If you want to know the real truth about WWII and not the "US is the greatest country in the world who saved the universe" propaganda, then see this film. I'm a Veteran, so I don't get the blind patriotism or the refusal to accept the truth. As I served, just like my father, grandfather, etc and yet, I don't feel a need to excuse the lies we've been fed. So I'm amazed at how people refuse the truth and just accept whatever the 1% running this country has always fed us. Despite the fact that these people aren't a part of the 1%. They still defend their actions. Wake up! The footage is there. The audio, the video, how anyone can deny the US global domination agenda is beyond me. I knew the truth before this film as I have been researching history from more reliable sources and non-biased sources long before I saw this film. It just shocks me to see people fully accepting our version and not verifying anything.
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ankhharu13 May 2015
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schlomo-jones16 February 2020Watching this in 2020 is a bit surreal. Who knew in 2012, when this documentary was produced, that we would be once again living in age of reactionary nationalism and a return to fascist authoritarianism throughout the world?
Oliver Stone's documentary was originally released as a 10-hour series on Showtime, each episode being a "chapter" which covers the history of the US as a global power from the beginning of World War II to Obama's presidency and his use of drone warfare. The Netflix release includes episodes 11 & 12 from the Blu-Ray, which are referred to as "appendices" A & B, and go back to 1900 to the 1920's and discuss the roots of American imperialism with the election of William Mckinley.
The first three chapters cover WWII, paying particular attention to Henry Wallace, FDR's second VP, and concluding with big question of whether the atomic bomb was necessary to end the war in Japan. Although the myth of Truman grappling with the decision is exposed (and this can be checked and confirmed), the idea that the Japanese were "about to surrender" and were more worried about the Soviet invasion, is the standard Russian line and counterfactual supposition, NOT history. Still, the fact that numerous high ranking military commanders and scientists who worked on the Manhattan project objected to using the bomb on moral grounds should not be forgotten. Dropping the bomb on the civilian populations of Hiroshima & Nagaski, was in fact a war crime of monumental proportions and morally indefensible. We should look at its use as a shameful moment, and stop rationalizing it.
It then goes into the Cold War & Vietnam, giving a comprehensive overview of the neocolonialist policies the US pursed in the name of fighting communism.
Finally, we get into the post-Cold War era of globalization, the Iraq war and the "war on terror", which just served as a cover for Zbigniew Brzezinski's middle east strategy from the 1970's.
Episode 10, which was the last episode of the original release, concludes with Obama's disappointing continuation of the same imperialist strategy of the Bush administration, with the cover of Obama's softer, more diplomatic approach. This also includes the use of modern drone warfare, allowing the US to murder countless foreigners with the cold detachment of playing a video game and reducing media stories of dead US soldiers (because sick brainwashed Americans have learned to not even acknowledge non-US deaths inflicted by our mass murder machine).
Watching the "appendices" is vitally important. It isn't until near the end of ep. 12 that Stone actually gives a full accounting of Stalin's crimes within Russia. This is also where he discusses the dispute of Trotsky & Stalin over the critical question of "permanent revolution" vs "socialism in one country," and Stone appears to support Trotsky. Without this segment, it's easy to view the first few episodes as a Stalin apologia that would make Enver Hoxha proud.
Overall, this documentary is very well made, and a great counter-narrative to anyone raised on anti-communist, pro-imperialist propaganda that dominates the US imagination, including most of the Hearst-owned History Channels crypto-fascist dreck.
Of course, for those who are familiar with the works of Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, or Noam Chomsky, most of the information here is not new. The one major person I was not aware of was Henry Wallace, who has been reduced to a footnote by most mainstream popular historical accounts, including text books. Seeing how he was tragically robbed of the Vice Presidential nomination in the 1944 Democratic National convention, was chilling to watch in the current climate where billionaires are colluding in the most blatantly corrupt way stop Bernie Sanders from gaining the Presidential nomination.
Of course, this has a left-wing bias, and I can see why some might not like it. However, most of the information here is factual. There are a few errors, most glaringly depicting Soviet takeover of Finland. If the segment in the last "appendice" episode, critical of Stalin, had been included in the original release, I think you'd see a lot less 1 star reviews. There is, of course, a lot left out, but there is only so much that you can fit in a 10-hour documentary. This is meant to be a counter-narrative to the popular patriotic pro-imperialist myths, not to be a detailed comprehensive historical overview. Hopefully, this will encourage viewers to learn more about history and challenge the assumptions they are fed.
