Korea - The Forgotten War (History Channel)

This is NOT a two-disc set. There's just one DVD in the box. There's NO parts one and two. Having said that, I loaded the disc into my DVD player and watched as Robert Stack narrated the history of the Korean War. So far, so good. But then, soon after the Inchon landing and re-capture of Seoul, U.N. troops have crossed the 38th parallel and begun their advance into North Korea. As they approach Pyongyang, narrator Robert Stack says: "its fall would open the way for a rapid advance to the Manchurian border... there, tens of thousands of Chinese regulars were already crossing into North Korea!" Roll credits. The end. Seriously? No more? Does this video imply that the war was over at that point? I was understandably disappointed, as you will be, too!

I freely confess that I love Robert Stack's voice. He had one of the greatest voices in movies and TV. So to be totally honest, the main reason I bought this video is that voice. However, this is a compelling account of what has truly become the forgotten war. It never was characterized as a "war" while it was going on; it was always referred to as a "police action" in the media in the 1950s, when I was growing up. It is only in recent decades that officialdom and the media have admitted that, yes, it was a war. I never have been able to decide whether the Korean War was worth the cost. On the one hand, there is the chilling and bizarre presence of North Korea, an Orwellian society ruled by madmen. On the other, the loss of lives was immense, yet nothing was resolved. South Korea's democracy was preserved, but the specter of North Korea still is there. The footage in this documentary is sometimes disturbing, even upsetting. The courage of the soldiers was immense, the conditions under which they lived sometimes horrific. I am disappointed in the History Channel for a lot of things these days. They air much that has nothing really to do with history. This time, however, they got it right.

These were a gift and I didn't hear from the recipient.

This was a good basic documentary that had a good narration. It includes maps to show you where the action was taking place. This all helps you keep track of which side of the 38th parallel line the battles take place. But, I find it lacked punch and generally did not excite me. Also, it should have expanded a little more on the fact the returning veterans were not treated as returning heroes but forgotten heroes.

The video portion sounds "fuzzy" for lack of a better descriptor which makes it difficult for me to listen to. I tried to tune in, but just couldn't. I got bored of trying to follow it after about ten minutes and shut it off

DVD wasn't even an hour long. What a rip.

I watched this documentary with high hopes. While the information was good, it was a fairly bland documentary. There was a lot of old war footage and some cheesy music to go along with that. The narration was alright too. There really just wasn't anything about this documentary that excited me. It was looked like the documentary was made at least 10-15 years ago, so that didn't help it out either.I give it a thumbs up for having decent and accurate information, but a thumbs down for watchability.

It is a very-good chronologic narration of the entire war. It also does a good job relating the war to ongoing political issues. If you want to know what was all about, this is it. In the down side, the footage is of poor quality, especially in the first chapter.