DVD Review: Victory At Sea

I’ve long been fascinated by World War II. And these days it seems even more important than usual to remember that time, as the past couple of years have shown us some frightening parallels, with the ugly and terrifying nationalistic rhetoric of Donald Trump and his mindless fascist followers. Donald Trump, as you’ll recall, even said that some of the Nazis who marched in Charlottesville are “very fine people.” Are we on the path to destruction? There are days when it certainly seems that way.  And so I took a look back at parts of World War II by watching Victory At Sea, a documentary that was released in 1954 (actually, it was released even earlier than that as a series in 1952, then adapted into the film). The film is essentially a compilation of war footage, set to music by Richard Rodgers (yes, the guy that co-wrote those hit shows with Lorenz Hart) and narrated by Alexander Scourby.

As the title suggests, a large portion of the footage is of sea battles, with footage of the war in both Asia and Europe. The film basically begins with the Battle of Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942 (geez, which sailor brought his dog along?), and then moves forward chronologically. And there are some incredible images. For example, in the sea battles between British and Italian ships, there is stunning footage of ships sinking and one suddenly exploding. And that shot of the lifeboat suddenly falling and the sailors tumbling into the sea is incredible. There are also shots of Japan’s imperial navy. The footage of the ships in the storm is as captivating as the battle footage. Those are some serious waves crashing over the ships. Perhaps the most astounding and engaging footage is that of the damaged planes making crash landings back on the carriers.

Not all the footage is of sea battles, however. There is footage of London being bombed and burning, and footage of U.S. factories turning out tanks and planes, as well as the training of soldiers. And yes, there is just a bit of footage of the atomic bomb, and a bit of footage of the liberation of the concentration camps. There is also footage of soldiers doing other work. The narrator tells us: “Of the thirteen million Americans in uniform, only a fraction ever fire a shot in anger. For most, the war is a weary campaign of staging and supply in a twilight zone which is neither combat nor peace. For them, World War II is dull routine monotony from morning ‘til night, day in and day out.” That’s something we don’t often think about. The film shows us the soldiers taking part in a little recreation in Hawaii, and there is also footage of the soldiers being welcomed home.

There is some interesting information on the kamikaze pilots, such as that some attended their own funerals before taking off. And there is a little information regarding strategy, about the planes accompanying the ships, looking for submarines. But, while the narrator does offer other comments on the footage, there is not much information provided on the background of the events leading to the war, or biographical information on those who took part, or even where precisely the footage came from. Who shot this stuff? We know that the U.S. Navy cooperated with the making of the film, but did the Japanese Navy? Or were they forced to hand over their footage? I’m curious about this. Sure, it’s probably outside the scope of the film, but it would make a nice special feature for the DVD.

Victory At Sea was released on DVD on March 17, 2015 through Film Chest Media Group. The DVD contains no special features.