Reconstruction: The Second Civil War

This two-part, three-hour PBS-aired American Experience documentary on post-Civil War federal policy toward the South and its social and political effects into the 1870s is a slick, skilled effort combining solid narration, archival materials, modern recreations, and interviews with both leading historians and a few descendants of people who were actually involved during the period from Lincoln's assassination through Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. Filmmakers Llewellyn M. Smith (Part 1) and Elizabeth Deane (Part 2) display a keen sense for highlighting telling episodes and colorful personalities, selecting details that help bring the narrative alive from the perspectives not only of newly-freed slaves and their northern supporters but also of southern whites determined to preserve their way of life. Particularly successful in dramatizing the ambiguity in northerners' attitudes toward the situation in the former Confederate states, Reconstruction also excels at explicating the political ramifications for Andrew Johnson and Grant of the decisions they made in the postwar period. DVD extras include a collection of interesting mini-documentaries (consisting of material apparently filmed for the programs but omitted for reasons of length) and a “making of” featurette. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)