"Death and the Civil War."

The trailer aptly summarizes the narrative, but the documentary's two-hour length seemingly detracts from the initial utility of viewer shock at the war's appalling carnage and the public's sorrow, anger and confusion over its toll. The repetition becomes numbing, but in the end, perhaps this is the central point. Translated into a present day five-year increment, the Civil War's mortality curve would suggest over seven million deaths -- so many that perhaps even political campaigns suddenly might become relevant.