Documentary

Ken Burns’ The War picks up again this Sunday with the first of its final three episodes. When we last saw the series, hopes of a quick end to the war in Europe were running high following the D-Day invasion, and the Allies’ rapid advance toward the German border. But as we see in this episode, nothing can be assumed, certainly not victory against a desperate opponent in wartime. Overconfidence can lead to things becoming “FUBAR” — F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition — very quickly. Now, your local PBS station may choose to run a version of this episode that […]

In “Pride of Our Nation,” the last episode of The War for this week (three more are to come next week), we see Americans’ hope begin to increase as the long-awaited invasion of France — D-Day — finally occurs. As we all know from fictional accounts such as Saving Private Ryan, the disastrous American D-Day landing at Omaha Beach was the bloodiest day in U.S. history since the Civil War. Since we have seen so many histories of this battle, there is not an inordinate amount of time spent on it, but there are enough new angles to make an […]

Tonight’s episode of The War, airing on PBS at 8pm ET/PT, covers the months from November 1943 up until June 1944, and is titled “A Deadly Calling.” It’s an apt title, coming from one veteran’s recollection of how he (and most others) came to accept their duty to kill in this now total war, where once they had subscribed to “Thou shalt not kill.” It also describes how the American public came to realize just how deadly this calling was. Through the first two years of the war, even though the dreaded and heartbreaking telegrams to wives and mothers kept […]

In the first episode of The War, Ken Burns’ incredible new miniseries premiering this Sunday on PBS, a veteran of World War II describes that conflict as “a necessary war.” History has proven that to be correct. And history should also determine that Burns’ documentary is a very necessary and worthwhile endeavor, as it manages to put on film valuable recollections of that monumental moment in world, and particularly American, history. With many from that “greatest generation” now passing away each day, it is crucial to gain whatever information from them that we can. As the introduction to each episode of […]