The War of 1812

A forgotten war for sure, but one that made the difference between Canada and the US, which is a lot to say about its importance. Two countries in need of heroes; natives that had to chose one side over the other and who would lose whatever their choice. All this historical significance bathing unfortunately in a soundtrack that too often overcomes anything that is said off screen. I really wanted to know more about what happened but every time there was a voice off screen explaining something, there was that insipid background music marring it all. And I struggled on, painfully trying to adapt my hearing to what was said above the obnoxious music. Sad to say, this kind of thing is frequent in documentaries, even good ones. It's as if there was competition between the sound effects and the story being told. The series The Civil War should be an example for producers: if you need to put music, at least make it uplifting, or sad, even joyous, not this syrupy hodgepodge we get in this documentary. And give us some quiet moments, perhaps nature sounds like the wind in the trees, the sound of rain... A few seconds of silence even, some time to reflect on what we see. All this I'll get eventually when it's translated into French. All that crap will be thrown out and we'll certainly get a better soundtrack, one where we can actually hear what is being said.

As a follower of history, with particular interest in American History, I question the bona fides of the one of the featured historians, Andrew Lambert of King's College, in London. In the film, (at 7:08) he made a surprisingly inept comment for a supposedly learned scholarly historian. He said, "War was pushed by the Republican Party based in the center and south." The Republican Party was not in existence until 1854. Always beware viewers of history. Despite their seemingly scholarly credentials some "historians" might not know the history they profess to know.

Best not to view for historical accuracy.

I just read Pierre Burton's 800+ page The War of 1812 and wanted a quick synopsis of the events. This movie does a good job in doing so. As Pierre Burton points out the artifacts and written documentation of this wars are not intensely partisan or national. Many groups characterize this war as important milestone in their history. Future Canadians, Indians, Britons, Americans, Kentuckians, Slaves, etc. The reality of the motivation for this war and it's outcome is very complex. The movie does an outstanding job in narrating the event. Of course you cannot expect an in depth analysis in just two hours. Seems to me the subject would be prime material for a Ken Burns sequel.

Careless editing, especially in the pictoruals and maps, one that stood out is an inclusion of the George Washington Monument in a map and pictorial depiction of Washington DC during the war of 1812. The monument was not built until 1848.

Didn't get very far into the movie before catching false information. Madison was part of the Democrat -Republican party. President Lincoln was the first president to be Republican. I was so excited to watch since some of our family fought in this war and now it is just a piece of historical fiction. If you didn't tell the truth on that fact how many others are twisted or changed to suit your feelings. Huge disappointment!!!