Colonial Campaigns Club (CCC)

http://www.thewarthatmadeamerica.org/wma_flash.html

It's been posted before I think, but it's release is getting close now. Here's most of the text from the latest newsletter:

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Well-known for his memorable and Oscar-nominated portrayal of "Kicking Bird" opposite Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves, Graham Greene joined The War That Made America this spring in the key role of narrator. A Canadian Mohawk, Greene was attracted to the story of the clash of French, British, Native American and colonial cultures and its significance in shaping the history of America, Canada and his people. "Greene really engages with the film and with the history," says filmmaker Eric Stange.

As host/presenter, Greene is a presence both on-screen and off throughout the four-hour dramatic documentary. "During the French and Indian War, the alliances of different Native American nations swung between the two great European powers and Greene plays the role of that observational eye," says filmmaker Ben Loeterman. "He tells the story with an authenticity that is very absorbing."

Laying in the narration is one of the final steps in the editing and post-production of The War That Made America. After completing filming for the dramatized sequences in the film, the production team has also been working on other key elements, including creating a series of maps that help to explain the story of a war that took place over seven years and a vast territory. Visually, the maps convey the historical period through texture and design. Geographically and historically they are scrupulously accurate, providing enough information to enable a contemporary audience to grasp the locations and understand their strategic importance.

The filmmaking team has also been working with Computer Generated Image (CGI) effects, magically multiplying the actors on film to give the battle scenes realistic scale. "The format of dramatized documentary is evolving to raise the level of storytelling in the documentary world," said Loeterman, "and The War That Made America is helping to create this new genre. Techniques like CGI have been rarely used in the past in documentaries." Stange agrees. "Feature filmmakers always feel that they need to embellish the history to make it more dramatic," he said. "What I am proudest of is that we have succeeded in making a compelling and dramatic film that is really true to the historical record."

A final decision on the premiere date of The War That Made America is pending at PBS, but it is expected to be broadcast early in 2006. The next issue of this e-newsletter in November will announce the premiere date.