Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I had hoped, before I got a look at the contents listed on the back of the box, that this might be a miniseries, similar perhaps to the History Channel's "Founding Fathers," dealing with this all-too-often forgotten conflict. What you get instead is a single program about the war, plus several ancillary items going into (slightly) greater depth on specific aspects of the conflict. (There's also one program that has no business at all in this set, but more on that in a moment.)
The centerpiece of this set is "First Invasion: The War of 1812," an engaging overview (running roughly 80 minutes) of the entire history of the war. It's a typical History Channel affair: brisk narration, interesting input from a handful of scholarly talking heads, the customary "reenactments," and so on. (Unfortunately, the reenactments feature a comically inappropriate James Madison: in place of the small, thin, withdrawn Madison of history, we get a robust, portly young man with his hair dyed grey. Nobody watches these shows for the actors, naturally, but this poor fellow was so flagrantly miscast that I found it a little distracting.) The content of TV programs of this sort is nearly always very watered down, but this one is relatively informative. The account of the defense of Fort McHenry -- which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the words to our national anthem -- is very effective and actually rather moving.
The set also contains an hour-long program on the Battle of New Orleans, which despite its length doesn't really add too much to the coverage of this remarkable engagement offered in "First Invasion." In addition, there's a very good episode of "Biography" covering the life of that battle's hero, Andrew Jackson, from which the controversial president emerges as a complex and fascinating figure, and unquestionably (whether you love or hate him) a great American. There's also an OK program about "The Star Spangled Banner" -- meaning the poem written by F.S. Key, the song to which his words were set, and the actual flag, flown over Fort McHenry, that inspired those words in the first place. There's a recap of the events that led up to the composition (again adding fairly little to the presentation given in "First Invasion"), a history of the poem from then until it became our official national anthem during the Hoover administration, and a parallel history of the flag itself, including recent efforts to prevent its deterioration. Competently done, but these topics didn't hold as much interest (for me anyway) as most of the other items in the set.
Roger Daltrey is on hand for an episode of "Extreme History" describing life on an 1812 battleship. This is entertaining enough (thanks mainly to some surprisingly off-color humor from Mr Daltrey), if pretty light on actual information.
Finally (and bizarrely), the set includes an episode of "The Great Ships" entitled "The Ironclads," which the box calls "a revealing look at the battleships put to sea in the War of 1812." Actually, the War of 1812 is never so much as mentioned: this program deals with the bizarre iron-clad warships used during the American Civil War, some fifty years later! It's actually quite an interesting program, but what on earth is it doing in a collection dealing with the War of 1812? The only thing I can figure is that somebody confused "ironclad" with the 1812-era nickname given to the U.S.S. Constitution: Old Ironsides. This is a pretty embarrassing mistake, though, if you call yourself "The History Channel."
The set is pretty good as far as it goes. But it would be nice if somebody would put together a good three-or four-hour miniseries about this very interesting, and ultimately crucial, period in American history.
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From a seemingly disastrous decision to declare war to the glory of the stars and stripes, THE HISTORY CHANNEL® PRESENTS: THE WAR OF 1812 chronicles of one of america's most defining moments. Only 30 years after gaining independence, the upstart United States found itself once again battling Great Britain. At stake were the future of emocracy and America's Manifest Destiny. Pitted against the world's most powerful nation, victory seemed unlikely. But then Andrew Jackson's brilliant leadership, a lone sniper, and one of the most lopsided victories in military history turned the tide of the war. THE HISTORY CHANNEL® PRESENTS: THE WAR OF 1812 is the authoritative chronicle of one of America's most defining moments. THE HISTORY CHANNEL® PRESENTS: THE WAR OF 1812 contains the following programs: FIRST INVASION: THE WAR OF 1812--President James Madison declares war on Great Britain, a decision that at first appears disastrous. SAVE OUR HISTORY: THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER--The history of the stars and stripes and the poem penned as a tribute. THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS--General Andrew Jackson leads American forces to improbable victory. ANDREW JACKSON: A MAN FOR THE PEOPLE--A&E BIOGRAPHY® unveils the man behind the leader, from General to President. THE IRONCLADS--A revealing look at the battleships put to sea in the War of 1812. DVD FEATURES: Behind the Scenes of "First Invasion: The War of 1812"; "Surviving an 1812 Battleship" Episode From Extreme History, hosted by Roger Daltrey; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection
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