Others say...

"The War of 1812: A load of tripe and a waste of time!"
This series is a huge waste of time and money. Here are some true facts: The War of 1812 was fought across a large part of Eastern North America and many common people lost their property and lives in a range of brutal ways. A sizeable portion of Washington D.C was and ransacked and burned by a combined British and Canadian Army after the U.S. Army fled in panic. The "glorious" Battle of New Orleans was actually fought after the end of hostilities (the combatants had not yet heard that the war was over). NO NATION WON THIS WAR, since at the end, all captured lands were returned to the original owners. So, where's the glory? The War of 1812 was legalized murder and anarchy and this film is pure patriotic spin. It's "history" for uneducated masses, and definitely not accurate.

" The forgotten war"
An excellent presentation on the "forgotten war" of 1812, with lots of background information, a very interesting and not so common view of Andrew Jackson, and some interesting material on Francis Scott Key and the Star Spangled Banner. A very, very informative and entertaining presentation of a more or less ignored period of our history.

"War of 1812"
Had this been a one disc set, the review here would have been much better. Instead this set is a jumble of clips compiled into a rather peculiar set. First and foremost is the film entitled "The Invasion" which is a good account of the war. Viewers who are familiar with the War of 1812 will be disappointed as it has its limitations. Those who are discovering this war for the first time will find it informative. Granted, there are aspects of the war that are overlooked (military personalities, the Great Lakes battles) but by and large it is a good "high school caliber" documentary. I do agree with others who say the person portraying James Madison is ridiculously cast. Where they found this unemployed linebacker is beyond any comprehension of who Madison was (especially since the narrator described him as small in stature but large in intellect).

As said, if the program ended here it would have been adequate (but would not have justified the price). So mini documentaries on the Star Spangled Banner, the Battle of New Orleans, and inronclad ships also made their way into the package. OK the Battle of New Orleans segment was very good. The Star Spangled Banner piece was at least time period appropriate, but the ironclads film was way off the mark. Ironclads had no role in 1812, so why include it in the program? This piece of editing more or less flaws the entire set and leaves the historian wondering what is going on?

For my money I would have preferred The Invasion and the Battle of New Orleans as they are the most fitting and do the subject the most justice. The others were fill-ins and should have been left out. Clearly the producer had no historical knowledge of what he was trying to assemble.

"Really fun overview of the War of 1812"
I personally enjoyed this DVD FAR more than I thought I would. It served as a good refresher and I did learn some things I was previously unaware of as well. It was quite entertaining and enjoyable to watch. It was well worth the low price I paid for it and is a worthy addition to my video history library.

"Less for More Sometimes Better than More for Less"
The War of 1812, a two-DVD set by The History Channel, is overall a disappointment. The bonus program called "Behind The Scenes of First Invasion: The War of 1812" in Volume I does not add anything significant to the satisfactory narration of "First Invasion: The War of 1812." Most viewers probably do not have too much interest in knowing how The History Channel produces "First Invasion: The War of 1812." The bonus program looks like a filler. Volume II contains a program about "The Ironclads" that pertains to the Civil War, not to the War of 1812. Finally, the same volume contains another bonus program called "Surviving an 1812 Battleship" that is at best of marginal value. To summarize, The War of 1812 can best be forgotten due to its lack of value to history lovers.