Ken Burns | WatchedThis

Ken Burns

Ken Burns

Directing

Biography

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 Movies

Acting

Poster for A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939
MOVIE

A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939

A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939
Poster for The Unmaking of a College
MOVIE

The Unmaking of a College

8.0(0.0K)
The Unmaking of a College
Self
Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as HimselfMOVIE
MOVIE

Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself

7.7(0.0K)
Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself
Himself
Poster for Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories
MOVIE

Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories

Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories
OETA's On the Record: Ken BurnsMOVIE
MOVIE

OETA's On the Record: Ken Burns

OETA's On the Record: Ken Burns
Self
Poster for Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation
MOVIE

Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation

7.0(0.0K)
Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation
Self
Poster for Ken Burns: Here & There
MOVIE

Ken Burns: Here & There

Ken Burns: Here & There
Himself
Poster for Here For A Good Time
MOVIE

Here For A Good Time

Here For A Good Time
Self
Poster for Very Ralph
MOVIE

Very Ralph

6.3(0.0K)
Very Ralph
Self
Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering AmericaMOVIE
MOVIE

Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America

Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America
Self - Director and Producer

Production

Poster for East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story
MOVIE

East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story

7.5(0.0K)
East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story
Producer
Poster for Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
MOVIE

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

7.2(0.0K)
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Director
Poster for Seeing, Searching, Being: William Segal
MOVIE

Seeing, Searching, Being: William Segal

Seeing, Searching, Being: William Segal
Director
Poster for Brooklyn Bridge
MOVIE

Brooklyn Bridge

7.5(0.0K)
Brooklyn Bridge
Director
Poster for The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God
MOVIE

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God

7.2(0.0K)
The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God
Director
Poster for The Congress
MOVIE

The Congress

7.6(0.0K)
The Congress
Director
Poster for The Statue of Liberty
MOVIE

The Statue of Liberty

6.9(0.0K)
The Statue of Liberty
Director
Poster for Baseball: The Tenth Inning
MOVIE

Baseball: The Tenth Inning

8.0(0.0K)
Baseball: The Tenth Inning
Director
Poster for Baseball: The Tenth Inning
MOVIE

Baseball: The Tenth Inning

8.0(0.0K)
Baseball: The Tenth Inning
Writer
Poster for Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip
MOVIE

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip

7.7(0.0K)
Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip
Director

Gallery

Ken Burns portrait
Ken Burns portrait