I watched THE CIVIL WAR when it first aired in 1990 and have seen it several times since, and it never seems to lose its impact. While it wasn't Burns' first film, it typified his style perfectly and was really the peak of his form. I enjoy how he uses accounts of both the great and the common participants, and how he doesn't offer an oversimplified account of either side or their motives. I doubt it'll ever be topped.
Review of The Civil War
