Can you imagine a Ken Burns on the 20 years we spent in the Middle East. That would be fire. I feel like there has been so much disinformation he could get through and shed light on.
The Vietnam War is such an amazing documentary. I've seen it no exaggeration at least 15 times. Yes all like 20 hours of it and I find something new in it every time. Such an important film.
Watching the Vietnam documentary really brings to light the fact that we (America) should have never been there in the first place... what a profound loss of life that could have been avoided.
I found this interview quite moving. i'm a war veteran who is also spent a career as a psychologist treating war veterans over 30 years. I've since retired out of the US Army reserve while I was a medical officer, served in Iraq and my first branch was the Marine Corps served in Africa. The true impact of the Civil War documentary has been so profound it has become the yardstick that we measure other documentaries but it was also deeply moving and to hear your words about how it was to make it is truly heartfelt. I've traveled battlefields I served on battlefields and I've cared for warriors of World War II and many others. All the stories have not been told. What we hear in psychotherapy I think would be an amazing documentary. But would you have contributed and you're caring words here about not having others forgotten is truly appreciated. Your work has truly made a difference there is no doubt about it. One last thought. In 1979 I was on a Boy Scout trip to Gettysburg. I was about nine years old. I vividly remember the impact of being on the field of picket charge. I truly felt it and I think that experience is what propelled me into a career of military service and then caring for those who have served. Thank you and thank you Mr. interviewer for this great documentarians words. PS: I am independant and GOP Trump supporter this time around! I appreciate you sharing your feelings about the recent election as well it takes a lot of bravery to share your beliefs!!!
I second the opinion that_ Vietnam_ was a great documentary. Drew Carey surprised me in that. But for my money the often overlooked _The US and the Holocaust_ documentary could be so influential.
An interesting point a military historian friend of mine pointed out to me, regarding the difference between WW2 and Vietnam vets upon returning, was that in WW2, when you were out on the front and it was finally time to go home, you turned around, marched or trucked across the theater, then boarded ships for a long trip back. This meant you and your returning comrades had time together to sort of process what you'd experienced, whereas during Vietnam, when you were sent home you could have been stateside within a day, back in the civilian world with no time to process and no one around you who understood what you went through. Between that, the fact that Americans reactions to the returning soldiers were vastly different between those two wars and countless other variables, I don't think the Great War vets were any more or less stoic than those from Nam, but rather had different circumstances in regards to their homes and their returns to them.
The average Vietnam soldier saw 240 days of combat per year to the 40 for WW2. Depending on your involvement in major battles the average WW2 vet wasn’t under constant uninterrupted stress. Humping the jungle was a horror show daily and it made every day hell for those in the bush.
completely spot on, Vietnam was such a weird, fucked up monster of a war. kids out of high school sucked into this nightmarish jungle war in as foreign of a country as you can ask for, then spat out shaken to your core to a home that hates you for what you went through. It was so ugly. World war 2 had this aura of glory around it, vietnam was just darkness
One of my closest friends was in 1/75th Ranger in Afghanistan. He was on the very first C-17 with Rangers that landed at Baghram in late October 2001. John was in Combat on a Thursday, pulled in that evening, was out processed and back in Florida by Monday afternoon. I met him a few weeks later and he was still keyed up and looking for a mission and he had none. I pulled him into an EMT class I was teaching just to give him something to focus on. DOD is NOT good at preparing and reorienting combat personnel back into civilian life. I can’t even begin to imagine how much worse it must have been for Vietnam vets. At least GWOT fighters were (mostly) welcomed home.
Thanks, my father was in the pacific and was on Iwo Jima and at Okinawa and was supposed to be in the invasion of Japan. He was one of many who said the bomb saved his life. He came home and from what my aunts told me, he didn’t mention what happened for 10 years. His issues came out after my mom passed in 1970. I never sensed him having nightmares but I’m convinced that he did. I truly believe that though the issues would have come out, they wouldn’t come out the way or as intense as they did had my mother been here.
I still think The Civil War by Ken Burns is the most important documentary ever made, in terms of both how it told the story of the subject matter and also how it influenced the future of the genre. Some of the ones he did later, you can argue are better, but not more important.
4:30 For those who are curious : This story is from Quentin C Aanenson in *_'The War'_* by Ken Burns. Quentin was not really a "bomber pilot" - he flew the P - 47 "Thunderbolt (I)" fighter plane, escorting bombers in Europe. Quentin did have "the shakes" in his hand for decades after WWII - but it wasn't from "nervousness", it was from firing his aircraft's machine guns so much (the P - 47 was so heavily armed with *8* machine guns that it would feedback through the control stick). Aanenson flew the first escort fighter plane that could go with the bombers all the way into Germany - standing orders were to strafe any ground targets on the way back to base when they didn't use their ammunition in aerial combat. As 1944 progressed 9th Air Force P - 47's would transition to more of a "attack fighter" role, flying missions as purpose designated "ground attack" and infantry support roles, as the P - 51 "Mustang" took over escorting bombers. Aanenson would write a history of his WWII service for his family, later turning that into a self-produced documentary video _A Fighter Pilot's Story_ in 1993 - 94. Look up his Wikipedia article, it is complete and fascinating.
