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Nabaza.net-The MarketPlace - The War That Made America: The Story of the French and Indian War
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List Price: $34.99
Our Price: $31.49
Your Save: $ 3.50 ( 10% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: PBS (Direct)
Starring: Chad O. Allen, Chenoa Andon, Folkert Arend, John D. Bert, Douglass Bowen Flynn
Directed By: Ben Loeterman, Eric Stange
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0841887006293
Format: Color
Label: PBS (Direct)
Manufacturer: PBS (Direct)
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: PBS (Direct)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-02-28
Running Time: 240
Studio: PBS (Direct)
Theatrical Release Date: 2006-01-18
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Editorial Reviews:
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What if the French had won? Almost 250 years ago, French and English armies clashed in the primeval forest of western Pennsylvania as they struggled to control the most important piece of real estate in 18th century North America. The army that controlled the forks of the Ohio, a confluence of mighty rivers that would one day become Pittsburgh, held the gateway to the entire continent. Native Americans boldly tried to manipulate the balance of military power between the English and the French. It was the French and Indian War, and an inexperienced Virginian soldier named George Washington, serving under the British flag, learned battle-scarred lessons that would indelibly shape his life.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Uneven documentary based on a far better book
Comment: Anderson's book of the same name attempted to introduce the reader to the often ignored Indian role in many of the French and Indian War literature and at that it succeeded beautifully. Anderson's book is a mature and sober study of complicated politics, complicated men and complicated times.
Alas, this PBS documentary chooses to gloss over the complicated politics that led to the war in North America (nary a mention of the war's European theater) at the expense of explaining away the Indians' notorious cruelty as merely cultural differences and elevating the Indians to the status of equal players. That sort of sugar coating is, I suppose, de riguer nowadays but let's face it, it is bull and it really has no place in any serious and scholarly historical works. To make matters worse, the omnipresent Indians are almost ALWAYS mentioned as major players (even when their numbers are ridiculously low such as when 250 Canadian Mohawks fought alongside thousands of French soldiers!).
While Anderson's book presented the Indians as a party of interest in the war, and at times as both prime movers to events as well as pawns, he never makes the politically correct excuses the makers of this documentary do. Also, unlike the makers of the documentary, he never loses focus that his book is about "The War That Made America", where much of the emphasis is on events that shaped colonial political response to both the French and the Indians and, ultimately towards Britain, the mother country, not to the shafting of the Indians (which isn't to say that that didn't happen or that it wasn't important, but it had almost no bearing on the coming Revolutionary War).
Ken Burns' documentary work remains the standard and this PBS docudrama doesn't come close to reaching it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: juvenile
Comment: I wanted to like this program. I have read some serious accounts of the war and this program is really designed for those are completely ignorant of the war. 2 big issues. 1. The 7 Years war in Europe was due to the Prussian desire for Silesia and not caused by some blunder in North America. 2. The politically correct attempt to describe the terror attacks on the settlers as cultural and should be just accepted. This is like saying the Mongol massacres were just cultural. Terror attacks on civilians by any group should be condemned as such. The way the Indians conducted their raids, no matter how "cultural" they are explained, could not but bring about the consequences that befell them.
Customer Rating:
Summary: one of my favorite history docs
Comment: I knew basically nothing about the F&I War before watching this... about 6 times so far. It's a really well done production, highly informative, and gives you a good feel for the eastern US as a wilderness in contention. Hard to imagine that where the Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh now stands was once a coveted spot in an ocean of trees.
Footnote: It didn't matter who won what war, as the settlers were coming one way or another. But it still is a fascinating point in time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great documentary on an overlooked war.
Comment: They hit all of the high points in the struggle between France and Britain for the new world. They do an excellent job of summarizing the conflict through dramatizations. Very interesting and easy to follow as well. They do leave out a few details and skirmishes, however they do a wonderful job covering the war in a reasonable amount of time. I am especially impressed with this documentary as I have now finished a semester of study on the French and Indian war. This documentary truely does a fantastic job covering its respective subject. I highly recommend it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable to watch
Comment: For a non-native American like me, this is my first touch about this history. On the whole, it's pretty smooth, well-organized and detailed. The actors/actresses in this film perform well and get the job done.
Although the French are outnumbered by the British in that period, they allied with the Indians and defeated the British many times. The British first got the support from the colonists by treating them with respect. Then, they realized they need to respect these Indians as well and thus turned the tide of this war. Finally, the British won the war and the French were dispelled out of the North America. The British, however, didn't manage this territory well after winning the war. Their policy favored the Indians but didn't fit the interest of the colonists, which ultimately brought on the Revolution War.
I think the chapters of the French and Indian War are well set in this film. I enjoy the whole watching very much. The impact to the Revolution War, however, seems not thorough enough for me. It's kind of rush, in my opinion. It would be good to have more discussions or deeper analysis for the linkage.
This film is definitely a must-have for anyone having interest in the American history. In addition, the perspectives of Indians are well described. They are not that bad as barbarians, but have their own ways of living and believing.
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