The Civil War: A Film By Ken Burns(1990)

In the Fall of 1990 I was blown away by the 9 episode and 11 hour documentary The Civil War. PBS aired 2 episodes every night for a week, and every night I would plant myself in front of the television and watched with wonder and amazement. I was just starting my Junior year in High School and only a year or two before I was beginning to appreciate classic, foreign, and independent films. The Civil War was my gateway to the documentary genre. I believe Ken Burns is one of the best and most influential film makers of all-time and this film is his greatest achievement. Every historic documentary made since has copied his style and Apple even has a editing effect named after him. It has great narration by David McCullough, Morgan Freeman, Jason Robards, and many others. The star of the documentary is the historian Shelby Foote who adds great anecdotes and has the insight of a person who lived it. The music is haunting and beautiful and so memorable that you will never forget it. The research and work that went into this is incredible and should be required viewing in schools, which if it is can save the teacher 3 to 4 weeks of Civil War teachings. Ken Burns went on to do many other great Scale Documentaries such as Baseball(1994), Jazz(2001) and last years The War(2007) and they are also extremely entertaining. Burns has also directed many shorter Docs that are just as fascinating(Empire Of The Air1991, Thomas Jefferson1997, Unforgivable Blackness 2004). I just watched the entire series again recently, which could be my fifth or sixth time, and every viewing is like the first. I anticipate a Ken Burns film like I anticipated a Kubrick, Scorsese, or Paul Thomas Anderson film. If you have never seen The Civil War rent it now and watch it over the next few weeks. You will see documentary film making at its zenith and learn so much that you will never be confused by Civil War talk at a party again.

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 :Film Review

Great new Documentary by Kevin Rafferty(Atomic Cafe 1982) that follows a single football game in 1968. Even if you are not a football, or sports fan for that matter, you should find this film highly entertaining. The film takes place during the final game of the season and both teams are facing each undefeated for the first time since 1909. Yale is a nationally ranked team with two future NFL players (QB Brian Dowling and RB Calvin Hill) and are highly favored. The film shows interviews with both Harvard and Yale players,including offensive guard Tommy Lee Jones, while cutting to film footage and play by play commentary of the actual game. The players don't only talk about the game, but also about the chaotic times they lived in. The effect of Vietnam on the campus, the players who were protesters vs the players who were Vietnam Vets, and the Pill and sexual revolution on a school that did not allow women. The game footage is fantastic with great slow motion replays and wonderful sound design. The title gives away the ending, but it doesn't matter the entire audience was laughing, gasping, and on the edge of their seats at the ridiculous last 42 seconds of the preposterous game. The title comes from a Harvard newspaper headline from the following day, and even though its a tie you feel it's defiantly a Harvard win. I had the same feeling I got from last years King Of Kong, not as great as that film(probably because it's not good vs evil), but a real crowd pleaser. I'm not sure if this film will get much of a release, but if it shows in you city it's a must see. 4 out of 5 stars.