Rating: 
Summary: The birth of the modern television documentary
Review: Ken Burn's THE CIVIL WAR was a watershed moment in the history of television documentary. The influence of this series can hardly be overstated, with a horde of documentaries on PBS and The History Channel adopting many of the techniques that Burn's mastered here. When the series was first broadcast on PBS in 1990, I was utterly enchanted--along with millions of others--with the unique blend of narration by David McCullough, archival photographs combined with contemporary location shots, lines from famous individuals read by professional actors and other celebrities, sound effects, commentary by professional historians, and beautiful music that contained just a touch of melancholy. I had never seen anything like it, and the only things I have seen like it since have shamelessly imitated it.The DVDs not only provide a superior copy of the original series, but also contain a number of excellent features, including additional interviews and a wealth of other goodies. I had rewatched much of the series on video, but I found the color somewhat off. The DVD is a great improvement. There are so many things to praise about this series. It isn't perfect, and not all will agree with the emphases. The interpretation follows fairly consistently that of James McPherson and Shelby Foote who saw slavery as the root cause of the war, unlike previous generations of historians who out of a respect to Southerners (I'm a Southerner, for the record, though I now live in Chicago) de-emphasized slavery and identified the cause of the war more with states's rights than slavery. But what can't be argued is the brilliantly vivid way that Burns and his collaborators manage to bring back to life a time long past. There are countless photographs and not just those by "Matthew Brady" (most of the photographs attributed to Brady where taken by his assistants, primarily Alexander Gardner, who deserves the reputation that Brady has), but from all over the United States. All the disparate elements are blended seamlessly to produce a nearly unblemished surface. The quality of the voice-overs was, at the time of this series release, utterly unprecedented. A host of well-known individuals were used in the readings, but the principle ones were Sam Waterson as Abraham Lincoln, Julie Harris as Mary Chestnut, Jason Robards as Ulysses S. Grant, Morgan Freeman as Frederick Douglas, Garrison Keillor as Walt Whitman, journalist Charley McDowell as Private Sam Watkins, George Plimpton as George Templeton Strong, and a host of others. My favorite may be playwright Arthur Miller, who marvelously provides the gruff voice for the remarkable statements by William Tecumseh Sherman. But despite all this excellence, one person managed to steal the whole show: Shelby Foote. It is simply shocking that amidst all these riches that many of the greatest moments of the show consisted of a lone Southern historian reflecting on the meaning of the war. Foote, although well known for his monumental narrative history of the war, was more or less an unknown. But the series made him a media star, a role that he refused to take on or exploit. Of the ten greatest moments on the series, perhaps seven of them involve Foote, whether explaining that the Civil War was the central event of American history, that it made us a nation (before the war people would say "the United States are" but afterwards they say "the United States is"), or eloquently talking of the brilliance of Nathan Bedford Forrest, or stating that Gettysburg was the cost the South had to pay for having Robert E. Lee lead the Army of Northern Virginia. He was partly his Southern drawl, partly his remarkable ability to distilling a point to its essence, and partly his mastery of words. The great thing about this series is that even if you have read such classics as Douglas Southall Freeman's LEE'S LIEUTENANTS and his four-volume biography of Lee, McPherson's BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM, and Foote's THE CIVIL WAR, Burn's documentary will make the war come alive in a completely new and exciting way. This set will therefore be essential viewing for all serious students of the Civil War, as well as nearly anyone even remotely curious about American history, or, for that matter, great television.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Civil War Miniseries
Review: Ken Burns makes the Civil War come alive with this series. He uses still photos, but moves the camera over the photos to give the illusion of movement. Combining this with film of reenactments and the voices of writers and actors, he helps us understand what the Civil War was all about. Shelby Foote is featured in the series, and he's worth the cost of the set. His trilogy of Civil War books might be the best history of the war ever written, and to hear him tell the stories was a real treat. Burns uses the music popular at the time; the voices of actors, quoting the participants in the war; sound effects; still photos and sketches; stories told by historians and some reenactment film to tell the story of this bloody war. He includes some amazing statistics, letters and exerpts from diaries written at the time and other quotes to tell the story.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterwork of Historical Documentary
Review: I've added a clause to my will stipulating that my son be asked to watch this complete series. Truly conveys the emotional power of the civil war experience and the towering leadership demonstrated by Abraham Lincoln to hold this noble experiement together. Should be required viewing for any congressional or presidential candidate.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is a great documentary on the Civil War. It is by no means all inclusive, but for the average individual, all they will ever need to know. I would recommend the companion book along with it. It does have some mild undertones of today's general and liberal beliefs laced into it, ie.it seems to be impossible for 20th and 21th century people to completely understand that people actually had different beliefs and idea in centuries gone by, but it is to be expected any more and doesn't hurt the final result.
