 |
I have several Ken Burns documentaries including my favorite, The Vietnam War, which for me, is not only Ken Burn's best documentary but one of the most definitive I've seen on the subject of the Vietnam War itself. How does the West stack up to say, The Vietnam War? No so well in my opinion. It's not bad, but not half as good as the Vietnam War Why? Here let me reveal my bias- i am fascinated by both the Battle for the Little Big Horn which this documentary covered and the Battle of the O.K. Corral which this documentary did not cover. The Battle of the Little Big Horn made it appear that Custer was inept and did not explain or give reasons or rationale as to what Custer was up to. In fact, the account is told mostly by the Indians which makes sense, but there is no account of say, Major Reno, who was at the battle of the Little Big Horn as well and survived. A better account of the Battle of the Little Big Horn was shown on the BBC The Wild West which at least explains Custer's strategy a little better and explains what Custer was trying to do instead of having a historian explain Custer as foolhardy as Ken Burn's The West seems to be suggesting. I find Ken Burns to have a strong liberal bias which can be somewhat annoying. He seems to pick who he thinks his heroes are at the beginning of the documentary and then focuses on them throughout the documentary. The heroes here are the Indians, not surprisingly as well as the Mormons which is surprising as well as Lewis and Clark, Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt. All those heroes except for the Mormons and Indians are then done over again by Burns in other documentaries such as the one on Mark Twain, on Theodore and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt as well as Thomas Jefferson and the Lewis and Clark expedition. What I do enjoy is even though Burns admires Jefferson he really goes after him as a racist slaver which Jefferson was. I thus would give this 3 to 4 stars out of 5 because it gives an understanding of the West although unlike the Vietnam War, this documentary was nowhere as through as the Vietnam War was by Ken Burns. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
AN EYE OPENING ACCOUNT OF THE WEST FROM THE FIFTEEN HUNDREDS INVOLVING SPAIN FRANCE RUSSIAN AND CHINESE ACTIONS THAT TOOK THE LAND AWAY FROM MANY DIFFERENT INDIAN TRIBES,WHO HAD LIVED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS ON [ THEIR ] U.S. SOIL...LOST IS HOW MANY AGREEMENTS"" WERE BROKEN ""BECAUSE OF GREED=============GOLD-SILVER-COPPER MINES AND SETTLERS FROM THE EASTERN US AND EUROPE....IT IS RAW AND PULLS NO PUNCHES..AS IN TODAYS WORLD == POLITICIANS CAUSED MANY OF THE PROBLEMS AND OUTRIGHT LIES SHAPED THEIR ACTIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST MY VIEW , THE APE
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
As this is an honest depiction of the history of The West, I was so saddened by being reminded how awful the government (and specifically the Army) treated the American Indian, the mass slaughter of the American buffalo, as well as how the slavery issue effected the history of The West. I didn't feel "entertained ", however, I feel more informed.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Bought it for my boyfriend who loves the West. This is such a great documentary, sad and uplifting.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
excellent history moving in its presentation
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in DVDs & Blu-ray Discs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on DVDs & Blu-ray Discs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
