Burns' THE WAR gets drubbed in the New Yorker

[rostasi]

I'll take most anything done for PBS' show POV,

then anything Ken Burns does. Sentimental wanker...

[Christiern]

Obviously there is, for example, no footage or stills of Henderson & Cook in Central Park, so you need to use something to cover it, and you use the footage of cars in Central Park. If you can find nothing, you cut the story perhaps, or write it differently (if you're telling it as narration) or keep the speaker on screen (if an interview). One doesn't just invent stories out of thin air.

The problem is that the cars in the park footage came first and the story was, indeed, invented out of thin air. Agreed, an honest documentarian does not invent stories to justify the use of a clip or still, but the Burns people do--and that was my point.

I rarely agree with "clementine," but he (she?--which is it?) is right on the money in his assessment of Burns. The crap he puts out has wide appeal, because he throws in a lot of nostalgia and sentimentality. The corporate types who approve the funding cannot see beyond that--integrity? honesty? what the hell is that?

I also agree that Burns' brother puts out a better product, as it were.

[Randy Twizzle]

Sentimental wanker

That's one of my favorite Les Brown tunes.

[Jazzmoose]

Sentimental wanker

That's one of my favorite Les Brown tunes.

Damn, dude...you're good!

[Christiern]

Quote of the Day?

[Big Al]

was another ww II program even vaguely needed?

Sure! We "needed" to hear yet another of Wynton's version(s) of what he thinks music back then sounded like (and we will likely "need" an upcoming 2-CD set of Wynton Marsalis Plays Music He Allegedly Wrote Which Inspired the Ken Burns Documentary, "Ken Burns' WWII"). We "needed" to be told by that trailblazing documentarian (in the same way that Wynton is a "trailblazing jazz artist") Ken Burns about WWII, something we've yet to fully comprehend or understand in our post-modern world. We also "need," but I don't know if this is going to happen, Stanley Crouch to tell us his opinions of WWII in the context of how it inspired these two great "artists" to "create" their "documentary," as well as the "music" used in this "documentary," and how those soldiers gave their lives so that their service could be immortalized in an epic gesture of self-aggrandizement by the two leading experts in that field, for which we should all get on our knees and say "Thanks."

[Christiern]

You left out the GI gumbo.

[Big Al]

Silly me.

[GregK]

I've watched two episodes and the background music has not had even a hint of country music, not even when covering Mobile Alabama. I thought one of the Japanese battle cries was "To hell with Roy Acuff!"

I heard some country-blues acoustic guitar during some of the Alabama discussion in episode one.

[RDK]

was another ww II program even vaguely needed?

Sure! We "needed" to hear yet another of Wynton's version(s) of what he thinks music back then sounded like (and we will likely "need" an upcoming 2-CD set of Wynton Marsalis Plays Music He Allegedly Wrote Which Inspired the Ken Burns Documentary, "Ken Burns' WWII"). We "needed" to be told by that trailblazing documentarian (in the same way that Wynton is a "trailblazing jazz artist") Ken Burns about WWII, something we've yet to fully comprehend or understand in our post-modern world. We also "need," but I don't know if this is going to happen, Stanley Crouch to tell us his opinions of WWII in the context of how it inspired these two great "artists" to "create" their "documentary," as well as the "music" used in this "documentary," and how those soldiers gave their lives so that their service could be immortalized in an epic gesture of self-aggrandizement by the two leading experts in that field, for which we should all get on our knees and say "Thanks."

Great arguments, Al - if any of them were actually true.

Having seen/heard only the first two episodes, I'm frankly confused over the criticism of Marsalis' music - or more accurately choice of music. I haven't heard much Marsalis per se, mostly period pop and jazz (the little country mentioned above) and some elegaic classical themes. To diss the doc for one's hatred of Marsalis is simply wrong imo. As for the knock on Burns himself, well I'm confused by that. So because, collectively, "we've yet to fully comprehend or understand [WWII] in our post-modern world," Burns (or anyone else, Al? Do you include all documentarians and scholars in this statement?) that the subject matter itself is off-limits? Please explain, as I'm sure I simply don't understand you correctly. As for Crouch, that's simply your anti-Marsalis bias showing - and I think criticizing the entire doc because of a personal dislike for Marsalis is terribly wrong and does a great diservice to Burns' work (no matter what one might think of the actual merits of the project). And "self-aggrandizement?" C'mon, it's obvious you haven't seen the show.

