The Vietnam War: Déjà Vu (1858-1961)

September 18, 2017 5:34 PM - Season 1, Episode 1

After a long and brutal war, Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end nearly a century of French colonial occupation. With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva. Communists in the north aim to reunify the country, while America supports Ngo Dinh Diem’s untested regime in the south.
posted by Fizz (6 comments total)

One thing that really got to me was the death of Peter Dewey, the OSS officer who saw the writing on the wall and wanted America to get out before it was too late. That was tragic.
posted by homunculus at 8:54 PM on September 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

Most of the reviews I've seen of the series have been full of praise, but here's one that's more critical: Vietnam War: New Ken Burns Documentary Dismisses the Origins of the Futile, Disastrous Conflict
posted by homunculus at 9:18 PM on September 18, 2017 [7 favorites]

They're definitely going to make choices and this part of World History is so deep and wide-ranging, they're also going to get things wrong. But I applaud the effort and I'm eager to continue watching and learning. There's a lot of stuff in here that I was not aware of and since last night I've been googling and wiki-hunting quite a bit. There's a lot to chew on here.

I appreciate that they interviewed soldiers, historians, politicians, citizens from a variety of perspectives and places.
posted by Fizz at 5:45 AM on September 19, 2017

But I applaud the effort and I'm eager to continue watching and learning.

Oh, me too, definitely. Ken Burns continues to be a national treasure. And thanks for posting these.

His documentary series on The Great War which aired a few months ago was also excellent. If anyone hasn't seen it, I highly recommend it.
posted by homunculus at 12:01 PM on September 19, 2017

homunculus, Nick Turse wrote “Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam,” one of the books suggested as “accompaniments to the film” on the PBS website. Here is his The Ken Burns Vietnam War Documentary Glosses Over Devastating Civilian Toll on The intercept. Point well taken.
posted by growabrain at 12:33 PM on September 29, 2017

This is on Netflix now.
posted by cashman at 7:06 PM on August 24, 2018