Hi this is Steve. I'll be honest. I was nervous about doing Ken Burns' civil war for the cinnophiles.

I mean the size alone was intimidating plus the fact that it was so different from any other film we've ever covered.

But more importantly the subject matter itself is vast, complicated,

justifiably emotional for many people,

and still deeply connected to the conflicts and controversies we face today.

Talking about the Civil War means talking about race in America and civil rights.

It means addressing regional, religious, and economic divisions.

It means asking tough questions about the nature of honor

and morality and coming face to face with the true and terrible costs of war. And as I thought

about my own nervousness in addressing these topics, I was, to put

it simply, stunned by the enormity of what Ken Burns and his team accomplished, his attention

to detail, his ability to deal with complex ideas and emotions

in a way that is both challenging and deeply moving. His use of filmmaking technique to bring to vivid life a world only documented with

still photographs, paintings and the written word.

His refusal to give easy answers to difficult questions sort of frame the war as a simple battle between good and evil.

These are the traits that make Ken Burns such an important filmmaker, and it is also why I feel that the Civil War,

along with many of his other documentaries,

particularly Vietnam, should be required viewing for all Americans.

In fact, the best place to start with that required viewing is at cinnophiles.net,

where you can pick up the Civil War along with every

other movie we've ever reviewed. So that's part two of Ken Burns' incredible

civil war documentary this Friday on the Synophiles where this week we continue our exploration of Ken Burns' epic mini-series The Civil War.

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