The Civil War

Contrary to the only other comment so far, I found this inspiring and elevating. I understood the civil war in a way nothing else in 17 years of formal education did. Burns was trying to tell what is perhaps the most compelling story since this country was founded. He had no footage, and was not interested in dramatizing the battles (which is notoriously difficult to to without boosting one side). Instead, he found a way to take the still images and remnants of the war and the stories of individuals and make them more real than any movie could do. Eleven hours of reenactments would have been interminable - and silly - as vaunted as the reenactors are, they get away with it because they are romanticized - can you imagine reenacting Ardennes or Khe Sanh? In a world where TV viewership is measured in 5-minute chunks if you're lucky, Burns kept viewers' attention for 11+ hours - and with no commercials - quite a feat.