Heard a Ken Burns/Lynn Novick interview... he actually got the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Hendrix' estate to license the use of their music gratis. And everyone else fell in line. Also described how they retrofit many of the clips with sound, and that they engineered the sound from actual rifles and aircraft in use, so an M-16 sounded different from Russian supplied weapons.
I guess if you've got 10 years to put it together you can come up with great. Sounded like a labor of love.
I remember in AIT at Ft. Polk we were taught the difference between the report of an AK-47 and an M-16. As I watch the series, I find all aspects of it to be profoundly personal. My experience during the war was different than most Vietnam era vets. Denton's headstone at ANC was particularly touching. During the telecast, I find my self floating off on some "trip"/reminiscence and missing parts of the telecast. I'll probably have to watch the damn thing again. I'm really glad they focus on a few vets and/or their families perspectives, the Vietnamese and the anti-war movement as well. Every story is unique. The tapes of LBJ and his cabal irritate the hell out of me. One of the attention getting /head shaking moments for me was Neil Sheehan's comment about how it galled him when people questioned the courage, etc. of the combat soldiers/Marines in Vietnam. He compares them favorably to the "Greatest Generation". The term "Greatest Generation" galls me. The "Greatest Generation" (Truman, Ike, JFK, LBJ, McNamara, Bundy, Rusk, Nixon, Taylor, Bunker, etc.) did this to my generation. So I'd like to pump the brakes when we start talking about the "Greatest Generation". They did good things and some ... not so good but I digress.