Ken Burns Mega Documentary Thread

[atomheartbevo 89,729]

In light of his upcoming shows, figured it was due (and there used to be one on TFW)

Upcoming stuff:

• Benjamin Franklin (2022)
• The Holocaust & the United States (working title) (2023, with Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein)
• The American Buffalo (2024)
• Leonardo da Vinci (2025)
• The American Revolution (2025)
• LBJ & the Great Society (2027, with Lynn Novick)
• From Emancipation to Exodus (working title, also called The History of Reconstruction) (TBA)
• Winston Churchill 

 

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If you are a Civil War fan, this was posted a few months ago - it's almost two hours of raw/unedited interview footage with Shelby Foote.

Really cool to see how Burns interviews, and how they got the clips that they did, and how many takes they would do (overhead aircraft were an issue, as was the film reels running out).

 

[MissingInAction 25,106]

Out of all of them I found the Prohibition series the most intriguing. Especially with its ties to women's suffrage.

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

The Civil War documentary is the all timer. If you haven’t watched the Jazz documentary then you’re missing out. Especially the early episodes.

He should do one on American football. 

[NIUHuskies 504]

A Nixon one would be great. 

 

Others:

NOLA

College Football

WW1

 

[Biff Tannen 45,691]

National Parks for me is the winner. Honorable mention for the Dust Bowl, but that’s also because my grandmother is in it. 
 

PBS Compass or whatever they call it for all access is a steal at $5/month. 

[bluto 4,932]

National Parks for me is the winner. Honorable mention for the Dust Bowl, but that’s also because my grandmother is in it. 
 
PBS Compass or whatever they call it for all access is a steal at $5/month. 

Love the hell out of the pbs subscription. Caught that new impossible builds last week, might be my fav series even though it’s so limited.

[jdhorn92 1,552]

National Parks and Country Music were the most recent ones I have seen, enjoyed both very much.

 

 

[billfromlaketravis 11,516]

The West is my favorite, but Burns was the executive producer on that project. Stephen Ives directed. The subject matter puts it over the top for me. 

I'd like for Burns to take on a Native American project. The history of the Plains Wars, the Lakota, or the Comanche 

Edited October 20, 2021 by billfromlaketravis

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On 10/17/2021 at 9:03 PM, atomheartbevo said:

• Benjamin Franklin (2022)

Anybody watching this one?

[SimonBolivar 10,958]

9 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Anybody watching this one?

Yuh. good shit. Much better than Bill Self.

Edited April 5, 2022 by SimonBolivar

[atomheartbevo 89,729]

Missed the trailer last month

 

[Jerry Callo 8,704]

Anybody watching this one?

I watched the first hour then switched to the bb game. Franklin was a badass. I'll finish watch tomorrow. Burns' docs are great.

[atomheartbevo 89,729]

38 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Anybody watching this one?

I watched the first hour then switched to the bb game. Franklin was a badass. I'll finish watch tomorrow. Burns' docs are great.

The part with his lightning experiments, it’s a wonder he didn’t kill himself.  

[notre dame joe 188]

9 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Anybody watching this one?

I thought that it was a leftover from the mid 1990s until I searched it.  Burns is a boss.

[thrillhammer 684]

i watched it.   franklin was a fascinating man.

[notre dame joe 188]

21 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

i watched it.   franklin was a fascinating man.

Indeed.  I knew BF was aloof with his family when he was in France but I did not realize it was that bad with his son.  I also would have liked a bit more time on the writing of the Constitution, it could have been a single episode.  Otherwise loved how Burns hit another winner.  

[Guest Lobo]

On 4/5/2022 at 7:25 AM, thrillhammer said:

i watched it.   franklin was a fascinating man.

If you have the occasion, read this fascinating book by a distant friend of mine (he was a UDT in Vietnam):  https://www.amazon.com/Poor-Richards-Lament-Most-Timely/dp/098459213X      Kind of a time-jumping fictional biography of Ben Franklin through his own eyes as he moves through eras he heavily influenced, even after death.  Even has some modern political tones that were years ahead of their time (this book is about 10-12 years old already).  

Also, we'll know we're in a simulation when somebody makes a documentary about how Ken Burns makes documentaries.  

[lateshow 1,304]

3 hours ago, notre dame joe said:

Indeed.  I knew BF was aloof with his family when he was in France but I did not realize it was that bad with his son.  I also would have liked a bit more time on the writing of the Constitution, it could have been a single episode.  Otherwise loved how Burns hit another winner.  

Where did y'all watch this? 

[Smax 3,800]

Where did y'all watch this? 

