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Ken Burns has evolved into more than a documentarian; he represents an institution, an unparalleled production entity. Whenever he releases documentary series arriving on the PBS network, all desire an interview.

Burns has done “an astonishing number of podcasts”, he remarks, nearing the end of nine-month promotional tour featuring numerous locations, numerous film showings plus countless media sessions. “With podcasts numbering in the hundreds of millions, I feel I’ve participated in a substantial portion.”

Fortunately Burns is a force of nature, as loquacious behind the mic as he is productive during post-production. At seventy-two has gone everywhere from historical sites to popular podcasts to discuss his latest monumental work: The American Revolution, a monumental six-part, 12-hour documentary series that consumed ten years of his career and arrived this week on public television.

Classic Documentary Style

Similar to traditional cooking in an age of fast food, Burns’ latest project proudly conventional, evoking memories of historical documentary classics than the era of digital documentaries audio documentaries.

But for Burns, whose entire filmography exploring national heritage including baseball, country music, jazz and national parks, its origin story represents more than another topic but essential. “I said this to my co-director Sarah Botstein during our discussions, and she shared this view: no future work will carry greater importance,” Burns reflects during a telephone interview.

Extensive Historical Investigation

Burns and his collaborators and screenwriter Geoffrey Ward drew upon countless written sources and other historical materials. Multiple academic experts, representing diverse viewpoints, provided on-air commentary along with leading scholars representing multiple disciplines including slavery, indigenous peoples’ narratives and imperial studies.

Distinctive Filmmaking Approach

The style of the series will seem recognizable to fans of historical documentaries. The unique approach included gradual camera movements across still photos, extensive employment of contemporary scores featuring talent reading diaries, letters and speeches.

That was the moment Burns built his legacy; decades afterwards, now the doyen of documentaries, he can apparently summon any actor he chooses. Collaborating with the filmmaker at a recent event, renowned playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda noted: “Nobody declines an invitation from Ken Burns.”

All-Star Cast

The lengthy creation process proved beneficial concerning availability. Sessions happened in recording spaces, on location using online technology, an approach adopted amid COVID restrictions. Burns recounts working with Josh Brolin, who found a few free hours during his travels to perform his role as the revolutionary leader then continuing to his next engagement.

Additional performers feature multiple distinguished artists, established Hollywood talent, emerging and established stars, multiple generations of actors, celebrated film and stage performers, Damian Lewis, Laura Linney, Tobias Menzies, Edward Norton, David Oyelowo, Mandy Patinkin, small and big screen veterans, plus additional notable names.

The filmmaker continues: “Frankly, this may be the best single cast recruited for any project. Their contributions are remarkable. Selection wasn’t based on fame. I got so angry when somebody said, ‘So why the celebrities?’. I explained, ‘These are artists.’ They are among the world’s best performers and they can bring this stuff alive.”

Historical Complexity

Nevertheless, the lack of surviving participants, visual documentation required the filmmakers to lean heavily on the written word, integrating the first-person voices of multiple revolutionary participants. This approach enabled to show spectators beyond the prominent leaders of that era but also to “dozens of others who are seminal to the story”, many of whom remain visually unknown.

Burns additionally pursued his personal passion for geography and cartography. “I have great affection for cartography,” he observes, “and there are more maps in this film than in all the other films throughout my entire career.”

Worldwide Consequences

The team filmed at nearly a hundred historical locations across North America plus English locations to capture the landscape’s character and partnered extensively with re-enactors. Various aspects converge to tell a story more brutal, complicated and internationally important than the one taught in schools.

The revolution, it contends, represented more than local dispute about property, revenue and governance. Rather, the series depicts a brutal conflict that finally engaged numerous countries and improbably came to embody what it calls “mankind’s greatest hopes”.

Civil War Reality

Early dissatisfaction and objections directed toward Britain by colonial residents across thirteen rebellious territories quickly evolved into a bloody domestic struggle, pitting family members against each other and neighbour against neighbour. In one segment, academic Alan Taylor comments: “The greatest misconception regarding the Revolutionary War centers on assuming it constituted a consolidating event for colonists. It leaves out the reality that Americans fought each other.”

Sophisticated Interpretation

In his view, the revolution is a story that “for most of us is overwhelmed by emotionalism and wistful remembrance and is incredibly superficial and insufficiently honors actual events, all contributors and the incredible violence of it.

Taylor maintains, a revolution that proclaimed the transformative concept of inherent human rights; a vicious internal conflict, separating rebels and supporters; plus an international conflict, another installment in a sequence of wars between imperial nations for dominance in the New World.

Uncertain Historical Outcomes

Burns also wanted {to rediscover the