![Ken Burns](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w185/rFGB5AOkjcPFSXiBq1PAnbsCxBW.jpg)
Ken Burns
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.
Known For | Directing |
---|---|
Most Rating | 16.117 |
Birthday | 1953-07-29 |
Place of Birth | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
Also Known As |
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2012
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Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself
7.7/6
Plimpton! tells the story of writer, editor, amateur sportsman and friend to many, George Plimpton. Using Plimpton’s own narration – along with though...
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2014
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OETA's On The Record: Ken Burns
0/0
Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns sits down with OETA's Dick Pryor to discuss his latest documentary, "The Dust Bowl,' upcoming projects, and the thri...
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2000
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Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation
6.8/5
This biography, shown on American television as part of the PBS "Great Performances" series, examines the life works of one of Hollywood's most celebr...
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2020
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Ken Burns: Here & There
0/0
Explore the filmmaker’s life and career in interviews with colleagues, friends and Burns himself. The importance of place emerges as a theme as he ref...
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Ken Burns: Here & There
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2020
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Here For A Good Time
0/0
Here For A Good Time tells the story of Hampshire College, a tiny liberal arts school in Western Mass with a reputation for really knowing how to part...
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2019
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Very Ralph
6.7/9
The first documentary portrait of fashion icon Ralph Lauren, reveals the man behind the icon and the creation of one of the most successful brands in...
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2010
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A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939
0/0
A history of the origin of National Baseball Hall of Fame and its first induction ceremony in 1939.
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2022
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The Unmaking of a College
8/1
In THE UNMAKING OF A COLLEGE, students at Hampshire College confront a new president's underhanded attempt to shut down their school and discover that...
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