Ken Burns (born 1953) is a highly celebrated American documentarian who gradually amassed a considerable reputation and a devoted audience with a series of reassuringly traditional meditations on Americana. Burns' works are treasure troves of archival materials; he skillfully utilizes period music and footage, photographs, periodicals and ordinary people's correspondence, the latter often movingly read by seasoned professional actors in a deliberate attempt to get away from a "Great Man" approach to history. Like most non-fiction filmmakers, Burns wears many hats on his projects, often serving as writer, cinematographer, editor and music director in addition to producing and directing. He achieved his apotheosis with The Civil War (1990), a phenomenally popular 11-hour documentary that won two Emmys and broke all previous ratings records for public TV. The series' companion coffee table book--priced at a hefty $50--sold more than 700,000 copies. The audio version, narrated by Burns, was also a major best-seller. In the final accounting, "The Civil War" became the first documentary to gross over $100 million. Not surprisingly, it has become perennial fund-raising programming for public TV stations around the country. Burns arrived upon the scene with the Oscar-nominated Brooklyn Bridge (1981), a nostalgic chronicle of the construction of the fabled edifice. The film was more widely seen when rebroadcast on PBS the following year. Though Burns has made other nonfiction films for theatrical release, notably an acclaimed and ambiguous portrait of Depression-era Louisiana governor Huey Long (1985), PBS would prove to be his true home. He cast a probing eye on such American subjects as The Statue of Liberty (1985), The Congress (1988) (PBS), painter Thomas Hart Benton (1988) (PBS) and early radio with Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991) (PBS). Burns returned to long-form documentary with his most ambitious project to date, an 18-hour history of Baseball (1994), which aired on PBS in the fall of 1994. He approached the national pastime as a template for understanding changes in modern American society. Ironically, this was the only baseball on the air at the time, as the players and owners were embroiled in a bitter strike.
Filmography (37)
Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories2024
In the Know2024
Spirit of Golf2023
The Unmaking of a College2022
Back on the Record with Bob Costas2021
The Problem with Jon Stewart2021
Ken Burns: Here & There2020
Here For A Good Time2020
Very Ralph2019
Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America2019
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover2018
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015
Difficult People2015
OETA's On the Record: Ken Burns2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon2014
Yosemite — A Gathering of Spirit2013
Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself2012
Finding Your Roots2012
The Mindy Project2012
A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 19392010
MLB: Baseball's Seasons2009
Craft in America2007
Wordplay2006
The Colbert Report2005
The Tim McCarver Show2005
The Tony Danza Show2004
Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation2000
The View1997
The Daily Show1996
Late Night with Conan O'Brien1993
Late Show with David Letterman1993
The Simpsons1989
This Week1981
CNN Special Report1980
60 Minutes1968
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1962
Today1952
No credits found yet.
Share Video
URL:
Share Link Via
Movie Request
Can't find what you're looking for? Request it and we'll add it within 24 hours.
ⓘ
Daily request limit:
up to 3 movies and 1 TV show per 24 hours.
English
Español
Russian