in late 2006 I have been absolutely enthralled with this program. My Season 1 DVD's get far more playtime than any of my others by far (including my beloved MST3K collections) and I am content to watch them repeatedly. When Season 2 was released I salivated at the thought of having the whole, complete series in my hands. My wife got me Season 2 for Christmas and I can emphatically give it 5 stars like it's predecessor.

For those not in the know, Dogfights was a television series which aired for 2 seasons on the History Channel which focused on the birth, growth, and continuing evolution of the modern day dogfight, or air combat between competing fighter planes (and in some cases bombers). The show uses state of the art CG animation, and this, coupled with interviews with the pilots who actually flew in the highlighted missions, really creates a unique visual experience for the viewer. I've heard strong rumors that the show has since been cancelled, which stuns and saddens me at the same time, given the intense popularity of the program.

There are more episodes for Season 2 than for Season 1 and they run the gamut from one episode detailing WW1 biplane dogfights to another episode regarding the major dogfights of Desert Storm. The CG is slightly better here than it was for Season 1 making an already stellar production that much better. Of the 17 episodes included I think far and away the best episode is the one on the P-51 Mustang, which is simply one of the best episodes ever introduced and is an adrenaline overloaded experience. This episode alone is worth half the price of purchase, as was the "Death of the Japanese Navy" episode from Season 1.

Special mention goes to "Desert Aces", another fantastic episode starring the elite Israeli Air Force (Ran Ronen is quickly becoming my favorite IAF pilot), "Kamikaze" which is a white-knuckled ride with the crew of the Destroyer USS Laffey, and "Secret Weapons", which introduced the deadly Me-163 "Comet", a rocket powered bomber killer which was notorious for it's incredible speed and deadly firepower. There's no bad episodes here, and all are well put-together and exciting and educational to watch. When Season 2 first aired I had heard that there was to be an additional episode chronicling the Falkland War and the air combat there, and I was *very much* wanting to see this episode, but it didn't pan out.

As others have mentioned there is no closed-captioning and one or two of the episodes are abruptly cut off prematurely as the credits are rolling. But other than that the image is crisp and will look fantastic on your flatscreen TV. Dogfights is certainly a show which will appeal to anyone who is a fan of anything air combat and is sure to please all. I just wish the History Channel had continued the series. I have the whole series and I still thirst for some more Dogfights action and have nowhere else to go. Highly recommended!

Editorial Review:

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 06/24/2008 Run time: 798 minutes

Dogfights: The Complete Series

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

This is on Target (+) 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

FInally something for the whole family. THe Kids will enjoy the action, violence and computer graphics. Mother's will salivate at the aged photographs of handsome young men; knights of a modern age dueling for some greater cause than themselves. Father's will focus on the strategy and the individual specs of the planes all done in the instantly intuitive style of a video game game player select screen. And finally Grandpa War Veteran will shake violently at the mere color imagery of Stukas and Zeros coming at the screen, the first color images of these aircraft in blazing combat maneuvers that have ever been by seen like this since the actual war..

It's got all the elements, drama, historical accuracy coupled with the slick educational value to anyone who ever wondered about the aerial dogfights of long ago. The only educational movie series I have ever watched and enjoyed since the future is wild or alien planet.

Editorial Review:

DOGFIGHTS: SEASON 1 & 2
History's most thrilling aerial battles can now be experienced as never before from inside the cockpit. Legendary aircraft like the F8 Crusader, P40 Tomahawk, P-51 Mustang, and Fokker triplanes are brought back to life as DOGFIGHTS takes viewers straight into the heat of the aerial action.

The original pilots themselves narrate these battles, illuminating the capabilities and histories of these magnificent aircraft, the enemies they faced, and the realities of life as a fighter pilot. Filled with astounding state-of-the-art CGI technology, all 28 episodes from DOGFIGHTS SEASONS ONE AND TWO revitalize some of the most thrilling and captivating life-or-death battles ever fought.

Witness some of the most celebrated dogfights in modern history as the pilots strap back in and recall their memories of these historic engagements, from Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal, North Korea to the Solomon Islands, and Vietnam to the Middle East.

