The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

This is undoubtedly one of the best films Ken Burns ever made. Not only will your entire outlook on the Roosevelts be enriched exponentially, it will hopefully alter your view of history itself, as well.It begins with Teddy Roosevelt--a complicated and amazing human being, who was the essence of the adventurer, the heart and soul of it. What Teddy did was nothing short of incredible, and his legacy will never be lost. Yet despite his far view of the country and where it ought to be headed, he had characteristics that are seriously abhorrent to modern life nowadays. His predilection for killing animals--for trophies--and yes, even those he killed for the Smithsonian for research--was, and is, depressing and sad. Especially now that we can see what unbridled killing has wrought on the animal kingdom, especially in Africa. Teddy also had a dark side when it came to war and combat--and one of the interviewed historians calls him a "killer" with a "blood lust". It's entirely true. There was no reasoning with it or with him in such times.And none of his life prior to his involvement in the Spanish-American War or on his safaris does anything to really explain why he was like this. We know of his great sorrow--losing his wife and mother on the same day. We know of his public persona sometimes being a figure of fun and derision in the papers. We know of his defeats trying to regain the presidency, and his political mistakes. But none of this seems enough to warrant the gut-wrenching cruelty he inflicted or was party to. Rather, it is Franklin Delano Roosevelt's life that seems to be one that might lead to such behavior rather than Teddy's--but the opposite is the case. And by the time Franklin takes power, that dark side of the Roosevelt family was buried deeply, and some might say permanently. Franklin ruled absolutely--but differently. Yes, he, too, had his deep and unforgiveable flaws: his bigotry, his womanizing, his egotism. Yet, the country not only ignored those flaws, it thrived in spite of them.But the most fascinating life of the three Roosevelts profiled is neither Teddy's nor Franklin's--it is Eleanor's. She is the one that leaves the most lasting and most well-received legacy--she is the one who was the most incredible of the Roosevelt family. And Burns does not stint her in the slightest. Her courage, her kindness, her far-sighted views of people and the world cannot be ignored and should never be forgotten.The lives of these people are such that one cannot help but realize that it is they who shaped our modern life and our modern values--it is they who had the most influence of any three people in the history of the United States and the world. No one should be ignorant of the changes they wrought and the way life was altered by their presences. It's an awe-inspiring journey and a glimpse into what makes American life as great as it can be.

Absolutely remarkable and sweeping. The series goes into Theodore's, Eleanor's, and Franklin's childhoods to their deaths. It covers their strengths and weaknesses, as well as legacies. My only complaint is that Alice should have been included more. She often takes a back seat to her father and cousins but was an absolute force of nature. She was also well ahead of her time. It was also refreshing to see real political altruism rather than the Kennedy version, who meant well but were notoriously crooked. All in all this is wonderful and one of my favorite documentaries. Highly, highly recommend!

"Everyone is broken by life, but afterwards we are often stronger in the broken places." - Ernest Hemingway. Ken Burns has a talent - more like a gift - for making history interesting in his documentaries; and to borrow a phrase derived from baseball, the subject of one of his other documentaries, he hit another home run with this one! I believe the Roosevelts - Teddy, Elinore and Franklin - touched more lives in a positive way than any other family in American history; and as a history buff, I have long been interested in them and have read much about them...Edmund Morris' biographical trilogy of Teddy Roosevelt reinforced my view that Teddy was among the best of our presidents. Burns just further reinforces that view with his treatment of Teddy in this documentary. And FDR is almost universally acclaimed as the most influential president of the 20th Century - both in peace and war - and Burns' treatment of FDR again reinforces that fact. Elinore has always been a bit of a puzzle in my mind; but I certainly have a much better understanding and appreciation of her after seeing this documentary. In reference to the Hemingway quote above, it was used by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to reference the hardships and handicaps each of the Roosevelts had to overcome to achieve greatness. Teddy was an asthmatic and sickly kid. Elinore had a mother who thought she was ugly and a father she dearly loved but who was an alcoholic. And of course, FDR, contracted polio at the age of 39, which crippled him for the rest of his life. As I was watching the segment on FDR it became clearer to me just how much he had to overcome and sacrifice to lead the nation through the Great Depression and the worst war we've ever fought in our history. In the end he sacrificed his life...when he was elected for his fourth term, it's the only time in our history I believe that the American public voted for a dying man for president. My highest recommendation!! -