Can /r/AskHistorians recommend a good video (TV or Movie) documentary covering the Vietnam War? [Apologies if this has been asked before but I couldn't easily see it.] I realise that historically the Vietnam War had causes going back decades (if not centuries) and that there is a lot of material out there. Ideally I would like something that:
I don't mind a feature-length or one hour movie or even a multi-part TV series if it is good but I shan't be able to manage a series of feature-length films. I do tend to struggle with very old-fashioned TV series where the picture quality is sub-VHS and the presentation is terribly stilted.
As a benchmark, for WWII I have enjoyed The World at War (remastered) and The Second World War in Colour although I realise that each is quite exceptional for quite different reasons.
Thanks
Re-posting my response from a similar question from awhile ago.
A great launching point is Christian Appy's book Patriots: Vietnam Remembered From All Sides. The entire book is a collection of oral histories from all sides and from every level - everyone from high level policy makers, to the soldiers who spent their youth fighting in the jungles. It does an excellent job of showing the big picture, as well as the results those decisions had on the people fighting the war.
Also worth a watch is the PBS Documentary series Vietnam: A Television History. While it is angled from the American experience, there is much detail on the how and why of events and gives you a good understanding of chronology.
And finally, while it isn't the easiest read (at least to me), the novel The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh is often considered the N. Vietnamese equivalent of Tim O'Brien's popular book The Things They Carried.
And in September Ken Burns new PBS documentary series, The Vietnam War is set to air. Should be a good watch.