[GregK]

the only problem I have had with it so far is the Norah Jones, at the end of one of the episodes.

[Neal Pomea]

Tonight's episode begins the story of Eugene Sledge, a Marine private from Mobile, Alabama. In the live chat with Ken Burns that I took part in through the Washington Post last Monday, Ken Burns said he was greatly inspired by Sledge's memoir, With the Old Breed.

The images and footage are very moving, and some of the stories, like Babe and his Waterbury Connecticut family, and Walter Ehlers from Manhattan Kansas, or the story of Senator Daniel Inouye from Hawaii, well, it's great that these are preserved!

[Big Al]

was another ww II program even vaguely needed?

Sure! We "needed" to hear yet another of Wynton's version(s) of what he thinks music back then sounded like (and we will likely "need" an upcoming 2-CD set of Wynton Marsalis Plays Music He Allegedly Wrote Which Inspired the Ken Burns Documentary, "Ken Burns' WWII"). We "needed" to be told by that trailblazing documentarian (in the same way that Wynton is a "trailblazing jazz artist") Ken Burns about WWII, something we've yet to fully comprehend or understand in our post-modern world. We also "need," but I don't know if this is going to happen, Stanley Crouch to tell us his opinions of WWII in the context of how it inspired these two great "artists" to "create" their "documentary," as well as the "music" used in this "documentary," and how those soldiers gave their lives so that their service could be immortalized in an epic gesture of self-aggrandizement by the two leading experts in that field, for which we should all get on our knees and say "Thanks."

Great arguments, Al - if any of them were actually true.

Having seen/heard only the first two episodes, I'm frankly confused over the criticism of Marsalis' music - or more accurately choice of music. I haven't heard much Marsalis per se, mostly period pop and jazz (the little country mentioned above) and some elegaic classical themes. To diss the doc for one's hatred of Marsalis is simply wrong imo. As for the knock on Burns himself, well I'm confused by that. So because, collectively, "we've yet to fully comprehend or understand [WWII] in our post-modern world," Burns (or anyone else, Al? Do you include all documentarians and scholars in this statement?) that the subject matter itself is off-limits? Please explain, as I'm sure I simply don't understand you correctly. As for Crouch, that's simply your anti-Marsalis bias showing - and I think criticizing the entire doc because of a personal dislike for Marsalis is terribly wrong and does a great diservice to Burns' work (no matter what one might think of the actual merits of the project). And "self-aggrandizement?" C'mon, it's obvious you haven't seen the show.

Of course I haven't! Did you not see all the sarcasm dripping off that post?

[Christiern]

Field Marshall Montgomery became General Montgomery on last night's episode. From what I have seen thus far, this series cannot hold a candle to "The World at War." Interesting clips and recollections, but the script meanders and often seems rather fanciful.

[Quincy]

Field Marshall Montgomery became General Montgomery on last night's episode.

A demotion!

I didn't catch last night's episode, and I hate to defend Burns, but as the US doesn't use "field marshall" maybe he chose to use "general" just to translate to Americans that Monty was a big cheese. Or Burns was just being sloppy, take your pick.

[andybleaden]

I read this...got interested then lost interest by the end of the paragraph.I wonder why

Burns said that one of the motivations for the project was hearing, in the late nineties, that something like a thousand veterans of the Second World War were dying every day. That gave him a sense of urgency, without giving him any good ideas. During the publicity juggernaut for “The War” (and let history record that the ten-million-dollar marketing campaign includes “commemorative” cans of Budweiser and, as I live and breathe, oranges and eggs branded with station and time-of-broadcast information)

[skeith]

Something to look forward to -- Wynton supplies the music for this one.

Direct quote from Nancy Franklin's New Yorker review: "...a nagging, peskily ever-present sound-track by Wynton Marsalis..."

Yes, Nan has a point here. There is one piece of recurring Wynton music that is piano and some high pitched sound - maybe voice -maybe slide guitar - I am not sure what it is but I find it EXTREMELY annoying!!!