I was so impressed by the civil war doco. The participants were brought to life their humanity evident after so long.Their tragedy and loss were palpable.The question remains,why did they do it?So much loss for what.Burns is a genius.
In relation to his combat vet talk...I never really spoke about my combat experiences to anyone or talked about it because there is just no way to relate to anyone about it. Not even other veterans. People just can not comprehend it. I have learned to make peace with it. If somebody asks, I will give general answers but dont typically go into specific things. Some folks are an open book and will tell you everything, and that's ok. I just do not. I do have PTSD but it's not nearly as bad as some folks. Kens documentaries are awesome. Have enjoyed the ones I have seen so far.
It's not my business. I have a lot of family and friends. Some do some don't. I missed it. I am truly sorry. I always try to be as respectful as I can be. I have always carried a little guilt for missing it. So many people like yourself paid way too much. Take care.
@TRIChuckles Dont be sorry. Nobody forced me to sign the dotted line. I knew what I was possiblility getting into, lol. I was not tricked. I was in a combat profession, and there was a "war" going in, lol. That tends to happen. I paid. Some paid a lot more. And some paid everything.
My father in law was a navy pilot during WW2, he never went overseas, but as he was in the hospital for the last time in 1999, he started to cry, remembering a childhood buddy who died in a bomber over Germany. Here was a man that was pretty storic, but 60 years later, he still grieved.
Even today, if I hear "Ashokan Farewell," the music from The Civil War, I feel that sense of tremendous sadness and wonder that documentary engendered. I can't wait until my sons are old enough to watch it with me. I can't watch the Vietnam one. I think of my father and how much he went through, and I just can't watch it.
Burns has done some great work. The National Parks really captures the diversity and importance of the parks. Jazz is amazing. The Civil War was dated even then. Some great stories and accounts and some amazing images. Burns had the opportunity to include James McPherson and Eric Foner whose ground breaking works that are now foundational had just come out, but it was his first documentary, and had he included them there would not have been a second because some of you would have made sure of that. So he went with Foote who was great theater and Ed Bearss, who was someone I knew and worked with and was a great and well known Civil War historian. His three volume history of Vicksburg is extraordinary. So I understand why he did what he did. If you want to know more about the Civil War start with McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom and Foner’s Reconstruction, Ron Chernow’s Grant, Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, Catton’s Centennial trilogy, and Blight’s Race and Reunion, the Civil War in American Memory. That’s a good start
For me once I started to grasp the horrors of war and how young some of those soldiers were in those older wars, it made me have respect for all veterans, for all the people who have to been sent to die
Im 65 and growing up without cable TV, my dad watched shows like World at War, and other shows that dealt with WW2. Now, with so much content, it's easy to avoid so-called " boring" history shows.
I’ll always remember in Burns’s Civil War documentary, Shelby Foote said, “The problem at the time was that we failed to do what this country does best-compromise.” And that went right over our heads and it took 30 years before someone said, “Compromise how? Only have slavery Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Have ‘casual slavery’ on Fridays?” We are, overall, not a very intelligent country.
Good recommendation. Also Ken Burns very own _'The US and the Holocaust'_ is highly recommended for the information it gives on how America delt with the great tragedy of the 20th century.
I am 78 Vietnam era veteran. My father passed in 2014 at 98. My father enlisted in 1935 as an enlisted man stationed on the battleship West Virginia where he and friends took and passed the test to enter the Naval academy. He graduated from Annapolis in 1940. His first duty station was the old WW1 cruiser the Raleigh stationed in Pearl Harbor 1941. It was hit by a torpedo and bomb during the attack. My mother was a nurse at the big Hawaiian general hospital Queens located not far from Pearl Harbor. By coincidence they met on a date in Waikiki December 6th and they danced till the early morning hours. My father was late getting back to the Raleigh so he was able to get an old garbage scow that let him off back at the Raleigh shortly before 7am. The Raleigh was berthed at a station that was where aircraft carriers previously had been so because of that the Raleigh was one of the first ships hit during the attack. My father was blown out of his bunk landing on the floor. By shear luck no one was killed on the Raleigh which sat on the other side of Ford island from battleship row. My father was an ensign and his battle station was up in the crows nest where he an artillery officer measured coordinates to fire its big 5 inch guns. Japanese planes were flying around the crows nest as he was climbing up the ladder and a Japanese pilot waved at him. My father later served the new cruiser Houston and almost died as it was attacked off Formosa. he is mentioned in a book The Battle to Save the Houston. I implore you to read that he is mentioned in a in that book. Julius Steuckert was his name.
