Award-winning Film to Air Sundays on WSRE Beginning July 10
THE CIVIL WAR, the award-winning film produced and directed by Ken Burns that first aired in September 1990, will be rebroadcast on WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The Civil War began when shots were fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12, 1861. As a result of the confrontation, four more states seceded from the Union, joining the seven that left in February of that year to create the Confederacy.
The series will air Sundays on WSRE as follows:
Episode 101 – Sunday, July 10 at 2 p.m.
Episodes 102/103 – Sunday, July 10 at 4 p.m.
Episodes 104/105 – Sunday, July 17 at 2 p.m.
Episodes 106/107 – Sunday, July 17 at 4:30 p.m.
Episodes 108/109 – Sunday, July 24 at 4:30 p.m.
“THE CIVIL WAR was a milestone in the history of documentary film and television,” John F. Wilson, SVP & chief TV programming executive at PBS said. “When THE CIVIL WAR premiered, the nation became increasingly riveted by the story and the filmmaking. To date, it remains the highest-rated series in the history of American public television. Twenty-one years later, the re-mastered film remains relevant and modern. The storytelling and use of music, experts and personal narratives, along with a stunning collection of period photographs, are just as poignant today as when it premiered.”
THE CIVIL WAR attracted an audience of 40 million during its premiere in September 1990. The New York Times called it a masterpiece and said that Ken Burns “takes his place as the most accomplished documentary filmmaker of his generation.” Tom Shales of The Washington Post said, “This is not just good television, nor even just great television. This is heroic television.” The columnist George Will added, “If better use has ever been made of television, I have not seen it and do not expect to see better until Ken Burns turns his prodigious talents to his next project.” The series has been honored with more than 40 major film and television awards, including two Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, Producer of the Year Award from the Producers Guild, People’s Choice Award, Peabody Award, duPont-Columbia Award, D.W. Griffith Award and the Lincoln Prize, among dozens of others.
While Burns had directed and produced other award-winning films on PBS prior to THE CIVIL WAR, including his first feature film, the Academy Award-nominated THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE (1981), THE CIVIL WAR quickly became the standard for historic documentaries.
“Prior to THE CIVIL WAR, my colleagues and I toiled in relative anonymity,” Burns said. “While we still work as a small group in a small town in New Hampshire, THE CIVIL WAR created a new thirst for history and stories about America that has allowed us to explore a wide range of topics. I think the interest in THE CIVIL WAR grew out of Americans longing to understand their past, the pretty and the ugly, and the desire to tap into the past to create a better sense of who we are as a people and a place. Today, as we reflect on the Civil War on the 150th anniversary of the start of battle, I’m very proud that our small film continues to help us understand the magnitude of that conflict, the impact it had on individuals, families and towns large and small, and the ongoing place it holds in our collective memory.”
PBS Home Video and Paramount Home Entertainment released a 150th Anniversary Edition of “THE CIVIL WAR” on DVD in March 2011. The six-DVD set includes over an hour of previously unreleased interviews and a companion collector’s booklet.
For more information on the broadcast and the Civil War, visit www.pbs.org/civilwar.
About WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast
WSRE is a PBS member station that is locally owned and licensed to the Pensacola State College Board of Trustees operating as a service of Pensacola State College. The public broadcasting station has been serving the needs of the Gulf Coast community through programming, educational services and outreach since 1967. WSRE produces, acquires and distributes programs that address local interests and reflect the diverse cultural, political, geographic and demographic characteristics of its audience. The Educational Services unit for WSRE serves as the connection to teachers, parents, caregivers and children to extend the rich resources found in public television. For more information about WSRE, its services, programs or available resources, visit wsre.org.
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Media Note: For graphics, pictures, and other associated press releases visit WSRE's Pressroom at http://www.wsre.org/pressroom. Additional press materials can be found at www.pbs.org/pressroom. Episode listings in separate attachment.
