Vietnam - A Television History
 | Directed by - WGBH BOSTON, 1983, DVD Customer Rating: 41 reviews Recommend |
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NOTE: The American Experience producers responsible for the Vietnam series recently re-edited the original 13-part Vietnam series. The editing was undertaken to remove outdated information and to create a more cohesive story for viewers. WGBH Boston Video has reduced the purchase price for the Vietnam series to $79.95 to reflect the shorter running time.
A six-year project from conception to completion, this eleven-hour DVD collection carefully analyzes the costs and consequences of this controversial but intriguing war. From the first episode to the last, it provides a detailed visual and oral account of the war that changed a generation and continues to color American thinking on many military and foreign policy issues.
Special DVD features include: link to the American ExperienceWeb site; scene selections; and closed captions.
On four DVD9 discs. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: 4 x 3 full frame.
Exactly why was America in Vietnam? This remarkable and essential seven-volume series — six years in the making and originally broadcast on public television in 1983 — tells the agonizing history of Vietnam's lengthy conflicts with some of the largest powers on Earth. While the primary focus is on the United States' miserable efforts to prop up a porous, anti-Communist government in South Vietnam as a bulwark against Chinese and Soviet expansionism, the series' makers expend no less energy detailing important antecedents to America's intervention. Of vital interest are the first two hours, which tell the compelling story of France's 80-year colonial rule in Southeast Asia and the rise of a European-educated generation of Vietnamese intellectuals turned warriors, chief among them the architect of Vietnam's prolonged revolt against the West, Ho Chi Minh. By the time a viewer comes to understand how and why America shrugged off Vietnamese independence after World War II, it is easier to grasp the tragic context for the disastrous military campaign of the 1960s and '70s. The rest of the series covers the various expansions of America's war in Vietnam through a succession of presidents from Eisenhower to Nixon, carefully explaining the sundry issues that drove each commander-in-chief to send more money, more troops, and more weapons into a seemingly unwinnable and dubious battle. The later volumes take the story into Laos and the horrible siege of Cambodia by a U.S.-supported Khmer Rouge, and examine the history of the antiwar movement in America. No stone is left unturned in this important project, which runs some 13 hours and should be considered one of the most important television series in history. — Tom Keogh
Title: Vietnam - A Television History
Sales Rank: 14227 in DVD
Actor: Everett Alvarez; Herbert Bluechel; George Ball (II); J. Lawton Collins; William Colby (II); Ted Danielsen; Bill Erhart; Vernon Gillespie; Leslie Gelb; John Keegan (II); Henry Kissinger; Abbot Low Moffat; Frederick Nolting; Archimedes Patti; Robinson Risner; Maxwell Taylor; Paul Warnke; William C. Westmoreland; Earl J. Young; Xuan Teo Dang
Director: -
Studio: WGBH BOSTON, 2004-07-27, Theatrical Release: 1983-10-04
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 1.33:1
Languages: English (Original Language)
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 660 minutes
Item Dimensions: 0.6 pounds
Package Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches, 0.6 pounds
- PBS Propaganda
- Although the series has excellent historical and combat footage, it is ruined by anti-American propaganda. The U.S. is portrayed as a loser, Vietnam Vets are presented in the worst possible light, and the comunists are constantly praised as heroes. Don't buy this set! Try instead Vietnam: The 10,000 Day War (not out yet on DVD).… More reviews
- chose not to buy
- after reading the other reviews about censorship, i chose not to buy this series. too bad. More reviews
- The Lessons of Vietnam?
- DVD REVIEW
I have previously reviewed Stanley Karnow companion book, Vietnam-A History, that goes with this ten-part series. I have reposted that review below for the convenience of the reader. Most of the political points that I have made there apply here as well. I would only add that visually some of the footage brought the… More reviews
- Won't buy it!
- I was set on purchasing this series. I'm currently listening to the audio book "Vietnam, a History" by Stanley Karnow. Have just begun, so I can't form an opinion yet.
I was really psyched to get this series but after reading some of the reviews I think I'll pass for now. I find it ridiculous to recommend this series (as some other reviewers… More reviews
- Vietnam : A Television History
- It should have been called the "first Television War". With television bringing the war home to the American people each and every evening, it made the winning of the war by our US troops very difficult.
When will the American people wake up and understand that the broadcast & print media are socialists, with their own agenda....… More reviews
