The Vietnam War: Season 1

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Universal acclaim based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 59 Ratings

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8.4

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8.4	User Score Universal acclaim based on 59 Ratings

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The Vietnam War

Now Playing: The Vietnam War

Season Details & Credits

PBS | Season Premiere Date: September 17, 2017

Summary: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick returns with a 10-part, 18-hour documentary miniseries about the war features interviews, archival footage, home movies, photos, and audio clips, as well as original music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Genre(s): Movie/Mini-Series, News/Documentary, Documentary

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Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E10. The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward)
Air Date: September 28, 2017
tbd
S1:E9. A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973)
Air Date: September 27, 2017
tbd
S1:E8. The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970)
Air Date: September 26, 2017

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

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Critic Reviews

100

Mark Dawidziak

Sep 18, 2017

Time and again, over a span of more than 35 years, we find Burns constructing bridges that insightfully and profoundly link Americans with their history. Nowhere has that been more powerfully true than in the 18 hours of his stunningly realized, intricately detailed 10-part film, The Vietnam War. Read full review

100

Brian Lowry

Sep 15, 2017

Those who lived through the period should find "The Vietnam War" a highly emotional experience. But even their kids and grandkids should hear and see echoes throughout this epic undertaking, which forges a bridge from America's past directly to its present. Read full review

100

Emily VanDerWerff

Sep 18, 2017

Burns and Novick are less interested in scoring political points than they are in the idea that world-changing events look so different when you’re trapped in them. More than in any other Burns miniseries, The Vietnam War lets you feel what it’s like to be crushed under history’s heel. Read full review

Kristi Turnquist

Sep 14, 2017

The Vietnam War is both the most powerful film Burns has produced, and the most despairing. ... By the end of the fascinating, sometimes wrenchingly hard to watch 18 hours, it's impossible to regard the Vietnam War as anything other than an agonizing failure, one that taught Americans to be cynical about a government that lied to them, sent Americans off to risk their lives, and made one costly bad decision after another. Read full review

Matt Zoller Seitz

Sep 29, 2017

Hour for hour, it’s one of the best things I’ve seen on TV this year--but because it frequently comes so close to becoming not just impressive but important, challenging, even agenda-setting. But it never quite pushes itself over that line. Read full review

Rob Owen

Sep 15, 2017

It’s a mammoth, epic undertaking that starts with a smart opening episode. “Déjà Vu,” beautifully written by Geoffrey C. Ward, manages to both deliver the expected (images of Vietnam, first-person accounts of fear and heroism in combat) and the unexpected (a history of the conflict that drills down beyond the immediate run-up all the way back to the beginning of French colonialism in 1858). Read full review

Sonia Saraiya

Sep 8, 2017

The strength of The Vietnam War comes from these 80-odd interviewees, who offer a glimpse into the psyches of people on all sides of the conflict--from reluctant American draftees to enthusiastic North Vietnamese recruits. ... At times, the length of The Vietnam War detracts from its appeal. Even with the headings, it can be hard to keep the years and offensives straight. Read full review

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User Reviews

TheShrike222

Sep 28, 2017

I recommend everyone with a shred of ethics, decency and heart to watch this series. There are so many shows, books, movies and opinions about Vietnam out there, it's easy to get caught up in the least important aspects of the war, who won, who made bad decisions, what to doI recommend everyone with a shred of ethics, decency and heart to watch this series. There are so many shows, books, movies and opinions about Vietnam out there, it's easy to get caught up in the least important aspects of the war, who won, who made bad decisions, what to do differently....What this documentary does is bring the events of this war back to the lives of the people who were there. The personal stories of life in war that doesn't give a damn about politics only the struggle to survive and retain some semblance of humanity. It's something we should not and cannot forget.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

Planetvibz

Oct 27, 2017

Watching this, my threshold 'metrics' to determine if it's ever worth fighting in a foreign conflict are:

- if your political/business elite aren't firstly prepared to sacrifice their children - DON'T - if your fighting to protect a political ideology and not to protect fundamentalWatching this, my threshold 'metrics' to determine if it's ever worth fighting in a foreign conflict are:

