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Documentary Review - The Vietnam War by Ken Burns: Episode 1 - Deja Vu:

The Vietnam War is a detailed and moving ten-part, eighteen hour documentary film series directed by filmmaker Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. The documentary tells the epic chronicle of one of the most divisive, misunderstood, and forgotten events in American history. The first episode, Deja Vu (1858-1961) talks in detail about how Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end a century of French colonial occupation. Vietnam was divided in two with the intensifying Cold War. Communists in the North want a free and unified country, while America supports the South through Ngo Dinh Diem’s and his regime.

During this film, I specifically focused on the interviews and how exactly the shots were taken. The angles, how close they were, and how the lighting was done.

 

First Interview: Max Cleland

• The shot is a close up of his full face, only the very top of his face is out of the shot. The lighting is dim, but it really sets the tone, with shadows on the viewers right side of his face. His is not quite center, but not quite rule of thirds either, kind of a happy medium.

 

Second Interview: Bao Ninh

• The shot is a similar close up but a large major of Bao’s neck is showing, unlike the first interview. The lighting is slightly brighter but in general very similar to Max’s interview. The viewer's right side of his face is very shadowy. Bao’s face is perfectly lined up with the rightmost rule of thirds column line.

 

Third Interview: Tran Ngoc Toan

• The shot is again on the right side of the screen. The lighting is bright, but the viewer’s right side of Tran’s face is shadowy, giving us emotion once again. The shot is slightly different with most of his neck being in frame, but from a little above his eyebrows up is cut off. It seems at first like a badly planned shot, but I personally think it works well.

 

Forth Interview: John Musgrave

• The shot is a very close up of John’s face. The top of his head is out of frame and the bottom of his neck is also not visible. His face lines up very well with the leftmost rule of thirds column  — however, his face still takes up about 50 percent of the screen. The left most side of his face to the viewers is completely shadowed.

 

I learned from watching this film that the best interview shots are closer to the person getting interviewed and that for the best affect, your shots don’t necessarily have to be “perfect”.  

The documentary itself was extraordinarily powerful. I specifically noticed that foreshadowing that happened throughout the film and how it would cut to scenes of American soldiers in 1967, 1968, and 1969. It was moving in so many ways, to realize, like crap we as Americans should have saw this mess coming — there were so many red flags. But, do to our need to have a strategic military bases near China and our need to “stop” communism, thousands of young Americans lost their lives. It was a political disaster by all means and Ken Burns and Lynn Novick explain what really happened during those 97 desvive years.

The film itself was made up of four different sources of video: interviews, still pictures, Ken Burns effect pictures, and circa era videos — all compiled in a calculated and sensantial way. You are simply watching an American patrol walking through the jungle and you hear shots ring out and the film jump cuts to a person getting interviews, saying “Yeah, I was there — all hell broke loose.” In that instant it just hits you and you are like damn, I can not image being in his shoes. You can gather so much from the expression of his or her face. There is no lighting, sound or camera angles to crique in this film. The pictures are simply well placed and are shown in a low point in the film usually — driving the emotions even farther home. The combat footage is shot without any cinematic thought in mind, but it is beyond surreal. You truly feel as if you are on the battle ground with them.    

I would highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to be moved in a powerful way or is interested in finding out more, about what truly happened in Vietnam. It is filled with first person stories and footage that will have you on the edge of your seat for two hours straight. I am dying to watch the next episode once I find the time. The would 10/10 recommend this film.