The A&E Adventure Collection – DVD Review

By June L. Nov 20, 2008, 13:25 GMT

The action and excitement doesn t get any better than this: THE ADVENTURE FILMS COLLECTION, a 12-part DVD set, dramatically brings to life some of the most fascinating and courageous individuals in all of history and literature. In these six sumptuous, feature-length A&E favorites Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor, Horatio Hornblower, Longitude, The Lost Battalion, Napoleon, and Shackleton flesh-and-blood characters use their spirit, curiosity, derring-do, and cleverness to battle ...more

Are you an armchair explorer?  Do you love stories from the past about great missions of discovery?  If so, then A&E’s The Adventure Collection is your passport to thrills and excitement associated with man’s quest to expand his horizons. 

Beginning with four of the Horatio Horblower adventures, take to the high seas during the time of the Napoleonic Wars.  Ioan Gryffudd stars as the young midshipman whose early days in the Royal Navy are hounded by s fellow midshipman in The Duel, fights the Spanish in The Fire Ships, captures a French ship in The Duchess and The Devil, and finally questions what he is ordered to do in the adventure The Wrong War. 

Bonus features for these adventures include information on author C. S. Forster, creator of the legendary Hornblower series of novels, and a Behind the Scenes featurette on the Making of Horatio Hornblower as a series of adventures for television.

Next watch Longitude which tells the story of eighteenth century watchmaker John Harrison who was able to deduce how to measure longitude at sea, and then how World War I officer Rupert Gould makes it his mission to bring to light the work of this navigation genius.  A special is included about the behind the scenes of this program.

The life of Napoleon is our next feature.  Beginning with his marriage to the beautiful and powerful Josephine de Haeauharnais, viewers follow his life and rise to Emperor to his bitter defeat at Waterloo. 

Bonus features for Napoleon include a 2 hour program Napoleon and Wellington, a behind the scenes featurette and BIOGRAPHY Napoleon Bonaparte: The Glory of France.

Shackleton’s expedition to Antartica in 1914 was adventurous and full of more danger and hardships than anyone could have guessed.  Presented in anamorphic widescreen, this is a breathtaking look at the terrible beauty of polar exploration. 

Special features include a making of featurette, BIOGRAPHY Ernest Shackleton: Looking South, Antarctica” A Frozen History, and Kenneth Branagh biography/filmography.

The Lost Battalion is a story of World War I.  In the last weeks of combat, the 308th Battalion became surrounded by German troops.  Cut off from any supplies, food and water, Major Charles Whittlesey and his men held off the enemy for five days, until rescue forces could reach them. 

This courageous and seemingly impossible action earned Maj. Whittlesey the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Bonus features for this production inclue Dear Home:  Letters from WWI, and Rick Schroder biography/filmography.

Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor is the final selection of the Adventure Collection.  Aidan Quinn stars and the man who is remembered as America’s first traitor.  In this story Arnold’s life is examined to reveal that it was a difficult decision, and that he was a man making a tough choice between his nation and his feelings. 

Bonus Features  included BIOGRAPHY Benedict Arnold: Triumph and Treason, Behind the Scens Featurette, Aidan Quinn biography/filmography, Kelsey Grammer biography/filmography.

These adventures are presented on 14 discs with a playing time of over 28 hours.  They are nicely cased in a foldout box, with program notes for each feature printed on the dividers. 

This is perfect collection for those who appreciate courage and daring, and enjoy a good story about times past.

The A&E Adventure Collection is now available at Amazon. As of yet, this collection is not available in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.