The Vietnam War

Drinking a tepid bottle of sparkling water because I forgot to put them in the fridge. There are no ice cubes in the freezer. And we would all go down together/ We said we'd all go down together / Yes we would all go down together

Excellent. Thorough, well-written and well-produced. Although there is more detail about America's involvement in the war than about that of the North Vietnamese, it is still adequate in that respect. Tons of footage, but I would have preferred fewer, longer cuts. My major complaint was the choice of the narrator, who seems to have the emotional range of a potato. But for anyone interested in the war, whether you know a bit about it, or like me, knew nothing, you should watch this.

Exhaustive (and exhausting) contemplation of the War is perhaps too oppressive when viewed in a marathon screening; some repetition in its early stages dealing with the veterans experiences on the ground give way to the best sections dealing with the Nixon era as troubling depictions of civil unrest in both U.S. and Vietnam are effectively played and contrasted against each other, though soundtrack choices are occasionally too on-the-nose. Still an important (and worthy) historical document.

I started watching this back in September. It was during a heatwave and my new apartment didn't have air conditioning. As the sweat poured down my body, I knew exactly what being in Vietnam was like.

An detailed review of the Vietnam war with the kind of insight one can only get from hindsight long after the fact. It successfully describes the events and ideology of both sides of the conflict. It chronicles the terrible loss of life and scale of the destruction with vintage footage. Often heartbreaking and hard to watch. I would have greatly preferred voice translations instead of the tiny written translations. Full of details never before assembled into one series. All of it felt very old.

Started out fascinating, but episodes begin to feel "samey" as the series progresses.

The War very few want to talk about. Here it is talked about at great length. The imagery didn't strike me as much as say "The Civil War" but the actual recounts and stories of vets from both sides intermixed with music from the era are definitely effective.

Much like the war it depicts, this film goes on longer than necessary, and Burns and Novick cannot resist the lure of ‘war as entertainment’ to 'shock' the audience. However, such gratuity is punctuated by sincere moments of testimony from veterans/survivors, in particular those of John Musgrave and Bảo Ninh who speak with such conviction that the viewer is forced to confront the Vietnam War not as an undifferentiated ‘bad’ episode of history but as a singularly abhorrent historical event.

A monstrous project to get engaged in, but gracefully executed. This is not only about the US or Vietnam or the War. It is about the French, UK, Russia, The Human Condition, Media, Children, Nation-building, Women, Politicians, Ambitions and many others. Pay special attention to the OST and chosen songs from the period. It is a gem.

Starts off perfectly but becomes more and more about the domestic American trauma rather than the war itself. My big complaint would be that the fall of South Vietnam is abbreviated (leaving out the theatrical handover of power in favor of detailing the embassy evacuation), and that Cambodia/the Khmer Rouge is barely mentioned. On the whole though it's superb as you would expect from Ken Burns.

(1 episode)

You already know what songs they are going to play throughout this series.

Absolutely terrific production

Excellent.

Holy smokes, nothing changes. Ever. Art gets better, but people stay stupid.

solid doc