The Civil War (1990)
**** (out of 4)
For a more detailed look at the episodes, check out their own pages where I've written on each of them.
Ken Burns' nine-part series taking a look at the history of The Civil War is without question one of the greatest achievements of any documentary. Clocking in at over twelve-hours, this film doesn't have a single weak moment to be found and it's brutal honesty is something that one has to respect. It really does seem that Burns wasn't interested in taking sides or pushing any of his own political agenda, instead he just delivers a terrific film that gives you a clear idea of what was going on in the country leading up to the war, the attitudes during the war and the downfall after the battles. We get to hear about everything from the first shots being fired to the final man being killed in action. The documentary is so well-detailed that by the time it's over you're really going to feel as if you know everything on the subject and this here is also something very important for any documentary.
The nine different episodes cover every inch of the war but some of the most haunting moments deal with the 600,000 plus that were killed during the war. Not only do we hear about the battles but it's also shocking to see how many of the deaths were due to illness and disease and not a gunshot. We also see the horrors that some soldiers found themselves in after being captured and held in Southern prisons that were overflowing with people. The horrors were that the South couldn't feed their own troops let alone all the prisoners. There are some pretty graphic photographs of soldiers that were nothing more than skin and bone and these images are very close to what we'd see decades later with the Holocaust. As with most of Burns' movies, this one here features photographs of the time and these here are certainly priceless and gives one a great view of the destruction caused by the war. Even the assassination of Abraham Lincoln is covered as well as its aftermath.
History buff as well as film buffs are really going to love this documentary. I've seen several documentaries on the subjects covered here but having everyone in one package is a major plus and even better is how terrific the stories are told. You see the various ups and downs from both sides and you really get to understand why the war took place, how many times it came close to ending and of course what happened to make the South still not be too fond of the North even after all these years.
**** (out of 4)
For a more detailed look at the episodes, check out their own pages where I've written on each of them.
Ken Burns' nine-part series taking a look at the history of The Civil War is without question one of the greatest achievements of any documentary. Clocking in at over twelve-hours, this film doesn't have a single weak moment to be found and it's brutal honesty is something that one has to respect. It really does seem that Burns wasn't interested in taking sides or pushing any of his own political agenda, instead he just delivers a terrific film that gives you a clear idea of what was going on in the country leading up to the war, the attitudes during the war and the downfall after the battles. We get to hear about everything from the first shots being fired to the final man being killed in action. The documentary is so well-detailed that by the time it's over you're really going to feel as if you know everything on the subject and this here is also something very important for any documentary.
The nine different episodes cover every inch of the war but some of the most haunting moments deal with the 600,000 plus that were killed during the war. Not only do we hear about the battles but it's also shocking to see how many of the deaths were due to illness and disease and not a gunshot. We also see the horrors that some soldiers found themselves in after being captured and held in Southern prisons that were overflowing with people. The horrors were that the South couldn't feed their own troops let alone all the prisoners. There are some pretty graphic photographs of soldiers that were nothing more than skin and bone and these images are very close to what we'd see decades later with the Holocaust. As with most of Burns' movies, this one here features photographs of the time and these here are certainly priceless and gives one a great view of the destruction caused by the war. Even the assassination of Abraham Lincoln is covered as well as its aftermath.
History buff as well as film buffs are really going to love this documentary. I've seen several documentaries on the subjects covered here but having everyone in one package is a major plus and even better is how terrific the stories are told. You see the various ups and downs from both sides and you really get to understand why the war took place, how many times it came close to ending and of course what happened to make the South still not be too fond of the North even after all these years.