Rating:
Summary: Both brilliant and ground-breaking
Review: I was in college when "The Civil War" first aired, and I remember wishing that Ken Burns could have made a documentary for every one of my history courses. I love history, and I love documentaries. This is the perfect combination. Burns has captured the epic nature of the War Between the States without pandering to a popular understanding of the events or spinning the facts, despite what detractors have said in certain reviews. Burns presents historical documents and personal correspondence with dignity and respect, but above all with power. It may not tell the complete story of the war but it comes closer than anything else I have ever seen or read. As for documentary filmmaking, it will always be recorded as either "pre-Burns" or "post-Burns." This project has had that profound of an impact on the way documentary films are made, even to this day. This series is at the top of a very short list of films I will revisit regularly for years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: A Love/Hate Relationship
Review: If Ken Burns could have let go of his preconceived notions and politics before making this epic documentary, it would've easily earned five stars from me. But he didn't, thus the three star rating. There is so much good to be said about this film. When dealing with the common soldier in the ranks, Burns is dead-on. You really get to identify with the boys of '61, who in my opinion deserve the title of "The Greatest Generation". The civilian side is told adequately as well. The problem is that both of these stories suffer because of the constant attention paid to slavery. While Burns could have spent more time delving into the miltary strategies that affected how the war was fought and won, he told us instead what Frederick Douglass had for breakfast on any given day. Instead of utilizing such experts in the field as Gary Gallagher and Robert K. Krick, we get instead pseudo-historian and certified idiot Barbara Fields who spews inaccuracies and Black Panther politics quicker than a jackrabbit on a date. This will cause a lot of annoyed fast-forwarding for those in the know. There are also rare occasions where Burns just blatantly lies, apparently to see how much he can get away with. In one scene it is said that Stonewall Jackson was "a cold-blooded killer" and that his soldiers "only followed him because he gave them victories." This is akin to saying that the Holocaust never happened. It's THAT ridiculously stupid and just as equally untrue. So, in conclusion, Burns is at the height of his form when revealing the emotional aspects and motivations of the war (you WILL cry during the Sullivan Ballou letter -- I promise). His main weakness is in injecting his liberal politics and reverse-racism into what would otherwise be the best documentary ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Best Documentray of the Civil War EVER!!!
Review: If you have not seen this, see it. Becuase once you see it, you will want to own it, and then own a bunch of other Ken Burn's stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Look Away!
Review: I'm not entirely sure if even Ken Burns knew exactly how successful a series he had made when he produced this. It took longer to make this series than it did for the Civil War to come and go - and it shows. Burns and the enormous amount of people who worked on this series certainly did their research. The story starts in the 1850's, explaining the slavery versus free states issues and concentrating on 'bleeding' Kansas. The catalysts of war are explored, everything from growing disparity between north and south to the redoutable John Brown. Burns then takes us from battle to battle, skirmish to skirmish, switching sides then switching back again. Expert analysis is provided by a number of 'talking head' historians, the best of which is Shelby Foote, who seems to have a genius for making the most ordinary story sound interesting and occasionally comical. And so it goes on. We follow Union and Confederate privates, listen to diary entries from concerned civilians and listen to battle plans being discussed by Generals of both sides. Pertinent facts are fed to the viewers by the deadpan narration. A nice touch is that, although we move from State to State throughout the 4 year war, Burns keeps us in touch with an ordinary soldier from each side, and we therefore have their view of the war from the start right to the very end. The DVD is packed with extras, including a very interesting documentary on making the documentary. A great starting point for anyone interested in this conflict, or understanding this country.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Ken Burns does a thorough job of presenting the causes and the facts surounding the civil war. Only thing I disagree with is that slavery was not the main cause of the civil war. There were other factors involved as well. Ken Burns set the standard that would be used in all of his future documentaries by using pictures and expert interviews. One contributor was historian Shelby Foote who gave expert information sourounding the civil war. This documentary does an excellent job in describing a very traumatic part of our American history. Ken Burns took the civil war from the cold pages of the history book and presented it as a human drama in which ordinary men were placed in circumstances that were beyond their control.
Rating:
Summary: Very good but limited
Review: For what is included, this documentary is awesome! The music is great, the stories by historians and authors, especially Shelby Foote, are wonderful, and the images are often haunting. My big problem with this, however, is the limited scope. Considering the length, I was expecting so much more. After watching this long documentary, one would believe that Americans fought each other in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvannia over whether or not to free the slaves. For shame! The civil war is so much more. Burns focuses primarily on the Armies of the Potomac and Northern Virginia, while in reality the war was won in the west. Battles of the east were the biggest in terms of numbers but the battles in the west, discussed but practically ignored, were more important. Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and Atlanta are in there, but not given their proper due. Not a word is said about battles west of the Mississippi, the complicated issues of European involvement are ignored, the importance of blockade-running dismmissed, technological advanced glossed over, anti-war movements in North and South forgotten, and the causes of the war are treated with all the complexity of a fourth grade book report. Any cause not not DIRECTLY related to the abolition movement is completely ignored (but what would you expect from PBS). That all being said, I really enjoy watching this dvd. I just remember that it is VERY imcomplete
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