Blu-ray Review: Ken Burns Uses His Amazing Skill to Chronicle ‘The War’

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CHICAGO – Ken Burns is one of the most important, influential, and talented filmmakers alive. His long-form documentaries for PBS — “Baseball,” “The Civil War,” and “Jazz” — are all must-sees (and he’s working on pieces on “The Dust Bowl” and “Vietnam”). One of his most accomplished works, “The War,” has been released on Blu-ray just in time for Father’s Day and would make a perfect gift for anyone interested in World War II.

Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

One needs to make a commitment to a Ken Burns documentary. “The War” is fifteen hours long and approaches its subject matter with an exhaustive yet personal touch. Burns chose four cities across the United States and focused on how they were personally impacted by the combat in Europe and Asia. The impact of WWII on not just people but entire communities has never been more expertly chronicled. Burns has always had an amazing way of weaving facts and statistics with human truth, which he often finds through letters, journals, and photographs of the time period he’s covering. I can’t say enough about Burns’ talent and anyone willing to commit to “The War” will find it one of the most essential documents of World War II ever made.

The War was released on Blu-ray on May 15, 2012
Photo credit: Paramount/PBS

Synopsis:
In extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

The War, a seven-part documentary series directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick explores the history and horror of the Second World War from an American perspective by following the fortunes of so-called ordinary men and women who become caught up in one of the greatest cataclysms in human history.

Six years in the making, this epic 15-hour film focuses on the stories of citizens from four geographically distributed American towns - Waterbury, Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; and the tiny farming town of Luverne, Minnesota. These four communities stand in for - and could represent - any town in the United States that went through the war’s four devastating years. Individuals from each community take the viewer through their own personal and quite often harrowing journeys into war, painting vivid portraits of how the war dramatically altered their lives and those of their neighbors, as well as the country they helped to save for generations to come.

Special Features:
o Making The War Featurette
o Exclusive Deleted Scenes
o Additional Interviews
o Commentary By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]