- if your political/business elite aren't firstly prepared to sacrifice their children - DON'T
- if your fighting to protect a political ideology and not to protect fundamental universal human rights - DON'T
- If it is a civilian conflict - DON'T

If, after WWII, the U.S. had enshrined a similar core set of enduring 'metrics' to guide it's foreign interventions, I wonder how many of it's wars were truly worth fighting.… Expand

2 of 8 users found this helpful26

RatedRex

Sep 22, 2017

This is a masterpiece of storytelling, from all sides. I am a student of war. But this is the first time that I can actually feel the stupidity of it all. Thousands of Americans, and millions of Vietnamese died because a few politicians wanted to save face. What a totally, complete waste ofThis is a masterpiece of storytelling, from all sides. I am a student of war. But this is the first time that I can actually feel the stupidity of it all. Thousands of Americans, and millions of Vietnamese died because a few politicians wanted to save face. What a totally, complete waste of money, resources and lives. Maybe this great documentary will help remind the people in charge that there is, absolutely, nothing worst than war.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

AxeT

Oct 5, 2017

After all the so many, many movies, shows, docs, books etc. on this war saturated the culture for over twenty years, this definitive epic doc now newly educates and gives understanding and insights. My only criticism is its segmented style, not in episodes but in punctuations every fewAfter all the so many, many movies, shows, docs, books etc. on this war saturated the culture for over twenty years, this definitive epic doc now newly educates and gives understanding and insights. My only criticism is its segmented style, not in episodes but in punctuations every few minutes or so which halt the flow even if effective at times.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

brockcheese

Jun 5, 2020

The Vietnam War was a very expansive documentary that taught me everything there is to know. A truly great film both in scope and in length. Ken Burns 4 life bb.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Bertaut1

Apr 24, 2019

One of the finest documentaries ever made

Described by the show's official website as "an immersive 360-degree narrative," The Vietnam War is a behemoth in every sense of the word; written by historian Geoffrey C. Ward and directed by celebrated documentarians Ken Burns and Lynn Novick,One of the finest documentaries ever made

Described by the show's official website as "an immersive 360-degree narrative," The Vietnam War is a behemoth in every sense of the word; written by historian Geoffrey C. Ward and directed by celebrated documentarians Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, the series cost $30 million to make, and was in production for over ten years, with the ten episodes running to a gargantuan eighteen hours. Assembled from over 24,000 photos and 1,500 hours of archive footage, the show features interviews with 79 people, including analysts, bureaucrats, journalists, artists, anti-war protestors, draft dodgers, conscientious objectors, deserters, Gold Star family members, and American, South Vietnamese, and North Vietnamese troops. Deliberately eschewing interviews with historians and major polarising figures such as Jane Fonda, John Kerry, or Oliver Stone, the series features what Burns and Novick define as a "ground up" approach; concentrating almost exclusively on the experiences of ordinary people and soldiers from every side.

Beginning with the French invasion of Indochina in 1858 and concluding with the opening of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982 (although some brief postscript material goes up to President Barak Obama's visit to Vietnam in 2016), the series hits all the beats you'd expect within this timeframe, but where the show excels is not in trying to present an all-inclusive summary of everything that happened in the war, but in its mixture of the macro and the micro - intercut into the larger framework of political analysis and military assessment are more relatable and personalised interviews, which serve to reinforce what the war was like for the people who actually fought it and their families back home. These human stories serve as Burns and Novick's "ground up" material, helping to contextualise the less personal socio-political canvas against which they are set.

A major theme throughout the series is the effect the war had on the American psyche. Whilst the first episode outlines how the US emerged from World War II as world leaders, convinced of its own irrefutable morality, and proud of its self-appointed role as global law enforcer, later episodes detail how all of this changed during the war. Fought in a country few Americans had even heard of, and fewer still knew anything about, the war was a conflict whose ultimate futility at so great a cost was unlike anything any living American had seen. The stain of the war lingered for decades, and lingers still. As the documentary lays bare, Vietnam fundamentally redefined the notion of American patriotism, altered the American zeitgeist, and undermined American exceptionalism.

