Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century

Starring:Mysteries & Myths
Studio: Madacy Records
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Waste of Time
Great Documentary!

Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century
Starring: Mysteries & Myths
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Customer Reviews:

Waste of Time.......2003-02-09

This is one DVD set that I wish I had rented first. There is almost no new information to be had. If you want a quick overview of the stories, this one is for you. If you want in-depth investigative reporting on these subjects. Don't bother. I would have rather have gotten the IN SEARCH OF... series. At least they attempted to come to some sort of conclusions.

Great Documentary!.......2000-02-11

This is a very good set to own for those of you who love watching the Discovery Channel. Each of the discs contain four 30-minute or so episodes, unfortunately with minimal add-ons (a text summary and a brief "test your knowledge" interactive question and answer portion). Don't expect any DTS-quality sound either. Still, I give 4 stars to this collection for both its very interesting and thought-provoking content as well as it's relatively cheap price. I've read countless articles on the Loch Ness monster, for instance, and I still learned something new from this set!

Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 1

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Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 1
Starring: Mysteries & Myths
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00001O2FP
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 5

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Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 5
Starring: Mysteries & Myths
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
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ASIN: B00001O2FT
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 4

Average customer rating:

The best and the worst of the whole series
horrible

Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 4
Starring: Mysteries & Myths
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00001O2FS
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Customer Reviews:

The best and the worst of the whole series.......2003-01-16

I consider the features on Pearl Harbor and the race to build the atomic bomb the two best features included in this set of fascinating presentations. Each feature provides a very good background of events relating to the subject in question, there is some pretty good footage of major events and people, and questions are posed in a constructive, non-sensationalized manner. The emotions the day of infamy still flames in the hearts of Americans make this a rather touchy subject, especially when you are asking hard questions as to who knew what and when. For such a small allotment of time, this documentary did an outstanding job of providing a timeline of intelligence information in the days and hours before the Japanese attack. It points out the fact that the US and Britain were decoding Japanese diplomatic messages long before Pearl Harbor, while the British were intercepting and decoding Japanese naval messages as early as 1939 (without bothering to share this information with the US). Hours before the attack, FDR had in his hands a decoded diplomatic message detailing Japan’s upcoming ultimatum to the US; he knew war was imminent but did not know where the enemy would attack. The full extent of FDR’s knowledge is still suspect in my mind but it seems proper that this video would not resort to unfounded speculation. What is not a matter of speculation, and the video argues the case for this quite well, is that Winston Churchill knew about the upcoming attack and purposely kept the information secret from the Americans he so desperately wanted to bring in to the Allied war effort. Turning that information over to the Americans, the video suggests, would have hurt the flagging British war effort in the Far East by revealing the fact that Japanese naval codes had long been decoded and would quite likely have delayed American entrance into the war. The documentary does not state for a fact that Churchill let the attack on Pearl Harbor catch America completely by surprise, but it does present compelling arguments for making such a case. The one thing the presentation does not delve into are the clues overlooked or inanely dismissed by the military commanders at Pearl Harbor in the pre-dawn hours of that fateful morning. While Short and Kimmel were clearly made scapegoats for the embarrassing disaster, several factors betraying the local military leadership’s deficiencies and limited culpability do not make it into the story. Just the fact that all of the US planes and naval vessels were bunched up together guaranteed that Pearl Harbor was a sitting duck.

The feature on the race to build an atomic bomb is naturally less controversial, but I definitely found it interesting. Evidence and speculation about the German efforts to build the first atomic bomb are rarely presented in documentaries of World War II, so I was intrigued to learn more about the limited results of the German nuclear program and speculation as to the V2 possibly being designed for delivering radioactive warheads to Britain and eventually the eastern coast of the US from special locations in northern France. All of the facts as to magnitude of force, cost, and horrifying damage are covered here, and you get some good documentary footage of both American and Japanese activities in 1945. It is incredible to realize that at least 125,000 people worked on the Manhattan Project to some capacity, yet only the Soviets learned anything about it whatsoever (which they learned from a mole inside the Project itself). The history alone that is covered in these two presentations makes it worthwhile, but the fair and balanced way in which it handles the sensitive Pearl Harbor blame game debate makes it stand out among all of its companion volumes in this valuable collection devoted to twentieth century myths and mysteries.

