Civil War: Der amerikanische Bürgerkrieg

When The Civil War first aired in 1990, it became a phenomenon. I

was a little kid, but I remember "Ashokan Farewell" and the

intriguing black and white images and voiceovers from the screen,

and people talking about it all over the place. To be sure, the

intimacy of the film eventually made me a Civil War buff, as it has

for tens of thousands across the country.

The fact is, Ken Burns created a monumental piece of television

that chronicled, if not in a general fashion, by far the most defining

moment in our history and an incredibly groundbreaking way.

The film is simple, yet is so profound in it's simplicity and style,

using just pictures and accounts and music and some bursts of

color from modern cinematography. For the first time, we heard the

accounts of real soldiers and people, and instead of taking sides,

it gave a sense of humanity to both sides in a war that is riddled

with political and social posturing, but was ultimately all slaughter.

Contrary to the only other comment so far, I found this inspiring and elevating. I understood the civil war in a way nothing else in 17 years of formal education did. Burns was trying to tell what is perhaps the most compelling story since this country was founded. He had no footage, and was not interested in dramatizing the battles (which is notoriously difficult to to without boosting one side). Instead, he found a way to take the still images and remnants of the war and the stories of individuals and make them more real than any movie could do. Eleven hours of reenactments would have been interminable - and silly - as vaunted as the reenactors are, they get away with it because they are romanticized - can you imagine reenacting Ardennes or Khe Sanh? In a world where TV viewership is measured in 5-minute chunks if you're lucky, Burns kept viewers' attention for 11+ hours - and with no commercials - quite a feat.

Ken Burns is a genius and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude for making this wonderful documentary on the American civil war. Even though this is several hours long, I have watched it over and over and still never tire of it. Each time I see it I learn something new. The voices doing the various parts are perfect, the pictures are perfect, EVERYTHING IS PERFECT! From the experienced historian to the novice all will enjoy this. So many things touched my soul from the start of the war to that lovely true letter from the soldier, Sullivan Ballough written to his wife when he knew he would die... (many tears were shed at this point) to the end. In my opinion I could comment on this for pages and pages but no matter what I said it could not show my depth of gratitude for seeing this masterpiece. It will go down as the best documentary ever about the civil war.

This series is excellent, probably the best ever. Ken Burns brilliantly captures all of the elements of one of America's greatest disasters. Shelby Foote and all of the other authors and historians that took part in this series were excellent. Foote especially was great for bringing some really good incite on the war. Also Sam Waterston gives an excellent performance as the voice of Abraham Lincoln. Morgan Freeman also does an excellent job as Frederick Douglass. Not to leave anyone out, all the voice-overs were superb. Its a great way to spend 9 1/2 hours, if you have them. But, if you don't have time to watch all, I highly recommended seeing "The Cause" (part 1) and "The Better Angels Of Our Nature" (Final part). They both are truly masterpieces on their own.

I'm 13, and I learned more about the Civil War in these videos than I have in my entire life! It might just be that my teachers don't teach it well, but I think it's something else! When I first started watching them with my parents, I was doubtful of their quality. How is a guy going to make a documentary about a time when there were only still photographs? I thought it wasn't possible to keep the audience interested, especially in a 12.5 hour long documentary. Well, I was wrong.

Ken Burns is actually an amazing film maker. He not only gave information in his documentary, he told a story. And not just any story, he told the story of one of the worst wars in the history of the world. By using still photographs mixed with voice overs and quotes, he brought the world of the Civil War to life.

A great documentary!