Having seen The World At War as a kid and rewatched it on multiple occasions since, I think calling it top down a bit unfair. I would agree that its biggest contribution was to record a lot of the senior participants in the war before time took its inevitable toll. The other striking thing to me has been how well it's stood up despite being produced before Ultra was declassified.
I'm 55 and had uncles and other family in WWII along with many people who I knew of my grandparents generation. The Greatest Generation were that and more. Ken says it best when he says they were "tempered" by the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. They were so polar opposit of the Boomers it's really phenominal. I grew up spending a lot of time with the Greatest Gen and the things I learned from them I still live to this day.
@@totallybored5526 Ladies and Gents, the snarky Brit who thinks he's hip and cool trying to put down Americans has joined the chat. Sorry but Clarkson did it over 20 years ago and it's a campy shtick. But whatever. Cheers.
Yes, "the Greatest Generation" did all that and more. Experiencing the low points of the Great Depression and WWII, but they also gave birth to and raised the "Boomers".
There was an underground organization of veterans after WW2 .THEY HAD TO BE DECORATED FOR BRAVERY TO become a member POW s need not applie .the way they recognized each other was the phrase "I'm a vet " in those days you didn't call a veteran a vet, that was disrespectful, but they used it. They really looked out for each other .I saw it totally turn situation s around with just that phrase but I don't know what they called themselves .does anyone else know?
Curious if Ken Burns is saying the Purple Heart is only awarded to the wounded and not the dead because he thinks that’s the case in general, or because he knows that WW2 predated the 1962 executive order to award it posthumously.
I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt although it was strange that he said "Purple Hearts are for the wounded" instead of "were for the wounded at that time."
it's not history that's written by the victors, it's myth. But when you study history you quickly realize to the extent that your average person known anything about the past, what they know is that myth and not history.
We Boomers, the sons of the Greatest Generation were born in the shadow of WW2 and felt obligated and were expected to carry on the legacy of our fathers. So we went into Vietnam without question with duty Honor and Country that we grew up with. The Vietnam War was unpopular and we have to live with its unpopularity to this day.
Whatever awards there are for artistic excellence, patriotism, contribution for the betterment of society, and historical preservation....Ken Burns should have them all. And then some.
This is what is scary about the cosplayers we just elected....they are trying to be movie versions of Men and not real Men that know about personal sacrifice and the real costs of being morally right.
Burns and Shelby Foote have been credited with reigniting interest in the Lost Cause of Slavery and 'state's rights.' I used to really respect him, but these days he seems like the minister of propaganda. He will always find some saccharine way way to characterize what Americans in the Establishment do, whatever gymnastics are required.
My only complaint about Ken Burns documentaries is that he has an unfortunate habit of going with the legend behind something or someone, instead of rigorously researched fact. In Baseball, for example, he went with the legend of who Ty Cobb was rather than the facts. Spoiler alert: He was not even close to being the monster that he's described as in the Burns documentary.
I disagree, this is precisely how we came to worship Christopher Columbus. How a man who never stepped foot anywhere in the United States, had our nation’s capital named after him, is beyond me. It makes no sense, the founding fathers created these myths about him that were patently false & those made it into our history books.
Making the Civil War was painful, you said. What did you know of war? You turned the camera on Vietnam and I asked, why did you do that to us? You felt pain, but did you have psycho-analyst on set? You collected videos and photographs, but do you know what brains smell like?
Ken is yet another brilliantly gifted and privileged liberal who talks down to the masses about the dangers of Two Scoops Man. His Brandeis Commencement speech was completely absurd. None of the "slavery" he moaned about happened. It's a frustrating and shameful use of his influence to fear monger and degrade people.
I like Ken’s work but featuring a “lost cause” confederacy apologist so prominently ruined “civil war” for me and misinformed millions and I’ve never heard him apologize or attempt to edit the Shelby Foote out of what is otherwise an amazing piece of documentary work
Well said… and situationally aware in our current context. I loved the series at the time. I was not aware of the power of narrative. The power of reframing. Not sure I’d put these issues at the feet of Ken Burns but also not giving him a pass.
the Japanese didn't surrender when the US dropped the bombs. They surrendered when the USSR invaded Manchuria, a surrender they would have issued regardless of whether the bombs were dropped. That's the true history, the second Germany surrendered the US *did* immediately convert to "Russia is the enemy." FDR didn't want this, but it happened because Truman listened to the wrong people.
