Gettysburg: The Boys in Blue & Gray

Culled from diaries, letters, historical photographs, and government reports, the PBS-aired Gettysburg: The Boys in Blue & Gray presents a thrilling reenactment of one of the greatest battles of the Civil War. Filmed in four states, with seven full-scale battle scenes, this professional production, created with the participation of hundreds of re-enactors, employs a strong narrative format highlighted by the observations put forth in a 175-paragraph letter by Lt. Frank Haskell, an aide de camp to Union General John Gibbon. Taking its cue from the Ken Burns school of documentary filmmaking, the program mixes archival photos, readings, and music, to serve up a stirring, realistic, and thoroughly informative look at a battle that signaled a major turning point in the Civil War. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Carlson)