Over the years I have soaked up every film and documentary I could find on the subject of the Vietnam war, and I can say this series is by far the most profoundly complete I have seen. It uses insights from the individuals caught up in it - the Viet Cong & North Vietnamese Army, the US Military & South Vietnamese army, civilians from both sides, politicians and journalists alike, to explain, account and report from the early circumstances causing the build up and outbreak of the war through the fierce intensity at the height of the conflict to the final withdrawal and legacies.
It explores and reports the socio-political aspects, the strategies and technologies, the cultural contrasts of the belligerents and most of all the people fighting it. It gets across the absolute sacrificial determined tenacity of the north Vietnamese and Viet Cong people - hand made IEDs and mind boggling hard graft versus the richest most technically advanced, but often disillusioned, army in the world (not the last time this would happen). It covers every angle - it's the most complete and compelling telling of this tragic yet fascinating landmark in our history that I've come across.
If you have an interest in this significant piece of modern history - the first rock n roll war - which became an unmitigated disaster, this brilliant, powerful and compelling series is absolutely unmissable.
