Oliver Stone's Secret History of America

It's all weirdly engrossing.

Narrated by Stone with no other voices (save actors filling in for various world leaders), Untold History is a hodgepodge of terrific if often disturbing historical footage and bizarre theatrical asides (including, at one point, the dictionary definition of "empathy" spelled out on the screen) that are almost overwhelmed by its invasive soundtrack.

Mr. Stone brings a more stentorian absolutism, leaving no room for doubt or nuance.

As a whole, the project cries out for the voices of third-party historians--or at least some voice, beyond the grainy newsreel footage and dramatic readings by actors, other than Stone's.

I was far from convinced, but was left curious to know more about [Franklin D. Roosevelt vice president Henry] Wallace, which is maybe as much as anyone can expect from a TV show like this.

Ably abetted by the superb editing work by Alex Marquez, Untold Story shows how the nation's international policies were shaped, refracted and, at times, undermined by internal politics. That said, Stone's predictably narrow intensity sometimes works against him, frequently throwing the overall balance of each film off by leaving us with unanswered questions on some topics, and, in a way, too much information on others.