In contrast to the well-made Pearl Harbor and Atomic Bomb presentations, the segments on ghosts and mysterious Madonnas do not really have a lot to offer. Rather than give any detailed analysis about any haunting in particular, the producers seem to jump rather randomly from one ghostly account to the next. It actually starts out referring to historic ghosts reputed to dwell in some of the castles of Britain and France; the Tower of London features prominently here. It cites questionable cases such as the goings-on at Borley Rectory in Essex and the well-known vision of a 17th century courtly audience by two older ladies in Versailles a century ago. When it finally makes its way to Twentieth Century Ghosts, which is the title of the feature after all, it gives us a hop, skip, and a jump between World War I battlefield apparitions (one of which is a myth arising from one of Arthur Machen’s short stories), a haunted submarine, reported airliner ghosts, the quintessential phantom hitchhiker, and Alcatraz. The feature on Mysterious Madonnas is even less interesting, I feel. It first covers several reports of weeping icons and statues of the Virgin Mary followed by a mundane image of a Madonna-like reflection on a tall building. One interesting segment addresses rather recent accounts of several Hindu religious icons seemingly drinking up to liters of milk offered in daily devotion. The feature closes with a look at the controversial Shroud of Turin, offering theories as to how it might have been created in the 14th century and seemingly accepting the more than reasonable scientific proof that it is not from the time of Christ. Frankly, I was rather amazed to find no mention of Fatima or other reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary; when I think of mysterious Madonnas, I think almost exclusively of Fatima. Do not let an interest in sightings of the Virgin compel you to buy this tape because you will hear nothing about the subject. Seemingly unable to decide whether it wants to support or argue against the subject matter addressed in both features, this segment is not particularly worth watching.

horrible.......2000-11-07

my friend got this and this DVD is a total joke! dont waste your money or time on it!!

Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

An excellent overview of both disasters

Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 2
Starring: Mysteries & Myths
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00001O2FQ
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Customer Reviews:

An excellent overview of both disasters.......2003-01-18

The fiery crash of the Hindenburg and the sinking of the Titanic are two of the most unforgettable disasters of the twentieth century, and this video does an excellent job of recounting the facts of these cases. First, however, it describes the loss of the British airship R101, a disaster easily assigned to incompetence and bad judgment on the part of the British government's overzealous efforts to beat Germany at the airship game. The Hindenburg was Germany's 129th zeppelin, and its crash in 1937 accounted for the first passengers ever killed since the service began in 1900. A lot of fascinating details about the airship are presented (I actually enjoyed the short history of zeppelins as much as the coverage of the disaster), although I still have a hard time believing people would choose to fly in one of the behemoths no matter how luxurious the trip was. The focus is, of course, on the crash, and naturally we get to hear much of radio reporter Herb Morrison's live description of it. It really is a hard and painful thing to watch, yet one can't help but be awed by the speed in which the doomed airship went up in flames, crashing down as a hulk of its former self a mere 32 seconds after the fire ignited. The video gives voice to several theories as to what happened, including charges of espionage by anti-Nazi groups, but it acknowledges the fact that the truth will most likely never be known with certainty.

The Titanic segment does a commendable job of communicating facts, dropping in several fascinating tidbits, and never sensationalizing the story. It begins by giving an account of the building and early troubles of Titanic's sister ship Olympic, a subject which is not as familiar to most people. Everyone basically knows the story of the Titanic, but I must say that no matter how many times I hear the facts I am always amazed at the unbelievable amount of incompetence that doomed the great ocean liner. This video covers Captain Smith's less than sterling history with the seemingly cursed Olympic and his disregard of numerous ice warnings on that fateful night, and it also points an accusing finger at the cowardly Bruce Ismay who pushed Captain Smith to travel at full speed despite travel conditions. It details a few of the heartwarming stories of bravery and self-sacrifice by those who stayed on board the boat as it sank, men such as Benjamin Guggenheim who donned formal attire to die as a gentleman and the incredibly wealthy John Jacob Astor who saw his wife into a lifeboat before stepping back to meet his fate. It is the human aspects of the disaster as much as the physical act of the collision and sinking of the boat that makes this such a universally compelling story. The only caveat I would offer has to do with the simulated sinking of the boat. I believe we know for sure now that the Titanic did break into two parts before it went to its watery grave, but this video shows it going down whole. I think even the most knowledgeable Titanic buff will find this video interesting and worthwhile. Offering quality documentaries on the tragic losses of both the Hindenburg and the Titanic, this video is one of the very best in the Mysteries and Myths of the Twentieth Century series.

Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 3
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Mysteries and Myths of the 20th Century, Vol. 3
Starring: Mysteries & Myths
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00001O2FR
Release Date: 1999-11-09

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