World War 1: American Legacy

"World War I - American Legacy" (2006) is much more than a standard documentary on the war in general. Covering From the summer of 1914 to November 1918.

More than names and places there are the actual faces of individuals. Many of the individuals are popular war heroes; some have just been forgotten or not noticed.

Each individual is covered as a complete person and not just their actions in the midst of the war to end all wars.

The presentation covers writers such as: E. E. Cummings, Ernest Hemingway, Joyce Kilmer, and Alan Seeger (I ended up purchasing an Alan Seeger documentary.)

Director: Mark Bussler Writer: Brian Connelly Narrator: David Carradine

Some of the people covered are: James Reese Hell Fighters Victor Chapman Quentin Roosevelt Richard Hall.

It's just two hours of David Carradine talking, or rather reading aloud as he rattles off various facts and figures. There's some still pictures, stock sound effects, and (probably) public-domain music recordings, but that's it. Better, more engaging videos are being produced by YouTubers on a shoestring budget. A bright high school student going around and interviewing college professors and then editing the cellphone video footage together with stock footage on their home computer could do better (no interviews are conducted here: again, it's just David Carradine talking as pictures fade in and out on screen).

Don't bother seeking this out.

This documentary is amazing, and interesting, and it does not waste your time. It sticks to the facts and - unlike so many others - it does not editorialize nor does it attempt to rewrite history.

World War 1: American Legacy is masterfully crafted.

This film is chock-full of rarely-discussed facts, and what a great treat it is to see hundreds - maybe thousands - of images rarely seen before.

The filmmakers take a simple approach: a well-written script aligned with stunning still images, and herein lies the mastery.

And then come the amazing stories. Stories define us and these stories define for us a time long past, but a humanity that still exists.

Unlike social media "creators," the makers of this film understand all that goes into the making of a greatly-focused and informative documentary.

If you skip this one, you'll never know what you missed.