For those who question Stone's patriotism, remember that he is a decorated Vietnam veteran, who volunteered for service and was honorably discharged. The impact the war had him affected him deeply, and made him question the propaganda and lies he had been told that encouraged him to volunteer as a young man. The atrocities committed by the US in Vietnam weigh on him heavily, only someone with deep moral clarity can come out that situation and speak truth to power, rejecting the comfort of blind patriotism, much like the hero Smedley Butler. -
stuttgart2011111 December 2012There is a lot of things Americans don't know, but when it comes to history, we look even worse.
Oliver Stone has teamed up with Kuznick to tell us the history of the United States, the UNTOLD history. By which Stone means the history that was once known and reported but isn't taught in schools today.
I have seen 5 Parts, or Chapters, as Stone calls them, and I must say Im very impressed. Sometimes it sounds a little too Soviet-friendly, but all in all pretty fair. And the acts that are presented can NOT be disputed. Thats the most important thing. So that people who don't agree with Stone can make up their own mind, like I did in some cases.
I must say though, its not easy entertainment. Its pure informations for 60 Minutes. I had to pause the show once in a while so I could focus again.
I just saw Chapter 5 (Eisenhowers time) and there were a lot of things that I didn't know. I knew the CIA had overthrown a few Gouvernments and installed some puppets, but I didn't know that there were so many. -
I cannot express how impressed I was with this work of televisual majesty. Unbiased, well narrated, clearly presented and explained information, just the right amount. Focusing on the real key points to give a brief but in depth understanding, not just of the events, but of their repercussions. Mainstream history is truly written by the those in a position of dominance, and to find out what really happened you have to dig deep and have an open mind, and that is what Oliver Stone has pulled off in abundance!
World war two has been an interest of mine for some 16 years now, and even my eyes were opened as to the geopolitical framework that built the world we're in today. Some huge political scandals were missed from most commonly known (and taught) history, I don't know if I agree with all of the opinions, but the facts, the evidence, that speaks for itself! A huge amount of it is quoted, referenced and some from actual recordings from the politicians at the time. And for the sceptics, Yes it does check out, although some is hard to find.
After watching this, I've decided to store the recordings to use to help teach my son the real story of what built the world he's entered into. And to give you some perspective of how ground breaking this program is, my son is currently 3 months old! And it will be saved for prosperity until he's old enough to comfortably assimilate such information.
That's how important and rare this type of clarity and open minded viewpoint is. Every human being on the planet should turn off X factor and watch this, If they did the human race would stand a much better chance.
Oliver, if you ever read this, I hope to meet you one day and shake your hand! Many Thanks. -
steinifrim12 December 2012Here we go again. An excellent documentary that shows the world from the perspective of the whole world instead of just the view "The United States of God bless America". Queue the 1 star ratings from the "true patriots" that say that anything that says USA isn't perfect must be propaganda. This sort of brainwashing is exactly what is described in episode five. So please don't be fooled by this. This is actual history, if you look this up you will find the events actually took place. Even though sometimes it may seem Stone is trying to make the soviets less horrible it does not mean they weren't horrible, that just means that they weren't the monsters that the American public was let think they were and that the US escalated the cold war just as much as the Soviets. I am actually astonished that the people in the so called "greatest country in the world" can't take a look at it self and realize that they might of done some wrong in the past.
Please ignore ignorant rantings about anti-U.S. propaganda. -
vandercolombo-229 June 2013Interesting how most of the negative reviews come from America or countries that do not suffer this "intervention." Cause here in Latin America, no need to tell us. We saw it. We saw an arrogant policy that for years it was believed that he had the right to overthrow democratically elected presidents and replacing them with dictators. Today we know that the tortures were applied during the dictatorship methods taught by the CIA. This is not a theory, documents prove it. And just as I know that the vast majority of Americans politicized are / were against it, I'd like others to at least open their eyes so that it never happens again. Your freedom should not mean the enslavement of others. I leave a loving hug to all Americans who know that. Cause you were as much victims as we went.
