The Civil War (TV Mini Series) Valley of the Shadow of Death (1864) (1990) User Reviews

Grant & Lee Battle On

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 15 August 2007]

The year 1864 marks the fourth year of this horrible war. Pictures sent depicting some of it are so horrendous people can't look at them. They show one here, and you'd swear this was a photo of someone in a concentration camp in World War II. The man was nothing but skin and bones. Horrifying. The more was learns of the Civil War, the worse it gets.

Grant now had command of the largest army in the world. His rank had grown to "Lt. General," the first since George Washington. We get a profile of his amazing rise from loser in society to the leader of the North military. Then we get a profile of the most military leader of the them all: General Robert E Lee of the South.

Most of this installment of the series is about Grant and Lee, and their battles to two had up and down Virginia. Then, after a very depressing segment about all the men suffering in the ever-growing number of hospitals, we get another profile of an important man in this war: General Sherman. With Grant stalled at Petersburg, Grant had to win in Tennessee and Georgia. Abe Lincoln predicts he will lose the election, perhaps by a landslide.

Lee and Grant Meet on the Field

[Michael_Elliott · 6 November 2012]

The Civil War: Valley of the Shadow of Death (1990)

**** (out of 4)

Episode six is yet another winner from Ken Burns. This episode focuses in on both Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. We get a more detailed look at their lives leading up to the Civil War. We also get a detailed look at their Battle of the Wilderness. Other subjects include Jeb Stewart, William Sherman and the role of nurses in the war. Once again there's no question that history and movie buffs are going to love this episode as Burns once again gives an incredibly detailed account of the events and really makes one understand the various strategies going on in the battles and why many people felt the war would never end. While other films have given more detailed biographies, the looks at both Grant and Lee give just enough detail for one to understand what they were doing leading up to what they would eventually become legends for. Some of the most interesting moments deal with the nurses and what they were required to do. There's even talk about how every nurse needed to look plain so that she didn't gain any additional attention.