zkonedog Ken Burns' epic documentary about the Civil War is perhaps the greatest and most all- encompassing history lesson of the North/South conflict that has ever been put on film or page. Not only is every important detail of the war covered (and in such a way that the details are interesting and important, not boring), but two entire episodes are devoted to the build-up and aftermath of the conflict. Essentially, if you were teaching a class on the Civil War, this video is all you would need, as it both conveys the vital information of the war, and does so in a way that doesn't stagnate. In essence, a very tight, well-produced series.The only reason I give this set four stars out of five, though, is that it lacks (althouht through no fault of its own) the emotional punch of Burns' more recent "The War" (World War II) series. Such things as personal interviews and live video could obviously not be obtained from the 1860s, but the reading of letters and still photographs doesn't quite measure up. The best example I can give of this is that while watching the Civil War series I found myself treating it as one extended history class session, while "The War" was almost more of a dramatic event (what with the live interviews and video footage).So, although the Civil War documentary by Ken Burns is a brilliant work of research and cinematography, I can only give it a four-star rating due to its lacks of live video footage or emotionally moving personal interviews. I do, however, strongly recommend this series to anyone wanting to learn a bit more about the most brutal war in United States history. You may not need the tissue box while watching this series (unlike "The War"), but I guarantee you will come away with a much more solid understanding of the events that caused, prolonged, and ended the American Civil War.

Goingbegging No war on earth has generated more literature than the American Civil War, most of the story being familiar to most people. So how do you hold the attention of a mass audience for eleven hours?One way is to involve Shelby Foote, who wrote the 3000-page history that will surely never be supplanted as the definitive account of the conflict. Foote manages to look and sound unlike any other Mississippian of 70-plus, despite the authentic Deep South accent. He always said he didn't want to be just another Lost Cause apologist, and he is certainly anything but that. He manages to exude a profound knowledge of this vast subject, edged with creative insight, humour and a unique whimsical charm.As in his book, themes are the key - how to maintain a long narrative thread, with the main events in sequence, but without making it feel like a series of tutorials. Instead of just marching forward, it manages to dance. Dozens of themes glide past each other, some of them major topics like Conscription or the Siege of Petersburg, others quite minor, like home-made hooch or the mysterious 'acoustic shadow' that could make a battle inaudible to troops in the next valley. Like any old soldier, I can connect with the front-line joke about Tullahoma. It comes from two ancient Greek words. One means mud. The other means more mud! And I like the jibe about the beleaguered Confederate President Davis: by the end, he was presiding over a Confederacy of the mind.The spoken quotations from generals and politicians, or from letters and diaries, can seem like rather a conventional treatment - until you start to notice the unusually high quality of speech. These are actually some of the world's most famous actors, as listed in the last frame, if you ever get there. But certainly too conventional is the musical track - same old tunes over and over, all too loud and distracting, and some of the recordings distinctly wobbly.As the slaves' view of the war is emphasised more than usual, I was surprised there was nothing on how the Native Americans felt about it too. And there were some rather odd disembodied statements that didn't seem to relate to anything before or after, as well as some quite unnecessary reminders of what was happening in the rest of the world in each of these years. The historian Ed Bearss seems to think he's in a horror-film, with his strange posture and weird hand-signals, curiously lit as well. His glamorous Afro-American counterpart Barbara Fields appears to carry conviction until she declares that the civil war is not over yet - not while some people live in houses and others on the street. Oh dear, just another PC indoctrinaire after all.Finally, don't miss the diaries of Mary Chesnut, far more sensitive and insightful than you would expect from a fashionable lady of South Carolina. And a clip from the 75th anniversary reunion of Gettysburg veterans (1938, and with sound) is a startling piece of theatre, right there on the battlefield, though I can't help wondering if there might be a few sly gatecrashers among all those fine old boys with their brave white moustaches and rebel yells.

