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

  • Things Fall Apart (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Things Fall Apart (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E26 - 1h 28m

    On the eve of the Tet holiday, North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launch surprise attacks on cities and military bases throughout the south, suffering devastating losses but casting grave doubt on Johnson’s promise that there is “light at the end of the tunnel.” The president decides not to run again and the country is staggered by assassinations and unrest.

  • Things Fall Apart (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Things Fall Apart (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E16 - 1h 27m

    On the eve of the Tet holiday, North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launch surprise attacks on cities and military bases throughout the south, suffering devastating losses but casting grave doubt on Johnson’s promise that there is “light at the end of the tunnel.” The president decides not to run again and the country is staggered by assassinations and unrest.

  • Things Fall Apart (January 1968-July 1968): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Things Fall Apart (January 1968-July 1968)

    S1 E6 - 1h 27m

    On the eve of the Tet holiday, North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launch surprise attacks on cities and military bases throughout the south, suffering devastating losses but casting grave doubt on Johnson’s promise that there is “light at the end of the tunnel.” The president decides not to run again and the country is staggered by assassinations and unrest.

  • This Is What We Do (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    This Is What We Do (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E25 - 1h 28m

    American casualties and enemy body counts mount as Marines face deadly North Vietnamese ambushes and artillery south of the DMZ and Army units chase an elusive enemy in the central highlands. Hanoi lays plans for a massive surprise offensive, and the Johnson Administration reassures the American public that victory is in sight.

  • This Is What We Do (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    This Is What We Do (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E15 - 1h 27m

    American casualties and enemy body counts mount as Marines face deadly North Vietnamese ambushes and artillery south of the DMZ and Army units chase an elusive enemy in the central highlands. Hanoi lays plans for a massive surprise offensive, and the Johnson Administration reassures the American public that victory is in sight.

  • This Is What We Do (July 1967-December 1967): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    This Is What We Do (July 1967-December 1967)

    S1 E5 - 1h 28m

    American casualties and enemy body counts mount as Marines face deadly North Vietnamese ambushes and artillery south of the DMZ and Army units chase an elusive enemy in the central highlands. Hanoi lays plans for a massive surprise offensive, and the Johnson Administration reassures the American public that victory is in sight.

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

    Resolve (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E24 - 1h 57m

    Defying American airpower, North Vietnamese troops and materiel stream down the Ho Chi Minh Trail into the south, while Saigon struggles to “pacify the countryside.” As an antiwar movement builds back home, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and Marines discover that the war they are being asked to fight in Vietnam is nothing like their fathers’ war.

  • Resolve (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Resolve (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E14 - 1h 56m

    Defying American airpower, North Vietnamese troops and materiel stream down the Ho Chi Minh Trail into the south, while Saigon struggles to “pacify the countryside.” As an antiwar movement builds back home, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and Marines discover that the war they are being asked to fight in Vietnam is nothing like their fathers’ war.

  • Resolve (January 1966-June 1967): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Resolve (January 1966-June 1967)

    S1 E4 - 1h 57m

    Defying American airpower, North Vietnamese troops and materiel stream down the Ho Chi Minh Trail into the south, while Saigon struggles to “pacify the countryside.” As an antiwar movement builds back home, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and Marines discover that the war they are being asked to fight in Vietnam is nothing like their fathers’ war.

  • The River Styx (Explicit Language Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The River Styx (Explicit Language Version)

    S1 E23 - 1h 58m

    With South Vietnam in chaos, hardliners in Hanoi seize the initiative and send combat troops to the south, accelerating the insurgency. Fearing Saigon’s collapse, President Johnson escalates America’s military commitment, authorizing sustained bombing of the north and deploying ground troops in the south.

  • The River Styx (Vietnamese Subtitles): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The River Styx (Vietnamese Subtitles)

    S1 E13 - 1h 57m

    With South Vietnam in chaos, hardliners in Hanoi seize the initiative and send combat troops to the south, accelerating the insurgency. Fearing Saigon’s collapse, President Johnson escalates America’s military commitment, authorizing sustained bombing of the north and deploying ground troops in the south.

  • The River Styx (January 1964-December 1965): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The River Styx (January 1964-December 1965)

    S1 E3 - 1h 57m

    With South Vietnam in chaos, hardliners in Hanoi seize the initiative and send combat troops to the south, accelerating the insurgency. Fearing Saigon’s collapse, President Johnson escalates America’s military commitment, authorizing sustained bombing of the north and deploying ground troops in the south.

Extras + Features

  • A Marine Comes Home: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Marine Comes Home

    S1 E9 - 1m 50s

    A Marine describes his heartbreak at returning home to face angry protesters.

  • Quang Ngai: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Quang Ngai

    S1 E8 - 1m 15s

    A GI talks about the danger of landmines and the courage it took just to walk in Vietnam.

  • Men Like This: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Men Like This

    S1 E7 - 1m 14s

    A decorated Army veteran recalls the courage and loyalty he observed from young men serving in the Vietnam War.

  • Protests in Chicago, 1968: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Protests in Chicago, 1968

    S1 E7 - 1m 54s

    A journalist describes the scene of a violent clash between police and student protesters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

  • Saigon During Tet: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Saigon During Tet

    S1 E6 - 46s

    During the Tet Offensive, Duong Van Mai Elliott visits her family in South Vietnam. She remembers their fear that Viet Cong forces could be hiding nearby.

  • LBJ Criticizes the Media: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    LBJ Criticizes the Media

    S1 E6 - 1m 25s

    In a taped conversation between President Johnson and Jack Horner of the Washington Star, the president criticizes the media.

  • Soldiers Adapt: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Soldiers Adapt

    S1 E5 - 1m 13s

    A Marine explains that soldiers have to adapt to the atrocities of war.

  • Understanding the Enemy: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Understanding the Enemy

    S1 E4 - 2m 56s

    Duong Van Mai Elliott recalls her experiences researching communists in Vietnam for the RAND corporation.

  • Ho Chi Minh Trail: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ho Chi Minh Trail

    S1 E4 - 1m 20s

    A Vietnamese woman recalls her efforts as a youth volunteer with other women on the Ho Chi Minh trail to keep roads open, despite harsh conditions and constant bombings.

  • New York City March, 1967: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    New York City March, 1967

    S1 E4 - 1m 24s

    An antiwar activist recalls a large protest march in New York City, where Martin Luther King, Jr., called for an end to the bombing.

  • Losses in His Family: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Losses in His Family

    S1 E4 - 57s

    A Viet Cong soldier recalls losing several family members in the war. And yet many young people, even in his family, still joined the resistance.

  • Humanity: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Humanity

    S1 E4 - 55s

    A Viet Cong soldier realizes his American enemies, like his own countrymen, have a profound sense of humanity.

Schedule

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