Ken Burns' "The War" is a sprawling yet intimate 15-hour history of World War II.
Told chronologically, the PBS documentary explores the war in Europe and the Pacific — as well as its effect on the home front — through the eyes of citizens in four geographically disparate locations: Mobile, Ala.; Sacramento, Calif.; Waterbury, Conn.; and Luverne, Minn.
But it's the people interviewed who will make "The War" connect emotionally with viewers. Veterans such as Quentin Aanenson of Luverne speak simply but eloquently about their experiences. And actors, including Adam Arkin, Samuel L. Jackson and Eli Wallach, give voice to others who lived through the period. Tom Hanks ("Saving Private Ryan"), in particular, makes an impression, reading from newspaper columns written by Al McIntosh, editor of Luverne's Rock County Star Herald.
The film's strongest moments come at the end of the first, fourth and seventh episodes, when Burns and co-director Lynn Novick unleash the heartbreaking song "American Anthem" in montage sequences. With vocals by Norah Jones, this haunting ode complements the patriotic sacrifices of that era and defies viewers not to have an emotional response. (The song is available on "The War" CD soundtrack.)
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The series premieres 8 p.m. Sunday. It's being released in two versions — the original, which includes a few nongratuitous uses of profanity; and a version without such profanity.
In recent months, concerns about content extended beyond American viewers hearing the definitions of "FUBAR" and "SNAFU" as Hispanic groups chided Burns for not including Latino veterans. Eventually, Burns chose to add stories to the end of the first, fifth and sixth episodes that include interviews with Hispanic and American Indian veterans.
Politics aside, Burns said his goal with "The War" was to do a "bottom-up" history of the period and give a sense of what actually happened during World War II.
By interviewing people from four distinct towns, Burns and Novick try to offer a true flavor of the war from multiple points of view, from towns with war manufacturing capabilities (Waterbury and Mobile), a Great Plains town without such a connection (Luverne) and a city where the internment of Japanese-Americans had a direct impact (Sacramento).
Burns said there's no political statement about war made in "The War," and none pertaining to the war in Iraq.
"We didn't have an ax to grind or a political agenda to advance in this, knowing full well, though, that history is a set of questions we in the present ask of the past," he said.
On TV
"The War" airs 8 p.m. Sunday on PBS.