It was on pbs

[bluto 4,932]

Just get a pbs subscription, there’s an endless well of all kinda stuff on there

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

3 hours ago, bluto said:

Just get a pbs subscription, there’s an endless well of all kinda stuff on there

A subscription? Who needs a subscription for PBS?

[SimonBolivar 10,958]

47 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

A subscription? Who needs a subscription for PBS?

 

Why wouldn't you have a sub to PBS? By far the best bang for your buck content wise.

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

1 hour ago, SimonBolivar said:

 

Why wouldn't you have a sub to PBS? By far the best bang for your buck content wise.

Do you live in the boondocks? Spend $20 on an antenna and you’ll get it for free. Forever. Same with the other broadcast networks. I mean, it comes along with every basic cable package or satellite service. This is the first time I’ve ever heard the concept of anyone having to subscribe to public television. 

[SimonBolivar 10,958]

4 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Do you live in the boondocks? Spend $20 on an antenna and you’ll get it for free. Forever. Same with the other broadcast networks. I mean, it comes along with every basic cable package or satellite service. This is the first time I’ve ever heard the concept of anyone having to subscribe to public television. 

I'm talking about Passport or PBS Documentaries on Amazon Channels, which have everything On Demand.

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

1 minute ago, SimonBolivar said:

I'm talking about Passport or PBS Documentaries on Amazon Channels, which have everything On Demand.

Ah. Another solution to a problem I don’t have. 

[notre dame joe 188]

On 4/6/2022 at 9:13 PM, WhatTheBuck said:

Do you live in the boondocks? Spend $20 on an antenna and you’ll get it for free. Forever. Same with the other broadcast networks. I mean, it comes along with every basic cable package or satellite service. This is the first time I’ve ever heard the concept of anyone having to subscribe to public television. 

We don't appreciate how many people have never seen an antenna. 

[South Austin 52,519]

I love a good documentary, but for some reason haven’t gotten into Ken Burns. The only film of his I’ve seen is The Central Park Five, which ripped my heart out.

I might start with his Vietnam series. 

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

I love a good documentary, but for some reason haven’t gotten into Ken Burns. The only film of his I’ve seen is The Central Park Five, which ripped my heart out.

I might start with his Vietnam series. 

I started with The Civil War. It’s amazing. The Vietnam War is great too. The soundtrack is incredibly good, both the historical hits and the original music. And it’ll rip your heart out. But The Civil War is a masterpiece of iconographic filmmaking and really made Burns a household name. Maybe not in every household, but that was his breakthrough work. It’s brilliant.

[Jerry Callo 8,704]

I think I give $5 a month to PBS and get the PBS Passport or whatever it's called.  Great if you want to watch Ken Burns or Austin City Limits.  Sometimes on weekends, I'll start an ACL show and then it will progress episode after episode for several hours.

[Jerry Callo 8,704]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

I love a good documentary, but for some reason haven’t gotten into Ken Burns. The only film of his I’ve seen is The Central Park Five, which ripped my heart out.

I might start with his Vietnam series. 

Vietnam is great.  As is Country Music, National Parks, and Ben Franklin.

Burns' documentaries always show me how much I didn't know about things I thought I knew pretty well.

[Post Oak 20,245]

34 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

I think I give $5 a month to PBS and get the PBS Passport or whatever it's called.  Great if you want to watch Ken Burns or Austin City Limits.  Sometimes on weekends, I'll start an ACL show and then it will progress episode after episode for several hours.

I give to PBS every month.  One because it's a great organization. Two so I can watch this old house, ATK and Cooks Country whenever I want

[bluto 4,932]

32 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

I give to PBS every month.  One because it's a great organization. Two so I can watch this old house, ATK and Cooks Country whenever I want

Brother?

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8 hours ago, South Austin said:

I love a good documentary, but for some reason haven’t gotten into Ken Burns. The only film of his I’ve seen is The Central Park Five, which ripped my heart out.

I might start with his Vietnam series. 

Vietnam, Civil War, Country Music - fantastic trio to start with.

A part of me says start with the Civil War,  not only because it was his breakthrough series, but it set the expectation that people have for really solid narration and imagery, and for Burns and Co. to find a few key personalities that help move each series along, and kind of link each episode.

 

[atomheartbevo 89,729]

And you've probably seen Burns' parodied at this point, and his name and the effects used in the Civil War series made it into film-making 101 = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns_effect

Simpsons have done several Burns' parodies, and then you have stuff like this

NSFW

 

 

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

Suppose you were on Ken’s staff and were making a documentary about American football. You’d definitely want to read this book:

 

[lateshow 1,304]

On 4/9/2022 at 8:14 AM, Jerry Callo said:

Vietnam is great.  As is Country Music, National Parks, and Ben Franklin.

