User reviews

I've watched this show a minimum of 3 times on The History Channel and The Military channel. I would recommend it be shown to every school age child in the U.S. Narrated by Charles Kuralt it depicts the beginning of the United States. Why we did what we did from Lexington and Concord to Yorktown with everything in between to include perhaps the greatest document ever to have been written. The Declaration of Indepence although Thomas Jefferson took from different sources and rewrote them. The final results of his effort are magnificent.

Just look and listen. Let Mr. Kuralt and other voices take you through our history. The very start of our history and be sure your children view it and LISTEN to the words as written by soldiers of the time. Both American and British. Especially one who started as a private at the age of 15 and ended up a Sgt. at Yorktown.

Every American should view this so they know where we came from and how much it took to gain independence from the most powerful nation in the world. And every American should never forget.

I'm just a guy. Nobody special. Not a TV or movie renewer. Just a guy who sees today that many Americans have no sense of where we came from and why and that's why this series is so important.

I watched this on the American Heroes Channel (formerly The Military Channel) over the 4th of July. It is an excellent documentary. Informative and entertaining. I agree with the review that says this should be required viewing for school aged children. The depictions are very realistic and it brings the battles to life and explains the hardships faced by George Washington and his armies. It went into depth about Benedict Arnold and explained his actions and how harmful they were to the Continental Armies. I knew he was a traitor but I had no idea as to the depth of his betrayal. Charles Kuralt gave an excellent narration too.

I wish it was longer. I found myself wanting more after it ended. I have always enjoyed studying American wars. And I think that I possess above average knowledge about American military conflicts. This documentary reminded me that there is always so much more knowledge out there. I learned about specific aspects of this war that I had never known about. I was surprised by some of the details of this documentary. From the research that I have done about this documentary, I have come to learn that it is incredibly historically accurate. You may see reviews that say otherwise but they are nitpicking on small controversial details. The bottom line is that there is not a better American Revolutionary War documentary out there. This documentary is a perfect combination of narration, reenactment, history professors' inside knowledge, and written correspondence such as letters, speeches, etc. I am not a fan of the new History Channel documentary where the entire special is an acted, scripted reenactment. I prefer the dry history specials of the past. I find them more captivating and interesting. This documentary is not completely dry but it is of that style. The viewer is bombarded with detailed information about one of the greatest wars in the history of the world. I recommend that every American watch this but I also think any person would enjoy this documentary because it talks about a very historic time in the history of the world. I loved it!!!

the american revolution pales in titles in films documentaries and tv shows when compared to the civil war. This documentary is well done and comprehensive and is highly recommented. Interestingly enough despite the importance of the event, the documentary shows that we have one main source on the war: the writings of Sgt Joseph Plum Martin.

First of all, this film came out before "Liberty" and "The American Revolution" which had big name personnalies to help carry them along. And yet, I think that this film/documentary stands on its own merits. Charles Kuralt of the old CBS show "On The Road" narrates with his folksy voice which gives it a nice feel. The Revolutionary War deals strictly with the military movements without going into a lot of politics of war. I wish it had got into more of the details of the battles and it could have used more of the quotes from the common soldiers. It uses live action modern reenactors for the battle scenes along with the oil paintings and drawings of the 18th century. Also the use of historians interjecting their expertize on the subject are done in a matter that dosen't empede the flow of the film. Tho it's far from perfect, but for it's time a mighty fine documentary......