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Victory at Sea, a 26-episode series on World War II, premiered on the last Sunday of October 1952, and subsequent episodes played each Sunday afternoon (with two exceptions) through May 1953. Each half-hour installment dealt with some aspect of World War II naval warfare and highlighted each of the sea war's major campaigns: the Battle of the North Atlantic, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, antisubmarine patrol in the South Atlantic, the Leyte Gulf campaign, etc. Each episode was composed of archival footage originally accumulated by the U.S., British, Japanese or German navies. The footage was originally shot mostly in color but was carefully edited and organized to ameliorate the viciousness of war. The drama of the production was enhanced by the Leonard Graves driving voice-over narration and by Richard Rodgers's musical score.(score was arranged by Robert Russell Bennett who also was the conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra for this production)
Compiled from over 60 million feet of combat and newsreel footage, Victory at Sea won instant praise and loyal viewers. Television critics greeted it as a breakthrough for the young television industry. An entertaining documentary series that still provided a vivid record of recent history. The New York Times praised the series for its "rare power"; The New Yorker pronounced the combat footage "beyond compare"; and Harper's proclaimed that "Victory at Sea created a new art form." It eventually garnered 13 industry awards, including a Peabody and a special Emmy. (the series has been criticized for some of it's historical accuracy and objectivity, but remembering that it is from the 50's, only seven years after the end of the war, you can give it a little leeway on that issue, Most of it still plays very well after all these years)
This release comes from my rip of the Embassy Home Entertainment VHS tapes, second release (1986 6 tape set. Very few people paid 20.00 per tape for the 1982 first 26 tape release). It is coded in x264 and AAC sound at 960x720p (4x3) resolution. It is duotone B&W just like the original TV broadcast back in 1952 and I have done no alteration to the video or sound except for removing the Embassy VHS headers and trailers and converting the Mono soundtrack to Stereo..
Episode 26: Design for Peace
Aired on May 3, 1953
The Twenty-sixth and final volume of Victory at Sea explores the end of the war. The atomic bomb is detonated in Nevada, and then dropped on Japan. The effect of nuclear detonation is demonstrated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One bomb, one city destroyed. With that, the Japanese decide to surrender. There is no need for an invasion with horriffic casulties. The formal surrender documents are signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Magic Carpet is explained, the US Navy carries the U.S. armed forces home from around the world to signs saying, "Welcome Home" and "Well Done" before they are greeted by mothers, wives, children and fellow neighbors. The celabratory parades for the returning heros are shown.
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