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

  • Fellow Warriors: Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Fellow Warriors: Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam

    S1 - 20m 46s

    John Musgrave is a Marine veteran who served at Con Thien in Vietnam where he was wounded. After returning home, Musgrave struggled with survivor’s guilt and depression. Today, he counsels active-duty soldiers and other veterans who are having trouble adjusting to life after their service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  • The Reviews Are In: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Reviews Are In

    S1 - 30s

    America's top critics are unanimous in their praise for The Vietnam War. Find out what they're saying about Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s ten-part, 18-hour documentary series. #VietnamWarPBS

  • The Diaspora: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Diaspora

    S1 E10 - 50s

    A Vietnamese-American comments on being displaced from his country, and his desire to go back there to live out the last years of his life.

  • Some Peace: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Some Peace

    S1 E10 - 2m 33s

    Seeking reconciliation and peace, veterans from Vietnam and the United States meet in Vietnam years after the war.

  • Moratorium Protests, 1969: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Moratorium Protests, 1969

    S1 E7 - 1m 44s

    On November 15, 1969, half a million demonstrators turned out in Washington, D.C., to protest the war.

  • Rolling Thunder: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Rolling Thunder

    S1 E4 - 1m 10s

    President Johnson and Defense Secretary McNamara discuss the bombing campaign and strategy by phone.

  • The Nightlight: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Nightlight

    S1 E2 - 1m 37s

    A Marine remembers being afraid when assigned a listening post at night near the DMZ and how that fear stays with him today.

  • JFK on the Diem Coup: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    JFK on the Diem Coup

    S1 E2 - 1m

    Days after President Diem and his brother were killed in Saigon, President Kennedy dictated his own rueful account of the coup and his concerns for Vietnam's future.

Schedule

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