Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Release Date: 28-SEP-2004
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1239 in DVD
• Brand: BURNS,KEN
• Released on: 2004-09-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 5
• Running time: 660 minutes

Amazon.com
The most successful public-television miniseries in American history, the 11-hour Civil War didn't just captivate a nation, reteaching to us our history in narrative terms; it actually also invented a new film language taken from its creator. When people describe documentaries using the "Ken Burns approach," its style is understood: voice-over narrators reading letters and documents dramatically and stating the writer's name at their conclusion, fresh live footage of places juxtaposed with still images (photographs, paintings, maps, prints), anecdotal interviews, and romantic musical scores taken from the era he depicts. The Civil War uses all of these devices to evoke atmosphere and resurrect an event that many knew only from stale history books. While Burns is a historian, a researcher, and a documentarian, he's above all a gifted storyteller, and it's his narrative powers that give this chronicle its beauty, overwhelming emotion, and devastating horror. Using the words of old letters, eloquently read by a variety of celebrities, the stories of historians like Shelby Foote and rare, stained photos, Burns allows us not only to relearn and finally understand our history, but also to feel and experience it. --Dave McCoy

On the DVD
The DVD features on The Civil War provide a wealth of insight, creative philosophy, historical perspective, and educational enjoyment. Twelve years after its premiere broadcast, the film was given a digital facelift, sharpening image clarity, correcting color, and enriching its soundtrack with a remastered 5.1-channel mix, as demonstrated in the "Civil War Reconstruction" featurette. In interviews from 2002, producer-director Ken Burns, historian Shelby Foote, journalist George Will, author Stanley Crouch, and composer-musicians Jay Ungar and Molly Mason reflect upon The Civil War's enduring significance. And Burns's eloquent commentary--selectively included on each disc and totaling five hours--illuminates the historical importance and creative impulse behind crucial chapters of the film. Fifty-seven onscreen biography cards detail important North, South, and civilian figures, and two 1990 featurettes—"Making History" and "A Conversation with Ken Burns"--provide a more personal perspective on the creation of this extraordinary film. Useful for both personal and academic study, these features stand as a fitting supplement to one of the greatest documentaries ever produced. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Absolutley Fantastic
If there was a 6 star rating, I would give it that. I saw bits and pieces of this series, and decided to get the whole series. I live close to the Lincoln museum and library, and have a special interest in the Civil War. Ken Burns did a GREAT job of describing the causes and trials of the war. Would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in this subject.

Why Confederates Deserted... Dead for anothers bad pruchasing
decision. The Southerners knew enslaving people was wrong when they bought the salves from the North since 1833 when slavery was not outlawed in States by one vote.

Simply stunning.
In short, the finest thing I have ever seen on television. Mr Burns has created an amazing work here.