The War - A Film By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

"The War," like Burns' other projects, places his subject squarely within the context of the times, creating an accessible, thought provoking and stimulating view of the defining five years of the American Century. This set of films provides an unequaled summary of the events of the war years with special emphasis on their impact on the home front. I use many clips from the series in my college modern American history class, not only to provide background on the war but to set the stage for events after the war and up to the present day. This series reaches students in ways no other can. I never have enough time to show all the clips I could, and the students always leave class wanting more. This is a keeper.

After seeing how well Ken Burns handled the documentaries on Jazz and the Civil War, I was pleased to view The War and see how it continues his fine treatment of what are historical subjects. The archive materials are very clear, the narrative informative, sympathetic, yet not too obtrusive. It gives a very clear account of what it was like to have been a soldier and a soldier's family throughout 1941-1945.

We really wanted to get the DVD set. We saw it on PBS and were captivated by it. I was a little disappointed at the cost of the DVD set, when it was a PBS special. It was much more affordable on Amazon, but was double at Barnes and Noble. I would also like to get the coffee table book that accompanies it, but will maybe get that a later time.

As a major history buff, I enjoyed this Ken Burns documentary on WW2 and I recommend it. There's alot of great war footage never seen before. Also, there are many excellent war stories that bring home the horror and brutality of war.

However I have 2 criticisms. I felt that that focus on the four towns was ponderous and caused the film to drag at times. Also, I would have liked it better if there was less human interest/home front coverage and the documentary was shortened to ~ 4 DVDs, instead of 6.

Overall, this is worth watching but not great like Burns's Civil War documentary.

This is an amazing series by Ken Burns. Each segment is a story all in it's own. The approach used was to tell the story from the perspective of a several specific cities. It made for creating such a personal documentary of a difficult time for those serving and supporting the troops. I highly recommend this, or any other Ken Burns series. Even those not a fan of WWII will appreciate the detail and education provided.