Guadalcanal: The Island Of Death

Outstanding!
This is a spectacular documentary on Guadalcanal. It is the 2 disc version of the Timeless Media Group's Guadalcanal - Island of Death Documentary. There is a one disc version which has 9 reviews. This one has the wrong pubisher listed on the Amazon description which is why it might not get the proper attention it deserves.

It is nearly 4 hours (230 minutes) in length and does a specatacular job of telling the story. It contains commentary from 3 different historians and several veterans of the battle. It does a great job of highighting the ships lost in the various naval engagements. It does a nice job of comparing the aircraft involved. It uses computer animated maps to show troop movements for the major battles.

Here are the chapters on the two discs.

DISC 1
day of infamy* (does not appear on the one disc version of this video)
the rising sun* (does not appear on the one disc version of this video)
the coral sea* (does not appear...

Good history lesson
Good video, has good set up, i.e. battles before Guadalcanal. Covers all the sea battles around the island, Salvo island etc. Covers the Cactus air force and their air battles.

It Could Have Been Better
This production does have some interesting facts it presents, such as how the Navy Department tackled logistic problems and ship reinforcement during the first six months of the Japan-USA war, and the fact that other carrier based raids were carried out against the Japanese in the western Pacific during the period of the Dolittle raid on Tokyo. Food poisoning our Marines and sailors came down with when they were fed spoiled chicken (green meat)during the voyage from California to New Zealand, which is disgracefull.

But there are problems. First, one of the historians they interview is given to exageration, such as statements he made regarding the Battle of the Coral Sea. He states correctly that this was the first carrier vs. carrier battle in naval history, and the first naval battle in which neither fleet's ships sighted each other from on deck. But then, as if to confirm or emphasize these points, he states that only the carriers were engaged in the combat. Well, this is...

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