Wordiezett So much average

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

kopilot111 This is a history of New York, and by extension a history of the U.S. It is a loving history of a great city, beautifully executed. Like a sibling or parent of a flawed man, the historians and other contributors see the flaws but love the subject despite them. A serious history of New York, like of the U.S., reflects the contradictions that go back to the very early days of this city and this country: A melting pot where people of many classes, nationalities, languages and religions learned to live and get along in close proximity – and where many people hated everyone unlike them, or who resented or oppressed everyone whose group arrived in a wave after their own. Where a spirit of democracy, community, equality, public service and a hand up for everyone who needed it resided side-by-side with unbridled greed, indifference to the suffering of others not doing as well as oneself, stupendous corruption, exploitation of slaves and virtual (wage) slaves.Some of the other reviews seem to miss the message by a mile – the historians and other contributors provide useful insights – and accurate ones. I don't know if every numeric and temporal statement is dead-on accurate, but the thrust and the many, many details and nuances discussed throughout the series are correct. From the first line uttered by the narrator in Episode 1: "On September 2, 1609, Henry Hudson…" The superlatives, too, are on the mark. Like it or not, New York has not only been a city of all kinds of "firsts" and "biggests" and "bests" but also has a more dynamic and interesting history than most others -- which is why these superlatives are so frequently present. If some day Burns chooses to make a documentary about St. Petersburg or London or Beijing, I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about those cities to the exclusion of all others. In other words, this is a documentary about New York, not a city in Australia, Egypt, France or Russia - where the 19th Century rural peasants DID live much as they had in the Middle Ages.How anyone watching this series and paying attention, could miss the many, many more things Burns covers besides race, class and greed – is surprising. That the series discusses these frequently is not surprising – since long before Hudson sailed up the river later named for him – all 3 have been factors in the history of New York from 1609 to today. To ignore this fact would have been to whitewash the truth. Watch "Rambo" or "X-Men" if you want fiction. Burns and his contributors report these truths – and extol the many virtues – or strengths of New Yorkers famous and anonymous by way of explaining the evolution and rise to the top of the city.Too slow? Really? It covers 400 years , an hour and a half per century for heaven's sake. Personally, I couldn't get enough.

acton_bell01 While Ric Burns' documentary has been lauded for its comprehensive overview of NYC's history, it contains a number of unfortunate historical errors. Most of these are minor (saying, for instance, that Henry Hudson arrived in New York harbor in 1610 when it happened in 1609), but when they pile up, sentence upon sentence, episode after episode, it makes one wonder who fact-checked this series. More importantly, it makes the entire production suspect. If some of the facts are definitely wrong, how many others are wrong, too?

Steve (WUsaga212) As a native New Yorker, i really found this documentary on New York very interesting. Ken burns did very good work on the "Jazz" documentary, and I found this on PBS one Saturday. I was very interested on how New York would be portrayed, and it was portrayed kust like it is, a wonderful city with a long history. "New York" is not to be missed by any New Yorker or anyone interested in New York.A

edgarpoe As a native New Yorker, and one who's very knowledgeable of this fine city's history, I was intrigued by this documentary series when I happened upon it on TV one lazy Saturday morning. There were familiar stories being told about the first settlers on the southern tip of Manhattan to the magnificent art deco era skyscrapers. But there was so much information, so many historical stories and significances that I had not known about until I watched this. It gives one (especially New Yorkers) a finer understanding of New York.True, the series is rather long (FIVE TAPES NO LESS!) but it grasped me so much that I couldn't stop watching. It has the interesting stories accompanied by excellent narratives by anyone and everyone, and fine archival photos and film. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to know how this city came to be. I think it would be especially of interest for historians, architects, and urban environment scholars.