Dogfights - The Complete Season One (History Channel)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Worth it for the Taffy-3 Episode alone 5 out of 5 stars.
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I caught the original "pilot" for this show on the History Channel in Fall of 2006 and absolutely loved it. Apparently I wasn't alone as many other viewers were so impressed that the History Channel made it into a full-fledged series. I have an intense love of military aircraft, and in particular anything having to do with WW2 air combat. In high school my friends had posters of their favorite bands hanging on the walls. I had posters of B-17's and Ju-87 Stukas. This, coupled with a sizable collection of flight sims and plastic aircraft models makes me a prime audience target for this program.

Dogfights uses state of the art CG graphics to recreate some of the great dogfights in history, covering all eras from WW1 up to the Gulf War. There seems to be a heavy emphasis on Vietnam and WW2 era dogfights in particular, and that may irk some folks, but really this is where the vast majority of such action took place and the show reflects this. In addition to this are two episodes largely relating to sea battles, specifically the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck, and the fantastic episode on Taffy 3 (a handful of US Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts taking on a greater force of Japanese cruisers and battleships, including the Yamato, and *winning*). Honorable mention goes to the episode on the Cactus Air Force flying F4F Wildcats, and the awesome episode "Long Odds" featuring extremely mismatched dogfights between Swede Vejtasa in an SBD facing off against 3 Japanese Zeroes, a very unique tale about a B-17 named "Ol' 666", and a dogfight between Mig-17's and the venerable F-105 "Thud".

The program typically covers certain pilots' exploits. These pilots are interviewed throughout the show describing how the dogfight unfolded, as well as interviews with flight instructors and historians. Starting forces are shown as well as side by side comparisons of the aircraft involved, marking their strengths and weaknesses. The WW2 episodes appear to be primarily based in the Pacific Theater, and the only WW1 episode is more or less of a portion of the series pilot. This too may get under some folks' skin, but I love this show in any way I can get it and I think it's safe to say most of the other posters here agree.

There is some controversy surrounding the show's noticeable highlighting of US and Israeli pilots. In truth I think the show would gain much by doing a 2 hour special on the Battle of Britain, but remember that this show was primarily intended for a US audience and thus the producers were trying to cater to this demographic. There were some episodes done from the Japanese and German perspectives in Season 2, but not much else, and as I said this will irk a few folks. There's a number of things I'd love to see the show do programs on;

-The aforementioned Battle of Britain
-Pearl Harbor
-Anything on the WW2 Russian Front (who doesn't want to see some I-16's zipping around?)
-The Nigerian Civil War where the newborn nation of Biafra's tiny mercenary air force took the larger nation's modernized Air Force to task using homemade fighter planes
-A whole episode on Hans-Ulrich Rudel's exploits in his famed Stuka (there's enough there to do a 2 hour special, at the very least!).

There's some uncertainty about the future of the show and rumors of cancellation, which makes a number of us fans a little bit uneasy. There's practically nowhere else we can go to get this kind of programming and that worries me and a lot of others. The bottom line though is that you cannot find a better program of this type anywhere and cannot recommend buying this series on DVD enough. You will not be disappointed!

Editorial Review:

Harnessing the technology from the latest cgi video game flight simulators this puts the viewers behind the cockpit pitted against enemy aircraft in 11 of modern historys greatest air battles. Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 04/24/2007 Run time: 517 minutes

History - Dogfights : Guadalcanal (#5)

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Editorial Review:

A small island in the southwestern Pacific, Guadalcanal was the place the US chose to confront the Japanese on the ground for the first time in WWII. Here, beginning in August 1942, Americans and Japanese were brought face-to-face in close-quarter shootouts that became a turning point of the war. From the near-total annihilation of Colonel Frank Goettge's intelligence patrol to the battles of Bloody Ridge, both sides learned what the other was made of. The Japanese were willing to fight to the death, and the Americans were eager to offer them that chance. The victory ultimately belonged to the US, but in the man-on-man struggles that characterized the campaign, winning or losing became personal and the difference between survival and death. Experience the thick of battle from the perspective of soldiers from both sides.

