Ken Burns "The War" A Powerful Film

Ken Burns "The War" A Powerful Film

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I don't know how many of you are watching ken Burns new film on PBS on World War Two. If you are not however, you are missing a powerful piece of film making. It is at once both deeply moving and deeply disturbing.

By focusing on the memories of the citizens of four different towns... Newberry Ct. Sacramento Ca. Mobile Ab. and Laverne Mn. he brings the events of the war home in ways other films on the subject haven't. He uses both non combatants and veterans and their recollections as a focal point and in doing so he highlights the psychological and spiritual toll it had on all. Many of the men interviewed comment that they had never really talked about their experiences of 60 years before. My father was that way.

For all of you who are so gung ho for war, either in Iraq or Iran, I highly recommend this film. Its not pacifist or sentimental nor it it hyper patriotic. It tries in its own way to just relate the events as they were and allow the viewer to draw their own conclusions.

World War Two may have very well been the only war that we fought that really needed fighting but it does not change the fact that war, in the words of general Sherman, is hell.

www.pbs.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

Do we need a another rehash of WW2 for patriotism.

Its been done to death let it be done with.

reply to post by infamouskiller


Like I said its not Its not pacifist or sentimental nor it it hyper patriotic. If anything it is profoundly humane.

Last night there was this segment with this Japanese/American soldier who fought in Italy. He described how he stormed this farmhouse to find three German soldiers, two were dead and the third wounded. he raised his hands to surrender and then reached into his jacket. The American soldier thinking he was reaching for a pistol hit him with the butt of his gun. The German soldier pulled his hand out with photos of his wife and kids in it to show.

The interviewee commented saying, thats war.

It is perhaps necessary to demonize the other to get average Joe's to go into battle and kill but at the same time we run the risk of losing sight of our shared humanity as well, to our emotional, psychological and spiritual determent.

Originally posted by grover

I don't know how many of you are watching ken Burns new film on PBS on World War Two. If you are not however, you are missing a powerful piece of film making. It is at once both deeply moving and deeply disturbing.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Yes...I am watching it. Incidentally, I took a quote from the film and put it in my signature yesterday!

It's been riveting so far and I'm glad you made a thread about it. I've learned alot...especially about the racial tensions in Mobile at the shipping yards.

I found the story about Babe Ciarlo especially moving because he was just one man with a devastated family. Yet this devastation was echoed by thousands across the country.

A true, gritty hard look at the face of war....

reply to post by sdp333


Ken Burns always does intelligent work. i wouldn't even consider watching it if it were made by somebody at Faux for example. I love my country but I despise jingoism.

I've been watching this show on and off all week.
Im overly impressed.
It's hardcore and uncut.
No sugar coating.
There were things talked about and shown,that makes some of the more recent war movies seem soft.
It's refreshing to see a war documentary show the hell war really is.
As well as showing what the heros of the war went through.

[edit on 2-10-2007 by Black_Fox]

Ken Burns is the preeminent documentary maker of our time, and yes, unfortunately as one member posted before, this documentary's timing screams media manipulation of our patriotism.

Peace

I saw part one in a little theater last year.
Ken was there and answered a lot of questions.
No one asked about his Toupee.

He stated, that the purpose was to just show the reality..At home, and on the multiple fronts.


It's not about reminding people about patriotism only.
It's about the whole package. The divisiveness, and the cohesiveness of a country that understood that losing was not an option.

reply to post by Dr Love


In that you are wrong. If it were I would not be singing its praise. It is a profoundly moving and serious look at WW2... since his subject matter is America, it is from our prespective but still... it is no jingoistic piece of fluff.

I just finished watching the last episode and it is one of those things, like the book "Hasidic tales of the holocaust" that i may never revisit but nonetheless left a profound impact.