The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns

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Summary: The definitive U.S. Civil War documentary
Review: Ken Burns' eleven-hour epic brilliantly captures the tragedy of the American Civil War through folksy historians, celebrity voice-overs, searing photography, and the eloquent letters and diaries of everyday soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict.

It has been said often enough that to truly understand the American spirit, one must study the U.S. Civil War. In a four-year microcosm, the war summed up all the best in the United States. Namely, the abolition of race-based chattel slavery, the vindication of democracy in a republican form of goverment in an era dominated by European monarchs, the incredible bravery of the Union and Confederate soldiers, and the sheer political and intellectual brilliance of men like Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Likewise, the war also displayed some of America's worst characteristics: the vicious 1863 Draft Riots in New York City, the draft exemptions for the rich--both North and South, the 1864 massacre of 300 black Union soldiers by the Confederate army (and Robert E. Lee's refusal to stop similar racist carnage in the future), and Sherman's brutal campaign against civilians in Georgia and South Carolina.

In eleven, sprawling hours, Burns and writer Geoffrey C. Ward capture the essence of the war and of the American spirit, and how the war united the country, but yet still divides it. This is no small feat, and Burns' documentary is truly magnificent.

That being said, Burns focuses just a little too much on slavery being the cause of the war (it wasn't). The real cause was federal power versus state power. Simply put, the South didn't think the North had any right to tell it what to do--and was convinced that the federal government was a stooge for Northern interests. If you don't believe me, look to the fact that the U.S. nearly had a civil war over tariffs in the 1830s. Ken Burns conveniently didn't put THAT in his documentary, but liberty and human freedom undoubtedly make a more compelling story than how much in tax you can charge to imported goods from France. However, in all fairness, slavery (as well as Lincoln's election in 1860) was the straw the broke the camel's back (so to speak) and it was the preeminent moral and political issue of the mid-19th Century in America.

The DVD extras are somewhat insightful. Ken Burns himself comes across as a stale personality and isn't very interesting. George Will calls the war "the greatest war in history". Not true, I think the Persian Wars, Punic Wars, 30 Years War, Napoleonic Wars and World Wars I and II all outrank our civil war, but it's interesting fuel for debate. The best interview is Stanley Crouch of the "New York Daily News" who gives a very candid view on the war and why Robert E. Lee is "overrated".

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Summary: The most gripping modern documentary
Review: Ken Burns triumphs in this major work of documentary and cinematic art. A horrifying topic, enormous in scope and scale, is presented in an exciting and interesting way with a commentary which is dramatic in its style and timbre. The most expert and the totally ignorant will find this series compelling, dynamic and always interesting, from a variety of angles. The quality of production, the range of source material, the historical detail and the dynamic narration make this a feast of discovery and awesome wonder.

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Summary: Defective manufacture
Review: The Ken Burns documentary of the Civil War must be the best undertaking of its kind ever. Unfortunately, the manufacturer of the DVDs seems to have added an intermittant wobble throughout the entire series making it unwatchable. I checked my dvd player and it is sound. I returned one shipment only to find that its replacement was just as bad. This is very disappointing since I'd love to have had this series on dvd. I wonder if others are experiencing this problem.

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Summary: A monumental creation to a monumental war...
Review: It's hard to believe that this epic documentary on America's greatest defining war is more than ten years old now. Back in th early 90's, I don't think Americans were quite prepared for the deep and lasting impact that Ken Burn's "The Civil War" would have on them and on our nation. The impact returns, it all of its amazing glory, in the reissue of it on DVD.

Watching this is like revisiting an old friend, and meeting a new one. To hear the familiar strains of the "Ashokan Farewell", to listen to the wise words of Shelby Foote and Barbara Fields, to see the old, worn photographs forever burned into our collective conscious, brings back all the old feelings I had upon first viewing. But it's also new. The "cleaned up", restored version of the series looks amazing. The interviews look pristine, as if they were just filmed yesterday. The soundtrack stunning, rich and deep. The work they put into this restoration is well worth it.

Ken Burns work set the highwater mark for future documentaries. If you take a look at documentaries done since "The Civil War", many of them copied his photograph, narration format that was so revolutionary at the time. Rightfully so, this series will be the benchmark for all future documentaries to come!

So sit back, and enjoy Ken Burns' gift to America, a recounting of the Civil War, a recounting of the second birth of our nation.

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Summary: Content aside, what's up with the jumpy DVD picture?
Review: I'm only part way through the first disc and enjoying it except for one very annoying aspect... the picture jumps on the screen. Does the VHS version do this? A friend of mine also bought the DVDs and complains of this too, so it's not just my system. I expect more from a DVD version.

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Summary: What television should be
Review: This is the best example of what television should be. Captivating, lucid and excellent are adjectives I would use to describe this view of the Civil War. The visual motif is interspersed with snippets of interviews and quotes from primary sources played over period photographs. The narrative is intelligent and thoughtful.

