Rating: 
Summary: The heart of the matter
Review: Having perused the 47-odd user reviews of Ken Burns' Civil War, I need to add my 2 cents. The Civil War is required viewing for anyone who wants to understand our nation. While it is true that some areas are not as detailed as others, Burns had to make major editing decisions to make the work series-length. As it is, he takes 4 critical years, and summarizes them over nine episides -- no small achievement. In the process, he succesfully distilled the soul of the conflict and the nation that resulted in its aftermath.It is almost incomprehensible today to imagine a Robert E. Lee turning down command of Federal forces, in favor of loyalty to "Old Virginia." What was a collection of states became a single nation. Burns captures the human frailties and grey-areas beautifully. Lincoln was initially half-hearted about abolishing slavery -- but as the war dragged on, he saw the logic of bringing an idealistic goal into the conflict. As the war dragged toward a stalemate, Lincoln had to invigorate the Unioin cause by re-defining the conflict in terms that would harken back to the ideals of the Revolution, now updated to include rights for the section of Southern humanity that was subjugated by slavery. The imperfect and incomplete striving for the high ideals of equal rights and equal justice has defined the American soul ever since. The Civil War was the true starting point of our national identity, and this boxed set covers that genesis. I recommend shutting yourself in, and marathoning this collection. The cummulative impact of seeing the whole thing at one sitting, is an experience greater than its nine parts.
Rating:
Summary: This Wakes The Dead!
Review: Ken Burns says that all his works are to "wake the dead". Indeed, the Civil War succeeds in this regard bringing back this fascinating and important period in our nation's history. Biographies of generals and privates, music, photographs, professional narration, insights by noted historians, battles, weapons, politics, culture -- such well-researched content is interwoven and presented in a most watchable, educational , and entertaining format. But even more than "waking the dead", Burns' Civil War wakes the living to our nation's history and re-kindles a love of history and Americana in his viewers. I for one have gone on a reading binge, inspired by this movie, of other biographies, battle accounts. I'd like to plan a summer vacation to visit Gettysburg. And when I play Ashokan Farewell -- a theme song from the movie -- on the piano, chills go up my spine. Two historians in the movie are worth mentioning by name -- Shelby Foote, and Barbara Fields. For example, you feel like you are in Foote's living room as he, seemingly off-handedly, adds fascinating color to the movie. He provides insights into the generals, the battles, all about the times, everything. Foote's 3 book account of the Civil War is now on my reading list . Barbara Fields does the same as Foote, although her insight is more poignantly focused at slavery and emancipation. What sticks in my mind is her dialogue in the last 15 minutes of the last episode. Her comments extend the Civil War to a much greater period of time than the 4 years from 1861-1865. The relevancy of that war, it's themes extends all the way back to the founding of the nation and the adoption of the Constitution -- and extends all the way forward in time to the present day. I feel like sending Burns a letter thanking him for creating such a fabulous movie. I could go on and on in my praise for this movie. Suffice to say it is absolutely incredible!
Rating:
Summary: You'd have to hate history a whole lot... not to love this
Review: Burns takes cold facts and gives them human warmth. He takes stiff-looking b&w pictures of men in their long beards... long dead... and brings a light of personality to them. It's more than just the numbers and the maps... it's the human side of it. There is a wonderful familiarity across time to the outakes of letters and quotes. We realize that these people were very much like ourselves, yet thrown into another window of opportunity and time on earth.
The main reason, though, I feel that this documentary is so powerful is because not only was it glorious for the already-converted CIVIL WAR buffs... but it converted the non-converted... and THAT is the best one could hope for from a film of this nature.
Thank you Mr. Burns ("Ken"... not "Montgomery")
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Telecine Wobble Ever
Review: I had to check out some of the lowest star reviews just to make sure that everyone living in the U.S. of A wasn't blind. Yes, this show has great content. But for the life of me, I cant understand how Ken Burns let this one go through. Normally PBS/Ken Burns titles are pretty good but this DVD has the worst telecine wobble I have ever come across. It is ****VERY **** distracting. FYI:
When film is transferred to video, it is done by a telecine machine. This is a machine that is fundamentally a modified movie projector, but instead of projecting the film image onto a screen, the film is projected onto a device which converts the film image into a form suitable for processing into video.
