I just finished the first episode of the recently premiered documentary series
The Vietnam War, directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick - and it was really really good
I tend to be a bit wary when it comes to history documentaries but this doc managed quite well to maintain a good balance between entertainment and education, with excellent cinematography and haunting score.
The first episode deals with French Indochina, the First Indochina War and the subsequent division into North- and South Vietnam. It also explores how the US slowly but surely embroiled themselves in Vietnamese affairs. It ends with Kennedy's election and the founding of the Viet Cong. I really liked that there was a focus on the Viet Minh instead of just making it about the US involvement but apparently there were some that criticized the series’ general emphasis on North Vietnam while disregarding the South Vietnamese narrative.
I saw it on the French-German arts network
ARTE and all episodes can still be watched on their website via stream but only until the following Thursday. I’m afraid they are all dubbed into French and German tho.
https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/057385-001-A/vietnam-1-9/