Sorry, but crediting solely the "USSR invasion Manchuria" as the sole reason for Japan's surrender is most definitely NOT "true history". Monocausal explanations for the Japanese surrender are mistaken, simplistic, and a bit silly. The Japanese suffered a series of blows that finally prompted capitulation. Soviet entry into the PTO jolted their Army and diplomats. Submarine blockade and the inexorable advance and growth of our fleets alarmed their Navy. Transportation collapse, firebombings, Atomic-bombs, and all the other destructon and disarray raised the specter of Communist revolt for civilian leaders. Meanwhile the rice crop was failing, and projections of the possible number of deaths from starvation in the winter of 1945 went into the tens of millions. Finally, the Nagasaki bomb seems to have prodded the Emperor to personally intervene. Take away any of these blows and perhaps the timing of the surrender may have been different, but it was inevitable. Why did the emperor decide to end the war? In his contemporary statements, he consistently cited three reasons. First, he had lost faith in Ketsu Go, referring to the long record of “discrepancy between plans and performance.” This statement delivered a crushing blow to the high command’s whole rationale to continue fighting. Second, the emperor cited the increasing devastation of conventional and nuclear bombing. Third, he referred to “the domestic situation”-the burgeoning fear of internal revolt. Later in a private letter to the Crown Prince he did not expect to be made public, the emperor stressed Japan’s deficiency in “science”-a euphemism that encompassed atomic weapons-and an underestimation of the United States and Great Britain. He did not mention Soviet entry into the war
The idea that an invasion of the Japan home islands was necessary is ridiculous. At that point they had no industrial capacity, no navy. The bomb was to intimidate the Soviets, period.
You are 1000% wrong. Clearly you weren't alive during this time and haven't researched the topic enough. Stop parroting things you hear from social media.
@@thegoodrevtimthis narrative is very popular today with people on social media. It gravitates towards people with anti-American bias who have no perception of what it was like to be alive in that era.
Don’t you think, maybe, just maybe, there were multiple reasons for using it? Everyone alive knew the Japanese had no intention to surrender. They were telling women and children to protect their homeland with sharp sticks for crying out loud. It’s entirely possibly they used the bomb to bring it to a swift end while ALSO showing the soviets this is serious business - because let’s not ignore the fact that Stalin had his sights on Southeast Asia with NOT GOOD INTENTIONS.
Can you imagine a Ken Burns on the 20 years we spent in the Middle East. That would be fire. I feel like there has been so much disinformation he could get through and shed light on.
He ain’t going anywhere near that for a while. Haha
Narrated by the Will Lyman? Sign me TF up.
“Can you imagine a Ken Burns on the 20 years we spent in the Middle East”….yeah he did that already, and it’s called ‘The Vietnam War’
Wow...and painful. ... Like the truth
Ken Burns is a national treasure.
i'm an aussie and i agree with you.
The Vietnam War is such an amazing documentary. I've seen it no exaggeration at least 15 times. Yes all like 20 hours of it and I find something new in it every time. Such an important film.
Seeing both sides interviewed so honestly and candidly (and evenly) was incredible
@@SM-qe4wdtotally agree. It is so deeply personal and real. Not disrespectful to either side.
Great soundtrack too
I haven't watched 15 times but I think I'm at 4 and like you I find something new every time.
Watching the Vietnam documentary really brings to light the fact that we (America) should have never been there in the first place... what a profound loss of life that could have been avoided.
I found this interview quite moving. i'm a war veteran who is also spent a career as a psychologist treating war veterans over 30 years. I've since retired out of the US Army reserve while I was a medical officer, served in Iraq and my first branch was the Marine Corps served in Africa. The true impact of the Civil War documentary has been so profound it has become the yardstick that we measure other documentaries but it was also deeply moving and to hear your words about how it was to make it is truly heartfelt. I've traveled battlefields I served on battlefields and I've cared for warriors of World War II and many others. All the stories have not been told. What we hear in psychotherapy I think would be an amazing documentary. But would you have contributed and you're caring words here about not having others forgotten is truly appreciated. Your work has truly made a difference there is no doubt about it. One last thought. In 1979 I was on a Boy Scout trip to Gettysburg. I was about nine years old. I vividly remember the impact of being on the field of picket charge. I truly felt it and I think that experience is what propelled me into a career of military service and then caring for those who have served. Thank you and thank you Mr. interviewer for this great documentarians words. PS: I am independant and GOP Trump supporter this time around! I appreciate you sharing your feelings about the recent election as well it takes a lot of bravery to share your beliefs!!!
Hi, Paul. Thanks for caring for our soldiers.
As a kid id feel annoyed at not having cable TV but now im glad that i grew up on PBS and Ken Burns.
Same 😂 appreciate it
Ken Burns - The West may be the greatest documentary ever made. Baseball is great too. all his docs are magnificent
The Buffalo one is my favorite.
Seen the Roosevelts the most times. But enjoy all of them
The west is super underrated! I think Vietnam may be my favorite but I agree they’re all at the very worst a 9.9
I second the opinion that_ Vietnam_ was a great documentary. Drew Carey surprised me in that. But for my money the often overlooked _The US and the Holocaust_ documentary could be so influential.
I wouldn’t say any of that. There are reasons historians do not look to him for information.
An interesting point a military historian friend of mine pointed out to me, regarding the difference between WW2 and Vietnam vets upon returning, was that in WW2, when you were out on the front and it was finally time to go home, you turned around, marched or trucked across the theater, then boarded ships for a long trip back. This meant you and your returning comrades had time together to sort of process what you'd experienced, whereas during Vietnam, when you were sent home you could have been stateside within a day, back in the civilian world with no time to process and no one around you who understood what you went through.