I highly recommend this documentary.

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Summary: GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT!
Review: After years of hearing about this Ken Burns documentary, I finally sat and watched the eleven-hour documentary. To say the least, I was a bit dissapointed. Even though it was extremely stirring in many scenes, it was terribly one-sided. I hated the issue of slavery, and thank God that slavery was abolished, but it was not the main reason that this war was fought. I believe that if the south had won the war, that slavery would've been abolished within a decade because there was a chance that Lee, who also hated slavery, would've been elected president of the Confederacy. The line "Robert E. Lee, who did not believe in slavery or secession, would end up defending both" enraged me. He was not fighting for slavery OR the confederacy, but fought in defense of his home state of Virginia. If you like an emotional experience, then buy this film. But if you want to hear the story of the REAL Civil War, then check out the documentary "Civil War Combat" and the films "Gettysburg," "Glory," and the upcoming "Gods and Generals." Grade: B-

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Summary: The Greatest Film Ever? Without question.
Review: Having watched Ken Burns' staggering "The Civil War" on PBS for the umpteenth time this past week has made me begin to look at this brilliantly realized documentary differently. Yes, it is a documentary and yes, it is a TV miniseries, but to lump this 11-hour look at America's darkest years does not do this masterpiece justice. Burns' masterful ability to enrapt his audience is a testament to his storytelling abilities, abilities that most of today's so-called filmmakers should long to achieve.

Using a documentary style so closely linked to him that it is now called "The Ken Burns' Style," Burns took what little physical pieces he had to work with (letters and photos) and used them to his advantage to create an intimacy no other documentary had ever managed to achieve. By doing so, Burns took non-fiction storytelling to new heights in a way that while commonplace today was revolutionary back in 1990. Relying on emotional narration (especially the brilliant David McCullough, the film's main narrator) and stirring period music, the audience is not given a history lesson, but rather told a story; a touching, emotional story of a nation divided, a beleaguered President and battles pitting brother against brother and friend against friend.

While yes, it is the greatest documentary ever made and it is without a doubt the greatest program ever aired on television, to label "The Civil War" as simply a TV show is to not give this FILM its due, a film that certainly ranks among the greatest of all-time, if not as the greatest ever.

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Summary: Ken Burns The Civil War
Review: The Civil War produced by Ken Burns is a learning experience relevant to all Americans and without doubt the finest documentary film ever made. What especially interested me were the ironc twists and turns of fate that in some cases produced greatness. How, for example, does a plodding man who was unsuccessful at every venture he tried suddenly become a brilliant military stratigest able to motivate his troops to defeat the great Robert E. Lee. Until Lincoln discoverd U.S. Grant every commander Lincoln used lacked the stomach to pursue the undermaned but more than capably led Confederates. How were we as a young nation so lucky to have a man as great as Lincoln become President. He was determined and unwavering in his commitment to stop secession and just as determined to emancipate the slaves. Lincoln was our greatest President not only because of his compassion but his intelligence.As Burns shows us virtually every move he made from promoting Grant to the Emancipation Proclamation was masterful.Holding a open hand out to the South in Lincoln's words "with malice toward none and charity for all" was exactly what both sides needed to hear.Nathan Bedford Forrest son of an illiterate farmer became a millionaire farming cotton and trading slaves. When fighting broke out he rounded up a group of rebel horsemen outfitted and paid them out of his own pocket and, despite not having any formal military education, was so feared and so sucessful a Cavalry General that none other than William Tecumseh Sherman called him the finest General on either side.

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Summary: Brilliant, but, Biased
Review: I watched The Civil War on DVD and cried my eyes out, as I did previous times when I viewed it on PBS. I made my 16 year old son watch it with me, and, he was more moved by my emotion than by the film, I think. The stark beauty of the presentation, balanced by the unimaginable horror that gripped our land 137 years ago was both eloquent and artistic in its' presentation. As a Vietnam combat veteran, my heart reached out to all the men on both sides for the incredible hardship they endured and their single minded devotion to duty and their comrads. Lincoln's greatness is magnified and examined and one is left in awe of his single minded purpose, which was to keep us a house undivided. As brilliant as Ken Burns' film making abilities are, however, he is ill advised on the issue of slavery and its' place in the cause and continuation of the war. It is almost as if he has a racial agenda with his films. His misunderstanding of the true causes of The Civil War are, sadly, the result of a historical agenda that was set in place long ago in an attempt to assign a higher morality to the reasons the north fought other than union preservation. The record clearly reveals that those who followed the battle flag of freedom were southerners who were rebelling against unfair taxation and representation, just as their own father's had done against the British. Shelby Foote's quotation by the poor southern farm boy who, when captured by yankees, told them he was fighting because "your down here" pretty much says it all.