For Immediate Release

NEWLY REMASTERED AND AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON DVD

KEN BURNS'S THE CIVIL WAR

HITS SHELVES SEPTEMBER 17

Warner Home Video and PBS Home Video Offer Exclusive DVD Special Features, Including a Commentary from Ken Burns

"Ken Burns takes his place as the most accomplished
documentary maker of his generation." --The New York Times

BURBANK, CA (June 13, 2002) -- The highest rated program in PBS history will be better than ever on September 17, 2002, when Warner Home Video (WHV) and PBS Home Video bring Ken Burns's The Civil War to DVD for the first time.

Digitally remastered, The Civil War DVD will feature collectible packaging, a new 5.1 sound mix of the original mono soundtrack, and exclusive special features on 5 discs. Additionally, a remastered and more compact VHS edition (5 cassettes rather than the set's original 9) will also be available. The VHS and DVD releases are timed to coincide with PBS's highly anticipated rebroadcast of The Civil War on September 22-26, 2002, which will garner an estimated 17 million viewers. Ken Burns's The Civil War will be released on DVD at an SRP of $129.98 and on a five-cassette VHS set for $99.98 SRP.

Tracing the course of the U.S. Civil War from the abolitionist movement, through the major battles, to the death of President Lincoln and the beginnings of Reconstruction, this highly acclaimed 11-hour mini-series captured the attention of viewers across the country during its initial broadcast in 1990. Walter Goodman of The New York Times declared, "The Civil War is so rich in conception and so rewarding in execution that it almost redeems the promise of the medium," while TV Guide raved, "The Civil War is simply riveting."

The DVD edition of Ken Burns's The Civil War broadens the viewing experience with the following special features:

• In Behind the Scenes: The Civil War Reconstruction, production artists painstakingly recreate The Civil War in a new digital age. Witness how the Civil War was brought to life on DVD in a symphony of words, pictures and sound with the help of state of the art technology and production wizardry.
  
• Five hours of commentary from Ken Burns, providing viewers with insight from the filmmaker on each of the nine episodes.
  
• Additional interviews with filmmaker Ken Burns, writers George Will, Shelby Foote and Stanley Crouch and musicians Jay Unger and Molly Mason.
  
• Biography cards that showcase the most integral figures of the Civil War, including Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and many more.
  
• Interactive battlefield maps that put viewers in the middle of the action.
  
• The Civil War Challenge, a trivia game that tests viewers' knowledge of this historic event.
• Two additional featurettes with Ken Burns that give viewers a close-up look at the filmmaker at work.

"Bringing Ken Burns's The Civil War to DVD is like breathing new life into a masterpiece," said Douglas Wadleigh, WHV Vice President, Special Interest Marketing. "This newly remastered DVD version, with improved images, sound and outstanding special features, will enhance the viewing experience and make a new generation of consumers aware of this outstanding film."

"This remarkable documentary has been a consistently successful title since it first premiered on PBS," said Dan Hamby, Vice President, PBS Home Video. "The updated version takes advantage of new film-transfer, color-correction and audio mixing techniques -- every frame has been digitized and the sound remixed in stereo. The look and sound are incredible."

The remastering and rebroadcast of The Civil War is part of a new PBS effort showcasing Ken Burns's documentaries. In addition to the September rebroadcast of The Civil War, PBS will premiere Ken Burns's American Stories, a weekly presentation of works from the acclaimed filmmaker's library, including extraordinary programs such as Huey Long, Frank Lloyd Wright, Brooklyn Bridge, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Jazz, Empire of the Air, Thomas Hart Benton, The Shakers and Statue of Liberty. All of these titles are available from WHV on VHS. Frank Lloyd Wright, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Jazz and Statue of Liberty are also available on DVD. The Monday night Ken Burns's American Stories broadcasts will air beginning September 30 through the end of 2002.

SYNOPSIS

Hailed as a film masterpiece and landmark in historical storytelling, Ken Burns's epic documentary brings to life America's most destructive -- and defining -- conflict. The glories and horrors of this unforgettable event are recounted in the words of the participants themselves, through diary entries, letters, still photographs and illustrations of the time, with a soundtrack comprised of war-era tunes played on period instruments. With digitally enhanced images and new, 5.1 surround sound, Ken Burns's The Civil War is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one.

PBS Home Video furthers PBS's mission of lifelong learning by expanding the availability of PBS's top-quality programs. PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. Serving more than 100 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org.

With operations in 78 international territories - more than the video division of any other studio - Warner Home Video commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. WHV's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top-quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment Company, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Video.