The film is moved through the telecine machine mechanically. If the mechanics of the telecine machine are not precisely set up, the film can weave backwards and forwards as it passes through the machine, with the result that the final video image wobbles from side-to-side as well.
I would give 5 stars for content, but I'm only giving 1 star for lousy the DVD transfer.
Rating:
Summary: Should Be In Everyone's Collection
Review: Whereas critics may have chirped at Ken Burns' other documentaries like 'Jazz' or 'New York', there is virtually universal praise for this single, spectacular masterpiece. Not only is the Civil War brought to life but by the end of the entire 11 hour series you feel like you've been through the war itself. The most important achievement of the documentary is showing how the war, with all its carnage, achieved the higher purpose of freeing the slaves. While the war may have started with the notion of keeping the tattered union together, it eventually brought societal, constitutional, economic, and medical changes that would have otherwise not come about had their not been a war. It truly was the birth of a "new freedom". You watch as new innovative tactics are introduced out of sheer necessity. You see thousands of men using outdated tactics (charging a defense line with your bayonet) are mowed down by new weapons such as the gattling gun and the Repeating Rifle. You witness the banality of siege warfare as implemented by Gen. George McClellan. And you contrast that with maneuver warfare brilliantly executed by Stonewall Jackson and Nathan Bedford Forrest. You learn how the generals (and the country at large) grew to appreciate and utilize the telegram. You learn from General Lee how to lead from the front and how a few men effectively positioned can hold off 100 men. You witness how incompetent Union generals nearly lost the war to an inferior army. With only a rudimentary understanding in medicine, tens of thousands died from disease and from reparable surface wounds. However, without the enormous loss of life, we would have never made the medical and tactical advances that the war brought on. More than any other character in the documentary, I enjoyed historian Shelby Foote the most. His amusing Mississippi drawl and the way he personalized the war made you realize the humanity of these legendary figures. He also highlighted how resentment towards blacks lasted for decades after the war (how the south still hates Lincoln, how Vicksburg refused to celebrate 4th of July for 80 years). You cannot possibly begin to understand US History until you have faithfully studied the Civil War. Thank you Ken Burns.
Rating:
Summary: Video history at it's finest...
Review: Simply a masterpiece...when viewing these types of historical documentaries, one of my major viewing points is: how is the history told/portrayed? and do we get context with the narrative? Ken Burns has certainly succeeded on both counts and he's also set the standard for documentary with this monumental effort on the Civil War. Political, Social and Historical perspectives abound in this boxed set with no equal anywhere in the documentary world, I'd wager. The political climate that started the war gets it's very own tape and is wonderfully told in context with the social atmosphere of the time. The war and all the major battles are overlayed with readings from historical documents/diaries of the time as well as "then and now" pictures and films that set the viewer squarely into those momentous times (the battles at Antietam, Gettysburg, Shiloh and the Wilderness are wonderful examples of the "then and now" pictures/films...). One of the major selling points of this work is that Burns has managed to keep the flow of the War uppermost in the viewers mind (amazingly through all nine tapes) while still able to digress into the aforementioned social and political issues of the time (slavery, the everyday man and woman's perspective, Abraham Lincoln's administration ...etc.). Finally, with historical discussions with Shelby Foote and narration by David McCullough, Burns has set the bar unattainably high for other documentaries...it simply doesn't get any better than this. It takes a while to view all these episodes, but if you're even remotely interested in the Civil War or history of the mid-1800's, I promise that you won't be disappointed. Highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Fine Film
Review: There's no denying that Ken Burns' sweeping documentary of the American Civil War is a success. Through photographs, modern footage of the places in question, period music, and voices reading primary source documents of the time, Burns conjures up the conflict in all its thrilling drama, bloody tragedy, dark humor, and stirring nobility. Personal and engaging, this film brought a new awareness of American history to millions of viewers. It should be noted that a huge topic such as the Civil War cannot be entirely crammed into one film, however long; this is necessarily an overview, though an excellent and detailed one. (At least the Civil War had a compact number of years to it; Burns subsequently took on huger topics still such as Baseball and Jazz, with less success. His finite films like this one and "Lewis and Clark" are easier to see as a whole.) I have one quibble with this show - I think it oversimplifies the causes of the war. To be specific, it sees only one cause - slavery - and pays no attention to states' rights or economic issues. This is no surprise; his other films have shown us that Burns sees race as the defining issue of our country. Whether you entirely agree with this idea or not, you are sure to enjoy and learn from this epic documentary.