suaheli What a marvellous documentary, which I had the pleasure to watch in German TV afternoon after afternoon due to my vacation leave. Nowadays here at least historical events are presented with historical photos/movie clips which are added to by awfully staged scenes by mediocre actors, mostly even dubbed because these scenes are shot in Rumania or the likes (no offence).This production here is simply breathtaking. No staged scenes just heartbreaking photographs of all these young people, staring confidently, sometimes a little fright is visible, into a camera. Add to this the letters being read - in German in my case, by marvellous contributors - it makes you feel like being there and rooting for Elisha Rhodes and Mary Chesnut and all their contemporaries. I as a German never learned f all about the Civil war but was fortunate to have a Dad who was fascinated by all things American, the liberators for a young soldier who was drafted at 18 to do the Russian campaign. Should there ever be a documentary about these boys, I'd proudly present a little tin cigarette case which dad received from a Russian POW, made from a tin plate, the upper side shows a tank and war planes, the other side shows a little peaceful house with birds. All made by use of a fork and as a gift for bread being smuggled in by dad, Breslau it reads. This drifting towards an other war just goes to tell how many heartbreaking stories have to be told. And the Ken Burns documentary is epic and wonderful by showing the faces of war, the voices of war. Could you imagine photographs of dead soldiers, some unimaginably mutilated in our days? Unimaginable. We today have clean wars, you get the numbers of deads but are spared the pictures. This documentary made me shed so many tears, war is hell (Sherman) and so many stories are still untold. War is hell indeed. And should be shown as such. Where is the documentary about letters, unsufferable pictures and such about nowadays wars? Unbelievable, but the two last centuries dealt with war much more honest than today when we are sold for in these days of internet and all around "information".Watch it.

Matthew Kresal History, and the major events within it, can be hard to get across at times to those who either don't know about it or didn't live through it. Especially when you are trying to get across a conflict that lasted four years, had its roots in the very foundation of the country, cost hundreds of thousands of lives and whose repressions can be felt to this very day. That conflict would be the Civil War and in the eleven hours that this documentary series covers, history comes across very well. In that time, director Ken Burns creates on a large canvas a fascinating real-life story that is both epic and yet personal.One of the great things about the series is that while it tells an epic story, it is a story that is personal story nonetheless thanks to the voice work and interviews. Burns choice of actors is virtually perfect in casting voices to the real people who wrote the words. Sam Waterston is a perfect Abraham Lincoln and his rendition of Lincoln's most famous speeches (the Gettysburg Address and the second inaugural address) are beautifully done. There's also fine work from Jason Robards as Ulysses S. Grant, Morgan Freeman as Fredrick Douglas, noted playwright Arthur Miller as General Sherman and George Black as Robert E. Lee amongst others. There's also the work of Derek Jacobi and Jeremy Irons as various voices throughout, especially Irons when he reads the article from the New York Times on Matthew Brady images of Antietam. Last not least is the narration of historian David McCullough who leads the viewer through the journey across the war that changed the United States forever. Outside of the voice work for a moment there are the interviews with historians and in particular Shelby Foote who relates not only facts but the personal stories of those who fought the battles and lived through the war. Foote also reads the occasional piece as well including two fantastic pieces in the last episode that help to sum up the entire series brilliantly. Together, they form the personal connection to an epic story from our past.On the other side of the equation is the epic tapestry that are the events of the war. Burns and his team take years of building tensions, four years of war and the aftermath and successfully condense it all into eleven hours and nine episodes. Burns use of archive photographs, when combined with the use of sound effects, help to bring to life not only the battles but the political maneuverings, the home lives of civilians and the like for example. Burns also makes fine use of paintings and drawings made at the time and afterwords to help illustrate battles where, due to the photographic technology at the time, there are no photographs such as the first Ironclad battle for example. There is also some fine use of newly filmed footage which, even if a field of battle is now empty, help to illustrate the sites where the battles took place. Plus there are moments, such as the corn fields at Antietam if my memory serves correctly, that help put the viewer into the point of view of those who fought the battles. All of these help to portray the epic scale of the Civil War.Last but not least is the music used in the series. In particular is the use of Ashokan Farewell, a modern piece that nonetheless beautifully fits not only the period but the underlying tragedy of the war. In particular the use of the piece to underscore the letter by soldier Sullivan Ballou, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the story behind the founding of Arlington National Cemetery and Foote's reading in the last minutes of the final episode make those poignant word all the more emotional. There are also beautiful versions of We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder and Battle Cry of Freedom as well. But perhaps the most moving piece, besides Ashokan Farewell, is a heartbreaking version of Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier which in musical form illustrates the sense of loss felt by those who fought, died and lost family and comrades in the war. The music, both of the era and afterwords, brings the viewer to the era and adds an incredible emotional power to the entire series as well.Ken Burns massive documentary The Civil War is, at is heart, everything a great documentary should be. It features fine readings by fine actors, great interviews, fine use of images in the form of photographs and paintings, the use of newly filmed footage and the use of incredible and at times heartbreaking pieces of music. Together all of these elements succeed in doing that is truly rare of a documentary or any film telling of history for that matter: history comes alive again.