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ghzakaria24 April 2013What strikes me the most is that the negative reviews of the series actually confirm everything Stone wants to say.
The series is actually brilliant. The book might be even more brilliant. Yes, it is subjective. And yes, it focuses on certain issues more than other issues. And that's because human beings are subjective; history is written and examined by human beings. On the other hand, the series -- and the book-- say right out from the start that this is not the complete history, it's only the part that people don't hear about. That's why it doesn't concentrate on 'other views' or the 'other side' of what it says. Add to that, film is a form of art. And this is the difference art can make when it deals with history.
The series does, in 99% of the cases, state facts very clearly and don't see events and people in black and white. And I have come to believe that people who accuse material of being propaganda are the very victims of propaganda. They are those who want to paint the whole world in one brush and put label on people, things, countries, races, ideas, etc. as 'good' and 'bad.' Personally, I think that is the definition of intellectual terrorism. -
nillabop24 September 2020I never knew how little I really knew about our American history until I found out everything that I didn't know. I thought maybe I was just being paranoid about some capitalist conspiracy to exploit and oppress the masses for personal gain or some distorted need for power and control. Even if only 10% of Stone's history was actually true, It turns out that what I thought was already bad enough was just the tip of the iceberg. The fact that 100% may be true is simply horrifying.
This series is absolutely riveting and magnificently written. I found myself repeatedly rewinding to make sure I caught every ounce of information packed into each episode. My only issue with the entire series was I found Oliver Stone's narration very distracting -- his pregnant pauses and melodramatic delivery sounded to me like William Shatner doing a riff of William Shatner as James T Kirk. Nevertheless, this should be required viewing by all Americans, especially in an election year. -
For the history buffs and those interested in a less partisan view of U.S. History, that's not always completely told in our school history books, I highly recommend Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States.
History itself, and memories in general, inherit the bias of the observer. Further retelling, teaching, and writing of the event also serve to inject patriotism, nationalism, bias and opinion into the mix. This documentary series does well to attempt to strip out all of that, and to see the gray beyond just the black and white.
The show looks and sounds like the history shows we all grew up on in school. This should be known going into it, it is not an enthralling Oliver Stone dramatic movie, but it is well produced. For those interested in the subject matter it will easily keep your attention. In fact it's often difficult to break away momentarily because the pacing of the imagery and information rarely has a lull. -
severnuri9 April 2013First off, I had not learned in my most recent 10 years of formal education even half of what I've learned after watching this series.
If you have many times got confused, felt something missing, frustrated by concealed fallacies after reading numerous texts on recent history, then you'll be relieved by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick's Untold History of the US. Some say there's nothing untold here, which may be true, but it's never been told in such compact, coherent, true way and void of propaganda. It helps you connect many dots, backed by real archives of footage, articles, papers, interviews, etc.
This is not just about the US, it's about the world. Don't miss it. -
To clarify one thing: I am not a big fan of documentaries at all! They often get boring, because they often take way too long to say somethings. Not to mention the irritation I feel from the often wrong or skewed information they present. They try to make you believe eating meat is worse for CO2 production than gasoline usage or tell you pyramids are made by aliens and take 2 hours to do so.
However, this documentary is by far the best I have ever seen! The density of information is super high, I actually was able to watch it 4 times and still pick up something new every time. Everything is fact checked by them and by Showtime (not a USA critic organization). And I haven't found a mistake in the whole series. And once I finished I felt disappointment there wasn't more! What a series! You (almost) never see the narrator talking, there are constant video fragments, edited extremely well. And what a clarifying view on history! The stories focus on where the USA went wrong AND where USA almost went right but unfortunately didn't; in stark contrast to the bulk of the stuff we have been fed. An important theme of the series linked to the period discussed is the threat of nuclear war. Everything they say is still extremely relevant with the cold war regaining strength. Go enjoy this documentary, you won't be disappointed! -
This is a very interesting documentary that focuses on little- acknowledged facts that may very well change the views of average Americans, if their teachers or the media ever bothered to delve into it. I always enjoy any piece like this that sheds new light on subjects of history, religion, or politics. The only reason I don't rate it as a 7 or 8 is simply because of my own in-depth studies of history and my knowledge of Oliver Stone's other works. While he provides a great deal of lesser-known facts regarding FDR's administration, the world wars, etc. he still seems to leave viewers with the impression that the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and other areas under communist regimes were actually just nice guys with no real axe to grind. In leaving out the other hidden histories of what truly happened in many of these nations, leading up to the points where they intersect with US affairs, I feel it leaves the wrong impression that the US is solely to blame for multi-faceted problems and doesn't address the hidden hands of bankers and secret societies and communists who brought on many issues and atrocities. Similar to his treatment of the JFK saga, Stone gets some of it right, and does a good job of at least raising good questions and shedding light on obscure facts, but doesn't quite hone in on the full picture. Still, worth a watch, but I would suggest a much deeper study of the wars, ideologies, and other agendas at play.
