History

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War is a ten-part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. In an immersive 360-degree narrative, Burns and Novick tell the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. The Vietnam War features testimony from nearly 100 witnesses.

The Weight of Memory (Explicit Language Version)

1h 51m

While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans’ attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the south, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.

Episodes

  • The Weight of Memory (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Weight of Memory (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E30 - 1h 51m

    While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans’ attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the south, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.

  • The Weight of Memory (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Weight of Memory (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E20 - 1h 50m

    While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans’ attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the south, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.

  • The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward)

    S1 E10 - 1h 50m

    While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans’ attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the south, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.

  • A Disrespectful Loyalty (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Disrespectful Loyalty (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E29 - 1h 53m

    South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own in Laos suffer a terrible defeat. Massive U.S. airpower makes the difference in halting an unprecedented North Vietnamese offensive. After being re-elected in a landslide, Nixon announces Hanoi has agreed to a peace deal. American prisoners of war will finally come home – to a bitterly divided country.

  • A Disrespectful Loyalty (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Disrespectful Loyalty (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E19 - 1h 52m

    South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own in Laos suffer a terrible defeat. Massive U.S. airpower makes the difference in halting an unprecedented North Vietnamese offensive. After being re-elected in a landslide, Nixon announces Hanoi has agreed to a peace deal. American prisoners of war will finally come home – to a bitterly divided country.

  • A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973)

    S1 E9 - 1h 52m

    South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own in Laos suffer a terrible defeat. Massive U.S. airpower makes the difference in halting an unprecedented North Vietnamese offensive. After being re-elected in a landslide, Nixon announces Hanoi has agreed to a peace deal. American prisoners of war will finally come home – to a bitterly divided country.

  • The History of the World (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The History of the World (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E28 - 1h 52m

    With morale plummeting in Vietnam, President Nixon begins withdrawing American troops. As news breaks of an unthinkable massacre committed by American soldiers, the public debates the rectitude of the war, while an incursion into Cambodia reignites antiwar protests with tragic consequences.

  • The History of the World (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The History of the World (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E18 - 1h 51m

    With morale plummeting in Vietnam, President Nixon begins withdrawing American troops. As news breaks of an unthinkable massacre committed by American soldiers, the public debates the rectitude of the war, while an incursion into Cambodia reignites antiwar protests with tragic consequences.

  • The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970)

    S1 E8 - 1h 52m

    With morale plummeting in Vietnam, President Nixon begins withdrawing American troops. As news breaks of an unthinkable massacre committed by American soldiers, the public debates the rectitude of the war, while an incursion into Cambodia reignites antiwar protests with tragic consequences.

  • The Veneer of Civilization (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Veneer of Civilization (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E27 - 1h 51m

    Public support for the war declines, and American men of draft age face difficult decisions and wrenching moral choices. After police battle with demonstrators in the streets of Chicago, Richard Nixon wins the presidency, promising law and order at home and peace overseas. In Vietnam, the war goes on and soldiers on all sides witness terrible savagery and unflinching courage.

  • The Veneer of Civilization (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Veneer of Civilization (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E17 - 1h 50m

    Public support for the war declines, and American men of draft age face difficult decisions and wrenching moral choices. After police battle with demonstrators in the streets of Chicago, Richard Nixon wins the presidency, promising law and order at home and peace overseas. In Vietnam, the war goes on and soldiers on all sides witness terrible savagery and unflinching courage.

  • The Veneer of Civilization (June 1968-May 1969): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Veneer of Civilization (June 1968-May 1969)

    S1 E7 - 1h 50m

    Public support for the war declines, and American men of draft age face difficult decisions and wrenching moral choices. After police battle with demonstrators in the streets of Chicago, Richard Nixon wins the presidency, promising law and order at home and peace overseas. In Vietnam, the war goes on and soldiers on all sides witness terrible savagery and unflinching courage.

Extras + Features

  • Clip: Episode 3 | What is Vietnam Worth to Me?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Clip: Episode 3 | What is Vietnam Worth to Me?

    S1 E3 - 1m 5s

    In a taped conversation between President Johnson and National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy, the president expresses concern about the possibility of success in Vietnam.

  • Clip: Episode 3 | The 9th Party Plenum: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Clip: Episode 3 | The 9th Party Plenum

    S1 E3 - 1m 32s

    In Hanoi, two North Vietnamese factions disagree about how best to proceed in the war. China and the Soviet Union offer conflicting advice.

  • Clip: Episode 3 | Ia Drang: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Clip: Episode 3 | Ia Drang

    S1 E3 - 1m 9s

    Soldiers discuss the psychological shock of witnessing death on the battlefield. Journalist Neil Sheehan talks about the courage he observed during the fighting in the Ia Drang Valley.

  • Clip: Episode 3 | Binh Gia: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Clip: Episode 3 | Binh Gia

    S1 E3 - 1m 43s

    After North Vietnamese forces shoot down a U.S. helicopter, South Vietnamese Marines are sent in to retrieve the bodies of four American military advisors. En route to the crash site, they are attacked.

  • Clip: Episode 3 | Vietnam's Beauty: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Clip: Episode 3 | Vietnam's Beauty

    S1 E3 - 1m 22s

    Marines arrive in South Vietnam expecting to have to fight their way ashore. Instead they are greeted by young women offering flowers. A Marine discusses his surprise in discovering the beauty of the Vietnamese landscape.

  • Clip: Episode 3 | Early Antiwar Movement: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Clip: Episode 3 | Early Antiwar Movement

    S1 E3 - 1m 22s

    While many Americans know little of the conflict in Vietnam, an antiwar movement begins to grow. Faculty at the University of Michigan organize an all-night discussion, dubbed a "teach-in," to promote debate on the subject.

  • Clip: Episode 3 | Reporters in Vietnam: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Clip: Episode 3 | Reporters in Vietnam

    S1 E3 - 1m 35s

    Despite the dangers, reporters flock to cover the conflict in Vietnam. One journalist discovers that it is not always possible to remain neutral reporting on war.

  • Student Protests: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Student Protests

    S1 E2 - 1m 42s

    Students across South Vietnam protest the government's treatment of Buddhist monks. President Diem arrests thousands of students in response.

  • Ho Chi Minh's Letter: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ho Chi Minh's Letter

    S1 E1 - 1m 24s

    In 1919, a young Vietnamese man, who would eventually be known by the pseudonym Ho Chi Minh, delivers a letter to the American delegation to the peace talks in Paris, in the hopes that it will reach President Woodrow Wilson.

  • Declaration of Independence: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Declaration of Independence

    S1 E1 - 1m 15s

    On September 2, 1945, Vietnamese civilians gather to hear Ho Chi Minh declare the country's independence.

Schedule

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.