“The Great War” is an upcoming three-part, six-hour AMERICAN EXPERIENCE documentary that will premiere on Monday, April 10, through Wednesday, April 12, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS.
Directed by award-winning filmmakers Stephen Ives, Amanda Pollak and Rob Rapley, the epic documentary tells the rich and complex story of World War I through the voices of nurses, journalists, aviators and the American troops who came to be known as “doughboys.” The series explores the experiences of African American and Latino soldiers, suffragists, Native American “code talkers” and others whose participation in the war to “make the world safe for democracy” has been largely forgotten.
Drawing on the latest scholarship, including unpublished diaries, memoirs and letters, and featuring the voices of Courtney Vance, Campbell Scott, Blythe Danner and others, “The Great War” also explores how a brilliant PR man bolstered support for the war in a country hesitant to put lives on the line for a foreign conflict; how President Woodrow Wilson steered the nation through almost three years of neutrality, only to reluctantly lead America into the bloodiest conflict the world had ever seen, thereby transforming the United States into a dominant player on the international stage; and how the ardent patriotism and determination to support America’s crusade for liberty abroad led to one of the most oppressive crackdowns on civil liberties at home in American history. It is also a story of little known heroism and sacrifice (including the deadliest battle in American history) that would leave more than 53,000 men dead on the battlefield and more than 60,000 dead from disease. American fatalities would come at a critical time in the war, but they would be dwarfed by a cataclysm of violence that would ultimately claim 15 million lives.
“World War I was the soil from which so many things today really grew, starting with America’s place in the world,” said AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Executive Producer Mark Samels. “Before the war, America was isolated and uninvolved in world affairs. After the war, America stepped onto the world stage, and that continues today with our troops becoming involved in conflicts around the world. The current debate on the balance between national security and civil liberties also began with World War I. The debate over immigration reached its apex during World War I. The film is not only about what happened 100 years ago, but how what happened then transformed our nation and the world in ways still being felt today.”
“The Great War” is executive produced by Mark Samels and is scheduled to air on PBS in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into the war on April 6, 1917.
The broadcast will be accompanied by a series of screening events and discussions hosted by universities, museums and public television stations around the country.
“The Great War” will also be available on DVD from PBS Distribution and can be purchased at ShopPBS.org. Online viewing begins April 11 at PBS.org.
Ahead of next month’s premiere, Shadow and Act has been granted an exclusive 3-minute clip from the ambitious, much anticipated 6-hour documentary, featuring prominent African American historians including Adriane Lentz-Smith of Duke, Jeffrey Sammons of NYU and Chad Williams of Brandeis, speaking on Leroy Johnston, a soldier with the famed Harlem Hellfighters, and the experiences of African American servicemen in the war (while fighting abroad in Europe, and when they returned to the US).
Watch the clip below:
