Blu-ray Review: 'The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns - 25th Anniversary Edition'

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(C) 2015 PBS Home Video


This review focuses exclusively on the techie features of the 25th Anniversary Edition. For a review of Ken Burns' documentary, please see: 'The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns - DVD Review.'

On October 13, 2015, PBS Distribution and American Documentaries, Inc. released “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition,” a six-Blu-ray disc (BD) set that presents the widely-acclaimed 1990 series on high definition video for the first time. To commemorate both the series’ Silver Anniversary and the 150th commemoration of the Civil War’s bittersweet end, Burns’ Florentine Films and PBS digitally remastered the series’ nine episodes and its assorted extra features from standard definition (SD) to the state-of-the-art Ultra-High Definition 4K format.

This remastering project was carried out as a joint effort between Florentine Films and the George Eastman House, the repository where “The Civil War’s” original 16 mm negatives are stored. PBS also broadcast the remastered version of its most successful documentary September 7-11, 2015, a month before the release of the BD and DVD sets.



To the casual viewer, the BD set of “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition” may seem to be just the long-delayed high definition version of a series which has been released in SD DVD box sets by Paramount Home Video and/or PBS Home Video at least twice before. The 2015 set does include many of the same extra features of the 2002 and 2011 DVD (and VHS) sets. 

However, “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition” also offers new extras, as well as a subtly different look; during the restoration process, Burns and the Florentine/George Eastman House team carefully reworked every shot of the 11 and a half hour-long series so the images look larger on 16:9 television screens. This means that “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition” now has a 1:43:1 aspect ratio; the original 1990 edition has an aspect ratio of 1:33:1.

As a result of this painstaking restoration, long-time fans and new viewers of “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition” will get a much-improved version of Burns’ award-winning series. Every image – whether it’s from the thousands of photographs, drawings and paintings used to portray the Civil War without reenactments or from the footage shot in the late 1980s (such as establishing shots in the various battlefield parks and contemporary interviews with historians and commentators) – is cleaner and sharper in glorious 1080p HD resolution.

The remastered BD set also has two English-language DTS-HD audio tracks. The master track is in 5.1 DTS-HD that is designed for an immersive audio experience through a home theater system with five speakers. For viewers without such a system, “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition” offers a second 2.0 DTS-HD audio track that is compatible with a TV’s two stereo speakers. Either track offers crystal clear sound that allows the viewer to hear every spoken word, sound effect, or piece of music used in the soundtrack for “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition.”

For viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, WGBH-Boston provides English language subtitles. 

Unlike in previous releases which used white text for captions/subtitles, “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition” has yellow text which is easier to read, especially in places where the subtitles appear over white or off-white imagery. As is often the case with closed captions, though, the subtitles are done with capital letters, which are harder to see than normal upper- and lower-case text.

 In contrast to PBS Home Video’s 2002 and 2011 DVD releases, the six BDs of “The Civil War: A Ken Burns Film – 25th Anniversary Edition” come in two plastic jewel box cases which fit inside a sturdy slipcover package. Though the outer slipcover is not made from the thicker and heavier material used in the Digibook cases for Fox’s “Star Wars: The Complete Saga” or Paramount’s “Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures,” it is more durable than the earlier sets’ outer packaging.

 In addition, PBS Distribution has added several new bonus features to the 25th Anniversary edition. These include a 16-page collector’s booklet with a letter from Ken Burns and trivia about the Civil War, two new behind-the-scenes featurettes, Florentine Films’ archival interviews with the late Shelby Foote, and more.

 Overall, “The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns – 25th Anniversary Edition” is a must-have addition to any history buff’s video library. This Emmy Award-winning series has never looked or sounded better. Moreover, its account of how a nation divided survived a titanic conflict and re-emerged, phoenix-like, as a country that experienced a “new birth of freedom” is still relevant and powerful.
Blu-ray Specifications:

  • Video
  • Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
  • Resolution: 1080p
  • Aspect ratio: 1.43:1
  • Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audio
  • English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
  • English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Subtitles
  • English SDH
Discs
  • 50GB Blu-ray Disc
  • Six-disc set (6 BDs)
Packaging
  • Slipcover in original pressing
Playback
  • Region A

  Bonus features:
  • Making The Civil War: 25 Years Later
  • Restoring The Civil War
  • Complete High Definition Shelby Foote Interviews
  • Additional Interviews

Miscellaneous
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Number of discs: 6
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: PBS (DIRECT)
  • DVD Release Date: October 13, 2015

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