The American Hero Film Series

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5 Technical Specs
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[edit] General Information

War Documentary hosted by James Wallace and Nat Fuller, published by PBS in 1991 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Produced by an independent film production company four World War II documentaries, "Peleliu 1944: Horror in the Pacific," "Pistol Packin' Mama: Missions of a B-17," "Fighting 17: The Jolly Rogers," and "17th Airborne: The Bulge to the Rhine," have received 11 prestigious film awards, including two Telly Awards, two Columbus International Film Festival Awards, and two New York International Film Festival citations. In 1989 Kenwood Productions began producing WWII documentaries as part of a series of films titled The American Hero. The original objective of the company was to produce a series of 13 films (The American Hero Series) documenting, through the use of interviews and archival materials, the combat experience America's World War II soldiers. Ultimately only four films were finished and the interview portions of two additional films were shot, but due to a lack of ongoing funding the remainder of the identified stories were not completed. While disappointed that circumstances prevented the completion of the series, the opportunity to work in each film with five veterans who served and fought together was the experience of a lifetime. From five crew members of a B-17 from the 8th Air Force, to five Navy fighter pilots of the Jolly Rogers squadron, to five members of the 17th Airborne, to five battle-tested Marines of the 1st Marine division, they were to a man remarkable individuals who openly shared their personal stories of combat and service. In recent years with Ken Burns' series "The War" and the Tom Hanks/Stephen Spielberg series "The Pacific" more attention has been brought to what has been called the Greatest Generation. When series was being produced in the late 1980's and early 1990's, there was little public awareness of the WWII vet and their stories. Now that their stories are coming to light production team is proud to have played a small part in capturing some of these stories for posterity.

[edit] Fighting 17: The Jolly Rogers

This is the story of Navy squadron VF-17, the amazing Jolly Rogers. Flying their beloved "Hogs," the F4U-1 Corsair, they cleared the skies of 154 Japanese planes in 76 days of combat over the Solomon Islands. While never losing a bomber to enemy attack, Fighting-17 destroyed the heart of Japanese Fighter Command over Bougainville and Rabaul paving the way for the Allied advance.
As related by the squadron's skipper, Tom Blackburn, and four of his men, the events of 1943-44 are enhanced by splendid film footage, personal photographs, and the memories of those who were there.
This is the true story, the excitement, the agony, humor and sadness of a legendary tour of duty that will never be forgotten as long as men take to the air in combat. Director: Tom Jenz ; 1990 Kenwood Productions, Inc., The American Hero Series

[edit] 17th Airborne: The Bulge to the Rhine

This is the story of an obscure battalion -- the 681st Glider Field Artillery of the . It chronicles five green, young soldiers who thought the war might end before they would see action. Instead, they enter combat on Christmas Day 1944 at the Battle of the Bulge and four months later glide over the Rhine to push forward the inevitable Allied advance. Hear Jack Fisher and four of his buddies as they describe first combat, the bone-chilling cold of a European winter, the constant fear, and the ferocious enemy. This is the personal account of five young men from the 17th Airborne Division, 681st Glider Field Artillery Battalion., B Battery, who went to war on Christmas Day 1944, fighting their way from the Bulge to the Rhine.
Desperate to halt the Allied advance toward the Rhine, Hitler had ordered a massive counterattack through the Ardennes Forest on December 16th, and four German army groups attempted to split the Allied command. As they drove swiftly toward the Belgian port of Antwerp, the Battle of the Bulge began, changing the lives of Sgt. Jack Fisher, Cpl. Carl Arend, Cpl. Stanley Polniak, Sgt. Walter Byrd, and Capt. Robert Harrsch forever. Ordered by Gen. Eisenhower to link up with embattled Allied units and drive the Germans from Belgium, the 17th Airborne was the first entire division flown into combat, and these survivors recount their dramatic story. Director: Howard Dallin ; 1990 Kenwood Productions, Inc., The American Hero Series

[edit] Pistol Packin' Mama: the Missions of a B-17

In Pistol Packin' Mama: Missions of a B-17, five crew members of Betty Boop/Pistol Packin' Mama relate what it was like in the grim early days of daylight bombing. Winner of several film awards and recipient of the Joseph Addison Moller Medal from the 390th Memorial Museum Foundation, this film tells the story of a plane, Pistol Packin' Mama, and its crew – featuring James Geary, Richard Perry, Shirl Hoffman, Gus Mencow, and Clifford Puckett. It traces the crew's story from their enlistment through training through their 25 mission tour, including the missions they flew in the difficult early days of daylight bombing. As members of the 390th Bomb Group, they led their sqaudron, their group, and sometimes the entire 8th Air Force into action.
The life of a bomber crewman is described here as never before... the strain and cold, the fear, the sense of death and loss, the bond of camaraderie. Enhanced by stunning combat footage and photos, this is how it was battling fighters and flak 25,000 feet over Hitler's Third Reich. Director: Tom Jenz ; 1991 Kenwood Productions, Inc., The American Hero Series

[edit] Peleliu 1944: Horror in the Pacific

The men of HBO's The Pacific describe the ferocious battle for Peleliu,"an island on fire." Peleliu 1944: Horror in the Pacific, recipient of 1993 Telly Award and 1992 Columbus International Film Festival Citation as Best Documentary and featuring Eugene (E.B.) Sledge,author of With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, tells the true story of the men of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (K-3-5) and the ferocious Battle of Peleliu, "an island on fire", during World War II in the Pacific Theater.
In conditions that tested the sanity of each man, 9,000 Marines attacked 10,000 battle-hardened Japanese soldiers dug into hundreds of fortified and reinforced coral and limestone caves. 28 days of unrelenting battle with no quarter asked or given. The Marines' goal . . . to kill the enemy before they killed you. The tale of Peleliu as told against a backdrop of archival film footage and photographs by Eugene B. Sledge (author of With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa and featured in Ken Burns' film The War on PBS), Bill Leyden, R.V. Burgin, and Jay de l'Eau (all characterized in the HBO mini-series, The Pacific, March 2010, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, Executive Producers) is as harrowing as any in the history of modern warfare. A battle of total annihilation fought in inhuman conditions. It must never be forgotten. Director: Howard Dallin ; 1991 Kenwood Productions, Inc., The American Hero Series

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Technical Specs

Tech Specs :

Video Codec: x264 CABAC High@L4
Video Bitrate: 2 458 kb/s
Video Resolution: 960x720
Display Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Frames Per Second: 23.976 fps
Audio Codec: AAC (LC)
Audio Bitrate: 126 kb/s VBR 44.1 kHz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: english
RunTime Per Part: 47 min - 59 min
Number Of Parts: 4
Part Size: 880 MB - 1.05 GB
Source: WEB DL
Encoded by: DocFreak08