Ken Burns’ “The Civil War”

Vicksburg Battlefield

Eighteen years after it first aired to an estimated audience of 40 million people, Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” remains one of the most popular documentaries of all time, and the most-watched show to ever air on PBS.

What made Burns’ nine-part documentary about events that took place over 100 years ago so compelling? What accounts for the enduring popularity of a documentary of such sweeping proportions that it included hundreds of historical figures and events, including many that were and are unfamiliar to the majority of viewers?

The Civil War’s lasting impact on the United States is indisputable, as is the fascination it holds for many all over the world. The drama inherent to the Civil War has made it fodder for countless books, both fiction and non-fiction; however, until “The Civil War,” most of the film treatments of the war were fictional. Burns’ documentary, however, brought to 40 million viewers the same drama of movies and miniseries such as Gone With the Wind and The North and the South – the only difference being the drama was all factual.

Assembling many thousands photographs taken during the Civil War era, Burns’ film put faces to many of the names that most viewers had only seen in print, and, in the case of the more infamous figures, such as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Robert E. Lee, provided photographs that had not been widely published, creating a more intricate portrait.

A slideshow of black-and-white and sepia toned photographs do not exciting film make; Burns recognized the importance of giving these photographs personality through voice. The photographs were accompanied by excerpts from correspondence by these Civil War-era figures, read by acclaimed actors, including Morgan Freeman, Sam Waterston, and Jason Robards, and writers including Horton Foote, Arthur Miller, Studs Terkel, and Garrison Keillor.

The talking head is the bane of many documentaries; Ken Burns carefully chose his interview subjects, selecting historians and other commentators on the Civil War who also made for interesting viewing. Shelby Foote, an author/historian who has spent the majority of his career documenting the Civil War era, was introduced to a much wider audience who were impressed and intrigued by both the information he shared and his manner.

However, perhaps the largest reason that “The Civil War” attracted so many viewers, both upon its initial airing and in years since, was the panorama of history that Burns’ presented. Rather than focusing tightly on the most important historical figures, “The Civil War” encompassed the entire human spectrum involved in and affected by the war. African-Americans, regular soldiers, and women were all represented by Burns’ documentary, broadening both its historical scope and its audience appeal.

Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” is an enduring, engrossing portrait of a time in American history that continues to fascinate and affect Americans even today.