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Hey, is anybody watching Ken Burns’ new 14-hour documentary, The War? So far as I can tell, exactly zero of my film school friends are, even though it’s ostensibly the best (or one of the best) works by the best (or one of our best) documentary filmmakers. (That may have something to do with the time commitment involved, but that’s what Tivos are for, right?) I’m just one episode behind so far, and am loving it: it’s a history of the war from the soldier’s perspective, not the generals’ or the politicians’, and Burns’ overarching thesis — that there are “no good wars, only necessary ones,” as one of his interviewees muses — really shines through.
I’m also probably a little biased: my friend Sarah produced the film, so for a few years now I’ve been hearing about the tribulations they underwent to get their hands on all this rarely- or never-seen footage: digging deep inside military archives; spending weeks at the Library of Congress; negotiating with German archivists for the use of their war footage (and getting royally overcharged for it).
Needless to say, the result is World War II as you’ve never seen it, and I can say for my part, at least, that I’ve come to realize just how alien the concept of “total war” is to me and probably many people my age: to paraphrase one War veteran, it’s a profound and lonely feeling you get when, as a soldier coming from a society that emphasizes individual rights and freedoms as ours does, to realize in your icy foxhole in the dark of night, that your life is expendable. How many non-veterans can say they’ve felt that?
In case you’ve missed the whole darn thing (the series ends this week but will be re-run forever, I’m sure), here’s a 27-minute preview. See if it doesn’t hook you right away.
Comments (17)
Comment
i’ve been able to catch 3 epis and i love it. some of the footage is amazing. its great to hear their stories about the brutality and reality of it all. i loved what one vet said: “we didn’t consider ourselves heroes. we were just doing what we were told to do.”
posted by josh on 10-2-2007 at 10:14 am
I’ve caught portions of it here and there over the last week or so. For what seems to be the most documented war in history (thank you History Channel), Burns use of soldiers and families to tell the stories makes this a big draw for me.
I’ll admit that I think Burns can sometimes go a little over the top- particularly in overstating the importance and profundity of baseball- but that seems somewhat tempered in “The War.”
posted by Mean Joe on 10-2-2007 at 10:55 am
I had not begun to watch the series. Now that I see and hear the perspectives of those who were in it - whether it was from the front or from home - I am captivated. It makes something I read about in history class a very real breathing, bleeding entity. I can’t not watch now. Thank you
posted by JaneM on 10-2-2007 at 10:56 am
I find it sad that there are people that would not want to watch this. As Ken Burns told Conan O’Brien last night, (I’m paraphrasing) “It was these 18 and 19 year olds who sacrificed so much that allows us to be selfish and narcissistic now.” O’Brien could only joke, “Don’t look at me when you say that, look at the audience”.
The War should be shown in every High School every year.
posted by jmchez on 10-2-2007 at 11:21 am
I have been watching (and recording the episodes for a second run-through later). I have to say I’m less impressed than I had expected to be, given Burns’ reputation and the example of ‘The Civil War.’
The stories of the individuals Burns follows are interesting enough, but the production overall falls between two stools:
First, Burns doesn’t stick closely enough to his continuing subjects’ stories to make good on his stated framework: “To explore the impact of the war on the lives of people living in four American towns.”
On the other hand, the series does an even less satisfactory job of following the progress of the war. You had better be pretty familiar with World War 2 history going in or you’ll end up confused.
Visually, I’ve seen some new footage, but not near as much as I’d expected to. Burns is obviously unfamiliar with the hardware of the war, and inappropriate footage shows up fairly regularly. There are repetitions, too, as if the filmmaker was “making do” with something to occupy the eye while someone was speaking.
The two series had very different intents, but “The War” is still no threat to “The World at War’s” status as the best visual history of WW2 available.
posted by RNB on 10-2-2007 at 11:34 am
I decided early on that I was just going to wait for DVD. Yes, I have a TiVo, but I don’t really have 15 hours to devote to watching this right now, either. I figured with Netflix I could get the discs in, watch them as time allows, and not worry too much about making sure the latest episode of my normal, favorite TV shows recorded. So I will get to it, but it’s going to have to wait until early 2008.
By the way, the DVD set comes out today, for those of you interested in owning it. Amazon has a pretty decent price on it…
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 10-2-2007 at 11:37 am
Been watching it. Burns always does well at his craft.
I realize there were many people involved and it was horrible (as all wars are - see W. T. Sherman’s quote on the subject), but I come away from the series thinking that once again, as in the current activity in Iraq, rich people and politicians send other peoples’ children, husbands and wives into harm’s way while their own are safely ensconced at Harvard, Dartmouth, Texas Tech, or Yale.
Yes, it was dreadful - my father and grandfather both served in the South Pacific and both were highly decorated; grandpa had the Navy Cross and Dad had a Silver Star. Both volunteered.
Most people were conscripts.
I am a VietNam vet - Purple Heart w/cluster and Bronze Star. Would love to see Mr. Burns attack that fiasco.
