Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery

Beautiful Cinematography. Excellent narration. Inspiring. What a Journey !!!

This is what we would now all call a typically enjoyable film by Ken Burns, if one could only get past the gawdawful music accompaniment.

Ken Burns' film is a landmark study of the 1804 through 1806 Lewis and Clark expedition, starting in St Louis, and returning there two years later, having found a route to the Pacific Ocean. Put your political leanings aside, this film does not judge whether the USA, Spain, and France *should* have been able to grab and trade the native lands occupied for centuries by various Native American tribes. Lewis and Clark, and the men that went with them, were true explorers. Their journey is almost unimaginable. When you fly west over the USA during a clear day, and can see the wide expanse of mountains, you can begin to understand what an ordeal it was for them to cross over to what we now call the Columbia River. This is not a dry historical film. Everyone should see it, for the historical significance of the journey. The city of St Louis built a high arch in commemoration of the journey, and it is called "The Jefferson Expansion Memorial."

I saw the DVD, and it is a really fine one. I got it as a free loan from my local library, maybe you can too!! Plus, one of the narrators is my old college friend Daniel von Bargen.

"Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery" is a very lengthy documentary that seems almost as long as the group's two year journey! This really isn't a complaint--more a comment about how incredibly thorough the show is. It's yet another exquisitely made documentary by Ken Burns--using the same wonderful and familiar style you'll see in his other PBS films. And, perhaps, it's made a bit better--very slow and lovingly rendered. The cinematography might just be the best thing about it--with wonderful vistas of the west and northwest United States. There were a few interesting surprises in the film--especially concerning Lewis' sad life due to debilitating difficulties which today would be diagnosed as a Bipolar Disorder. The interactions of the expedition with the natives was also an interesting surprise. All in all, a terrific film--just know that you'll need to devote a lot of time to it. However, IMDb indicates it's four hours long but the DVD was only about three and a half. I am not sure what this discrepancy is all about--I assume that the time listed on IMDb is just a simple mistake.

By the way, it's never mentioned in the film, but I wonder if President Jefferson sent OTHER expeditions as well but these were just never heard from again. Could this be the case? I do know that Zebulon Pike was soon sent on another western expedition--but there must have been others.

Perfect in every way--not to be missed.

Brilliant documentary.

The story of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the two adventurers who, in 1804-06, explored and charted North West America, from St Louis to Oregon.

Written and directed by master-documentarymaker Ken Burns, the man who gave us the greatest documentary series ever made, The Civil War. Thus, you always knew this was to going to be excellent.

In incredible detail we see the perils they faced, the ordeal of their journey and the importance of their efforts.

Very engaging - even though it is only a documentary (rather than a drama), you are engrossed in their travails and discoveries.

A must-see for anyone with an interest in history.