Civil War

The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns

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Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Release Date: 28-SEP-2004
Media Type: DVD

The most successful public-television miniseries in American history, the 11-hour Civil War didn't just captivate a nation, reteaching to us our history in narrative terms; it actually also invented a new film language taken from its creator. When people describe documentaries using the "Ken Burns approach," its style is understood: voice-over narrators reading letters and documents dramatically and stating the writer's name at their conclusion, fresh live footage of places juxtaposed with still images (photographs, paintings, maps, prints), anecdotal interviews, and romantic musical scores taken from the era he depicts. The Civil War uses all of these devices to evoke atmosphere and resurrect an event that many knew only from stale history books. While Burns is a historian, a researcher, and a documentarian, he's above all a gifted storyteller, and it's his narrative powers that give this chronicle its beauty, overwhelming emotion, and devastating horror. Using the words of old letters, eloquently read by a variety of celebrities, the stories of historians like Shelby Foote and rare, stained photos, Burns allows us not only to relearn and finally understand our history, but also to feel and experience it. --Dave McCoy

On the DVD
The DVD features on The Civil War provide a wealth of insight, creative philosophy, historical perspective, and educational enjoyment. Twelve years after its premiere broadcast, the film was given a digital facelift, sharpening image clarity, correcting color, and enriching its soundtrack with a remastered 5.1-channel mix, as demonstrated in the "Civil War Reconstruction" featurette. In interviews from 2002, producer-director Ken Burns, historian Shelby Foote, journalist George Will, author Stanley Crouch, and composer-musicians Jay Ungar and Molly Mason reflect upon The Civil War's enduring significance. And Burns's eloquent commentary--selectively included on each disc and totaling five hours--illuminates the historical importance and creative impulse behind crucial chapters of the film. Fifty-seven onscreen biography cards detail important North, South, and civilian figures, and two 1990 featurettes—"Making History" and "A Conversation with Ken Burns"--provide a more personal perspective on the creation of this extraordinary film. Useful for both personal and academic study, these features stand as a fitting supplement to one of the greatest documentaries ever produced. --Jeff Shannon

The French Revolution (History Channel)

On July 14 1789 a mob of angry Parisians stormed the Bastille and seized the King's military stores. A decade of idealism war murder and carnage followed bringing about the end of feudalism and the rise of equality and a new world order.THE FRENCH REVOLUTION is a definitive feature-length documentary that encapsulates this heady (and often headless) period in Western civilization. With dramatic reenactments illustrations and paintings from the era plus revealing accounts from journals and expert commentary from historians THE FRENCH REVOLUTION vividly unfurls in a maelstrom of violence discontent and fundamental change. King Louis XVI Marie Antoinette Maximilien Robespierre and Napoleon Bonaparte lead a cast of thousands in this essential program from THE HISTORY CHANNEL®.Narrated by Edward Herrmann (The Aviator Gilmore Girls) THE FRENCH REVOLUTION explores the legacy that--now more than ever--stands as both a warning and a guidepost to a new millennium.System Requirements: Running Time 100 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 733961718492 Manufacturer No: AAE-71849

God Grew Tired of Us

God Grew Tired of Us is as much about America as it is about Africa. The moving documentary begins in war-torn Sudan with the mid-1980s exodus of 27,000 Christian boys, most between five and ten. After their arrival in Kenya, the UN steps in with aid. Directors Christopher Quinn and Tommy Walker pick up the story a decade later, narrowing their focus to Panther, John, and Daniel, three of 3,800 given the opportunity to resettle in the US. Quinn and Walker are with them when they land in the States, where everything is new and exciting--electricity, running water, pre-packaged foodstuffs--all the things Americans take for granted. Through the assistance of various relief organizations, their expenses are covered for the next few months. After that, the trio is expected to provide for themselves (they're older than the subjects in 2003's The Lost Boys of Sudan). Divided between Pittsburgh, PA and Syracuse, NY, the young men are thrilled with their suburban lives. Over the next year, however, joy turns to sorrow. They miss their families and have trouble making connections beyond their social group. The directors document another two years, by which point things are finally starting to look up. Produced by Brad Pitt, God Grew Tired of Us won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance. Nicole Kidman provides a little narration, but for the most part, the Lost Boys speak for themselves, which is exactly as it should be. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

