Watch Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery For Free

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good movie but grossly overrated

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Brilliant documentary.The story of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the two adventurers who, in 1804-06, explored and charted North West America, from St Louis to Oregon. Written and directed by master-documentarymaker Ken Burns, the man who gave us the greatest documentary series ever made, The Civil War. Thus, you always knew this was to going to be excellent.In incredible detail we see the perils they faced, the ordeal of their journey and the importance of their efforts. Very engaging - even though it is only a documentary (rather than a drama), you are engrossed in their travails and discoveries.A must-see for anyone with an interest in history.

Ken Burns directs this PBS documentary on the expedition taken by Lewis & Clark from 1804-1806 at the behest of then President Thomas Jefferson. The film traces their journey, with nearly 50 expedition party members, northwest from St. Louis across the northern Louisiana Territory, into Oregon Territory, and to the Pacific Ocean and back. The film's composition includes beautiful cinematography and bridging music and the typical voice over narration that we've come to expect from a Ken Burns film. The narration includes commentary by historians and writers as well as excerpts from the actual daily journals of expedition members. The film details the many perilous obstacles they confront along the way, including changing river currents, disease, hostile Indians, lack of direction, lack of shelter, mental and physical fatigue, never-before-seen animal species, and weather changes.It took them two and a half years to complete the journey, without ever finding a northwest passage to the ocean (which, of course, did not exist). However, the film highlights some of the important discoveries they made, such as plotting a map of the undiscovered West, documenting new plants and wildlife, and being able to diplomatically negotiate with different groups of Indians along the way. This is a skill America would later lose sight of. The film spends less time detailing the return journey, but illustrates a few important principles that we like to think of as American today: democratically voting when it was time to make a tough decision for the group, treating others as equals, and remaining steadfast in attempting to achieve goals. There's also a bit of sad irony when the expedition encounters the Nez Perce, if you know American History. The film is exciting and inspiring, without being too reverent. It's quite clear that these men and women faced tremendous hardships, had great courage and luck, and took great risks in making a journey, whose historical significance none of them realized. The journey itself is an extension of the visionary thinking that great, early Americans, like Jefferson, had. It was a journey of a lifetime for them and the journey of the century for the history of the United States. This should be required viewing in every high school History class. ***1/2 of 4 stars.

Ken Burns' film is a landmark study of the 1804 through 1806 Lewis and Clark expedition, starting in St Louis, and returning there two years later, having found a route to the Pacific Ocean. Put your political leanings aside, this film does not judge whether the USA, Spain, and France *should* have been able to grab and trade the native lands occupied for centuries by various Native American tribes. Lewis and Clark, and the men that went with them, were true explorers. Their journey is almost unimaginable. When you fly west over the USA during a clear day, and can see the wide expanse of mountains, you can begin to understand what an ordeal it was for them to cross over to what we now call the Columbia River. This is not a dry historical film. Everyone should see it, for the historical significance of the journey. The city of St Louis built a high arch in commemoration of the journey, and it is called "The Jefferson Expansion Memorial."I saw the DVD, and it is a really fine one. I got it as a free loan from my local library, maybe you can too!!

Beautiful Cinematography. Excellent narration. Inspiring. What a Journey !!!