Between that, the fact that Americans reactions to the returning soldiers were vastly different between those two wars and countless other variables, I don't think the Great War vets were any more or less stoic than those from Nam, but rather had different circumstances in regards to their homes and their returns to them.
Also, WW2 soldiers were victorious whereas Vietnam was a ridiculous, pointless disaster.
The average Vietnam soldier saw 240 days of combat per year to the 40 for WW2. Depending on your involvement in major battles the average WW2 vet wasn’t under constant uninterrupted stress. Humping the jungle was a horror show daily and it made every day hell for those in the bush.
never really considered that before. thanks
completely spot on, Vietnam was such a weird, fucked up monster of a war. kids out of high school sucked into this nightmarish jungle war in as foreign of a country as you can ask for, then spat out shaken to your core to a home that hates you for what you went through. It was so ugly. World war 2 had this aura of glory around it, vietnam was just darkness
One of my closest friends was in 1/75th Ranger in Afghanistan. He was on the very first C-17 with Rangers that landed at Baghram in late October 2001.
John was in Combat on a Thursday, pulled in that evening, was out processed and back in Florida by Monday afternoon. I met him a few weeks later and he was still keyed up and looking for a mission and he had none. I pulled him into an EMT class I was teaching just to give him something to focus on. DOD is NOT good at preparing and reorienting combat personnel back into civilian life. I can’t even begin to imagine how much worse it must have been for Vietnam vets. At least GWOT fighters were (mostly) welcomed home.
"Im trying to do comedy bro" may be the best comic relief moment ever hahaha. Fuck I felt Kens pain and the comic relief needed lmao
WE NEED A MULTI-EPISODE ON THE KOREAN WAR!
Ken Burns is a national treasure!
I’ve seen all his documentaries on PBS!❤🇺🇸💙🫶🏽✌🏽
I love Ken so much. I would adore him even more if he did a documentary on WWI. I know PBS has a great one but I'd love to see him do it.
"The half life of grief is endless." Spot fn on!
Yeah.
.
Ken Burns is the great chronicler of the American experience.
The Civil War is one of the greatest documentary films ever made-it changed the genre.
Thanks, my father was in the pacific and was on Iwo Jima and at Okinawa and was supposed to be in the invasion of Japan. He was one of many who said the bomb saved his life. He came home and from what my aunts told me, he didn’t mention what happened for 10 years. His issues came out after my mom passed in 1970. I never sensed him having nightmares but I’m convinced that he did. I truly believe that though the issues would have come out, they wouldn’t come out the way or as intense as they did had my mother been here.
I still think The Civil War by Ken Burns is the most important documentary ever made, in terms of both how it told the story of the subject matter and also how it influenced the future of the genre. Some of the ones he did later, you can argue are better, but not more important.
Best documentarian alive. I love the National Parks and Roosevelt. And WWII. They're all great!
4:30 For those who are curious : This story is from Quentin C Aanenson in *_'The War'_* by Ken Burns. Quentin was not really a "bomber pilot" - he flew the P - 47 "Thunderbolt (I)" fighter plane, escorting bombers in Europe. Quentin did have "the shakes" in his hand for decades after WWII - but it wasn't from "nervousness", it was from firing his aircraft's machine guns so much (the P - 47 was so heavily armed with *8* machine guns that it would feedback through the control stick). Aanenson flew the first escort fighter plane that could go with the bombers all the way into Germany - standing orders were to strafe any ground targets on the way back to base when they didn't use their ammunition in aerial combat. As 1944 progressed 9th Air Force P - 47's would transition to more of a "attack fighter" role, flying missions as purpose designated "ground attack" and infantry support roles, as the P - 51 "Mustang" took over escorting bombers. Aanenson would write a history of his WWII service for his family, later turning that into a self-produced documentary video _A Fighter Pilot's Story_ in 1993 - 94. Look up his Wikipedia article, it is complete and fascinating.
Quentin is my great uncle through marriage. His brother, my uncles father, is still alive and about 100.
I was so impressed by the civil war doco. The participants were brought to life their humanity evident after so long.Their tragedy and loss were palpable.The question remains,why did they do it?So much loss for what.Burns is a genius.
In relation to his combat vet talk...I never really spoke about my combat experiences to anyone or talked about it because there is just no way to relate to anyone about it. Not even other veterans. People just can not comprehend it. I have learned to make peace with it. If somebody asks, I will give general answers but dont typically go into specific things. Some folks are an open book and will tell you everything, and that's ok. I just do not. I do have PTSD but it's not nearly as bad as some folks. Kens documentaries are awesome. Have enjoyed the ones I have seen so far.
It's not my business.
I have a lot of family and friends. Some do some don't.
I missed it.
I am truly sorry. I always try to be as respectful as I can be. I have always carried a little guilt for missing it. So many people like yourself paid way too much.
Take care.