An award-winning critically acclaimed documentary narrated by Nicole Kidman GOD GREW TIRED OF US explores the indomitable spirit of three Lost Boys from the Sudan who are forced to leave their homeland due to a tumultuous civil war. Traveling barefoot across the sub-Saharan desert John Bul Dau Daniel Abol Pach and Panther Blor were among the 25000 Lost Boys (ages 3 to 13) who fled villages formed surrogate families and sought refuge from famine disease wild animals and attacks from rebel soldiers. Named by a journalist after Peter Pan s posse of orphans who protected and provided for each other the Lost Boys traveled together for five years and against all odds crossed into the UN s refugee camp in Kakuma Kenya. A journey s end for some it was only the beginning for John Daniel and Panther who along with 3800 other young survivors were selected to re-settle in the United States.The documentary chronicles their triumph over seemingly insurmountable adversities and a relocation to America where the Lost Boys build active and fulfilling new lives but remain deeply committed to helping friends and family they have left behind. The film is produced by Brad Pitt and Dermot Mulroney.System Requirements:Running Time: 89 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: PG UPC: 043396198999 Manufacturer No: 19899

Aftershock - Beyond the Civil War (History Channel)

Despite common belief the Civil War does not end in 1865 and the blood of many Americans mostly blacks continues to flow freely. It is a period known as "Reconstruction" a time many consider to be the darkest in American History. America is supposed to be reuniting healing its wounds and moving past civil discord. But by examining what is really going on in the post-Civil War South one can see snapshots of a larger more menacing picture a picture shadowed by murder terrorism and chaos as "free" black men and women remain enslaved by a South that does not completely surrender. Insurgencies led by disgruntled ex-Confederate soldiers rip through nearly every southern state. America's first terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan is formed in Tennessee and uses scare tactics and murder to keep blacks down.Run Time: 90 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 733961770179 Manufacturer No: AAE-77017

The History Channel Presents The Civil War

From Harper s Ferry Fort Sumter and First Bull Run to Shiloh Antietam and Gettysburg THE HISTORY CHANNEL PRESENTS: THE CIVIL WAR captures the most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A sweeping selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders who fought these battles including Sherman McClellan Grant Beauregard Lee Davis and Jackson are also brought back to life in richly detailed profiles. Through interviews with scholars and historians reenactments and their own written words the full military and political contexts of these men their armies and the clashes between them are thoroughly explored. System Requirements:Running Time: 600 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 733961771978 Manufacturer No: AAE-77197

Unchained Memories

The material used for this beautifully made HBO documentary dates back to the 1930s, when journalists conducted thousands of interviews with former slaves who'd been emancipated at the end of the Civil War. A selection of these faithfully transcribed "slave narratives" are vividly read (acted, really) here by a host of distinguished performers, ranging from Samuel L. Jackson to Oprah Winfrey, from Don Cheadle to Angela Bassett, with narration by Whoopi Goldberg. Since there's obviously no film available from the slave period, the producers use artfully edited photos, file footage, some atmospheric new film, and shots of the performers in action to bring the material to life. Add all of that to the DVD bonus features (text bios of individual slaves and a couple of lengthy audio segments), and you have a moving record of bitter, weary, yet resilient and quietly proud people living with memories that never would, or could, fade. --Sam Graham

When the Civil War ended in 1865 more than four million slaves were set free. Over 70 years later the memories of some 2000 slave-era survivors were transcribed and preserved by the Library of Congress. These first-person anecdotes ranging from the brutal to the bittersweet have been brought to vivid life in this unique HBO documentary special featuring the on-camera voices of over a dozen top African-American actors.Running Time: 75 min.System Requirements:Running Time 75 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 026359201523

