Bringing one of the best war action features to the screen on DVD, the television series Combat! proves to have longevity. The show that ran from 1962 to its finale in 1967 was well acted and directed gathering a huge following of faithful fans. The DVD set has all 25 episodes on 8 discs and includes interesting commentaries as one of the special bonus features.
The drama follows Vic Morrow as Sgt. “Chip” Saunders and Rick Jason as 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley as they lead their men into battle against the Germans in Europe during World War II. Famous battles are featured in Europe where the soldiers of their unit fight their way fearlessly overtaking incredible odds. The action hardly stops before taking on another mission into the mud and rough terrain avoiding snipers while fighting off Nazi troops.
The show had excellent guest stars including notables Bill Bixby who went on to be The Incredible Hulk, Claude Akins in Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider), Ricardo Montalban (Star Trek), Robert Duvall (The Godfather), Sal Mineo (Rebel Without a Cause), Telly Savalas (The Dirty Dozen) and Wayne Rogers (M*A*S*H). The Combat! series was touted as one of the best War Dramas on Television ever and works as a historical feature as well.
The DVD has all 25 shows in the last season of the TV Series. The final episodes are some of the best ever produced and include: The Gun, The Losers, Chapel at Able-Five, The Letter, Conflict, A Child’s Game, The Brothers, The Furlough, Cry for Help, Ollie Joe, Gadjo, Headcount, Anniversary, The Outsider, Nightmare on the Red Bull Run, Gulliver, Decision, The Gantlet, Entombed, The Bankroll, The Masquers, Encounter, A Little Jazz, The Partisan and Jonah.
The presentation is very good considering the show was one of the forerunners of color film for television. Unable to convert to Widescreen, it features the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio that works perfectly for square televisions. If you have a 16×9 HD TV you may get better reception but you’ll have to live with the box style presentation. The color comes across fairly well adding a nice touch to the war stories, but the black and white earlier seasons have a bit more nostalgia.
The sound quality is very good with the Dolby Digital 1.0 and dialogue can be heard well enough to understand. The special effects sound from the guns and cannons are loud and clear. I did notice some distortion during some of the action scenes, but nothing that would distract too much.
There are a few bonus features, but that’s not why you would purchase the DVD set. The stories and the fine acting make the series work and enjoyable to watch. The set does have the following special bonuses:
- “Commentary by Warren Stevens who talks about The Gun in which he plays Sgt. Hagan and Conlan Carter who gives an overview of “Cry for Help” where he plays Doc. Carter played Doc in 68 episodes of Combat!”
- “Oddities and Bloopers”
- “Photo Gallery”
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Vic Morrow, Rick Jason, Pierre Jalbert, Jack Hogan, Dick Peabody, Bill Bixby, Claude Akins, Dennis Hopper, Ricardo Montalban, Robert Duvall, Sal Mineo, Telly Savalas, Wayne Rogers
Directed by: Bernard McEveety, Georg Fenady, Michael Caffey
MPAA Rating:
Genre: War Drama
Running Time: 1275 min
Video Release Date: August 13, 2013
Original TV Release Date:1967
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 1.0
Video: Aspect Ratio 1.33:1, Color
Subtitles: none
Number of Discs: 8 Discs, 25 Episodes
Distributed by: Image Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
