http://www.civilwargoods.com/
They make Civil War documentaries. They send a large film crew to NPS reenactments to try to recreate "combat footage" per say.
I listened to a Civil War Talk Radio interview with two producers and they seemed like big Civil War buffs.
Here are two quick trailers:
Battle of Franklin
http://www.civilwargoods.com/franklin.html
Spotsylvania trailer
http://www.civilwargoods.com/spotsylvania.html
Phantom Captain
.......
I have only watched Franklin so far but I really enjoyed it.
It covers the battle in good detail for over an hour. It does seem too to be written for those of us with a deeper interest in the war and it does help to have a general knowledge of the battle overall while watching it. One of the big weaknesses for me for most documentaries is they still don't use enough maps to give you a good overview. Granted, it's a film and they are showing you the actual terrain but maps always help in my opinion if for nothing less than unit positions. Most civil war buffs also really don't need to have canister rounds explained to them but I do realize these are also used educationally and more generalized audience as well as the deeper interest audience. It kinda comes with the territory.
Anyway, it was a cross between what the History Channel's Civil War Combat wishes it could be and Ken Burn's the Civil War. I thought it was really well done and for once the reenactors were used enough (there were a ton of them in this production!) and looked dirty, dishevelled and true to form. There obviously was ALOT of time and effort put into producing these and producing them well. Also for the most part the battle reenactments were much better done by a long shot from previous documentaries like the History Channel stuff, just watch the clip you supplied again and you get the feel of the whole thing. Still there are too many overweight reenactors but that's just a personal nit pick for me! Sorry! It also was narrated more from a Confederate perspective which in my opinion is also true to form seeing what the battle of Franklin did to the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Or should I say what Hood did to the Army of Tennnessee. The narrator says at the end that the Army of Tennesse was the unluckiest army in the war and in my opinion it's just that Hood was terribly stupid. But I digress. Any film or documentary that is filmed in these actual places and can bring those places to an audience in their living room is valuable. We can't forget our history, it's so important.
Very very good in my opinion and worth it to anyone who studies, reads, and generally just wants to add a video companion to their knowledge of specific battles. Fans of documentaries and especially Ken Burn's style of the Civil War will love it. I'm super impressed! Thanks for turning me on to their site. I also bought Chickamauga and I'm looking forward to watching it now as well. On top of that, since I do love helping out the preservation aspect and I am so impressed with these I am ordering, Shiloh, Stones River and Spotsylvania soon.
Definitely worth picking up if just for the fact that a portion of the money goes to Battlefield Preservation which is worthy of caps and bolding in my book. Also included is a lot of neat reenactor footage of the 140th anniversary and I thought it was quite impressive and well done. The whole thing with the bonus footage on the reenactment, the preservation aspect of the Confederate Cemetary and the Carnton and Carter Houses and an interview with the caretaker and preservationist of the Carnton House lasts over an hour and a half.
It indeed was one of the best documentaries I have watched on the war and it's FAR better than anything you will see on the History Channel or such.
Four Stars!
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