Blog Pick Week #1

  
   If you have never seen a Ken Burns documentary you should, and you should begin by watching Ken Burns "The Civil War." This is the pinnacle of the very deep Ken Burns collection in my opinion. It is a very long series, a total of 680 minutes spread out into numerous episodes, so it's obviously something that would be hard to see in one sitting. In addition since the subject is war, I would not suggest letting children or people who are squeamish watch. It's gory...very gory.
   To put this series in perspective, I have a very limited interest in the Civil War in general. Regardless I have always had a tremendous respect for it considering what these men went through, and of course what it meant to this country's history. We would be living in a North or South United States if we didn't have the outcome that we did. So considering this, I was drawn into this film. Ken Burns description and execution made you feel like you were witnessing the Civil War in person. What added to this feeling was he did more than just tell a history lesson, he personalized it by incorporating letters soldiers wrote to their wives and families back home describing the horrors they were experiencing on the battlefields. His telling of how the north and south plotted against one another with descriptive graphics and background sound effects really did bring the Civil War alive again. For someone like myself, that went into seeing this mini series with lukewarm interest, and to walk out loving it speaks volumes to how well it was made.
   Although, this series is quite long, and maybe with your busy schedule you don't have the time...it doesn't matter maybe find the time. Don't go out to dinner a couple weeks - I don't know. There are many great series that Ken Burns did, if you have seen one you know what I mean when I say he can bring history alive. If you haven't then I recommend beginning with this one and then try "Lewis & Clark." I hope you enjoy the film, until next time happy viewing.

by
Joe Talmage
webmoviepick@gmail.com