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jherring10827 August 2018First of all where did all of you Americans get your education? Watching this documentary didn't, at least for me, reveal any new historical revaluations. It's very good and I absolutely love watching historical documentaries. I highly recommend watching this.
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ferdinand19323 July 2013It is possible that this history is new to many people, especially they gave up with history in elementary school. In school simple stories are taught and quite a few myths too. While this series aims to be new there is nothing in that is not known but Stone gives some undue emphasis to certain items. He and the team that made this commit several unforgivable sins of historical methodology and analysis which mean that the series fails convince.
The approach is to retell all the events we know – that if we read a few books besides the school texts. Fine. Good background but what this method does is lull the audience with the indisputable and then mix in debatable, which becomes acceptable. That is a subterfuge. The method is clearly signaled and makes the 'essay' of this series like a very good high school essay but which has many, many flaws.
A good starting point is the perspective. Stone's tacit premise is that government does good things and when it doesn't or acts in terms of real-politik, he is upset. But there is no reason for government to act with high moral purpose. It is a matter of degrees. Looking after self-interest is expected; genocide and war are not acceptable. It is not either/or but not to Stone who has the view of a naïf, one that he carries in his films, that somehow having discovered the world is not nice, it must be morally purged. Well that is great for 7 year olds but real adults and governments have other things to manage.
This last point is expressed in his fairness doctrine toward the Soviet Union. He treats US Soviet relations as one of deceit by the US on the basis of political philosophy alone. That is a falsehood but what his left out is that the fear and loathing toward communism in the 1920s and beyond was triggered more by its atheism. Fear of atheism triggered fascist responses and the disparate coalition against the Soviets. This is forgotten now but something more elemental to a person than political allegiance is their religion and to politicians in the US and UK and elsewhere this made it necessary to destroy communism. One may not agree, but nowhere in history has it been doctrine that alternative views must be given a good chance or a fair turn as if this was the school play yard.
Finally, Stone makes the laughable error of believing every quote as rendered. If historians did that they would be taken apart by their peers in review. More analysis is required not just using the juicy quote like a cub reporter and believing that you've nailed the case for the negative. That is school stuff. The more serious side of that is that in using quotes in such a simplistic manner he believes he has established a case when dissent is a normal part of political life. So, some people didn't believe carpet bombing was right or some other thing, that is normal, hardly new unless you hold a child's simple notion of good government, always ethical. Time to grow up! Ultimately this may be good for those viewers who have no idea of the last 70 years. For anyone else this is not worthwhile at all. -
MovieHoliks2 September 2015Based on a friend's recommendation, I just started this original Showtime documentary series, and it's an amazing show so far. I've only gotten through the first two or three episodes so far, but I'm hooked! Veteran legendary filmmaker Oliver Stone narrates and directs this series- which attempts to cover American history, beginning with WWII, from more of an international perspective.
Now I'm not terribly far into the series as of yet, but so far I'm not seeing the evil America some other users have mentioned this show depicts. While not perfect, it seems Stone's series is portraying America's loss of innocence more so after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan- as a way of expressing U.S. military might more for the Soviets' sake.
