"We work furiously, pressing against fatigue, flailing at times and losing our
balance on the slippery rocks, pressed downstream by the icy water, we want to
succeed, to accomplish this task for the Roshi. He watches quietly. Finally ... As
Alan and I pick up our work boots on our barefooted way to our cabins, I see, side
by side on a large stone next to the rushing water, Roshi's zoris. He walked right
by them. ... Master P.T.N.H. ..."
"Ken Burns's fourth short film gives us a clear taste for the style that he made famous with The Civil War and Baseball. The first half of this hour-long program examines the design and construction of the Statue of Liberty using drawings, photographs, and readings (Jeremy Irons gives voice to French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, who designed the statue). As narrator David McCullough states, no one at the dedication ceremony menti ..."
"This documentary chronicles the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. The difficult construction process is described in interesting detail; later parts of the film interview current notables who describe the effects that the Brooklyn Bridge has had upon New York society and beyond."
"A symbol of freedom and democracy towering above the New York Harbor she has welcomed the tired the poor and the huddled masses into America for more than 100 years. Authoritative and richly detailed THE STATUE OF LIBERTY explores the remarkable steps leading to its creation from the initial struggles to find adequate funding to its celebratory centennial restoration. Rare footage and archival photos document the radical methods the Fr ..."
"This award-winning program by filmmaker Ken Burns recaptures all the drama, the struggles and the personal tragedies behind this greatest of all achievements of America's industrial age. As this fascinating program reveals, it was the largest bridge of its era, marked by enormous construction problems and ingenious solutions. Witness the human heroics of the larger-than-life men who built the bridge that seized the imagination of New Yo ..."
"Ken Burns's fourth short film gives us a clear taste for the style that he made famous with The Civil War and Baseball. The first half of this hour-long program examines the design and construction of the Statue of Liberty using drawings, photographs, and readings (Jeremy Irons gives voice to French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, who designed the statue). As narrator David McCullough states, no one at the dedication ceremony menti ..."
"Ken Burns's documentary style is so unencumbered; the subject matter is effortlessly presented. His regular mix of photos, subtle sound effects, excellent musical score, and actor readings of historical text hasn't changed since his breakthrough of The Civil War. And it doesn't need to. Even though this 220-minute production is a biography--on heavyweight champion Jack Johnson--the film resonates about the how race was dealt with in the ..."
"Feminism is a problematic word: to some it means the ongoing struggle for the equal rights of women; for others the connotations are derogatory, the word conjuring images of emasculating woman. And for still others, mostly the younger generation who grew up with mothers in the workforce, the term is outdated, referring to a movement whose relevance is diminishing. Postfeminism, antifeminism, the feminist backlash--these terms are wielde ..."
"The Boys of 2nd Street Park is an award-winning documentary that explores the divergent paths taken by a generation of boys who grew up in New York City during the 1960’s. Set against the unforgettable music and events from that era, the film focuses on six men, now in their mid 50s – from childhood days on the basketball court to the tragedies and triumphs that define adulthood. Through extraordinary, intimate interviews, personal phot ..."
"Given the legendary life of its subject, it's not surprising that Mark Twain is perhaps the most entertaining documentary Ken Burns has made. The creator of The Civil War and Jazz achieves reverent harmony with the magnificent story of Missouri-born author Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain), encompassing legend and fact with an exhilarating sense of adventure. Hailed by Hemingway as the originator of American literature, Twain (a nom de ..."
"Ric Burns's documentary for the American Experience series winningly persuades one to think of Ansel Adams as not only the greatest American photographer of the 20th century, but also one of its most treasured artists. Using the familiar formula of New York (and his brother Ken's documentaries), Burns vividly brings Adams's world to life. Narrator David Ogden Stiers is used minimally after the initial set-up, leaving the words to curato ..."
"The story of Huey Long is the quintessential drama of power and ethics. To his constituents, he was a populist hero. To his critics, he was the unscrupulous "dictator of Louisiana" who didn't break the law, but used the law to achieve his own ends. A towering figure on the political landscape, Louisiana's infamous governor and United States senator may well have wound up in the White House, had he not been felled by an assassin's bullet ..."
"The complicated life of Thomas Jefferson is the subject of this excellent documentary by noted filmmaker Ken Burns. Using techniques that will seem comfortably familiar to viewers of other films by Burns, historians and writers (including Joseph Ellis, Daniel Boorstin, Garry Wills, and Gore Vidal) appear on camera to speak about Jefferson, a cast of actors read the words of Jefferson and others. The visuals include beautifully photograp ..."
"Feminism is a problematic word: to some it means the ongoing struggle for the equal rights of women; for others the connotations are derogatory, the word conjuring images of emasculating woman. And for still others, mostly the younger generation who grew up with mothers in the workforce, the term is outdated, referring to a movement whose relevance is diminishing. Postfeminism, antifeminism, the feminist backlash--these terms are wielde ..."
"Ric Burns's documentary for the American Experience series winningly persuades one to think of Ansel Adams as not only the greatest American photographer of the 20th century, but also one of its most treasured artists. Using the familiar formula of New York (and his brother Ken's documentaries), Burns vividly brings Adams's world to life. Narrator David Ogden Stiers is used minimally after the initial set-up, leaving the words to curato ..."
"Given the legendary life of its subject, it's not surprising that Mark Twain is perhaps the most entertaining documentary Ken Burns has made. The creator of The Civil War and Jazz achieves reverent harmony with the magnificent story of Missouri-born author Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain), encompassing legend and fact with an exhilarating sense of adventure. Hailed by Hemingway as the originator of American literature, Twain (a nom de ..."
"How did some of the most beautiful melodies of the 20th century come out of a man described as depressive, hypochondriacal, remote, and alcoholic? This stirring 2001 documentary cannot answer that question about Richard Rodgers, but it provides a near-perfect blend of biography, personal reminiscence, and music appreciation. The latter comes via experts sitting at their pianos: Richard Rodney Bennett, Barbara Carroll, Andrew Lloyd ..."
"The complicated life of Thomas Jefferson is the subject of this excellent documentary by noted filmmaker Ken Burns. Using techniques that will seem comfortably familiar to viewers of other films by Burns, historians and writers (including Joseph Ellis, Daniel Boorstin, Garry Wills, and Gore Vidal) appear on camera to speak about Jefferson, a cast of actors read the words of Jefferson and others. The visuals include beautifully photograp ..."
"Feminism is a problematic word: to some it means the ongoing struggle for the equal rights of women; for others the connotations are derogatory, the word conjuring images of emasculating woman. And for still others, mostly the younger generation who grew up with mothers in the workforce, the term is outdated, referring to a movement whose relevance is diminishing. Postfeminism, antifeminism, the feminist backlash--these terms are wielde ..."
"This Academy Award-winning film tells the unforgettable story of Gerda Weissmann Klein and her six-year ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty. Rendered in a deceptively simple yet extraordinarily powerful manner, the film explores the effects Weissman’s experience had on the rest of her life. By the end of the war she had lost her parents, brother, home, possessions, and community; even the dear friends she made in the labor camps, with wh ..."