This is the sort of series that validates the "History Channel".
There is a lot of filler on the old "History Channel", but every now and then something makes me glad I kept my subscription. "Grant" is one of those.
In telling Grant's story, no documentary about the Civil War has brought home the significance of the Western and Eastern theatres like this series. It's a combination of interviews with historians, effective use of maps and re-creations using actors. I'm wary of "History Channel" re-creations, especially of battles. Often they consist of a handful of extras milling around in close-up. Ken Burns created the benchmark Civil War series just using images from the time - plus some creative zooming.
Here the re-creations are effective, especially in well-acted scenes of Grant at various stages of his life.
For my money the best sequence is the surrender at Appomattox, where Lee and Grant face off for the last time. As historian Doug Douds comments. "It represented the changing character of war. Robert E. Lee commanding as though he were a 16th Century prince representing the last of the old wars, meanwhile you have Ulysses S. Grant representing the first of the new".
The series uses Grant's words in voiceover. At one point he acknowledged the enemy that had fought so valiantly "... for a cause that was one of the worst for which a people ever fought".
The re-creations of the battles in "Grant", although not as spectacular as those in "Gettysburg" or "Gods and Generals", do not glorify the war, instead they look horrific with nasty musket ball impacts. The American Civil War has been romanticised in art, literature and film almost since it ended. Just look at a painting by Don Troiani or the great Tom Lovell replete with streaming battle flags and bloodless corpses. Even Matthew Brady's posed historic photos of the dead look slightly unreal.
One statistic of the war that has always struck me is that of the 60,000 amputations. For decades, crutches and empty sleeves must have been a common sight in every town and city across America.
"Grant" presents a man of character and conviction. The series shows that only someone with those qualities could have performed as he did. Finally, the series traces Grant's presidency and explains why his legacy faded in comparison to Lincoln's; it shouldn't have.
This series arrives while at the same time there are interviews on YouTube with young Americans where few know much about the war or the century in which it had occurred. As someone who thinks history is important I find that rather sad.
There is a lot of filler on the old "History Channel", but every now and then something makes me glad I kept my subscription. "Grant" is one of those.
In telling Grant's story, no documentary about the Civil War has brought home the significance of the Western and Eastern theatres like this series. It's a combination of interviews with historians, effective use of maps and re-creations using actors. I'm wary of "History Channel" re-creations, especially of battles. Often they consist of a handful of extras milling around in close-up. Ken Burns created the benchmark Civil War series just using images from the time - plus some creative zooming.
Here the re-creations are effective, especially in well-acted scenes of Grant at various stages of his life.
For my money the best sequence is the surrender at Appomattox, where Lee and Grant face off for the last time. As historian Doug Douds comments. "It represented the changing character of war. Robert E. Lee commanding as though he were a 16th Century prince representing the last of the old wars, meanwhile you have Ulysses S. Grant representing the first of the new".
The series uses Grant's words in voiceover. At one point he acknowledged the enemy that had fought so valiantly "... for a cause that was one of the worst for which a people ever fought".
The re-creations of the battles in "Grant", although not as spectacular as those in "Gettysburg" or "Gods and Generals", do not glorify the war, instead they look horrific with nasty musket ball impacts. The American Civil War has been romanticised in art, literature and film almost since it ended. Just look at a painting by Don Troiani or the great Tom Lovell replete with streaming battle flags and bloodless corpses. Even Matthew Brady's posed historic photos of the dead look slightly unreal.
One statistic of the war that has always struck me is that of the 60,000 amputations. For decades, crutches and empty sleeves must have been a common sight in every town and city across America.
"Grant" presents a man of character and conviction. The series shows that only someone with those qualities could have performed as he did. Finally, the series traces Grant's presidency and explains why his legacy faded in comparison to Lincoln's; it shouldn't have.
This series arrives while at the same time there are interviews on YouTube with young Americans where few know much about the war or the century in which it had occurred. As someone who thinks history is important I find that rather sad.