Rating  - EXCELLENCE ON PARADE!
This documentary of the Lewis & Clark expeditions is an outstanding example of excellence in film-making. The music, narration, choice of voices for the characters, the commentary by historians, and the photography are all extremely well-done. Even though I had listened to Stephen Ambrose's book "Undaunted Courage" on tape and knew most of the details covered in the video already, I was still thoroughly entertained and found it a thoroughly enjoyable excursion through history. I also appreciated the fact that the filmmakers avoided the usual liberal spin on history (i.e. all whites evil; all other races saintly)that so often infects presentations of this type; all subjects are shown to have good features and bad (where appropriate to the story and also according to current historical knowledge of the subject).
In short, you will find the four hours of this 2 video set well spent time.
Rating - Burns' best
In my opinion, this is Burns' best all around production among ALL of his projects to date.
Rating  - Static and slow
I read the Ambrose book and an abridged version of the journals before seeing this video. I was somewhat disappointed. Ironically, books bring the subject more to life, because it turns out there is just not that much visual material available. There would seem to be only one portrait each of Lewis and Clark at the age's they were during the expedition, since they are endlessly scanned and panned and zoomed in on. The landscape they travelled has of course been destroyed by development, so the nature photography is claustrophobic: You get the feeling that the director is not panning over the landscape because just off to the right is a hotel and to the left is the visitor center. The interviewees (including Ambrose) obviously idolize the pair and their team members, and the end result is a hagiography. From reading books (even Ambrose's) you get a much more balanced view. For example, the video implies a deep communication between the expedition and various indian tribes that in most instances simply did not occur, since there was no common language except in a few cases.
Rating - Even if you hate history class, you'll love this documentary
This is a superb four-hour presentation of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition, which was the first group of non-natives to cross the North American continent in the early 1800s. Thinking back, I remember seeing historical markers and signs for the "Lewis and Clark Trail" along various highways in the Midwest but, prior to viewing this film, I didn't really know where they went or what incredible hardships and risks they faced. This excellent documentary gives the full picture of these two explorers, including their personal lives and background. It also gives due credit to the corps of men (and two women) who accompanied them.
Tape #1 traces their route as far as the Rocky Mountains, while tape #2 picks up from there and continues to the Pacific Ocean and back, with follow-up on what happened to some of the participants after the expedition was over. (Interestingly, many of the crew were unable to settle back into "civilized" routine again, and went West to become mountain men or settlers. Lewis himself, who seems to have had some sort of bi-polar disorder that ran in the family, fell into a deep depression and committed suicide -- a tragic ending to a brave life.)
I found the presentation to be very well-balanced, giving the Native American viewpoints as well as the written records from the expedition journals. Some of the Native tribes have oral traditions about meeting Lewis and Clark which have been passed down through the generations, and it was fascinating to hear their perspectives. The film also gives proper credit to the role of Sacajewea, the Indian woman who accompanied them on much of the journey. Her presence on the expedition (along with her newly-born son) helped prove to possibly hostile tribes that Lewis and Clark came in peace, since a war party would not take a woman along. There was also a black slave on the expedition, and his story is well-covered, too. On the technical end, the photography is magnificent, giving a good feel for the awe that the expediiion must have felt upon seeing these sights for the first time. Ten stars!
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