Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Ariella Broughton
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
wsered1
Not the documentary -- strictly love for the documentary. What it helped me to do is to understand my love/hate relationship with New York. I love what NYC stands for -- industry, capitalism, pulling yourself up by the bootstraps. I don't like what it has become -- arrogant, dirty, the home of a lot of movements I am diametrically opposed to.This documentary didn't change my opinion -- disc 7 was especially informative -- but I certainly feel like I understand New York City, and the United States' urban development, much more than I did previously.A strong 9/10.
gonzofilms
In addition to the excellent documentary work that Ric Burns did on the original New York series, I am here to review the latest installment; Part 8"
Warning: Spoilers Ric Burns is an vibrant documentalist. In the first part of Volume 8, the documentary gives incredible depth to all aspects relating to the concept and erection of the Twin Towers. It further caputres the essence of the public sentiment before, during, and after its completion. Mr. Burns ability to not only recount events factually, but to also "breath" life into his film by delicately interweaving feelings and opinions from important figures, truly takes you back in time. And that's just the first two hours.In the last hour, the documentary takes on the extremely sensitive nature of what truly has become New York's tragedy, or rather, one of the worst man-made moments in world history. He portrayes it with a intensely private, personal angle that it truly deserves.Volume 8 "towers" above as landmark television, as its central focal point towers among the other skyscrapers. Additionally, it also stands out from the rest of the volumes in this incredible series as well. The lack of thoroughness and rushed atmosphere that volume 7 created was instantly erased with this offering. Kudos again to Ric Burns and James Sanders for writing this episode that spans from carefully laying out the foundation of the World Trade Center, to its still unthinkable end. Here in volume 8, everything is told, nothing is held back, and history is respectfully preserved. I highly recommend this film.
acton_bell01
While Ric Burns' documentary has been lauded for its comprehensive overview of NYC's history, it contains a number of unfortunate historical errors. Most of these are minor (saying, for instance, that Henry Hudson arrived in New York harbor in 1610 when it happened in 1609), but when they pile up, sentence upon sentence, episode after episode, it makes one wonder who fact-checked this series. More importantly, it makes the entire production suspect. If some of the facts are definitely wrong, how many others are wrong, too?
CabbyG3
The Ric Burns (Civil War, Jazz) documentary is thorough enough to teach even New Yorkers about native home. At 14 hours, perhaps that's not a hard thing to do, but it is worth every minute. At its heart, it's the story of NY from 1609 to 2000. But at its core, what you will take away from it is that New York's is the tale of America. "New York, more than any other city in the United States, tells the story of America to itself."-- and it does.
Most enlightening to potential viewers will be the last chapter "The city and the world" that brings us from the end of WWII into the present. The meat here is the whole "urban renewal" failure of the 80's and 90's, as well as the once and future problem of suburban expansion. And, as always, they show how New York was THE leader of the pack in all of these urban questions. In watching the documentary, you cannot help but realize that what happens in NY, inevitably happens in the rest of the USA. Ric Burns' documentary is so much more, part 3 is the true story of New York that Scorsese hopes to capture in "Gangs of New York" this December (not even he has a shot at this). This documentary is delightful in its simplicity and subtle in its sentimentality (no bashing over the head, "NY rules", and its all la-tee-da). Lovers and haters of NY are all interviewed and allowed to give their slant. Although the villification of Robert Moses and complete hatred of him is made manifest-- because it was true then and is true now. The films does not go into detail during wars, which I might have liked to see more of, but the fact is that NY (as you will see) has not played a large role in war, except as a stage for the rest of the US to play on (a-la VJ-day). Urbanists, the NY-curious, educators, the educated-- see this documentary.The story of Walt Whitman, the story of Abe Lincoln, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Al Smith, la Guardia, FDR, George Washington, Stuyvesant, and more were MADE in New York City. New York has been referred to as a foreign city with over 50% of its people born outside of the country, but it turns out to be the most American of any city-- the real mixing pot, where everyone is forced to get along and to find a way to work together (the United Nations?). This film won 2001 Emmys for best editing and best non-fiction programming to give you an idea of its cinematic quality.It is NOT about September 11th, but you connect 'what happens to NY, happens to the rest 10 years later' to that date, it begs the question. There are other documentaries about that NY event. NY was the first to experience a massive suicide bombing (episode 3) and it will likely be the first city again. Since the Civil War, you will see, it has been the First City of the world, the Capitol of the world. The best damn city, with one of the most remarkable histories of any place you could name-- laid out with great storytelling by Ric Burns' PBS documentary. 9.5/10
