The acclaimed documentarian has become not just a filmmaker; he represents an institution, an unparalleled production entity. When he has documentary series arriving on the PBS network, everybody wants a part of him.
The filmmaker completed “more fucking podcasts than I ever thought possible”, he says, nearing the end of his marathon promotional journey featuring 40 cities, numerous film showings plus countless media sessions. “There seems to be a podcast for every citizen, and I believe I’ve appeared on most of them.”
Fortunately Burns is a force of nature, as loquacious behind the mic as he is accomplished while filmmaking. At seventy-two has traveled from historical sites to mainstream media outlets to talk about his latest monumental work: his Revolutionary War documentary, a monumental six-part, 12-hour documentary series that dominated ten years of his career and debuted recently on public television.
Comparable to methodical preparation amidst instant gratification culture, this documentary series proudly conventional, reminiscent of The World at War rather than contemporary streaming docs new media formats.
However, for the filmmaker, who has built a career chronicling strands of US history covering diverse cultural topics, its origin story represents more than another topic but essential. “As I mentioned to directing partner Sarah Botstein recently, and she concurred: we won’t work on a more important film Burns contemplates from his New York base.
The filmmaking team along with writer Geoffrey Ward utilized thousands of books and other historical materials. Multiple academic experts, spanning age and perspective, contributed scholarly insights together with prominent academics covering various specialties such as enslavement studies, first nations scholarship and the British empire.
The style of the series will seem recognizable to fans of historical documentaries. The unique approach featured slow pans and zooms through archival photographs, generous use of period music and actors reading diaries, letters and speeches.
This period represented Burns built his legacy; years later, currently the elder statesman of documentary filmmaking, he can attract any actor he chooses. Appearing alongside Burns at a New York gathering, acclaimed writer Lin-Manuel Miranda commented: “A call from Ken Burns commands immediate acceptance.”
The decade-long production schedule proved beneficial regarding scheduling. Recordings took place in recording spaces, in relevant places through digital platforms, an approach adopted during the pandemic. The director describes the experience with performer Josh Brolin, who found a few free hours in Atlanta to voice his character as George Washington before flying off to subsequent commitments.
Brolin is joined by multiple distinguished artists, established Hollywood talent, Domhnall Gleeson, Amanda Gorman, Jonathan Groff, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, celebrated film and stage performers, international acting community, versatile character actors, television and film stars, Dan Stevens, Meryl Streep.
Burns emphasizes: “Frankly, this may be the best single cast gathered for any production. Their work is exceptional. Their celebrity status wasn’t the criteria. I got so angry when somebody said, ‘So why the celebrities?’. I responded, ‘These are performers.’ They are among the world’s best performers and they vitalize these narratives.”
Nevertheless, no contemporary observers remain, modern media forced Burns and his team to rely extensively on primary texts, combining personal accounts of multiple revolutionary participants. This methodology permitted to show spectators beyond the prominent leaders of the founders but also to “dozens of others who are seminal to the story”, many of whom remain visually unknown.
Burns also indulged his personal passion for geography and cartography. “Maps fascinate me,” he observes, “with greater cartographic content in this project compared to previous works throughout my entire career.”
The team filmed at numerous significant sites across North America and in London to document environmental context and worked extensively with historical interpreters. All these elements combine to depict events more brutal, complicated and internationally important versus conventional understanding.
The film maintains, was no mere parochial quarrel concerning territory, taxes and political voice. Instead the film portrays a brutal conflict that finally engaged multiple global powers and surprisingly represented described as “the noble aspirations of humankind”.
What had begun as a jumble of grievances leveled at London by far-flung British subjects throughout multiple disputatious regions soon descended into a bloody domestic struggle, pitting family members against each other and creating local enmities. In episode two, scholar Alan Taylor notes: “The primary misunderstanding concerning independence struggle involves believing it represented a unifying experience for colonists. This omits the fact that Americans fought each other.”
According to his perspective, the revolution is a story that “for most of us is overwhelmed by emotionalism and wistful remembrance and remains shallow and fails to properly acknowledge for what actually took place, every individual involved and the widespread bloodshed.”
It was, he contends, a revolution that proclaimed the transformative concept of the unalienable rights of people; a bloody domestic struggle, separating rebels and supporters; and a global war, the fourth in a series of struggles among European powers for control of the continent.
Burns also wanted {to rediscover the
