The War That Made America: The Story of the French and Indian War
by Ben Loeterman, Eric Stange
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DVD details
Actor: Bryan Stefancyk, Karen Baum, Larry Nehring, Michael L. Colosimo, Sam EdensDirector: Ben Loeterman, Eric Stange
Brand: PBS
Producer: Ben Loeterman
Writer: Ben Loeterman
Producer: Eric Stange
Writer: Eric Stange
Producer: Amy Geller
Producer: Jennifer Pearce
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 240 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS (Direct)
DVD Reviews of The War That Made America: The Story of the French and Indian War
DVD Review: Superb
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen about all of the DVDs on the French & Indian war by now (not a huge number), plus those on Pontiac's Rebellion and various ones about the Old Northwest, and this is the best collection of them all. It is worthy of Ken Burns in how carefully it lays out the chronology and geography, and gives good maps to tie it all together. They use realistic depictions of the period and authentic locations where possible, such as the Carlyle House in Alexandria, VA for example, in the actual room where Braddock did ask the colonists to contribute money for the war effort. But the one thing they got really right is that they show that George Washington was in at the beginning to become the father of our country, in ways that could not have been foreseen at the time. How many of you have been to Jumonville Glen? I thought so. You will have a hard time finding it on a map, but it is probably the most important location in American history. I know, you don't believe it, but you will get an idea after seeing this show.
The acting is credible and the quality of the video is very good; it looks almost like Hi-Def on my plasma TV and upconverting DVD player. The sounds are realistic too, and good period music is used. It could be used as a valuable travel guide for places to visit in the various regions too.
DVD Review: Fills the knowledge gaps
Summary: 4 Stars
This dramatisation fills in a lot of the details about a little known war.
I knew that Washington had fought for the British, I'd seen the film " The last of the Mohicans", I'd read of Wolfe's attack on Montreal, but that was it! I didn't know the details in between, or why things happened as they did. This dramatisation explained a lot. I've given 4 stars and not 5 because this is case of "seen one Indian battle, seen them all". It's history, but still rather repetative.
DVD Review: Uneven documentary based on a far better book
Summary: 3 Stars
Anderson's book of the same name attempted to introduce the reader to the often ignored Indian role in many of the French and Indian War literature and at that it succeeded beautifully. Anderson's book is a mature and sober study of complicated politics, complicated men and complicated times.
Alas, this PBS documentary chooses to gloss over the complicated politics that led to the war in North America (nary a mention of the war's European theater) at the expense of explaining away the Indians' notorious cruelty as merely cultural differences and elevating the Indians to the status of equal players. That sort of sugar coating is, I suppose, de riguer nowadays but let's face it, it is bull and it really has no place in any serious and scholarly historical works. To make matters worse, the omnipresent Indians are almost ALWAYS mentioned as major players (even when their numbers are ridiculously low such as when 250 Canadian Mohawks fought alongside thousands of French soldiers!).
While Anderson's book presented the Indians as a party of interest in the war, and at times as both prime movers to events as well as pawns, he never makes the politically correct excuses the makers of this documentary do. Also, unlike the makers of the documentary, he never loses focus that his book is about "The War That Made America", where much of the emphasis is on events that shaped colonial political response to both the French and the Indians and, ultimately towards Britain, the mother country, not to the shafting of the Indians (which isn't to say that that didn't happen or that it wasn't important, but it had almost no bearing on the coming Revolutionary War).
Ken Burns' documentary work remains the standard and this PBS docudrama doesn't come close to reaching it.
DVD Review: juvenile
Summary: 3 Stars
I wanted to like this program. I have read some serious accounts of the war and this program is really designed for those are completely ignorant of the war. 2 big issues. 1. The 7 Years war in Europe was due to the Prussian desire for Silesia and not caused by some blunder in North America. 2. The politically correct attempt to describe the terror attacks on the settlers as cultural and should be just accepted. This is like saying the Mongol massacres were just cultural. Terror attacks on civilians by any group should be condemned as such. The way the Indians conducted their raids, no matter how "cultural" they are explained, could not but bring about the consequences that befell them.DVD Review: one of my favorite history docs
Summary: 5 Stars
I knew basically nothing about the F&I War before watching this... about 6 times so far. It's a really well done production, highly informative, and gives you a good feel for the eastern US as a wilderness in contention. Hard to imagine that where the Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh now stands was once a coveted spot in an ocean of trees.
Footnote: It didn't matter who won what war, as the settlers were coming one way or another. But it still is a fascinating point in time.
Description of The War That Made America: The Story of the French and Indian War
What if the French had won? Almost 250 years ago, French and English armies clashed in the primeval forest of western Pennsylvania as they struggled to control the most important piece of real estate in 18th century North America. The army that controlled the forks of the Ohio, a confluence of mighty rivers that would one day become Pittsburgh, held the gateway to the entire continent. Native Americans boldly tried to manipulate the balance of military power between the English and the French. It was the French and Indian War, and an inexperienced Virginian soldier named George Washington, serving under the British flag, learned battle-scarred lessons that would indelibly shape his life.General DVDs
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