A lot of this stuff in this show I was already aware of, but yes there are a few things here and there that I didn't know about- like this guy Wallace, FDR's original running mate/VP- he was awesome! What would this country- and the ultimate state of the world- have been like had HE continued as Roosevelt's backup instead of the amateur-ish Truman-?? Well, I would definitely recommend this show. I can't wait to continue my viewing of the rest of the series! -
LeonLouisRicci10 February 2013"History is a lie agreed upon...History is written by the elite and the winners of War". These often quoted phrases or variations thereof (as just stated) is what is at the heart of this riveting and deep dissension piece.
The "facts" or the "truth" can often times be opinions or guesses, as pointed out by the series, there is much we aren't readily aware of because of the, willful or not, misconstrued presentation of events. What is routinely accepted as the "way things were" is forever tainted, misinformation, disinformation, myth-information, slanted, withheld, covered-up, politically correct, unknown, and simply much of it is ethnocentric to say the least.
What's refreshing in this 10 hour mini-series is that it can inspire inquiry and rebooted thought. Not revisionism, but a re-visitation and educational path toward illumination and possibly in some cases enlightenment. There never is one side to any story and reflection, curiosity, and interest in events that shaped our world can never be a bad thing. Except, maybe, for those who benefit from the status quo. -
clanciai11 December 2017As a Vietnam veteran with a number of outstanding documentaries and feature films behind, especially "The Platoon", "Born 4th of July", "JFK" and "Alexander", Oliver Stone has an epic sobriety that can fathom any historical problem. In this series, he has challenged the greatest historical problem of all, which is America.
His main ambition with this series seems to have been to pinpoint the major American political mistakes since 1944, when everything went awry as Henry Wallace was not allowed to be a presidential candidate but was more or less out-manoeuvered by a foul coup, although he had been Roosevelt's vice president during his first three mandate periods. Harry Truman was pushed in as his last vice president to suit other minds than Roosevelt's.
And then starts the dreary saga of the terrible horror tale of fatal American blunders affecting the whole world, starting with the use of the A-bomb, which Harry Truman rejoiced at, as if it was something to be proud of while it introduced something America hadn't experienced earlier on an international scale, namely dishonour.
That triggered the inhuman nuclear race, while the greatest catastrophe during these 70 years of course was the assassination of the Kennedys. There everything went truly wrong with America, as his successor Johnson brutally reversed Kennedy's decision to get out of Vietnam before it was too late to instead turn it a decade of inhuman devastation of all life in Vietnam, comparable with the worst atrocities of the second world war.
That part of the series, chapter 7, is probably the worst, the most horrible and upsetting, as it reveals the US drastic reverse from the enlightened "Camelot" of the Kennedys to the blatant barbarism of the Johnson-Nixon years, one worse than the other.
Also Reagan gets his due as a brilliant facade to an abyss of ignorance and carelessness, ruining the one universal chance we had for a total nuclear disarmament as Gorbachev actually tried to take that initiative, while Reagan preferred his "Star Wars". His stupidity was only later exceeded by the minor Bushman's.
In brief, it's a terrible settlement with an America that blew all its chances for its preference for lies, illusions and delusions, mainly motivated by reckless and inhuman greed that ignored and drove over all human values for the sake of the progress of the universally destructive juggernaut of power greed.
Fortunately the series is not all dark and hopeless, as there are quite a few martyrs on the way that are dug up and remembered, foremost the Kennedys, Gorbachev and Henry Wallace, but there are many others, as well as there are many other scoundrels unmasked and living still today. The series is admirably neutral all the way, no conspiracy theories are even hinted at, the tone is objective, condoling or compassionate but never biased or passionate. It's the most admirable historical documentary I have seen, especially since its topic is the most difficult imaginable. -
Your brain growth needs to hear "sides" of the story, use critical thinking, and maybe to even change your mind in a good way. Thank a god of my own understanding for freedom of speech. Our diversity depends on it. Bravo Oliver Stone, great education, great art. Lawson.
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I am on episode 4. This is an excellent narrative. Although hardly an eye opener to anybody not brainwashed by American propaganda machine.
Stone's premise is that by sabotaging Henry Wallace's VP ticket America left the progressive trajectory and turned itself into a British empire substitute with its citizenry subjugated to the wills of the military industrial complex (MIC). This rings quite true, especially given the warning that Eisenhower himself made in his farewell address, which is ironic since MIC flourished during his presidency.