Another vital theme, but one which is left for the viewer to provide the connective tissue, is how the domestic events of the war are mirrored in contemporary American society. Undoubtedly, the war was the most divisive period in the US since the Civil War. However, the most divisive period since the war is right now; the US is currently in the seventeenth year of a war begun under dubious circumstances; there are accusations of foreign collusion in a US election; the president has threatened to use force against an Asian nation; there are mass demonstrations across the country; the White House is obsessed with leaks, with three different presidents attempting to undermine the media in a manner not dissimilar to Trump's catchphrase of "fake news."

However, the series is not perfect. The most obvious criticism is that despite their claims that all sides are represented equally, there is an imbalance between the anti-war movement (represented by three interviewees and dozens of vets), and those who supported the war (represented by a few comments here and there from people who admit they were conflicted). This imbalance is also present in the number of North Vietnamese combatants (14) weighed against the number of South Vietnamese combatants (7). There are also some notable, and oftentimes bizarre, omissions. For example, there is no mention whatsoever of Maj Gen Edward Lansdale, LTC John Paul Vannor Lê Van Vien (aka Bay Vien).

Nevertheless, The Vietnam War is an undeniably epic achievement. Burns and Novick have distilled down a massively complex canvas, whilst at the same time refusing to placate either side. This refusal leaves the series open to criticism from both sides, but it may also be the show's greatest strength. Rather than submitting to partisan politics, the series follows its own path, irrespective of how it appears to those with preconceived notions. Harrowing and insightful, informative and disturbing, conciliatory rather than condemnatory, The Vietnam War is a masterpiece.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ThankingVietVet

Oct 20, 2017

I am a Vietnamese refugee, coming over in 1975. I've recently devoted my husband's and my time and efforts to honoring the Vietnam vets in our area.

This was the 1st time we had seen any documentary by Ken Burns, and it was obvious why he’s so revered, since he is a masterful storyteller.I am a Vietnamese refugee, coming over in 1975. I've recently devoted my husband's and my time and efforts to honoring the Vietnam vets in our area.

This was the 1st time we had seen any documentary by Ken Burns, and it was obvious why he’s so revered, since he is a masterful storyteller. The series had been advertised as one that would show all sides of the war. We were really looking forward to a documentary that would be fair to all sides. This is where things went wrong, because our expectations were in one place, and the reality of the series was in a very different place. That space in between is where our disappointment lay.

Generally speaking, the series started off with romanticizing Ho Chi Minh, nearly canonizing him, when this was far from the truth of the type of man he was. The Communist fighters were also exalted, while the US and ARVN military units were made to look like bumbling fools most of the time. Our takeaway from the series was that the creators felt there shouldn’t have been any US interference in Vietnam, that HCM just wanted to liberate and unify his beloved country, and that US involvement just resulted in lots of unnecessary deaths overseas and strife at home. What the series didn’t say, however, is that HCM wanted to unify Vietnam, but under his control (or Communist control), and didn’t care if he killed every last Vietnamese person doing it.

After many frustrating hours of watching episodes 1 through 9, we also had high hopes for the series to wrap up on an intense note for episode 10. Unfortunately, we didn’t even get that from the final episode. We compared it to a recent unsatisfactory meal, where we had eaten a bowl of rice that had no flavor to it, that made us feel really full, but not satiated, so therefore, empty, at the same time.

In spite of this, we are very grateful for this series generating more awareness about the war and about the mistreatment of its veterans during and afterwards. This has allowed many good conversations to be had, and we hope they continue.… Expand

7 of 11 users found this helpful74

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Seasons & Episodes

90

Series Overview
Season 1

90
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: September 17, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E10. The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward)
  Air Date: September 28, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E9. A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973)
  Air Date: September 27, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E8. The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970)
  Air Date: September 26, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E7. The Veneer of Civilization (June 1968-May 1969)
  Air Date: September 25, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E6. Things Fall Apart (January 1968-July 1968)
  Air Date: September 24, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E5. This Is What We Do (July 1967-December 1967)
  Air Date: September 21, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E4. Resolve (January 1966-June 1967)
  Air Date: September 20, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E3. The River Styx (January 1964-December 1965)
  Air Date: September 19, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E2. Riding the Tiger (1961-63)
  Air Date: September 18, 2017
- tbd
  S1:E1. Deja Vu (1858-1961)
  Air Date: September 17, 2017