Birth Of A Nation

The first true film, a lavish Civil War epic in which Griffith virtually invented the basics of film grammar. Two brothers, Phil and Ted Stoneman, visit their friends in Piedmont, South Carolina: the family Cameron. This friendship is affected by the Civil War, as the Stonemans and the Camerons must join up opposite armies. The consequences of the War in their lives are shown in connection to major historical events, like the development of the Civil War itself, Lincoln's assassination, and the birth of the Klu Klux Klan. Still a rouser, and of great historical interest. Silent with music score. Battle scenes and reconstruction period recreated along with touching scenes of family reunion.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Underground Railroad (History Channel)

The Underground Railroad, "the first civil rights movement," was no mere act of civil disobedience. The secret network of guides, pilots, and safe-house keepers (the Railroad's "conductors") was built by runaway slaves who, over the decades, communicated their experiences through songs and secret gestures, and were supported by abolitionists (many of them former slaves) who risked their own freedom to help free the enslaved. The "passengers" risked their lives.

A wealth of photos, documents, and commentary by modern historians provides the broad lines of history, but it comes alive in the individual stories of conductors and passengers, among them abolitionist and historian William Still, called the "Father of the Underground Railroad," and Henry "Box" Brown, who mailed himself to freedom in a cargo crate. They (and many others) take their place beside Harriet Tubman ("the Moses of her people") and Frederick Douglass as courageous heroes in America's first integrated social movement.

The DVD also features the Biography episode on Frederick Douglass, the complete text of the Emancipation Proclamation, a biographical essay on Harriet Tubman, and other historical background pieces. --Sean Axmaker

POV: Lost Boys of Sudan

Lost Boys of Sudan, which premiered on PBS's P.O.V. series in 2003, is a gripping documentary about young refugees from the Sudanese conflict as well as a moving story of survival and acclimation in a strange and daunting land. The film centers around two young Dinka tribesmen who must flee a vicious civil war in their homeland and risk thirst, starvation, and animal attack to reach refugee camps thousands of miles away in Kenya in Ethiopia. Once there, the "lost boys'" journey begins again, as they are resettled in Houston, Texas, and must start new lives in a completely alien country. Eventually, their adjustment to 21st century life becomes the film's main focus; can they join American society and still retain their tribal connections? Told in simple but powerful images, Lost Boys of Sudan affectingly addresses themes of home, acceptance, family, and what it means to be a member of society--both America and the global community. --Paul Gaita

Winner of an Independent Spirit Award and named Best Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival, LOST BOYS OF SUDAN follows two teenage Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America, offering a gripping and sobering peek into the myth of the American Dream. In the late `80s, Islamic fundamentalists in Sudan waged war on the country's separatists, leaving behind over 20,000 male orphans, otherwise known as "lost boys." For those who survived this traumatic ordeal and found their way to refugee camps, som were chosen to participate in a resettlement program in America--a distant place so presumably full of hope and opportunity that the Sudanese sometimes call it Heaven. But what if a free ticket to "Heaven" turned out to be anything but? Sidestepping conventional voice-over narration in favor of real-time, close-quarters poignancy, LOST BOYS OF SUDAN focuses on Santino and Peter, members of the Dinka tribe, during their first life-altering year in the United States. Safe at last from physical danger--but a world away from home--the boys must grapple with extreme cultural differences as they come to understand both the abundance and alienation of contemporary American life.

American Experience - Reconstruction: The Second Civil War

Spanning the years from 1863 to 1877, this dramatic mini-series recounts the tumultuous post-Civil War years. America was grappling with rebuilding itself, with bringing the South back into the Union, and with how best to offer citizenship to former slaves. Stories of key political players in Washington are interwoven with those of ordinary people caught up in the turbulent social and political struggles of Reconstruction.