Ken Burns - The War (DVD, 2007, 6-Disc Set, Widescreen; Sensormatic)

The best World War two documentary on the market, hands down. Ken Burns at his best, he has a way of telling a story like nobody else. This documentary immediatly draws you into the personal side of the war with stories from the homefront as well as the frontline.
This series will leave you breathless with some of the photos and stories from first hand accounts from veterans and prisoners of war. It is not very ofter you see a documentary that makes you feel like you are there. I have had the pleasure of personally meeting two of the veterans featured on this film and thanks to the talent of Ken Burns their stories will be preserved for the education of future generations.
If you only watch one documentary on WWII make it this one.

This film is done in the same basic style that Mr. Burns has utilized for his other films. A good narration, excellent voice acting and voice overs. Zooming in on a photograph and pulling back, going to the primary sources when possible and keeping true to the time period. The music is again done well. The original pieces are compelling. I am biased because I am a fan of Wynton Marsalis and Norah Jones. Even the animated maps/battle descriptions have a feel of WWII. I like this style of film making and Mr. Burns has done another excellent job. Viewing his works should be mandatory for any History major and anyone interested in US History. I have all his works, from the Civil War to the Empire of the Air to Horatio's Journey. All well done in the same Ken Burns style.

This film is different from other WWII documentaries in that there are graphic scenes of violence. You see wounded and killed people. So be aware of that if you are disturbed by such images. I now know why my father and uncles did not talk too much about the war.

This is a wonderful piece of documentary film making and it is worth it.

Ken Burns has done it again. "The Civil War" was a masterpiece. "Baseball" was absolutely superb. And "The War" is another A+ piece of work. Why? Let me count the ways.

1) All wars are hell. This time Burns was able to show what little he felt most humans could suffer without vomiting, some of which was filmed on the spot. Sure, some of the editing was a little choppy. Sure, vast areas of what happened in 1939-1946 had to be omitted by nature of the immensity and complexity of what happened. But most of the younger kids who thinks wars are only fought in the Middle East and who knew nobody in their families who died, or for that matter don't even know the dates of WWII, haven't a clue. So what if they didn't like the music? Hell, they didn't have Ipods or plasma tvs or cable then. Do some reading. Try to envision what absolute hell war is. Burns showed us.

2) For the first time, we were able to hear it - extensively - from people who lived through it. How many wouldn't give a lot to sit down with the folks from those 4 towns who spent hours in interviews, to hear more about it? WWII affected, almost as much as the Civil War, everyone in the country.

3) We - you - can't view this documentary in terms you are comfortable with: instant gratification, burning the flag, anti-war demonstrations, cell phones and emails, and the whole plethora of me-me-me that exists today.

4) What happened in 1941-1945 happened. As in all wars throughout history, there were morons in charge of some, heroes in charge of others, misguided attempts, spectacularly successful attempts, incredibly unlucky attempts.

Author: gizmo61 from United States
http://www.imdb.com/title​/tt0996994/

Though not the end-all of WWII documentaries, this is a great look at the events of WWII . It is unique in that the series deals with homefront issues 40% of the time; issues like rationing, women in the workplace, grieving/waiting families, etc. Such studies, as indepth as The War goes, are rare, and in this case is well integrated into the overall presentation.

Concerning the war footage, it is all quite good - some I had not seen before, some I had. Many major land battles are covered (though not much on Wake Island), many of the major air, and probably the largest sea battles, though the latter could have been expanded upon, especially Leyte Gulf and Guadalcanal. Pre-Pearl Harbor events are limited in their scope and detail if present at all.

In terms of following any particular battle, the series is good but understand that, like a real time event, the telling of it is punctuated with peripheral issues - homefront ones like I mentioned, or an aside in which an individual family is followed through some drama in their own personal lives. That makes following a battle a bit drawn out, but does force you to "experience" the event - piece of news here, piece there - as was suffered in real life.

The music, by Winston Marsalis, is good but it's inserted TOO often in my opinion. Ever notice in Lord of the Rings that the music, while excellent, is almost ceaseless - virtually NO non-scored scenes?! Well, it's less so with The War, but you'll be able to hum the main theme sooner than you'd otherwise prefer.

Overall the movie has the effect of conveying the loss and tragedy of war better than any other WWII documentary I've seen. It conveys the concentration camp horrors adequately, but less so the horror Japan inflicted on China. And while it doesn't go into great depth of the Nazi views on Judaism, Christianity, non-Aryans, etc... (as the foundations were laid pre-Pearl Harbor), it is fairly Right/Left balanced politically speaking - if you're worried about that. Ken Burn's America is neither atrocious nor perfect. He waves the flag about the right amount (though I would have waved it a little more).

I'm on my second watching of it. Worth having.

I have seen "a lot" of documentaries and specials about, the Greatest Generation, and the struggles of WWII.
This one, delves deeper into the cost of the war at home, with a story line that threads through our history, domestically and overseas.
Despite being "Long and Indepth" (15 hours/ 7 parts) it never seemed long, boring, or forced. Wide ranging and relevant, even today. (those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it)
Tells the story of four small towns and the changes experienced during the wartime buildup. Mobile Alabama, Sacramento California, Waterbury Conneticut, and Luverne Minnesota. These four towns tell the story of a whole generation
of Americans.
A MUST SEE for sure.
A+