Don’t misunderstand - I think that the threat of the Nazi mindset needed to be shut down. My question is, and always has been, how people can either develop these ideas or impliment them, and how other people living in the same place can go along with it. Then again, mea culpa, I went along with the idea that we needed to stand against the Communists in VietNam. I was a volunteer, too… sorta - had the chance to sign up or be drafted. You get kids young enough and they’ll do anything.
FWIW:, Sputnik was 50 years old last week. I remember standing in the dusk watching it pass thru the western sky and thinking, “How COOL!” My folks were terrified - it represented Soviet dominance in the “space race”. I had no clue we were in a race with the USSR, I was just excited that those stories by Bob Heinlein and Arthur Clarke were coming true.
Again, FWIW, we won the race.
posted by Doc on 10-2-2007 at 11:54 am
I’m about 1/2 through the 4th episode. I have to start after I get the kids to bed, but this will be one of those shows that my kids will watch when they’ve reached the appropriate age.
I’ve actually choked back a few tears during some of this, but it wasn’t because of the horrifying truth of the War. Rather, it was an overwhelming sense of how wonderful my life is today as a result of the hard work our Grandfathers were obligated to do. It’s a very humbling series.
Watching this series also shines a spotlight on the difference in our generations.
That’s for another discussion.
‘Nuff said…
posted by john schaffer on 10-2-2007 at 11:54 am
I’m sure Mr. Burns has done an excellent job on “The War”, but I think I’ll be skipping it for a while. The problem is that there are whole channels almost dedicated to World War II (i.e., The History Channel). There’s a reason my mother would call it “The Hitler Channel” when she sees my father watching something on it.
posted by Robert D. on 10-2-2007 at 12:22 pm
I have watched through Sunday’s episode. It is good. I love the way he mixes (amazing) war footage with recollections of the soldiers and families and others who lived through it. In a way, I find these stories oddly romantic.
There were two episodes, though, where he seemed to tack on some extra footage after what looked like to be the end. One was about a Hispanic veteran and the other about a Native American veteran. Fascinating stories, but they just seemed to be put in there as afterthoughts.
posted by Suzanne on 10-2-2007 at 2:33 pm
My husband and I have watched every episode. I wish that I could teach a course just on this series!
posted by TeacherPatti on 10-2-2007 at 4:47 pm
I had read the reviews that said the series was ok but not great and I had not planned to watch it. I was housesitting for my parents and trying to figure out where all the tv channels were on their cable system and I stumbled across PBS. It was on and I was hooked. What a great series and what gripping stories. My grandfather, who passed away a year ago, was in the Navy during the war. He told me stories but I regret not asking him for further details.
posted by nycitymouse on 10-2-2007 at 6:19 pm
As a member of today’s enlisted military, I definitely have to agree with the blog author, especially regarding the expendability of people. I teach leadership to people who are about to become supervisors. One of the things I always try to emphasize is that nothing is about them individually; they can be easily replaced. It’s like speaking a foreign language because these people are young, both in age and time in the military. Another challenge I face is how to not de-motivate them by telling them this. It is my belief that the best among them will accept the truth of the idea while maintaining their maturity. It’s amazing our culture has changed so dramatically so quickly.
posted by jason on 10-2-2007 at 10:04 pm
i have caught some of this (have DVR’d all of it) and what I have seen has been pretty amazing. WWII definitely is the most covered war in terms of documentaries but this seems pretty good. i have to say, i used to think this generation has been over “heroized” so to speak because they did what they did because they had not not cause they wanted to. id like to think any generation would have been just the same when faced with the same predicament. still, this has given me a new perspective and i do admire them for what they did. i still think people over romantasize that time period. i dont wont anyone to overlook the racism, sexism and homophobia that was rampant then. but i digress.
also, i couldnt believe that i actually hear f**k twice on PBS!
posted by robbie on 10-3-2007 at 11:39 am
I’ve been channel surfing and stopping to watch segments of the show.
I have been experiencing an odd feeling, or a sort of emotion that is hard to describe. The closest word I can think of is “creepy” but in an unexplainable way. I think it has something to do with an (nervous) acquaintance who was being sent to Iraq and a couple of soldiers I have met who have returned from Iraq. They have a hyper, nervous (kind-of creepy) personality, as if they are in shock. (like they just climbed out of a car wreck.) I don’t know what they were like before. When one of them saw a guy in a wheelchair he ran over and quickly sputtered out “Were you in Iraq, did you get hurt in Iraq, I got shot in Iraq.”. It’s apparent that he needs to talk things out, about whatever happened in Iraq, but the wheelchair guy wasn’t disabled in Iraq.
posted by Tdave on 10-4-2007 at 3:36 am
And also, I wish I had an update on the story of that acquaintance.
posted by Tdave on 10-4-2007 at 3:55 am
^Maybe I should have kept that (being creeped out stuff) a secret.^
posted by Tdave on 10-11-2007 at 3:17 am