Ken Burns discussing His War of Independence Project: ‘This Is Our Most Crucial Work’
Ken Burns has evolved into not just a documentarian; his name is a franchise, a one-man industrial complex. Whenever he releases television endeavor heading for the PBS network, all desire a part of him.
Burns has done “an astonishing number of podcasts”, he notes, nearing the end of his marathon promotional journey featuring numerous locations, dozens of preview events and hundreds of interviews. “I think there are 340.1m podcasts, one for every American, and I’ve done half of them.”
Thankfully Burns is a force of nature, as loquacious behind the mic as he is prolific during post-production. The veteran director has appeared at locations ranging from prestigious venues to The Joe Rogan Experience to promote one of his most ambitious projects: this historical epic, a monumental six-part, 12-hour documentary series that dominated the past decade of his life and premiered this week on public television.
Timeless Filmmaking Method
Comparable to methodical preparation amidst instant gratification culture, Burns’ latest project is defiantly traditional, more redolent of historical documentary classics as opposed to modern streaming docs new media formats.
But for Burns, who has built a career documenting American historical narratives including baseball, country music, jazz and national parks, its origin story is not just another subject but fundamental. “I recently told collaborator Sarah Botstein recently, and she concurred: no future work will carry greater importance,” Burns states from his New York base.
Massive Research Effort
The filmmaking team along with writer Geoffrey Ward referenced thousands of books plus archival documents. Multiple academic experts, covering various ideological backgrounds, provided on-air commentary together with prominent academics representing multiple disciplines including slavery, indigenous peoples’ narratives and imperial studies.
Characteristic Narrative Method
The style of the series will seem recognizable to devotees of The Civil War. The unique approach featured gradual camera movements through archival photographs, generous use of period music with performers reading diaries, letters and speeches.
This period represented Burns built his legacy; years later, presently the respected veteran of historical films, he can apparently summon any actor he chooses. Collaborating with the filmmaker at a recent event, acclaimed writer Lin-Manuel Miranda commented: “When Ken Burns calls, you say ‘Yes.’”
All-Star Cast
The lengthy creation process also helped in terms of flexibility. Filming occurred in studios, in relevant places and remotely via Zoom, a tool embraced during the pandemic. The director describes working with Josh Brolin, who scheduled a brief window during his travels to voice his character portraying the founding father prior to departing to subsequent commitments.
The cast includes numerous acclaimed actors, established Hollywood talent, emerging and established stars, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Samuel L Jackson, Michael Keaton, Tracy Letts, Damian Lewis, Laura Linney, Tobias Menzies, versatile character actors, television and film stars, Dan Stevens, Meryl Streep.
Burns adds: “Truly, this might be the most exceptional group gathered for any production. Their contributions are remarkable. They’re not picked because they’re celebrities. I became frustrated when someone asked, regarding the famous participants. I responded, ‘These are performers.’ They are among the world’s best performers and they can bring this stuff alive.”
Nuanced Narrative
Still, the absence of living witnesses, photography and newsreels required the filmmakers to rely extensively on the written word, integrating personal accounts of numerous historical characters. This approach enabled to show spectators not only to the “bold-faced names” of the revolution along with multiple who are seminal to the story”, many of whom remain visually unknown.
Burns additionally pursued his personal passion for territorial understanding. “I have great affection for cartography,” he observes, “with greater cartographic content throughout this series versus earlier productions I’ve done combined.”
Global Significance
Filmmakers captured footage at nearly a hundred historical locations throughout the continent plus English locations to preserve geographical atmosphere and collaborated substantially with historical interpreters. Various aspects converge to depict events more violent, complex and globally significant than the one taught in schools.
The revolution, it contends, transcended provincial conflict about property, revenue and governance. Conversely, the project presents a violent confrontation that ultimately drew in numerous countries and surprisingly represented described as “mankind’s greatest hopes”.
Brother Against Brother
What had begun as a jumble of grievances aimed at the crown by American colonists in 13 fractious colonies quickly evolved into a vicious internal war, pitting family members against each other and creating local enmities. In one segment, academic Alan Taylor comments: “The primary misunderstanding regarding the Revolutionary War involves believing it represented a unifying experience for colonists. This omits the fact that it was a civil war among Americans.”
Sophisticated Interpretation
In his view, the revolution is a story that “typically is drowning in sentimentality and wistful remembrance and lacks depth and insufficiently honors for what actually took place, all contributors and the widespread bloodshed.”
The historian argues, an uprising that declared the revolutionary principle of inherent human rights; a bloody domestic struggle, dividing revolutionaries and royalists; and a worldwide engagement, continuing previous patterns of wars between imperial nations for control of the continent.
Uncertain Historical Outcomes
The filmmaker also sought {to rediscover the
