World War Two: The War on the American Homefront: Overview and Introduction

When December 7, 1941, dawned in Hawaii, no one expected that by the end of the day, the U.S. Pacific Fleet would lie in ruins and the United States would be at war. That morning, in just over an hour and a half, the planes of the Japanese First Carrier Striking Force sank or severely damaged 18 American warships lying at anchor at the Pearl Harbor naval base on the island of Oahu. This single air raid on a single morning altered the history of the United States and forever changed the way Americans thought about the world. The Attack on Pearl Harbor: The United States Enters World War II examines the history leading up to the attack, the specifics of the raid itself, and the consequences of what then-president Franklin Delano Roosevelt called “a date which will live in infamy.”

Producer-director Ken Burns and frequent collaborator Lynn Novick -- they shared an Emmy for Baseball in 1994 -- explore the stories of the Greatest Generation in this epic documentary film. Vivid eyewitness accounts of the harrowing realities of life on the front lines during World War II intertwine with recollections of Americans who remained at home and did their best to carry on with life as usual while their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons were overseas. Reminiscent in scope and power of Burns's landmark series The Civil War, The War focuses on the stories of citizens in four geographically distributed and quintessentially American towns: Waterbury, Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; and the tiny farming town of Luverne, Minnesota. In addition to narration by Keith David, The War features readings by Tom Hanks, Josh Lucas, Samuel L. Jackson, Adam Arkin, and others. Extras exclusive to this DVD presentation include: "Making The War"; deleted scenes; commentary by Burns and Novick; interview outtakes that expand stories told by Quentin Aanenson, Daniel Inouye, Paul Fussell, Katherine Phillips-Singer, and others; biographies, including now-and-then photos of participants in the series; and educational resources.

The postwar classic The Best Years of Our Lives, based on a novel in verse by MacKinlay Kantor about the difficult readjustments of returning World War II veterans, tells the intertwined homecoming stories of ex-sergeant Al Stephenson (Fredric March), former bombadier Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), and sailor Homer Parrish (Harold Russell). Having rubbed shoulders with blue-collar Joes for the first time in his life, Al finds it difficult to return to a banker's high-finance mindset, and he shocks his co-workers with a plan to provide no-collateral loans to veterans. Meanwhile, Al's children (Teresa Wright and Michael Hall) have virtually grown up in his absence. Fred discovers that his wartime heroics don't count for much in the postwar marketplace, and he finds himself unwillingly returning to his prewar job as a soda jerk. His wife (Virginia Mayo), expecting a thrilling marriage to a glamorous flyboy, is bored and embittered by her husband's inability to advance himself, and she begins living irresponsibly, like a showgirl. Homer has lost both of his hands in combat and has been fitted with hooks; although his family and his fiancée (Cathy O'Donnell) adjust to his wartime handicap, he finds it more difficult. Profoundly relevant in 1946, the film still offers a surprisingly intricate and ambivalent exploration of American daily life; and it features landmark deep-focus cinematography from Gregg Toland, who also shot Citizen Kane. The film won Oscars for, among others, Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for March, and Best Supporting Actor for Harold Russell, a real-life double amputee whose hands had been blown off in a training accident.

David O. Selznick's epic wartime soap opera drama Since You Went Away (1944), directed by John Cromwell, was promised on laserdisc in the late '80s and was then canceled. And early in the DVD era of the late '90s, it was promised from Anchor Bay entertainment -- and was again canceled. So it was a pleasant surprise when MGM/UA, which acquired the Selznick library in 2003, promised us Since You Went Away and actually delivered it in October 2004, just in time for its 60th anniversary. The 177-minute movie is well mastered here in a rich, full-screen (1.33:1) image that looks slightly better than the best television showings that the movie received in the '60s and '70s (it was a holiday favorite for decades on TV, not only because its subject matter was endearing to audiences who remembered the war, but its nearly three-hour running time [not counting commercials] made it beloved to television station programmers who could cover a whole afternoon's airtime by scheduling it). It was also a favorite of Jennifer Jones fans. Jones was allowed to achieve womanhood in this film, and her first appearance onscreen, just seconds short of ten minutes into the movie, is the visual embodiment of spirited girlhood on the edge of marriageability. On the big screen, it was enough to stop the hearts (for one beat) of any male under the age of 85, and it's pretty impressive here, too, even if it is reduced in size and scope. And the glittering black-and-white image generally looks as good as any movie of its vintage issued to date on DVD. The 177-minute movie has been given a paltry 16 chapters, but otherwise is pretty well treated with optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. The volume level is pitched just right with excellent fidelity, and the movie even includes the full five-minute overture, which had disappeared from theatrical showings and was never used in television presentations. The disc opens automatically to a simple, easy-to-use menu offering "play," "chapter selection," and "Subtitle" options.