So far I noticed only one incorrect fact - USSR never captured Finland.
Now, I would like to address some of the issues others brought up.
Statement that Stalin's atrocities were not mentioned - not true. All the important bits are mentioned :- Katyn massacre is mentioned. - Decimation of officer elite of the Red Army prior to the war is mentioned. - Gulag is mentioned. - Firing squad behind front lines that would execute anybody retreating. - Allowing Germans to drown Warsaw uprising in blood by stalling the attack on the city. - Mass rape of German women is mentioned. - Invasions into Hungary and Czechoslovakia were mentioned mentioned.
These are well known facts, all are mentioned.
As for the general theme of the narrative, this is exactly how Soviets perceived the US (and UK) during WWII and after the war.
Soviet point of view is : UK and US were stalling opening second front in Europe for as long as possible to the point that it became irrelevant. By all means it looked like the second front was opened with the purpose of not allowing the USSR to march all over the Europe, that is to contain "red invasion". Granted the war would have lasted longer, but for USSR it did not make much difference anyways given already staggering amount of war losses (5 more or 5 less lost millions did not matter anymore).
To those who say that American actions in Africa diverted German attention from Eastern front - less than 20% of German casualties came on African front. Even if Rommel was in charge in the battle of Kursk it would not have changed the outcome.
Dropping of the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was done not to get Japan to surrender (which they did not immediately after bombings anyway) but to show Stalin who is the boss now. A grave mistake by narrow minded hawks in Washington. This is when they created the Cold War. Of course MIC needed this like fish needs water. Warmongering would just get the contracts coming.
To those idiots that write about leaflets being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki prior to bombing. Here is the article on leaflets:
https: //en.wikipedia.org/ wiki / Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki#Leaflets
Particularly:
"In preparation for dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, U.S. military leaders decided against a demonstration bomb, and against a special leaflet warning, in both cases because of the uncertainty of a successful detonation, and the wish to maximize psychological shock."
Even with leaflets dropped elsewhere. Like it absolves of the war crimes somehow. Reminds me of this lawyer speak idiocy like "this cup contains hot liquid" on coffee cups in McDonald's. So it is theirs Japanese own fault they got fried, we told them to leave.
So the fact is that US was the first and the only country so far that has used Nuclear weapons in the war. Not the evil Soviets. The bombs were dropped on the cities that had little military value. Even if justification was to cause Japan to surrender, frying 200K civilians to achieve this goal is a textbook act of terrorism. -
darthanubis12 January 2013The next episode: Bush and Obama, the Age of Terror.
This shows that Stone rises above petty partisans left and right.
The series is well done and everything is the verifiable truth. It shows that the last war the US fought that had any merit, honor, or valor was WWII. Even as powerful corporations propped up Hitler.
Stone during this series, is breaking down how all the way to today we have been saddled with war criminals from the Nixon administration. Murders and tortures we still coddle. They write books, go on speaking engagements, and even obtain cabinet positions in democratic administrations.
Stone is showing, that after PNAC got it'd "new Pearl Harbor", they were more than ready to roll out an already printed 400+ page PATRIOT ACT that our treasonous congresspeople did not even read, because they were terrorized with US government anthrax. That terrorist remains at large.
The USA is now full speed ahead towards fascism. Oliver Stone is doing us all a public service.
Our enemies are at home, enemies of freedom, children, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Every president the last 40yrs has been a war criminal. This inauguration, the war criminal for the next 4 years will swear in on two bibles. Bibles of men who he dishonor with his export of drones over foreign sovereignty land. Creating more people who justifiably hate murders of children and women.
Right-wing rush-bots are slamming this series with 1 star reviews. They can't even be anonymously honest. Hey cretins, how does it feel to see Stone call it so right. You cold war nuts still have it out against the "commies".
The Great United States of America now:
Tortures-sodomy of kids,rape, Culture of rape,suicide,murder, No Habeus Corpus ,No Posse Commatus ,No Due Process, No Right Privacy, Free Speech Zones -(bush the lesser) Domestic drones, TSA-fondling children rapists,coaches,priest-authority figures, rabid, racism,homophobia, and more fear. A whole network for propaganda,lies and race baiting. right- wing hate radio, talk of right-wing states seceding, corporate owned media,beholden to, the corporations not the people. science deniers. I have seen the enemy....he is "us".