@TRIChuckles Dont be sorry. Nobody forced me to sign the dotted line. I knew what I was possiblility getting into, lol. I was not tricked. I was in a combat profession, and there was a "war" going in, lol. That tends to happen. I paid. Some paid a lot more. And some paid everything.
Hi crow. Unrelated but you have great taste in TV shows.
@TheBathrobeWizard Thanks hehe. I get comments about that from time to time. One of my favorite shows.
My father in law was a navy pilot during WW2, he never went overseas, but as he was in the hospital for the last time in 1999, he started to cry, remembering a childhood buddy who died in a bomber over Germany. Here was a man that was pretty storic, but 60 years later, he still grieved.
Hearing Ashokan Farewell immediately brings to mind his cival war series.
the half life of grief is endless ... what a profound statement, thank you ken burns for your work . and thanks neal for doing comedy xD
What an awesome get for a podcast. Great job, Neal Brennan.
Even today, if I hear "Ashokan Farewell," the music from The Civil War, I feel that sense of tremendous sadness and wonder that documentary engendered. I can't wait until my sons are old enough to watch it with me. I can't watch the Vietnam one. I think of my father and how much he went through, and I just can't watch it.
Powerful history, thank you for capturing these memories on film 🎥
"I'm trying to do comedy bro" 😂🤣
Burns has done some great work. The National Parks really captures the diversity and importance of the parks. Jazz is amazing. The Civil War was dated even then. Some great stories and accounts and some amazing images. Burns had the opportunity to include James McPherson and Eric Foner whose ground breaking works that are now foundational had just come out, but it was his first documentary, and had he included them there would not have been a second because some of you would have made sure of that. So he went with Foote who was great theater and Ed Bearss, who was someone I knew and worked with and was a great and well known Civil War historian. His three volume history of Vicksburg is extraordinary. So I understand why he did what he did. If you want to know more about the Civil War start with McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom and Foner’s Reconstruction, Ron Chernow’s Grant, Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, Catton’s Centennial trilogy, and Blight’s Race and Reunion, the Civil War in American Memory. That’s a good start
Hey look, someone does not see the reason for the civil war. It was about the end of human bondage in america, the end.
McPherson is excellent. I think it's really one of the best on the subject.
For me once I started to grasp the horrors of war and how young some of those soldiers were in those older wars, it made me have respect for all veterans, for all the people who have to been sent to die
His uncredited direction of the COMMUNITY pillow fight episode is his best work.
The jazz documentary is underrated in my opinion
Im 65 and growing up without cable TV, my dad watched shows like World at War, and other shows that dealt with WW2. Now, with so much content, it's easy to avoid so-called " boring" history shows.
Thank you for bringing us the words of this lord of history. TY
unbelievable great content!! thanks
I’ll always remember in Burns’s Civil War documentary, Shelby Foote said, “The problem at the time was that we failed to do what this country does best-compromise.” And that went right over our heads and it took 30 years before someone said, “Compromise how? Only have slavery Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Have ‘casual slavery’ on Fridays?” We are, overall, not a very intelligent country.
For those who would deny the Holocaust, watch, "The World At War" episodes on the subject. I watched them as a child.
Probably the best ww2 documentary ever created. Very good recommendation. 👍🏻
Good recommendation. Also Ken Burns very own _'The US and the Holocaust'_ is highly recommended for the information it gives on how America delt with the great tragedy of the 20th century.
I am 78 Vietnam era veteran. My father passed in 2014 at 98. My father enlisted in 1935 as an enlisted man stationed on the battleship West Virginia where he and friends took and passed the test to enter the Naval academy. He graduated from Annapolis in 1940. His first duty station was the old WW1 cruiser the Raleigh stationed in Pearl Harbor 1941. It was hit by a torpedo and bomb during the attack. My mother was a nurse at the big Hawaiian general hospital Queens located not far from Pearl Harbor. By coincidence they met on a date in Waikiki December 6th and they danced till the early morning hours. My father was late getting back to the Raleigh so he was able to get an old garbage scow that let him off back at the Raleigh shortly before 7am. The Raleigh was berthed at a station that was where aircraft carriers previously had been so because of that the Raleigh was one of the first ships hit during the attack. My father was blown out of his bunk landing on the floor. By shear luck no one was killed on the Raleigh which sat on the other side of Ford island from battleship row. My father was an ensign and his battle station was up in the crows nest where he an artillery officer measured coordinates to fire its big 5 inch guns. Japanese planes were flying around the crows nest as he was climbing up the ladder and a Japanese pilot waved at him. My father later served the new cruiser Houston and almost died as it was attacked off Formosa. he is mentioned in a book The Battle to Save the Houston. I implore you to read that he is mentioned in a in that book. Julius Steuckert was his name.
I feel like there’s a big void with WWI and the war in Korea. I’d love to see Ken do a doc on one of those events
Ken Burns is the best
I hope Ken Burns does a Korean War documentary. It’s still going on. John Cho’s film was good, but I would like to see a Ken Burns treatment.