Rating:
Summary: Can I give it More than 5 stars?
Review: I remember watching this documentary by Ken Burns when it first appeared on PBS in 1990. It started my lifelong interest in the Civil War. Countless books and trips to battlefields later, it still stands as the finest general work on the war ever made. The story of the war is told through pictures, narratives, and the unobtrusive narration by David McCoulough, who's voice is pitch pefect for the job. Never before have photos had such a dramatic effect in telling a story. They say a picture says a thousand words, and this series prove that maxim correct. The five discs cover the 5 years of the war, and the 9 parts of teh series. The most effective are "1861: The Cause", "1863: The Universe of Battle", and "1865: The Better Angels of our Nature". They cover the events that led up to the war, the turining points at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, and the end and aftermath of the war. Each is suprememly emotional. One episode intersperses an old narrative from the daughter of a former slave as she remembers her father's stories. Shelby Foote, author of the most comprehensive book on the war, offers invaluable advice. High praise must also go to Sam Waterston, who voices Abraham Lincoln. In the final segment of the 1863 disc, Waterston recites the Gettysburg Address, and I must admit it brought me to tears. The music is also a key factor to the success of the film. Burns went back and found the old music that was popular among the people and the soldiers, both North & South during the war. It is moving, from the haunting opening music, to the old spirituals that are found on disc 2's "1862: Forever Free". Add that to a stable of great voice actors, (besides Waterston, Morgan Freeman as Frederick Douglass and George Plimpton as George Tempelton Strong are standouts), and the film becomes almost magical, transporting the viewer to those 4 horrible years that changed the Nation forever.
The Civil War is the most important saga in American History, and this documentary gives the people who fought it and the effect the War had on the US as a people the proper historical weight and respect. It deserves a place on any amatuer historians shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Be Forewarned About This Shamefully Cheaply Packaged DVD
Review: Let me start off by saying the documentary itself is wonderful. Certainly, it may be slightly biased, and woefully short on info about the western campaign, but it is well intentioned and researched, as well as being both thought provoking and entertaining. The presence of Foote helps correct the obvious Northern bias, and I think the film was fairly clear about Lincoln starting out as a moderate on the slavery issue. And let us be fair; no project this ambitious is ever going to be perfect nor satisfy everyone, and this one is far better than most. But, the DVD packaging is just horrible. The literally paper thin disk container fell apart on the second day that I had it. I have a fairly large DVD collection with many, many box set collections and this is by far the cheapest presentation I have ever encountered. Now, had this been a budget box set designed to be low cost so as to make itself available to the greatest number of people possible, I would accept this. But as you must know, this set is actually quite expensive compared to most box sets. Therefore, the ridiculously flimsy packaging is inexcusable. This series deserves better. I STRONGLY urge you to wait until a higher quality presentation is put on offer.
Rating:
Summary: You'd have to hate history a whole lot... not to love this
Review: Burns takes cold facts and gives them human warmth. He takes stiff-looking b&w pictures of men in their long beards... long dead... and brings a light of personality to them. It's more than just the numbers and the maps... it's the human side of it. There is a wonderful familiarity across time to the outakes of letters and quotes. We realize that these people were very much like ourselves, yet thrown into another window of opportunity and time on earth.
The main reason, though, I feel that this documentary is so powerful is because not only was it glorious for the already-converted CIVIL WAR buffs... but it converted the non-converted... and THAT is the best one could hope for from a film of this nature.
Thank you Mr. Burns ("Ken"... not "Montgomery")
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