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History - Dogfights : MiG Alley (#3)

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Editorial Review:

Viewers will feel like they're in the battle, facing the enemy, while watching this new series that recreates famous battles using state of the art computer graphics. US Air Force fighter pilots risk their lives flying sleek F-86 Sabres above "MiG Alley", the most dangerous piece of sky in the Korean War. The high-speed twists and turns of history's first jet dogfights pit American aces Robbie Risner and Ralph Parr in the battles of their lives against nimble Russian-built MiG-15 fighters. First-hand accounts, rare archival footage and original shooting will supplement the remarkable computer graphics. Tank, helicopter, ship and submarine battles will also be included.

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History - Dogfights : Dogfights Of The Middle East (#11)

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The sound of jet combat reverberates above the tombs of the Pharaohs as the small Israeli Air Force delivers a knock-out punch to the Egyptians in the 1967 Six Day War. Fly in the Mirage III with the IAF's first jet ace Giora Romm as he chases down two MiG-17s over the Suez Canal at dusk. Be in the cockpit with 119 Squadron Commander and ace Ran Ronen as he flies into hostile Jordan for a top secret rendezvous--arranged by the Israeli Mossad, and later as he speeds deep into enemy territory for a bombing mission that ends up as a swirling dogfight directly over the Egyptian base. Witness the first combat engagement of the McDonnell Douglas F-15, and how Major Moshe Melnik draws first blood for the Eagle in the skies over Lebanon in 1979. Learn how the Israeli Air Force of today hones its capabilities with cutting edge technology that makes it the most feared opposition in the sky.

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History - Dogfights : Air Ambush (#2)

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Editorial Review:

Legendary fighter pilot, Colonel Robin Olds, sets an intricate trap for the North Vietnamese MiG-21's. His Squadron, the Wolfpack, disguise their lethal F-4 Phantoms as vulnerable bombers. The MiGs scream in to challenge the Americans. The result is the most elaborate air sting of the war... code-name... Operation Bolo. First-hand accounts, rare archival footage and original shooting will supplement the remarkable computer graphics. Tank, helicopter, ship and submarine battles will also be included.

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History - Dogfights : Hell Over Hanoi (#9)

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Editorial Review:

You're in the cockpit with some of the fiercest dog fighting ever seen in Vietnam! These pilots fight in a supersonic world, and split second decisions determine life or death. American F4 Phantom pilots Fred Olmsted and Dan Cherry take on the famed MiG-21--the most feared threat in the sky. Steve Ritchie, becomes a dog fighting legend as an Air Force Ace. First-hand accounts, rare archival footage and original shooting will supplement the remarkable computer graphics.

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History - Dogfights : Long Odds (#12)

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Editorial Review:

Bomber's vs. Fighters face off in three of the most intense dogfights in history! Courageous bomber pilots from World War II and Vietnam challenge deadly foes against incredible odds. Using state of the art computer animation, you're in the cockpit with legendary World War II Navy ace Swede Vejtasa's SBD dive bomber as he fights off eight lethal Japanese Zeroes. World War II Medal of Honor winner Jay Zeamer and his crew pit their slow B-17 bomber against 17 Japanese fighters in a battle for survival. Next, soar with Air Force Lt. Col. Leo Thorsness as his F-105 Thunderchief takes on a flight of skilled MiG-17's in the skies over Vietnam.

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History - Dogfights : The Last Gunfighter (#6)

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Editorial Review:

Skilled fighter pilots Paul Speer and Phil Wood, tackles the fierce North Vietnamese MiG over the killing skies of Vietnam. They fly the U.S. Navy's top fighter, the F8 Crusader. In one of the longest, gut-wrenching dogfights on record, Lt. Commander Richard Schaffert--out of missiles and with his guns jammed--takes on a lethal MiG-17 and the best enemy pilot he's ever faced. His only chance lies with the amazing capabilities of the F8 Crusader, "the last gunfighter." Using state of the art computer graphics, viewers will feel like they're in the battle, facing the enemy.

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