I could I forget Camp X-ray aka Gitmo, gulag. Abu-Ghraib, Mai-Lai, shock and awe. I'm getting sick typing all these atrocities. Yet you right wingers have the gall to call this series propaganda. You would not know propaganda if it bit you in the rear.
Sounds like all the crap the bad commies did to others. Even then, only Hitler decreed he'd take his terror global. Now, we are the global killers.
I'm surprised Stone did not mention "Operation Northwoods" the blueprint for 9/11. Shootings, airliners,and terror to usher in, as poppy bush called it, the New World Order.
He at least covered the right-wing coup of 2000. We are all surveillance now.
Obama had his chance, to prosecute the criminals for a war based on lies(All US wars). He did not, because he grew up idolizing these monsters.
This series is long overdue. Too bad it is on a premium channel, most people will miss it. -
dovla-7904818 October 2020As an ex Yugoslav, I can say that it is insanely accurate presentation of the history. Now we can agree or disagree depending if you love or hate Oliver Stone or his movies, but this is as accurate as you can get, and most of parts of his documentary is based on videos from the old archives...
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mountainguide14 September 2020A must watch for every American and every Earthling, interested in history and aware of the present moment. Although many American quasi patriots might find themselves too weak to handle truth, a majority should find these 12 volumes a must to see and to share. The conclusion narrative of chapter 10 should remain embedded in hearts of everyone. Even if it is really hard to remain optimistic about the future of humanity, each can contribute his or her share of light in the eternal fight against darkness. As we can learn, darkness is not always easy to see. It is not limited by national borders, nor partial to political options. The solution has always been known but often neglected or pushed aside. Small steps and love. Lots of it.
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oynaqozgar27 January 2013I am a huge history buff and know that history "Is written by the winner". This does contain a large amount of the untold stories of U.S. history that many of us did not learn in school. And just like the "told" stories of U.S. History it runs into it's own bias. I don't think that anyone would call Oliver Stone as unbiased in the stories he tells. As a true believer that you look at as many sides of history as possible and then the truth will lie someone inside of all.
As you can probably tell I am not a big fan of this series as our "true" history of the U.S.. I do consider it a "must watch" because it does bring different points of view to a large audience. I hope this will do what it does for me and that is to get everyone to "think". I don't see this series converting people into everything Oliver Stone will have you think this was really how it was. But I think it will get most people to think "well I did not know that also happened" and incorporate it into things that they also have learned. Again no matter what side you fall on it will make you think, so is worth watching. -
YaumingYMC23 April 2013Watching this now and I'm amazed that Stone is casting Stalin as a good guy without mentioning the fact that under his regime his govt was up to its eyeballs in atrocities.
Stone is trying to paint his series as a history that is complex and nuanced.
But without alluding to the distrust that the US, France, Britain and Poland had towards the Soviet Union which was committed to exporting bloody revolution to every nation - and the difficulties they had in forging an alliance with a communist dictatorship that had slaughtered 20 million of its own people - and embarked on a war against a smaller democracy, Finland, Stone is just giving us a 1950s Soviet propaganda view of history. -
Xillx27 December 2016The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone is in the most part a condensed analysis of the causes and consequences of the long-term American imperialism plan following WW2.
It briefly covers the atrocities of the other imperialist nations and sets the context for explaining the pivotal moment in history that lead America to present itself as the "police of the world".
It is a must see, it is very well structured and narrated.
The most shocking aspect of American history is the lack of empathy by the American power structure in regards to the millions of death they've caused in other nations since WW2, as well as an apparent lack of justice for American war criminals.
Hitler and Stalin were worse by a huge margin undoubtedly, but this doesn't justify the unjustifiable like Vietnam, Iraq, support of puppet dictators, overthrowing democratically elected governments, arming fanatics, betraying the Geneva convention, lying to the UN, drone bombings of civilians, etc.
It seems that after launching the first atomic bombs the United States of America have been governed by less than brilliant megalomaniacs. Even the wisest and most humanist presidents had little power to stop a long-term military plan for world control.