Ken Burns is my personal hero.
War Documentaries is Hell.
Oooo ken burns revolutionary war. I'll watch that.
Yeah I can’t wait
Thank you Neal
Great interview
Civil War was his Masterpiece!
Powerful segment! Well done! Shawn R., Mo-Mutt Music/Sacred & Secular
Having seen The World At War as a kid and rewatched it on multiple occasions since, I think calling it top down a bit unfair. I would agree that its biggest contribution was to record a lot of the senior participants in the war before time took its inevitable toll. The other striking thing to me has been how well it's stood up despite being produced before Ultra was declassified.
I want to know what "hurt too much" to do the Civil War (One of my absolute favorite documentaries!!!).
This is incredible
Interesting/Incredible stuff. That line @ the end 😂😂
I find the audio is kind of messed up, although I don't know if that's just because Ken keeps backing away from the mic.
Supporting Neal
“What is a chair, Alex.”
While there is a great British made WWI documentary from 2003, I would have loved to see a Ken Burns treatment to that global conflict.
He has 1 about the circus is amazing my favorite are Baseball and Country Music, WW2 might win awards if it's made, Da Vinci is also very good
I'm 55 and had uncles and other family in WWII along with many people who I knew of my grandparents generation.
The Greatest Generation were that and more. Ken says it best when he says they were "tempered" by the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. They were so polar opposit of the Boomers it's really phenominal. I grew up spending a lot of time with the Greatest Gen and the things I learned from them I still live to this day.
@@totallybored5526 Ladies and Gents, the snarky Brit who thinks he's hip and cool trying to put down Americans has joined the chat.
Sorry but Clarkson did it over 20 years ago and it's a campy shtick. But whatever.
Cheers.
Yes, "the Greatest Generation" did all that and more. Experiencing the low points of the Great Depression and WWII, but they also gave birth to and raised the "Boomers".
Ken Burns has made his place in America.
Good Stuff !!!
Don’t know how he did it. But Jazz was great too
Legend.
You need to redo that Civil War series.
Good to see he finally got a haircut
The National Parks and Jazz
One correction: KIA's get a Purple Heart also.
Yeah, war's a real bummer but it's done wonders for literature and cinema :D
Don't care for his politics, but Burns is gifted.
There was an underground organization of veterans after WW2 .THEY HAD TO BE DECORATED FOR BRAVERY TO become a member POW s need not applie .the way they recognized each other was the phrase "I'm a vet " in those days you didn't call a veteran a vet, that was disrespectful, but they used it. They really looked out for each other .I saw it totally turn situation s around with just that phrase but I don't know what they called themselves .does anyone else know?
Powerful: The half life of grief!
Ken Burns is the Truman Capote of Documentary film.
Better.
Ken Burns is a treasure!
So is Carl Sagan, watch his take on mankind and his Video The Pale Blue Dot.
His WWII documentary was a dud but civil war and Vietnam were probably the best war films he made.
Since 9/11 four times as many U.S. service members have died by suicide rather than in combat.
Curious if Ken Burns is saying the Purple Heart is only awarded to the wounded and not the dead because he thinks that’s the case in general, or because he knows that WW2 predated the 1962 executive order to award it posthumously.
I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt although it was strange that he said "Purple Hearts are for the wounded" instead of "were for the wounded at that time."
@ exactly
it's not history that's written by the victors, it's myth. But when you study history you quickly realize to the extent that your average person known anything about the past, what they know is that myth and not history.
I’m tryna do comedy bro 😂
We Boomers, the sons of the Greatest Generation were born in the shadow of WW2 and felt obligated and were expected to carry on the legacy of our fathers. So we went into Vietnam without question with duty Honor and Country that we grew up with. The Vietnam War was unpopular and we have to live with its unpopularity to this day.
Whatever awards there are for artistic excellence, patriotism, contribution for the betterment of society, and historical preservation....Ken Burns should have them all. And then some.
It transforms people from being alive people to dead people.
It transforms societies and the course of history.
The Iliad, or: The Poem of Force
This is what is scary about the cosplayers we just elected....they are trying to be movie versions of Men and not real Men that know about personal sacrifice and the real costs of being morally right.
What’s amazing is how great his hair is for his age! How does he do it? 😅 ………..hmmmmmm
Burns and Shelby Foote have been credited with reigniting interest in the Lost Cause of Slavery and 'state's rights.' I used to really respect him, but these days he seems like the minister of propaganda. He will always find some saccharine way way to characterize what Americans in the Establishment do, whatever gymnastics are required.
Sometimes you need more than comedy sport?
My only complaint about Ken Burns documentaries is that he has an unfortunate habit of going with the legend behind something or someone, instead of rigorously researched fact. In Baseball, for example, he went with the legend of who Ty Cobb was rather than the facts. Spoiler alert: He was not even close to being the monster that he's described as in the Burns documentary.
