  the civil war is a documentary film created by ken burns about the american civil war. it was first broadcast on pbs on five consecutive nights from september 23 to 27, 1990. approximately 40 million viewers watched it during its initial broadcast, making it the most-watched program ever to air on pbs. it was subsequently awarded more than 40 major television and film honors. the film was remastered on the twelfth anniversary of its release, and a book following the movie has also been released.ward, geoffrey c.; burns, ric; burns, ken (1992) [first published 1991]. the civil war: an illustrated history. new york: knopf. isbn 978-0679742777. the nation was captivated by the film, which drew praise from president george h. w. bush. ==production== ken burns was inspired to make this documentary because of mathew brady's photographs. more than 10 hours in length, the documentary has nine episodes that explore the civil war through personal stories and photos. during the creation of the movie, burns made extensive use of over 16,000 archival photographs, paintings, and newspaper images from the time of the war. the series' slow zooming and panning across the photos resulted in the coining of the term the "ken burns effect". he combined these images with modern cinematography, music, narration by david mccullough, anecdotes and insights from authors such as shelby foote, historians barbara j. fields, ed bearss, and stephen b. oates; an
1990_in_American_television American_Civil_War_TV_series American_documentary_television_series Documentary_television_series_about_war Films_directed_by_Ken_Burns Grammy_Award_for_Best_Spoken_Word_Album PBS_network_shows Peabody_Award_winning_television_programs