Ken Burns best series. I have watched the others he has made, but no matter what the subject, it is this one Burns covered the best. The things that made it great are-*Research - there is no doubt the intelligence and research behind this series shows up throughout. This makes points about the importance of this conflict to our country.Photography - this series pulled out many of the great photos of the war that had been obscured by history and makes them come to life. This conflict was marked by Matthew Brady, and this show even brings more of the first really photographed war into focus.Use of Civil War Diaries - there is no better way to tell history than through the notes/thoughts of the people who wrote down their own experiences of this war.Narration - this series employs a lot of narrators who add to the viewing effect of the film.Historic accuracy - Burns took pains to make sure the content of this series is accurate.Technology - a lot of the modern weapons used years later in both World Wars were invented by both sides in this war. Even at the end, the siege of Petersburg, Virginia employed the early use of trench warfare, years before World War 1.Railroads got their first war use here. The first Medals of Honor awarded to Union Soldiers by Lincoln during this war involved the stealing of a locomotive, The General. Railroads contributions to this conflict were real and a lot beyond just the stolen locomotive.This series is a statement about the importance of History, which if not stated and studied is doomed to be repeated. Hiding history is the most dangerous thing to do. Revising history is dangerous too.The graphic photos here from this war are a tale of horror and many more deaths than Vietnam, though I am very happy with Ken Burns latest new study of Vietnam. I wish he had done that one first. It was over due. Geoffrey C. Ward wrote The Civil War series and the Vietnam War series, and both show a lot of class.

This movie is very informative and contains a lot of factual history and good content. It's a very good movie if you like to learn and enjoy history and/or the civil war. For me it was a bit boring because I am not a huge history fan, but it was a great learning tool and made learning about the civil war better than just reading out of a textbook. It was a mix of historical pictures and videos with recent pictures and videos of the same places. The whole movie was mostly just historic and older photos with a narrator spitting out facts and events that had occurred. It was a very good movie to show in class. There was no nasty images or bloody battles shown. It was school appropriate and sensitive. A very well screened documentary with a lot of interesting facts.

This show is about the US Civil War. It progresses from the things which led to the war, the war itself and the aftermath. In all, it's told in over 11 hours and has been shown and re-shown on American television as well as abroad.Ken Burns' PBS series, "The Civil War", is probably the best documentary series ever...or at least darn close. It is told lovingly, slowly and in such a moving fashion that it's still a joy to watch this --as well as, at times, very emotionally draining (the Sullivan Ballou letter). It sure helped that Burns was able to enlist the help of some amazing celebrities to provide the voices for the characters. Overall, clearly Burns' best and if you can think of something better, let me know!

History, and the major events within it, can be hard to get across at times to those who either don't know about it or didn't live through it. Especially when you are trying to get across a conflict that lasted four years, had its roots in the very foundation of the country, cost hundreds of thousands of lives and whose repressions can be felt to this very day. That conflict would be the Civil War and in the eleven hours that this documentary series covers, history comes across very well. In that time, director Ken Burns creates on a large canvas a fascinating real-life story that is both epic and yet personal.One of the great things about the series is that while it tells an epic story, it is a story that is personal story nonetheless thanks to the voice work and interviews. Burns choice of actors is virtually perfect in casting voices to the real people who wrote the words. Sam Waterston is a perfect Abraham Lincoln and his rendition of Lincoln's most famous speeches (the Gettysburg Address and the second inaugural address) are beautifully done. There's also fine work from Jason Robards as Ulysses S. Grant, Morgan Freeman as Fredrick Douglas, noted playwright Arthur Miller as General Sherman and George Black as Robert E. Lee amongst others. There's also the work of Derek Jacobi and Jeremy Irons as various voices throughout, especially Irons when he reads the article from the New York Times on Matthew Brady images of Antietam. Last not least is the narration of historian David McCullough who leads the viewer through the journey across the war that changed the United States forever. Outside of the voice work for a moment there are the interviews with historians and in particular Shelby Foote who relates not only facts but the personal stories of those who fought the battles and lived through the war. Foote also reads the occasional piece as well including two fantastic pieces in the last episode that help to sum up the entire series brilliantly. Together, they form the personal connection to an epic story from our past.On the other side of the equation is the epic tapestry that are the events of the war. Burns and his team take years of building tensions, four years of war and the aftermath and successfully condense it all into eleven hours and nine episodes. Burns use of archive photographs, when combined with the use of sound effects, help to bring to life not only the battles but the political maneuverings, the home lives of civilians and the like for example. Burns also makes fine use of paintings and drawings made at the time and afterwords to help illustrate battles where, due to the photographic technology at the time, there are no photographs such as the first Ironclad battle for example. There is also some fine use of newly filmed footage which, even if a field of battle is now empty, help to illustrate the sites where the battles took place. Plus there are moments, such as the corn fields at Antietam if my memory serves correctly, that help put the viewer into the point of view of those who fought the battles. All of these help to portray the epic scale of the Civil War.Last but not least is the music used in the series. In particular is the use of Ashokan Farewell, a modern piece that nonetheless beautifully fits not only the period but the underlying tragedy of the war. In particular the use of the piece to underscore the letter by soldier Sullivan Ballou, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the story behind the founding of Arlington National Cemetery and Foote's reading in the last minutes of the final episode make those poignant word all the more emotional. There are also beautiful versions of We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder and Battle Cry of Freedom as well. But perhaps the most moving piece, besides Ashokan Farewell, is a heartbreaking version of Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier which in musical form illustrates the sense of loss felt by those who fought, died and lost family and comrades in the war. The music, both of the era and afterwords, brings the viewer to the era and adds an incredible emotional power to the entire series as well.Ken Burns massive documentary The Civil War is, at is heart, everything a great documentary should be. It features fine readings by fine actors, great interviews, fine use of images in the form of photographs and paintings, the use of newly filmed footage and the use of incredible and at times heartbreaking pieces of music. Together all of these elements succeed in doing that is truly rare of a documentary or any film telling of history for that matter: history comes alive again.