For myself and, I would guess, many others, learning about World War II has been relegated mainly to dated textbooks, tedious lectures, Hollywood films starring John Wayne or the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. The picture is largely one of heroism. But I always felt there was something missing. I honestly never felt a deep connection to what happened some 70 years ago. I’d hear the occasional tale from my grandparents, but they rarely gave any details about life on thee battlefield and it was something I was never going to press them about. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick make the connection in The War, a near 15-hour epic documentary that tells America’s story of WWII in a whole and rounded manner that gets to the heart of what was happening on the battlefield and at home.
Each of the seven episodes begin with a note about the war taking place “in thousands of places, too many for any one accounting.” That is true so summing it up, even with a mini-series length, would be impossible. Wisely, they choose to focus on four American cities and use them to represent the entire nation. Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; and Luverne, Minnesota come to represent the American story. These four cities represent a broad cross-section of citizens from the urban to the rural, the Black and the White, and the middle class and the poor. There’s your standard history lessons of the major fronts, but more importantly those on the frontlines are given a voice – often their own.
Using a huge mix of voices and mediums, Burns and Novick piece together why America went to war, how it was justified, what it was like to be a soldier, the feelings of those family members still at home and everything in between. There’s radio broadcasts, news reels, interviews and newspaper headlines and excerpts. Perhaps most powerful of all are the letters to and from the soldiers. The first several episodes give particular attention to the letters written by Corado “Babe” Ciarlo. Through his first-hand accounts you get this sense of not only what it was like to be on the frontlines, but also what he was like as a person. His voice comes through in his language and you get a genuine sense of how important his family was to him with the way he addresses them. Through simple voiceover readings of Ciarlo’s letter he becomes a character in this epic story. So when there’s a turning point in his life, I couldn’t help but feel tremendous emotions.
I’ve never been a fan of ultra-patriotism. Perhaps it’s in part because I’m a Canadian and for us patriotism means laughing more than waving a flag. The War is indeed a very patriotic film, but not in the same sense as many other films. Take Spider-Man for one. The film ends with the super hero standing triumphant with a huge flag flapping in the background. That sort of stuff makes me want to gag as I don’t see why it’s really necessary. The War presents what it was to be an American during a specific period. It was both heroic and horrific at the same time. Burns and Novick go for many stories, not just the ones that put the happy spotlight on America. For instance, there are veterans speaking of regrets they made, choices they made too quickly and eye-witness accounts of brutality and torture. But not holding back, The War remains patriotic as it aims to tell the truth, even if it is ugly and imperfect. To me, that is paying tribute to one’s country.
And that’s the way the entire film rolls out. With the large timeframe given to Burns and Novick, they are able to unroll WWII and make it personal. As a result, I was able to feel a connection to what happened during my grandparent’s time. In just 15 hours I was able to make more connections and grapple with the scope of things more than all the courses I’d taken in school and all the books I’ve read combined.
The War DVD Review
The War comes to DVD literally days after its original airdate on PBS. And what a jam-packed release it is. Spanning across six discs, all seven parts are shown in their entirety. The film is shown in widescreen format. Although the quality varies depending on the source material, this is one instance where I like the dirty stock footage as it establishes the timeframe of the film. Audio is in 5.1 Surround with a second track in 2.0 stereo. There’s also English subtitles.
Directors Ken Burns and Lynn Novick provide commentaries for episodes one and four. Their comments are fascinating as they not only recap making the film, but they provide additional details that simply could not fit into the original story. “Making The War” runs more than 30 minutes and is your fairly standard making-of featurette. It relies heavily on the calming comments and observations of Burns and Novick. Additional features include 17 deleted scenes, 14 more interviews, a photo gallery, biographies of interview subjects and educational resources in PDF format.
The War Gallery
The War Clip
