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The Vietnam War: BBC TV documentary

I didn't know anything about Ho Chi Min really to be honest, i suppose there was lots i didn't know. What did you think? Did you see it?
 
Mumbles274 said:
I didn't know anything about Ho Chi Min really to be honest, i suppose there was lots i didn't know. What did you think? Did you see it?
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Haven't seen it yet. Read critical, unflattering reviews. Know my Marxist-Leninist shit, though. What didn't you know about Uncle Ho?
 
I've got this recording, but is it the same one that has been on the PBS channel?

A quick google and I've answered my own question - it is, by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
 
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Orang Utan said:
All those who remember the war, they won't forget what they've seen: destruction of men in their prime, whose average age was nineteen.
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Likewise, all those who have been to Viet Nam can't fail to be shocked by what they see. Admittedly, it was a while ago I was there and there was much propaganda. The disabilities, the young foliage, the smoothed off mountains and hills, the horror of marble mountain, mai lai etc. Just so shocking and so sad. Such nice, good people. You did not have to scratch too deeply to see their suffering, their poverty, desperation.....
 
Mumbles274 said:
This Documentary series started last night. I thought it was an excellent programme, I was hooked and fascinated by a lot of the back history I never knew and found the whole overall production to be high quality. Highly recommended

The Vietnam War - Series 1: 1. Deja Vu (1858-1961)
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I went to Vietnam this summer to travel around there and with my son who lives and works in Hanoi. Much as I asked questions and tried to understand what had happened I could never quite get it because it was the backstory that I couldn't figure out properly. The Vietnam war was on TV news every night when I was in my teens but I didn't pay a lot of attention :oops::facepalm:
I watched the first part on iplayer last night and and I've got a much better understanding already. I'll watch the second part later today.

I agree with hash tag about the Vietnamese being such nice, good people.
 
hash tag said:
Likewise, all those who have been to Viet Nam can't fail to be shocked by what they see. Admittedly, it was a while ago I was there and there was much propaganda. The disabilities, the young foliage, the smoothed off mountains and hills, the horror of marble mountain, mai lai etc. Just so shocking and so sad. Such nice, good people. You did not have to scratch too deeply to see their suffering, their poverty, desperation.....
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None of them recieved a hero's welcome, none of them, none of them
 
I know there was some criticism of this programme on here somewhere, but why? Its hardly jingoistic, the opposite in fact, and right up there with the usual quality of Ken Burns documentary series.
 
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1927 said:
I know there was some criticism of this programme on here somewhere, but why? Its hardly jingoistic, the opposite in fact, and right up there with the usual quality of Ken Burns documentary series.
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Pilger pretty much nails it here .

THE KILLING OF HISTORY

When a documentary starts out telling you the Gulf of Tonkin thing actually happened , and that it was a war launched in good faith,you know it won't end well .
 
1927 said:
I know there was some criticism of this programme on here somewhere, but why? Its hardly jingoistic, the opposite in fact, and right up there with the usual quality of Ken Burns documentary series.
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Did you read the pieces linked to of the WP thread? They outline their reasons quite clearly, you might disagree with those reasons but they are cogent well-argued pieces.
 
redsquirrel said:
Did you read the pieces linked to of the WP thread? They outline their reasons quite clearly, you might disagree with those reasons but they are cogent well-argued pieces.
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What's the DW thread?
I'm slowly watching the documentary and watched episode 4 today. I've been angry watching earlier episodes but today's made me cry and reminded me why I stopped watching any news coverage in the 60's. It was just all too fucking depressing for this teenager.
I feel embarrassed by my attitude in the 60's when I see all the young American protesters in film footage but I have to say, I had no idea what was really going on and I doubt many people did back then.
I used to be a Kennedy fan but he's gone out the window now and LBJ with him. And some of those generals, arrogant murdering twats.
 
Shirl said:
What's the DW thread?
I'm slowly watching the documentary and watched episode 4 today. I've been angry watching earlier episodes but today's made me cry and reminded me why I stopped watching any news coverage in the 60's. It was just all too fucking depressing for this teenager.
I feel embarrassed by my attitude in the 60's when I see all the young American protesters in film footage but I have to say, I had no idea what was really going on and I doubt many people did back then.
I used to be a Kennedy fan but he's gone out the window now and LBJ with him. And some of those generals, arrogant murdering twats.
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DW? Do you mean WP?
The thread I was referring to was the one in World Politics, linked to in post #8
 
Really interesting, and shocking in places - just watched the double bill on tonight. Found the first hand testimonies particularly compelling. Some of it was utterly horrifying too :(

<sets sky box to record series>
 
I'm on episode 2 so far. I've got a pretty good jist of what happened in the war from when I visited, but it help explain some of the pre-cursors to war that I wasn't so au faix with.

I would love to go back to Vietnam, what an amazing country.
 
War is never nice or pretty. It's always brutal, always ugly, always costs lives, at the hands of politicians, though Viet Nam was pretty shocking and brutal, on both sides.a big super power, invading a small 3rd world country...sadly, what did we learn from it...never to do it again? :(:facepalm:
 
I've just watch E5 and I'll watch E6 shortly.
So far E4 was the most difficult to watch and the only one that's made me cry. Anger and despair sums up my feelings otherwise.
sim667 I'm going to try to go back again next year.
 
Shirl said:
sim667 I'm going to try to go back again next year.
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Im really torn, I've been planning a big trip for incase I get made redundant after this contract I'm on, but it never seems to end, I just want an end date.

So do I save money to possibly do my big trip, or fuck it, and just go for a holiday again.
 
Once out there it was very reasonable. Are there not direct flights now, which should make it more affordable.
btw. I would give rough camping a miss.
 
watching this on netflix. very detailed overview and some of the personal accounts of people who fought there are truly harrowing. the intensity and grpahic nature of some of the film footage is quite extraordinary as well. Ive got as far as teh TET offensive and my take away is of a slow descent into hell fueled by american hubris, paranoid and self serving politicians and a psychotic military command - I mean - basing the measure of "success" on the enemy body count? insane, illogical and guaranteed to result in a spiral of bloody destruction.
Most damming is the fact that in 1965 LBJ knew the war was unwinnable - yet still pressed ahead in order to save poltical face- driving the whole region into a bloody abyss whilst severely damaging the US economically, socially and politically.
 
It really is a remarkable bit of telly. As well as the US political angle, which shows politicians in their true light, the contrasting tales from the fighters on both sides are fascinating. All with the perspective that the time since it all happened gives.
 
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