War Planes! (NOVA WGBH Box Set)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C-* Episodes: B
Another
solid offering of NOVA programs with a similar theme are gathered together in War Planes! This four DVD set deals with airplane
technology on the cutting edge with related stories of the past, histories that
led up to the innovations and one advanced plane of the past that is the target
of a recovery mission.
Of the
four, we already reviewed Battle Of The
X-Planes a while ago, as you can read about at the following link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2896/Battle+Of+The+X-Planes+(Nova)
Spies That Fly is a great installment about the
rise of spy planes and other unmanned vehicles for that purpose and more. However, development has far from reached its
goals and peaks, in part because of money, additional resources and innovations
that just cannot be dictated. This is
very entertaining and informative in a way that could make new fans for the
show.
NOTE: Our
first copy of Spies That Fly was
defective and the replacement still had some tracking issues, though was still
watchable. Double-check this disc if you
get it.
Top Gun Over Moscow shows how advanced and far the
former Soviet Air Force was and is in a way that would have been impossible
when the USSR was still standing. As
formidable as ever, we see the new flying techniques, learn of the amazing
history of the Russian Air Force and see the stunning Su-27 in action. A solid installment that holds its own in
this set.
B-29: Frozen In Time is the story of the attempted
salvage of The Kee Bird, a particular B-29 trapped in Greenland for a
half-century. We learn about the B-29
and this particular model, including how it got trapped in the first place, as
a team led by pilot/fan Darryl Greenamyer trying to save and preserve the
classic in one piece and transport it back.
The
various aspect ratios of each disc are about equal in clarity and definition,
with some 1.33 X 1, other letterboxed 1.78 X 1 and Spies That Fly for instance offering block style credits before
going wide again. Detail is an issue in
all, but they are not bad, though the documentary nature of each also varies
the picture quality further. All also
have Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with weak Pro Logic surrounds in some cases at
best.
Except
for X-Planes having more extras than
usual, which you can read about at its own link, weblinks and DVD-ROM printable
educational materials are the only extras.
WGBH has done several of these boxes and this is one of the best. Be sure to catch them all, because they are
that good.
- Nicholas Sheffo
