Customer Reviews

American Civil War [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Released by A&E/The History Channel, "The American Civil War" is one of the shortest distillations of this conflict that I have ever seen! Really. It's only about 20 minutes. What is worth the purchase price is the so-called 'bonus': "The Killing Power of Civil War Artillery". This actually takes up the most space on the tape and is excellent. It details the developments of artillery in the Civil War, and some of the men behind these developments...some as young as 21 years of age. I learned quite a bit that I can take to my students when I teach this section of American History again. I would rate the 'bonus' documentary with a '4' out of five, and the actual title documentary with a '2'...

Generally, this DVD set accomplishes much for the civil war novice. It is full of information concerning battles and effectively alternates between current historians' perspectives (which are surprisingly balanced and relatively unbiased), historical photos and live re-enactments. The documentary is thoughtful in its presentation but unfortunately suffers from a modest production budget which - at times - hurts the quality of the re-enactments of key battles in the civil war, i.e. Picketts Charge, which used a woefully inadequate number of soldiers/actors to recreate this epic piece of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The DVD set also does the Southern perspective justice by explaining the views of the south and that the reasons for going to war (or defending their homeland - take your pick) meant much more to the confederate states than simply the preservation of slavery.

While the re-enactments are generally weak, the producers do try hard with what they have to work with and this would be an excellent source of information for someone wanting to know more about the war without spending the exorbitant cost that other studios charge for people who want to learn more about american history.

Very disapointed at first. Very biased against the south. The first half hour talked how slavery was the cause of the civil war not states rights. Also it never mentions that the north also had slavery until the early 1800's and that the slave traders that brought the slaves in, in the first place where from the north. Some information is good but don't belive everthing that is said.

I AM THE PRODUCER-DIRECTOR of the BBC-CIVIL WAR SHOW:I was under contract to the BBC as a Producer-Directo - only American ever - only American EVER! I produced and directed tons of shows - Big Musicals to narrow-focus musicals using Broadway Show Tunes to folk songs - as background to The Big Story involved - I WON AWARDS IN ENGLAND +++ for this film - NOT THIS ONE - this was truckated by AN AMERICAN PRODUCER - he shall be nameless as he is A SNAKE for selling a "partial minute bit of the show" - it had a 3 handkerchief ending - AND NOW "the SNAKE" MKES MONEY OFF OF MY bbc-tv VERSION - PLEASE LOOK UP THE VARIETTY REVIEW - PUT IN vARIETY A FEW DAYS AFTER AIRING ON bbc-2 AND IS A RAVE RAVE RAVE - by a British Variety reviewer who worked for them at that time!!! It is a 3-handkershief tear-jerker during the last 10 minutes!!! MISTER SNAKE SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS BUT HE KNOWS WHO HE IS AND WILL RUE THE DAY HE STOLE MY FILM!!! HE WANTED ME TO WORK WITH HE AND HIS PARTNER - AND I WONDERED WHY I DID NOT GET MY FILM BACK - NOW THE WORLD KNOWS - GREED GREED GREED - from a producer no less - how can that be - a ruthless producer - WOW! HOW QUAINT!!!??? BUDDY BREGMAN

Well, this just goes to show you, Yankee revisionists are still trying to make the South out to be the greatest evil the world has ever seen. I'm surprised to not hear the comparison between the CSA and Nazi Germany. To get a much more clear history of the War for Southern Independence, try "The Civil War: a History" by Harry Hansen or "The South was Right" by the Kennedy brothers.