James Gandolfini: HBO's 'Wartorn'

James Gandolfini has died, and fans are in mourning, but in this hard moment, it's worth noting that Gandolfini wasn't simply a mobster in one of the great series of TV history: "The Sopranos."  He was also a documentarian -- a fancy word he would never approve of, but he was one nonetheless. He produced a deeply felt and reported film in 2010 about veterans who were severely wounded. Here's the first 15 minutes followed by my review in Newsday...for a different perspective on this great talent...

This particularly dark and harrowing look into the minds of vets seeks to explain why. These vets speak of recurring nightmares, sleeplessness and images that are permanently fixed in their minds; some have unfathomable guilt, too.

Gandolfini interviews many of these men or their devastated families, but most often he is a silent witness. There are many profiles here -- including World War II veterans who speak on-camera of psychic wounds that have lingered six decades -- and closes with Pfc. William Fraas Jr., who says, "I've seen humanity at its worst.

And I struggle with that on a daily basis."