What a marvellous documentary, which I had the pleasure to watch in German TV afternoon after afternoon due to my vacation leave. Nowadays here at least historical events are presented with historical photos/movie clips which are added to by awfully staged scenes by mediocre actors, mostly even dubbed because these scenes are shot in Rumania or the likes (no offence).
This production here is simply breathtaking. No staged scenes just heartbreaking photographs of all these young people, staring confidently, sometimes a little fright is visible, into a camera. Add to this the letters being read - in German in my case, by marvellous contributors - it makes you feel like being there and rooting for Elisha Rhodes and Mary Chesnut and all their contemporaries.
I as a German never learned f all about the Civil war but was fortunate to have a Dad who was fascinated by all things American, the liberators for a young soldier who was drafted at 18 to do the Russian campaign. Should there ever be a documentary about these boys, I'd proudly present a little tin cigarette case which dad received from a Russian POW, made from a tin plate, the upper side shows a tank and war planes, the other side shows a little peaceful house with birds. All made by use of a fork and as a gift for bread being smuggled in by dad, Breslau it reads.
This drifting towards an other war just goes to tell how many heartbreaking stories have to be told. And the Ken Burns documentary is epic and wonderful by showing the faces of war, the voices of war. Could you imagine photographs of dead soldiers, some unimaginably mutilated in our days? Unimaginable. We today have clean wars, you get the numbers of deads but are spared the pictures. This documentary made me shed so many tears, war is hell (Sherman) and so many stories are still untold. War is hell indeed. And should be shown as such. Where is the documentary about letters, unsufferable pictures and such about nowadays wars? Unbelievable, but the two last centuries dealt with war much more honest than today when we are sold for in these days of internet and all around "information".
Watch it.
This production here is simply breathtaking. No staged scenes just heartbreaking photographs of all these young people, staring confidently, sometimes a little fright is visible, into a camera. Add to this the letters being read - in German in my case, by marvellous contributors - it makes you feel like being there and rooting for Elisha Rhodes and Mary Chesnut and all their contemporaries.
I as a German never learned f all about the Civil war but was fortunate to have a Dad who was fascinated by all things American, the liberators for a young soldier who was drafted at 18 to do the Russian campaign. Should there ever be a documentary about these boys, I'd proudly present a little tin cigarette case which dad received from a Russian POW, made from a tin plate, the upper side shows a tank and war planes, the other side shows a little peaceful house with birds. All made by use of a fork and as a gift for bread being smuggled in by dad, Breslau it reads.
This drifting towards an other war just goes to tell how many heartbreaking stories have to be told. And the Ken Burns documentary is epic and wonderful by showing the faces of war, the voices of war. Could you imagine photographs of dead soldiers, some unimaginably mutilated in our days? Unimaginable. We today have clean wars, you get the numbers of deads but are spared the pictures. This documentary made me shed so many tears, war is hell (Sherman) and so many stories are still untold. War is hell indeed. And should be shown as such. Where is the documentary about letters, unsufferable pictures and such about nowadays wars? Unbelievable, but the two last centuries dealt with war much more honest than today when we are sold for in these days of internet and all around "information".
Watch it.