DVD/Blu-Ray Reivew: A little dose of History...

Cowboys & Outlaws

From the box:  They were the quintessential American heroes:  The embodiment of rugged individualism and independence.  For 30 years, cowboys ruled the frontier, settling the West and carving their way into American  mythology forever.


The Golden Era of the American Cowboy was a powder  keg of history - a period of conquest, war and money.  In these brief but tumultuous years following the Civil War, men and women endured astonishing hardship and danger, from battles with Indians and outlaws, to nature's own brutalities.  Yet for a few extraordinary individuals, it was a time of incredible opportunity.  Cowboys drove millions of steers from Texas along cattle trails to northern railroad heads.  Their daring but solitary journeys established cowboys as heroes whose strength and character made them the ultimate icons of their time.  But the hazardous frontier, where the law often amounted to little more than a man with a badge and a posse, also bread some of America's most infamous outlaws, whose reputations still inspire awe.


Discover the legendary qualities of these amazing men in this visually stunning series from HISTORY.  Combining dramatic reenactments of some of the era's most revealing moments, with forensic evidence and surprising new documentary twists, COWBOYS & OUTLAWS unveils the true tales and characters of the American West.

This is a fascinating limited series about the American Wild West and the Cowboys and Outlaws that occupied it.  The History Channel has delivered yet another brilliantly done historical documentation of a time full of intriguing and distinctly American characters.

Lonesome Dove, Billy The Kid, and more are covered here in this collection and the information is both enlightening and extremely interesting, especially for me now as I am writing something of a western screenplay.

The stories we see here really shine a light on a period of time that is looked at with wonder and admiration and shows just how hard and rough things really were.  We get to see the good, the bad, and everything in between.  The recreations are rather well done and add another layer to the history of the cowboy.

I would really recommend this to anyone with even a slight interest in the subject matter or the time period.  It is extremely fascinating and History really treats it well with this release.

World War II in HD 

Bonus features:  Character Profiles, Behind-the-Scenes featurettes: Finding the Footage and Preserving the Footage.

From the box: Seventy years in the making.  Three thousand hours of color film footage few knew existed.  The first documentary to show original color footage of World War II in immersive HD, the world premiere HISTORY series WWII in HD uses the journals and accounts of those who served in the war's biggest battles to create a personal, introspective, and detailed look at life on and off the front lines.  Follow 12 unforgettable Americans, and experience the war through their eyes, in their own words, as it really looked and sounded.  WWII in HD transforms their stirring journey into a tangible piece of history.  Culled from rare color film found in a two-year world wide search and converted to HD with meticulous technique, WWII in HD profides a picture of World War II as it has never been seen before.

This is a must have for any World War 2 enthusiast.  The footage and stories contained on this release are awe inspiring and incredible.  The stories we here are personal, touching, riveting, and eye opening.

The footage looks incredible and your seeing things in ways I never thought would be possible.  The words of the people featured here is voiced by some Hollywood types including LL Cool J, Rob Lowe, Amy Smart, Josh Lucas and is narrationby Gary Sinese.

This isn't for the faint of heart.  You will see some of the horrors of war. You'll see triumph and you'll see tragedy.  It certainly is an amazing piece of work that is a must watch, not only for those interested in the era, but anyone.  Your eyes will be opened and you will learn quite a bit that you probably never knew.

The HD does look incredible and I was genuinely shocked at just how good these 60 year old images looked.   The set includes some great featurettes about the footage discovery and preservation as well as Character Profiles.

This is really a can't miss, must buy set.  It puts an often discussed, almost over analyzied and exploited war into an entirely new and human light.  It takes this war out of the movies, out of video games, and returns it to reality.

Brilliant stuff and one of the best documentary series' I have ever seen on the History Channel, or otherwise.

Cowboys & Outlaws and WW II in HD are available now.