National Geographic - 21 Days to Baghdad
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DVD details
Artist: Artist Not ProvidedBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 60 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-07-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
DVD Reviews of National Geographic - 21 Days to Baghdad
DVD Review: 5 STARS: Truly Excellent Documentary - Stunning visuals; Shows what really happened during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Impressive!
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, it would appear that the reviewers who gave this wonderful DVD low ratings are either incredibly uninformed about the world in which they live, or they are just leftist anti-American "activists." Whatever their excuse is, their reviews are misleading at best. It seems clear that none of them actually watched the DVD. This isn't an issue about opinion; it is more an issue about integrity. I will explain what I mean later in this review.
While I would agree that soldiers who served in Iraq might find this boring (but only a few; this is a very thorough DVD with enough action and explanation of events to have truly historical significance in a way that most documentaries can only dream of). Those few soldiers who might find this boring would probably feel this way due to the fact that showing video of Power Utility linemen doing their jobs to Power Utility linemen wouldn't be particularly exciting, unless it was a bloopers/big mistakes documentary. Fortunately, 21 Days to Baghdad is an excellent documentary, and this DVD doesn't show American Servicemen being blown up, nor does it show them riddling terrorists with bullets, blood spraying, either.
It does, however, do an excellent job shedding light on the activities of our servicemen in harm's way, which is the entire point. For those of us who haven't served in Iraq (which would be most of us), it is an impressively thorough and truly cool documentary. And while the DVD "extras" aren't all that impressive, it has so much to offer for so many people that to call it boring would be disingenuous, not to mention blatantly dishonest, for the vast majority of people. For someone who isn't very familiar with the military, it gives valuable insight into the lives of our active-duty Troops overseas. For those who are more familiar with the way the American war machine operates, it is still informative, and quite interesting. It is also quite a relief to see American servicemen portrayed as they are, not demonized à la Fahrenheit 9/11 (I strongly recommend that if you have seen Michael Moore's dishonest documentary, that you watch FahrenHYPE 9/11, and/or Celsius 41.11 as a counterbalance).
Only those who are used to the leftist American media will find it "boring" or "subpar," as it isn't nearly as biased against America as most nightly news broadcasts are. In fact, this DVD shows the Iraqis celebrating in the streets upon the Americans' arrival in Baghdad, which is something that the vast majority of liberals will deny ever happened, and would do just about anything to keep the public from discovering. So if you're looking for a hack job denigrating our servicemen, you will be pretty upset after seeing this documentary, because all it contains is the truth, without nearly as much of a left-wing spin as al-Jazeera, the BBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, the NYT, the LAT, the WP, or any of the other "mainstream" media outlets. And for a liberal activist, that means it is highly offensive. Almost as offensive as Fox News Channel. LOL!
Now as for the DVD, it has stunning visuals. It begins with President Bush addressing the U.N., shows preparations for war, including training of our Troops, it shows some of Saddam's atrocities, and shows President Bush's ultimatum to Saddam and his Sons to leave Iraq within 48 hours. It shows the troops waiting anxiously to receive their orders, and the surprising confidence of our youngest soldiers. It discusses the Rumsfeld doctrine, our war strategy, the controversy of using so many special forces and so few regular troops vs. the Powell Doctrine. Leftists will hate this DVD because it reminds them of when President Bush had over 90% approval ratings, and it shows him leading us into war to remove the murderous Saddam Hussein regime, and having amazing success in doing so.
This DVD also includes a nice dose of shock and awe. It is amazing how precise the American GPS bombs are; the Republican Palace is absolutely decimated inside, completely gutted, while the exterior is largely undamaged, and the sidewalks outside are clear of rubble or debris. Only smoke damage near broken windows makes it obvious at first glance that anything at all happened inside. It shows a nice balance of daytime and nighttime activity, including a lot of special forces night vision footage including the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch. In fact, this DVD pays a surprising amount of respect to our Special Forces; it is a nice little teaser to get you interested in learning more about our Special Ops forces.
The progress of the U.S. Military is stunning; our Troops advanced so rapidly on Baghdad they the supply lines were strung out to a dangerous degree; fortunately, we didn't lose very many lives due to this fact; we could have lost a hundred times as many people many billions of dollars of equipment had Saddam been able to attack our supply lines effectively. This DVD gives excellent, varied perspectives into the happenings involved in Coalition forces taking Iraq and the Capital, Baghdad, including both civilians getting caught in the crossfire/failing to stop at checkpoints (later to be found carrying AK-47s, etc.), to the Iraqis celebrating the Americans' arrival in Baghdad once they feel confident Saddam's henchmen won't step out of the shadows and mow them down for supporting America. It is cool to see the footage that most newsrooms refused to air, and you can imagine it really upsets liberals to see this bit of truth in undisputable video footage.
This DVD shows the 10-year dust storm that engulfed Iraq during the beginning stages of the assault, it shows American Naval forces clearing mines from harbors using dolphins, American Naval vessels launching cruise missiles, F/A-18 Hornets & Super Hornets, F-16s, F-117As, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, AC-130 Spectre Gun ships, B2 Stealth Bombers, B1-B Lancer Bombers, B-52 Bombers, RQ-1 Predator Drones, M1A2 Abrams Tanks, M2A3 Bradleys, Humvees w/mounted TOW anti-Tank missiles or machine guns, Amphibious Assault Vehicles, JDAMs, Cruise Missiles, AWACS/JSTARS planes, refueling tankers, Blackhawk & Apache Helicopters, etc. etc. Oh, and LOTS of explosions. It's quite entertaining, and unlike Hollywood's creations, it's real.
It also tells the story of a helicopter pilot/officer who is lost in a Blackhawk going down during the war, it devotes a respectable amount of time covering this aspect of the war; it is surprisingly fair. Although it doesn't show leftists in America protesting our fallen heroes' funerals, spewing their vitriol and hate against military families, it at least treats the deaths of American servicemen with respect, IMHO. It really stays away from politics, which is refreshing from an organization such as National Geographic, whose documentaries routinely parrot leftist propaganda re: scientific studies.
A lighter moment in this amazing documentary touches on the Iraqi Information Minister (Mohammed Sayeed Al-Sahaf) denying reality, which will make many liberals uncomfortable, for obvious reasons.
Near the end, it shows the celebrations where Saddam's statue is toppled by Iraqis (with the help of American Marines) in the traffic circle (can't remember the name), and it ends with a brief review. This documentary contains a surprising amount of real footage (the entire documentary is real war footage with about 10 minutes of talking heads commenting interspersed across the DVD. I hope you will find this review helpful in gaining the understanding that this is truly a top-notch documentary. An action movie it is not, but it comes close, and there are many adrenaline moments. For a documentary, it is exciting, informative, entertaining, and enlightening, not to mention very well done. The five stars I awarded to this DVD are very well earned.
Description of National Geographic - 21 Days to Baghdad
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