The Civil War: Simply Murder (1990)
**** (out of 4)
The fourth episode in Ken Burns' terrific documentary covers topics including Falmouth, VA winter camp, Ambrose Burnside, the Union's defeat at Fredericksburg, the meals eaten by both sides, Sons of Liberty, Stonewall Jackson's death and Grant's fight at Vicksburg. History or movie buffs are going to find great entertainment here as once again Burns does a terrific job at not just telling the stories but also really making one feel for both sides of the battle as it's clear both of them were suffering great loss through the first couple years of the war. Burns direction is, as usual, flawless as he perfectly mixes real life photos with some paintings and of course there's the narration, which is used to tell the stories of the war but also hear from soldiers through their writings. I think the best moments of this episode deal with the living conditions of the soldiers as they were all suffering from various diseases and it's rather shocking to learn that most of them died from illness rather than battle. There's also some great talk about the stuff both sides were eating and how they would go about making the food.
**** (out of 4)
The fourth episode in Ken Burns' terrific documentary covers topics including Falmouth, VA winter camp, Ambrose Burnside, the Union's defeat at Fredericksburg, the meals eaten by both sides, Sons of Liberty, Stonewall Jackson's death and Grant's fight at Vicksburg. History or movie buffs are going to find great entertainment here as once again Burns does a terrific job at not just telling the stories but also really making one feel for both sides of the battle as it's clear both of them were suffering great loss through the first couple years of the war. Burns direction is, as usual, flawless as he perfectly mixes real life photos with some paintings and of course there's the narration, which is used to tell the stories of the war but also hear from soldiers through their writings. I think the best moments of this episode deal with the living conditions of the soldiers as they were all suffering from various diseases and it's rather shocking to learn that most of them died from illness rather than battle. There's also some great talk about the stuff both sides were eating and how they would go about making the food.