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

  • Riding the Tiger (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Riding the Tiger (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E22 - 1h 26m

    President Kennedy inspires idealistic young Americans to serve their country and wrestles with how deeply to get involved in South Vietnam. As the increasingly autocratic Diem regime faces a growing communist insurgency and widespread Buddhist protests, a grave political crisis unfolds.

  • Riding the Tiger (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Riding the Tiger (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E12 - 1h 25m

    President Kennedy inspires idealistic young Americans to serve their country and wrestles with how deeply to get involved in South Vietnam. As the increasingly autocratic Diem regime faces a growing communist insurgency and widespread Buddhist protests, a grave political crisis unfolds.

  • Riding the Tiger (1961-1963): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Riding the Tiger (1961-1963)

    S1 E2 - 1h 26m

    President Kennedy inspires idealistic young Americans to serve their country and wrestles with how deeply to get involved in South Vietnam. As the increasingly autocratic Diem regime faces a growing communist insurgency and widespread Buddhist protests, a grave political crisis unfolds.

  • Déjà Vu (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Déjà Vu (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E21 - 1h 25m

    After a long and brutal war, Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end nearly a century of French colonial occupation. With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva. Communists in the north aim to reunify the country, while America supports Ngo Dinh Diem’s untested regime in the south.

  • Déjà Vu (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Déjà Vu (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E11 - 1h 24m

    After a long and brutal war, Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end nearly a century of French colonial occupation. With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva. Communists in the north aim to reunify the country, while America supports Ngo Dinh Diem’s untested regime in the south.

  • Déjà Vu (1858-1961): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Déjà Vu (1858-1961)

    S1 E1 - 1h 25m

    After a long and brutal war, Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end nearly a century of French colonial occupation. With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva. Communists in the north aim to reunify the country, while America supports Ngo Dinh Diem's untested regime in the south.

Extras + Features

  • How Am I Doing This? | First Look: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How Am I Doing This? | First Look

    S1 - 30s

    A GI talks about his fear of land mines, and the courage it took just to walk in Vietnam. One of many perspectives on The Vietnam War: An Epic Event from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. #VietnamWarPBS

  • Not Since The Civil War | First Look: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Not Since The Civil War | First Look

    S1 - 30s

    A GI recalls how the Vietnam War divided American society. One of many perspectives on The Vietnam War: An Epic Event from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. #VietnamWarPBS

  • Christmas Bombing: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Christmas Bombing

    S1 - 1m 59s

    President Nixon authorizes U.S. forces to launch airstrikes on North Vietnam in December, 1972. #VietnamWarPBS

  • Finishing School: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Finishing School

    S1 E5 - 1m 1s

    A Marine contends that a dark side of human nature may be in us and that we are capable of tremendous violence.

  • Extended Look: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Extended Look

    S1 - 2m

    Ken Burns & Lynn Novick tell the story behind their most ambitious film to date.

  • Cowards or Heroes? | First Look: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Cowards or Heroes? | First Look

    S1 - 30s

    To escape a war they didn't believe in, some draftees went to Canada. One of many perspectives in The Vietnam War: An Epic Event from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. #VietnamWarPBS

  • Combat is an Enormous High | First Look: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Combat is an Enormous High | First Look

    S1 - 30s

    A soldier describes the enormous high and enormous cost of being in combat. One of many perspectives in The Vietnam War: An Epic Event from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. #VietnamWarPBS

  • Profound Sense of Humanity | First Look: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Profound Sense of Humanity | First Look

    S1 - 30s

    A Viet Cong soldier realizes his American enemy is not unlike his own countrymen. One of many perspectives on The Vietnam War: An Epic Event from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. #VietnamWarPBS

  • Save Us | First Look: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Save Us | First Look

    S1 - 30s

    A Vietnamese woman learns that the powerful American military is coming to her country. One of many perspectives in The Vietnam War: An Epic Event from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. #VietnamWarPBS

  • Shot Right Here | First Look: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Shot Right Here | First Look

    S1 - 30s

    A South Vietnamese soldier is shot but fights on. One of many perspectives on The Vietnam War: An Epic Event from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. #VietnamWarPBS

Schedule

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