DAVENPORT IOWA DAD JOKE of the day 20 DEC 2024)
[Q] How does the GINGERBREAD MAN, make his BED?
[A] he uses COOKIE SHEETS,of course
He should recut his Civil War doc...Foote's constant propaganda ruined it.
yes. but..... Ken does not defend our history from the destroyers of history. Why is that,Ken ?
So you're interviewing a guy you know nothing about, or seen any of his works.....? Why?
A relatively young nation like America needs it's own harmless doses of mythology
I disagree, this is precisely how we came to worship Christopher Columbus. How a man who never stepped foot anywhere in the United States, had our nation’s capital named after him, is beyond me.
It makes no sense, the founding fathers created these myths about him that were patently false & those made it into our history books.
National treasure
When people this interesting have to talk like third graders....
Making the Civil War was painful, you said. What did you know of war? You turned the camera on Vietnam and I asked, why did you do that to us? You felt pain, but did you have psycho-analyst on set? You collected videos and photographs, but do you know what brains smell like?
Ken Burns is a left wing nut
Everyone to the left of Bush Sr is a nutcase, amiright? *wink wink nudge nudge*
Ken Burns puts his personal feelings out there too much.
personally, I loved the Iowa caucuses.
Ken is yet another brilliantly gifted and privileged liberal who talks down to the masses about the dangers of Two Scoops Man. His Brandeis Commencement speech was completely absurd. None of the "slavery" he moaned about happened. It's a frustrating and shameful use of his influence to fear monger and degrade people.
The propaganda king.
I like Ken’s work but featuring a “lost cause” confederacy apologist so prominently ruined “civil war” for me and misinformed millions and I’ve never heard him apologize or attempt to edit the Shelby Foote out of what is otherwise an amazing piece of documentary work
Well said… and situationally aware in our current context. I loved the series at the time. I was not aware of the power of narrative. The power of reframing. Not sure I’d put these issues at the feet of Ken Burns but also not giving him a pass.
the Japanese didn't surrender when the US dropped the bombs. They surrendered when the USSR invaded Manchuria, a surrender they would have issued regardless of whether the bombs were dropped. That's the true history, the second Germany surrendered the US *did* immediately convert to "Russia is the enemy." FDR didn't want this, but it happened because Truman listened to the wrong people.
Sorry, but crediting solely the "USSR invasion Manchuria" as the sole reason for Japan's surrender is most definitely NOT "true history". Monocausal explanations for the Japanese surrender are mistaken, simplistic, and a bit silly. The Japanese suffered a series of blows that finally prompted capitulation. Soviet entry into the PTO jolted their Army and diplomats. Submarine blockade and the inexorable advance and growth of our fleets alarmed their Navy. Transportation collapse, firebombings, Atomic-bombs, and all the other destructon and disarray raised the specter of Communist revolt for civilian leaders. Meanwhile the rice crop was failing, and projections of the possible number of deaths from starvation in the winter of 1945 went into the tens of millions. Finally, the Nagasaki bomb seems to have prodded the Emperor to personally intervene. Take away any of these blows and perhaps the timing of the surrender may have been different, but it was inevitable. Why did the emperor decide to end the war? In his contemporary statements, he consistently cited three reasons. First, he had lost faith in Ketsu Go, referring to the long record of “discrepancy between plans and performance.” This statement delivered a crushing blow to the high command’s whole rationale to continue fighting. Second, the emperor cited the increasing devastation of conventional and nuclear bombing. Third, he referred to “the domestic situation”-the burgeoning fear of internal revolt. Later in a private letter to the Crown Prince he did not expect to be made public, the emperor stressed Japan’s deficiency in “science”-a euphemism that encompassed atomic weapons-and an underestimation of the United States and Great Britain. He did not mention Soviet entry into the war
The idea that an invasion of the Japan home islands was necessary is ridiculous. At that point they had no industrial capacity, no navy.
The bomb was to intimidate the Soviets, period.
You are 1000% wrong. Clearly you weren't alive during this time and haven't researched the topic enough. Stop parroting things you hear from social media.
Totally disagree. There was zero indication that Japanese were prepared to surrender.
@@thegoodrevtimthis narrative is very popular today with people on social media. It gravitates towards people with anti-American bias who have no perception of what it was like to be alive in that era.
Don’t you think, maybe, just maybe, there were multiple reasons for using it? Everyone alive knew the Japanese had no intention to surrender. They were telling women and children to protect their homeland with sharp sticks for crying out loud. It’s entirely possibly they used the bomb to bring it to a swift end while ALSO showing the soviets this is serious business - because let’s not ignore the fact that Stalin had his sights on Southeast Asia with NOT GOOD INTENTIONS.
@@cobrakai9969 Or maybe we have more information currently and can understand the nuance of the world better than the previous generations.
Then he did a softball Vietnam documentary and glossed over the Gulf of Tonkin incident
It was a fantastic documentary and did not gloss over criticism while also showing respect to all sides.
Great interview