The Civil War on PBS

[1990, TV Show]

The Civil War: TV Guide News

Ken Burns' acclaimed history of what Lincoln called America's `fiery trial' blends vintage stills with dramatic voice-overs and on-camera commentary. `The Civil War' won numerous awards, including two Emmys and a Grammy, and remains PBS's highest-rated series. It also made a household name of writer Shelby Foote, whose homespun anecdotes and insights set the standard for commentators on such later Burns documentaries as `Baseball' (1994) and `Jazz' (2001).

War Is Hell -- But Heavenly TV | Roush Dispatch | 1/5/2007
On Friday, TV Guide editors got an early glimpse at a new masterpiece. When it comes to the latest anything by Ken Burns, it's never too soon to get the buzz started.The great and eloquent documentarian and his longtime producing partner Lynn Novick stopped by the offices to show selected scenes from his latest epic: The War, a seven-part, 14 1/2-hour exploration of World War II through the eyes and emotionally charged recollections of "ordinary" citizens who either served in the trenches of the European or Pacific theaters or who lived through it on the home front. No talking-head experts or academics in this vivid history — it’s mostly first-person, focusing on nonfamous (for now) members of four communities meant to symbolize the impact of this “worst war” on a country at once united and shattered by the horrors of combat. (The witnesses hail from Waterbury, Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; and Luverne, Minnesota.)Burns told us that WWII... read more

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Premiered: 1990, on PBS

Rating: TV-PG

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Premise: Ken Burns' acclaimed history of what Lincoln called America's `fiery trial' blends vintage stills with dramatic voice-overs and on-camera commentary. `The Civil War' won numerous awards, including two Emmys and a Grammy, and remains PBS's highest-rated series. It also made a household name of writer Shelby Foote, whose homespun anecdotes and insights set the standard for commentators on such later Burns documentaries as `Baseball' (1994) and `Jazz' (2001).

Cast