Burns' documentaries always show me how much I didn't know about things I thought I knew pretty well.

The West is also fantastic. 

[Biff Tannen 45,691]

On 4/6/2022 at 10:13 PM, WhatTheBuck said:

Do you live in the boondocks? Spend $20 on an antenna and you’ll get it for free. Forever. Same with the other broadcast networks. I mean, it comes along with every basic cable package or satellite service. This is the first time I’ve ever heard the concept of anyone having to subscribe to public television. 

As has been said, you pay $5/month for Passport and you get EVERYTHING on demand.  I can (and perhaps do) watch the National Parks doc every week.  I don't have to wait for it to be re-aired.

[notre dame joe 188]

The Civil War is the GOAT documentary, even better than The World at War.  The way Burns has the historical figures speak their own voice, it is like your really know Abe Lincoln and Robert E Lee.

[lateshow 1,304]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:29 AM, notre dame joe said:

The Civil War is the GOAT documentary, even better than The World at War.  The way Burns has the historical figures speak their own voice, it is like your really know Abe Lincoln and Robert E Lee.

Only Brat could truly say he knew them. As wee pups, but still. 

[jdhorn92 1,552]

Finished it this weekend, really enjoyed it.  Not much more to add that hasnt been said already about Burns, antenneas in the attic (for years a I had a huge bat wing in the attic and would often watch SEC game of the week on CBS ota vs cable, as the ota version was nails), liking Nat'l Parks as my favorite of his works.

General thoughts while scattershooting the Franklin piece; sounds like the poon hound had a bit of rough go of it in Paris.  Not surprised his relationship with his son was so bad, life has a way of repeating itself, glad he had Temple, and later, his grandkids.  His wife sounded like a bad ass herself, holding down all those businesses.  Type setting was nuts hard, dang what a trade.

[tbone_ 14,128]

The Civil War is the GOAT documentary, even better than The World at War.  The way Burns has the historical figures speak their own voice, it is like your really know Abe Lincoln and Robert E Lee.

Civil war is good but Vietnam is better.

[kevwun 15,797]

The Country Music one might be my favorite one, which is surprising to me.

[SimonBolivar 10,958]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:05 PM, Biff Tannen said:

  I can (and perhaps do) watch the National Parks doc every week. 

🎵Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike🎵

 

Yup, I've seen it so many damn times when just chilling or getting ready for bed. Also, don't sleep on some of his other old one off stuff. 

 

Huey Long

Thomas Jefferson

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery

 

 

Prohibition is incredibly underrated too.

[atomheartbevo 89,729]

47 minutes ago, kevwun said:

The Country Music one might be my favorite one, which is surprising to me.

The only bad thing about it, is that it should have been made 10-20 years earlier, which would have had a lot of the older generations still around.

[atomheartbevo 89,729]

1 hour ago, tbone_ said:

Civil war is good but Vietnam is better.

When it came out, I bugged a bunch of my older relatives and friends (who were around during Vietnam) to watch it.  No matter where they fell in their relationship with the war - drafted, volunteered, or opposed, they all thought it did a solid job of documenting things in a fairly impartial way.  

And of course, they all loved the soundtrack.

Edited April 18, 2022 by atomheartbevo

[Jiggy-Z 3,432]

Jazz was my favorite, but I played trumpet for 25 years and my oldest son is pro trumpet player in New Orleans, so I am a little biased.

Nevertheless, I learned a lot.  I always make it a point, when visiting in NO,  to go and visit or drive by some of the still standing homes of the greats.  Some are within walking distance, if properly armed, from my sons home in Central City.

Jazz also nudged me into documentaries on on some of the players, prohibition, and other music festivals.  Quite the rabbit hole. 

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

I didn't think I'd like the country music series, cause I'm just not that into country music.  It's turned out to be one of my favorites, cause while it is about the music, it's also about America as both it, and country music grew, and changed.  

Burns telling of the story that is country music, while weaving the subject matter into the fabric of the nation was so well done.  Jazz was very similar, but more tied to the history of black folks in America.

[WhatTheBuck 28,788]

5 hours ago, tbone_ said:

Civil war is good but Vietnam is better.

Maybe from a production standpoint. It had a bigger budget and was really slick. And had the advantage of film footage from the era, and music from the period, and interviews with people who lived through it. And the original score was also superb.

But from an educational standpoint I’d go with The Civil War. Vietnam is already pretty well documented and I already knew a lot about that. I knew far less about the Civil War. And the use of actors reading letters from soldiers and others involved was pretty compelling. And it’s a challenge to make an iconographic film where you only have still photos to work with. That was masterful.

[kevwun 15,797]

The entire National Parks series is airing on Nat Geo on Friday during the day.